- Joined
- Aug 17, 2009
- Messages
- 1,585 (0.28/day)
- Location
- Los Angeles/Orange County CA
| System Name | Vulcan |
|---|---|
| Processor | i6 6600K |
| Motherboard | GIGABYTE Z170X UD3 |
| Cooling | Thermaltake Frio Silent 14 |
| Memory | 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) |
| Video Card(s) | ASUS Strix GTX 970 |
| Storage | Mushkin Enhanced Reactor 1TB SSD |
| Display(s) | QNIX 27 Inch 1440p |
| Case | Fractal Design Define S |
| Audio Device(s) | On Board |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master V750 |
| Software | Win 10 64-bit |
When I first saw the NZXT Vulcan, it love a first sight. I was looking a good reasonably priced MATX case, and it was very cool looking. Although perhaps not the intent of the manufacturer, it looked Star Trek Vulcan to me.
Mine has gone through several changes over the last year and a half. First with air cooling and two HD 4830s in crossfire. Next came an ECO CoolIT. The theme was blue
Then disaster struck when I first attempted a custom loop earlier this year. I got an XPSC RASA kit and was leak testing. And boy did I find one. My MSI X58M was soaked in blue fluid, and after two weeks of trying to booting again, I gave up.
Four months later, with nothing better to do, I gave it another shot and it started right up. Guess it just needed a long time to dry out. So I proceeded to water cool it again, now with an HD 6950, and had success. But it didn't quite come out the way I had wanted.
I ran out of blue tubing, and I didn't like having to remove the handle to put the radiator on top. And while I like my reservoir/pump combo, it took up booth my optical drive bays. Clearly changes were needed.
Since I was going to redo the loop and move everything why not do something special. The radiator would go on the back and the combo unit in the lower front. Also, I had been playing around with the side mesh panel and tubing. I didn't need the 200mm fan there any more, so what could be done with it?
I removed the small grommets for attaching the fan, and widened the holes with needle nose pliers and snipping off the excess. Then put in larger grommets to handle 1/2" OD tubing.
And I also thought back to the original Star Trek. Bones often referred to Spock as a "green blooded vulcan". So that completed the plan.
I replaced my Antec TriCool blue fans with green, ordered green tubing, green lights, some right angled fittings, and various other components. And I have finally gotten to work.
I switched from 7/16" OD tubing and went with smaller 3/8" tubing. It would make my plan easier and I think looks better on a small case like this one. I read in several places, including a post by sneekypeet in this forum, that it would fit on 1/2" fittings if warmed and stretched.
Vulcan stripped and handle back in place.
Radiator fitted with right angle fittings and 80/92 to 120 fan adapter.
My helper.
Changing out blue lights for green in the front panel.
Reservoir/pump in place with mounting tape.
Motherboard back in.
Heating the tubing with very hot water and then stretching again with the handy needle nose pliers.
And acutally leak testing.
More to come.
Mine has gone through several changes over the last year and a half. First with air cooling and two HD 4830s in crossfire. Next came an ECO CoolIT. The theme was blue
Then disaster struck when I first attempted a custom loop earlier this year. I got an XPSC RASA kit and was leak testing. And boy did I find one. My MSI X58M was soaked in blue fluid, and after two weeks of trying to booting again, I gave up.
Four months later, with nothing better to do, I gave it another shot and it started right up. Guess it just needed a long time to dry out. So I proceeded to water cool it again, now with an HD 6950, and had success. But it didn't quite come out the way I had wanted.
I ran out of blue tubing, and I didn't like having to remove the handle to put the radiator on top. And while I like my reservoir/pump combo, it took up booth my optical drive bays. Clearly changes were needed.
Since I was going to redo the loop and move everything why not do something special. The radiator would go on the back and the combo unit in the lower front. Also, I had been playing around with the side mesh panel and tubing. I didn't need the 200mm fan there any more, so what could be done with it?
I removed the small grommets for attaching the fan, and widened the holes with needle nose pliers and snipping off the excess. Then put in larger grommets to handle 1/2" OD tubing.
And I also thought back to the original Star Trek. Bones often referred to Spock as a "green blooded vulcan". So that completed the plan.
I replaced my Antec TriCool blue fans with green, ordered green tubing, green lights, some right angled fittings, and various other components. And I have finally gotten to work.
I switched from 7/16" OD tubing and went with smaller 3/8" tubing. It would make my plan easier and I think looks better on a small case like this one. I read in several places, including a post by sneekypeet in this forum, that it would fit on 1/2" fittings if warmed and stretched.
Vulcan stripped and handle back in place.
Radiator fitted with right angle fittings and 80/92 to 120 fan adapter.
My helper.
Changing out blue lights for green in the front panel.
Reservoir/pump in place with mounting tape.
Motherboard back in.
Heating the tubing with very hot water and then stretching again with the handy needle nose pliers.
And acutally leak testing.
More to come.
