coolmiester
02-01-2008, 05:42 AM
Again, this is from a while back but just making good on my sig so my apologies to all that are re-reading old news
I know its not the most modded PC but I just wanted to make a log for future reference.....anyway a bit of back ground before getting started.
Choosing a media PC enclosure was not an easy choice at all especially as i've only ever seen 2 HTPC's in real life (well that i've taken any notice of anyway) - this Zalman HD160 and a Silverstone LC17 so not really qualified to say what makes a great media PC but what i can say is this has got to be one of the best quality cases i've come across.
Soon as i opened the box i could see it was something special and the only thing i can see being a problem is how to squeeze watercooling in there :eek:
Having said that there is a removable HD cage which takes up to 3 HD's and there is also room for one on top of the CD-ROM drive (all rubber mounted) so maybe that could be removed and the pump/res could fit there but the radiator will definitely have to be mounted externally which i'm not too bothered about though it would have been nice to get it all inside.
It has a full aluminium chassis which is anodised inside and out making it nice and light but not flimsy in any way and on the front panel has a VFD with remote control and also a drop down door which houses USB, Firewire, Mic and Headphone sockets as well as various card readers.
Anyway a few pictures to be going on with while i get a better look at where all things are going to fit and maybe fit it up air cooled first.
Full spec >>here<< (http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=182&code=029)
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_1.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_2.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_3.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_5.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_4.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_7.jpg
Oh i should of mentioned it came from Graeme at KustomPC (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1091.html) and retails at £222 which is a whole chunk to fork out for a case but given the build quality i would say it was definitely worth it.
Having said that it doesn't lend itself well to watercooling as i soon found doing the dry run on air. Had to drop the idea of 6800 Sli cards (http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_10.jpg) as the Asus board only has 3 PCI slots to start with and with Sli cards it would have only been 2 so ended up going for a single 7800GTX (http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_11.jpg) which leaves plenty space for network and TV card
For sound im using the onboard sound through a Yamaha Pro Logic Surround amp which is nice and it doesn't look out of place below the HTPC and sounds crystal clear so not really thinking of adding a sound card tbh
Anyway its all up and running on air and everything seems to be working well apart from the quality of the TV picture which is currently a 32" Panasonic (http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_15.jpg) and is perfect for watching films, media player or playing games like HL2 (http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_16.jpg) but just doesn't cut it when using the internet as the text is just that little bit too fuzzy so it looks like its bite the bullet time and upgrade to HDTV :S
Its all tucked away under the TV so its not obtrusive at all and has to be said is really quiet on air but it will be getting filled with water soon which should bring temps down as well as the noise.
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_17.jpg
Zalman H20 HTPC Stage 2
Anyway that was it up and running on air but I wanted total silence or as close to it so on with some watercooling.
Not enough room inside the new HTPC to fit a double radiator so it will be mounted on one side with the fans inside the case so decided to make something nice and why not a bit if self publicity :D
Hand cut out of 2mm aluminium same as the Flames (http://coolercasesuk.co.uk/showpost.php?p=694&postcount=28) one which should look OK against the black case.
There is also some fine aluminium mesh sprayed back behind it which makes the shiny stand out and should also help catch some dust.
Its on an XSPC X-Flow Radiator which should make pluming the system a bit easier..........i hope:S
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/17.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/8.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/20.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/21.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/22.jpg
Basically just printed the logo out on a sheet of paper and stuck it to the aluminium then cut round each letter free hand with a fret saw.
Took a few hours start to finish which would of been more like 3 minutes if i had a CNC machine but i haven't so it didn't plus i find doing stuff like that really satisfying.
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/4.jpg
Zalman H20 HTPC Stage 3
I had wanted to go Sli on this one just for fun more than anything plus its also linked to a projector which is great for coming back from the pub with a few mates and playing NFS Most Wanted ot Moto GP etc etc (childish i know but a gud laugh) and films
Plus i've not seen a water cooled SLI HTPC..........having said that its all going to come down to room inside the case tbh but i think i got it sussed :)
The reason for going with the Fusion (http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/ENG/Products/DualDigital.aspx) is its size compared to the others so i just hope they get the problems ironed out.
These 2 drawings will show better what i mean about plumbing the hose in which will be much easier with the smaller TV card...obviously it will be a lot more cramped in real life :eek:
With the smaller Fusion TV card
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/htpc_fusion.jpg
.......and with the larger TV cards
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/htpc_terratec.jpg
Well it didn't all actually go in :(
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/nearly_1.jpg
Tried every way to fit a dual rad and this was the only way i could do it without loosing something else important like the optical drive which wouldn't be much good for watching DVD's - as it was i had to sacrifice the hard drive caddy which held 3 HD's to fit the pump/res in so i'm down to using only one HD and the 36GB Raptor will get changed for something big to hold plenty of d/load TV.
Anyway - swapped out the Asus Deluxe in favour of the Asus Premium which has the fanless chipset thing so one less source of noise to worry about and basically just added a simple 1/2" loop consisting of Double XSPC X-Flow Rad >>> NV-78 >>> TDX >>> Laing DDC / Alphacool Plexi Res
I modded the outlet on the NV-78 to the other side to make plumbing a lot easier but apart from that it was a pretty easy install given the limited space to work with.
Best by far though is the silence...............oh and the GFX temp is down to 35 from 52 degrees and the CPU is down to around 30
All i need now is a big quiet hard drive and to work out this Fusion TV card hand set.
A few pictures of the finished thing.......
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_18.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_19.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_20.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_21.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_22.jpg
I know its not the most modded PC but I just wanted to make a log for future reference.....anyway a bit of back ground before getting started.
Choosing a media PC enclosure was not an easy choice at all especially as i've only ever seen 2 HTPC's in real life (well that i've taken any notice of anyway) - this Zalman HD160 and a Silverstone LC17 so not really qualified to say what makes a great media PC but what i can say is this has got to be one of the best quality cases i've come across.
Soon as i opened the box i could see it was something special and the only thing i can see being a problem is how to squeeze watercooling in there :eek:
Having said that there is a removable HD cage which takes up to 3 HD's and there is also room for one on top of the CD-ROM drive (all rubber mounted) so maybe that could be removed and the pump/res could fit there but the radiator will definitely have to be mounted externally which i'm not too bothered about though it would have been nice to get it all inside.
It has a full aluminium chassis which is anodised inside and out making it nice and light but not flimsy in any way and on the front panel has a VFD with remote control and also a drop down door which houses USB, Firewire, Mic and Headphone sockets as well as various card readers.
Anyway a few pictures to be going on with while i get a better look at where all things are going to fit and maybe fit it up air cooled first.
Full spec >>here<< (http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=182&code=029)
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_1.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_2.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_3.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_5.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_4.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_7.jpg
Oh i should of mentioned it came from Graeme at KustomPC (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1091.html) and retails at £222 which is a whole chunk to fork out for a case but given the build quality i would say it was definitely worth it.
Having said that it doesn't lend itself well to watercooling as i soon found doing the dry run on air. Had to drop the idea of 6800 Sli cards (http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_10.jpg) as the Asus board only has 3 PCI slots to start with and with Sli cards it would have only been 2 so ended up going for a single 7800GTX (http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_11.jpg) which leaves plenty space for network and TV card
For sound im using the onboard sound through a Yamaha Pro Logic Surround amp which is nice and it doesn't look out of place below the HTPC and sounds crystal clear so not really thinking of adding a sound card tbh
Anyway its all up and running on air and everything seems to be working well apart from the quality of the TV picture which is currently a 32" Panasonic (http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_15.jpg) and is perfect for watching films, media player or playing games like HL2 (http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_16.jpg) but just doesn't cut it when using the internet as the text is just that little bit too fuzzy so it looks like its bite the bullet time and upgrade to HDTV :S
Its all tucked away under the TV so its not obtrusive at all and has to be said is really quiet on air but it will be getting filled with water soon which should bring temps down as well as the noise.
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_17.jpg
Zalman H20 HTPC Stage 2
Anyway that was it up and running on air but I wanted total silence or as close to it so on with some watercooling.
Not enough room inside the new HTPC to fit a double radiator so it will be mounted on one side with the fans inside the case so decided to make something nice and why not a bit if self publicity :D
Hand cut out of 2mm aluminium same as the Flames (http://coolercasesuk.co.uk/showpost.php?p=694&postcount=28) one which should look OK against the black case.
There is also some fine aluminium mesh sprayed back behind it which makes the shiny stand out and should also help catch some dust.
Its on an XSPC X-Flow Radiator which should make pluming the system a bit easier..........i hope:S
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/17.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/8.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/20.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/21.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/22.jpg
Basically just printed the logo out on a sheet of paper and stuck it to the aluminium then cut round each letter free hand with a fret saw.
Took a few hours start to finish which would of been more like 3 minutes if i had a CNC machine but i haven't so it didn't plus i find doing stuff like that really satisfying.
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/4.jpg
Zalman H20 HTPC Stage 3
I had wanted to go Sli on this one just for fun more than anything plus its also linked to a projector which is great for coming back from the pub with a few mates and playing NFS Most Wanted ot Moto GP etc etc (childish i know but a gud laugh) and films
Plus i've not seen a water cooled SLI HTPC..........having said that its all going to come down to room inside the case tbh but i think i got it sussed :)
The reason for going with the Fusion (http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/ENG/Products/DualDigital.aspx) is its size compared to the others so i just hope they get the problems ironed out.
These 2 drawings will show better what i mean about plumbing the hose in which will be much easier with the smaller TV card...obviously it will be a lot more cramped in real life :eek:
With the smaller Fusion TV card
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/htpc_fusion.jpg
.......and with the larger TV cards
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/htpc_terratec.jpg
Well it didn't all actually go in :(
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/nearly_1.jpg
Tried every way to fit a dual rad and this was the only way i could do it without loosing something else important like the optical drive which wouldn't be much good for watching DVD's - as it was i had to sacrifice the hard drive caddy which held 3 HD's to fit the pump/res in so i'm down to using only one HD and the 36GB Raptor will get changed for something big to hold plenty of d/load TV.
Anyway - swapped out the Asus Deluxe in favour of the Asus Premium which has the fanless chipset thing so one less source of noise to worry about and basically just added a simple 1/2" loop consisting of Double XSPC X-Flow Rad >>> NV-78 >>> TDX >>> Laing DDC / Alphacool Plexi Res
I modded the outlet on the NV-78 to the other side to make plumbing a lot easier but apart from that it was a pretty easy install given the limited space to work with.
Best by far though is the silence...............oh and the GFX temp is down to 35 from 52 degrees and the CPU is down to around 30
All i need now is a big quiet hard drive and to work out this Fusion TV card hand set.
A few pictures of the finished thing.......
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_18.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_19.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_20.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_21.jpg
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/images/htpc/zal_22.jpg