[Case Gallery] It's Crystal Clear - Update

[SRoode]

To view this case mod, go here.



Specs:
Danger Den Acrylic Case
Danger Den Water Cooling Kit
Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad OC'd to 3.4 GHz (425x8)
ABit IP35 Pro Motherboard
8GB G-Skill DDR2-1100 MHz
XFX Radeon HD5850 (Overclocked)
Corsair 620W Modular Power Supply

Mods:
Danger Den water cooling system, additional fans.

UPDATE Nov 25, 2009! - The old girl has served me well over the last couple of years, and was well deserving of some upgrades. New video card (HD5850), more memory (8GB), new OS (Windows 7 64 bit), and retubed and refilled the cooling system (Feser tubing and went blue this time). She's an old faithful that deserved the facelift! I think I'll get another 2 years out of her!

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ORIGINAL POST-Well, my old system ("Long in the Tooth") served me well for many years, but it was time for an upgrade! As I said before, I will never go back to air cooling, and I didn't. This system is a 1/2" dia tubed system with a much bigger pump. Prime95 stable for 4 hours straight. This system rings up 15004 in 3DMark06, with over 5.4k for the CPU score. PS - Sorry for some of the blurry images, it's hard taking dark pix with my camera.

 

[trickson]

Very nice !
See mine and vote here . http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/1229.html

 

[JC316]

Nice, you did a good job with that. Normally clear cases are fugly, not yours though. You will have an 8/10 when I can vote.

 

[erocker]

Excellent job! Best looking clear case I've seen 10/10

 

[Cold Storm]

Excellent job! Best looking clear case I've seen 10/10

+1 on that one! 10/10

 

[Neohazard]

Danger Den always roxxxxxx very nice rig and specs tooo

see and vote in my case http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/1189.html

bye

 

[philbrown23]

nice setup dude! 10/10

 

[steelkane]

My eye's tell my brain It's AWESOME, be proud of you build, Kick Ass Job.

 

[aximbigfan]

10/10 period.

chris

 

[tzitzibp]

perfect 10!

 

[SRoode]

Thanks to everyone for your very kind words. I was a little apprehensive building an acrylic case (nowhere to hide!), but I am very happy with the results. Now, if I can only keep the 3 year olds' fingerprints and mouth prints off of it... I think he's going to wind up to be a geek like his old man!

 

[aspire]

8/10 for no mods. but a good clean build in a stock case.

 

[SRoode]

8/10 for no mods. but a good clean build in a stock case.

Aspire, thank you for your time and your review. Deciding on a clear case sort of limits your options for modifications. You really do not want to paint a clear case after all. I therefore concentrated on the inside... I modded the video card and added watercooling. I also tried (as best I could) to manage my cables. It is very hard to keep things clean in a clear case.

Again, thanks for your input. I will keep your comments in mind in my next build.

Regards.

 

[OrbitzXT]

I kind of expected a hamster to be running around in there.

 

[Jasper-TEK]

Is it possible to add the watercooling to the graphics? if it was that would be so awsome cause then u wouldnt haev to worry about fans *Except* resevoir and then there would be no dust inside the case, *as its all seethrough* and just imagin how silent it would be let alone cold
me likes 9/10

 

[SRoode]

Is it possible to add the watercooling to the graphics? if it was that would be so awsome cause then u wouldnt haev to worry about fans *Except* resevoir and then there would be no dust inside the case, *as its all seethrough* and just imagin how silent it would be let alone cold
me likes 9/10

It will be as soon as they release a full coverage water cooler for the 8800GT. I had one for the 7800GT by Danger Den in my last case, but that one doesn't cover the power circuits on an 8800GT. I'll probably upgrade that once a full coverage waterblock for the 8800GT is released and I read a review or two on it. The DuOrb is keeping things nice and cool for now (51C max with an overclock of 740/1830/1950), and I have just upped the overclock on the CPU to 3.4GHz (425x8), and the memory to 1020 MHz @ 5-5-5-15. With these settings, I finally broke 15k in 3DMark06 (15,004).

Currently, my inlets both have filters, and the extra fan you see by the video card is an exhaust. I set it up this way to minimize dust (knowing it is a clear case), and to vent the hot air on top of the case out (the other fan at the top of the case is an exhaust as well).

Thanks for the good input!

 

[acousticlemur]

10/10 from me. i have been looking at clear cases for a while now, as my next build will be submerged in mineral oil

 

[reverze]

very nice case.. love the clear

10/10!!

 

[EnergyFX]

It will be as soon as they release a full coverage water cooler for the 8800GT. I had one for the 7800GT by Danger Den in my last case, but that one doesn't cover the power circuits on an 8800GT. I'll probably upgrade that once a full coverage waterblock for the 8800GT is released and I read a review or two on it. The DuOrb is keeping things nice and cool for now (51C max with an overclock of 740/1830/1950), and I have just upped the overclock on the CPU to 3.4GHz (425x8), and the memory to 1020 MHz @ 5-5-5-15. With these settings, I finally broke 15k in 3DMark06 (15,004).

Currently, my inlets both have filters, and the extra fan you see by the video card is an exhaust. I set it up this way to minimize dust (knowing it is a clear case), and to vent the hot air on top of the case out (the other fan at the top of the case is an exhaust as well).

Thanks for the good input!

Koolance has a full coverage block for the 8800GT.

 

[davejr1969]

Dude, what can I say except I gave you my first 10 !!

 

[Bjorn_Of_Iceland]

Nobel Prize!

Great job with the cables! Considering clear cases are some of the toughest cases to do cable management! Superb specs and nice Bling! Perfect compact case! Pretty awesome to boot this up on a LAN party

 

[nailzer]

I voted 5/10 because:

Nice

 

[SRoode]

I voted 5/10 because:

Nice

I would have appreciated constructive criticism accompanying a 5 vote. How could I raise the score?

 

[EnergyFX]

I'm not a huge fan of clear cases. I originally gave you a 7 but after looking at your system a bit closer and reading some of the other comments I decided to change it to a 9. I'm starting to get a better appretiation for how difficult it is to build an attractive clear computer. I have to agree that you did a wonderful job with cable managment, especially considering there is nowhere to hide in that case.

What is keeping you from a 10? A few little simple things would make a big difference. These may seem nickpickey but little things really add up to make the difference between good and awesome. It's all about attention to detail.
- Consider sleeving the bare wires. It is a easy mod that goes a long way with appearance.
- The white hose clamps stick out like a sore thumb to me. You can find the same style clamps in black, which would look much better with the black pump and radiator.
- Consider applying black (or perhaps some other color to match the MB or VID card) vinyl or contact paper to the optical drive. Optical drives are usually hidden in normal cases so this isn't an issue, but with acrylics they are very much on display.
- I also don't like (and I know this is purely my personal opinion) the green coolant. It just seems to clash with your blue lighting scheme. I think clear or blue coolant would look much better.

 

[SRoode]

I'm not a huge fan of clear cases. I originally gave you a 7 but after looking at your system a bit closer and reading some of the other comments I decided to change it to a 9. I'm starting to get a better appretiation for how difficult it is to build an attractive clear computer. I have to agree that you did a wonderful job with cable managment, especially considering there is nowhere to hide in that case.

What is keeping you from a 10? A few little simple things would make a big difference. These may seem nickpickey but little things really add up to make the difference between good and awesome. It's all about attention to detail.
- Consider sleeving the bare wires. It is a easy mod that goes a long way with appearance.
- The white hose clamps stick out like a sore thumb to me. You can find the same style clamps in black, which would look much better with the black pump and radiator.
- Consider applying black (or perhaps some other color to match the MB or VID card) vinyl or contact paper to the optical drive. Optical drives are usually hidden in normal cases so this isn't an issue, but with acrylics they are very much on display.
- I also don't like (and I know this is purely my personal opinion) the green coolant. It just seems to clash with your blue lighting scheme. I think clear or blue coolant would look much better.

Thank you so much for the input. I was already considering most of your suggestions before the comments.

1 - The only bare wires I have are the Reset/Power (which I cut way down) and the wires for the spot fan on the NB. I couldn't find my black sleeves when I put the PC together, but when I re-open the case for the summer coolant flush, I will most likely sleeve them.
2 - Totally agree on the hose clamps, I used the ones that came with the watercooling set. When I re-open, I was thinking of going with clear tie-straps (like on the CPU).
3 - I am waiting for the price of the high def drives to drop, and then this sucker is getting replaced. I will be painting the replacement DVD Drive.
4 - I love the green/blue, the wife hates it. So, majority rules, and the summer flush will replace the coolant with blue coolant. Marriage is such a great democracy, huh?

Again, thanks for the input. Those were really great suggestions!