Project: My MM Work Log

[Utnorris]

Ok,
So this is my first work log and it may contain a lot of rambling, but I will try to keep it organized.

So I got into water cooling back in February, first with a Swiftech H2O compact. I probably would have left it there, but one of the barbs broke when I was taking the tubing off of the pump/wb combo and that started my long journey in water cooling. I started off with a Coolermaster CM690 case and then moved into trying to design my own using acrylic. After two tries at getting what I wanted I got a MM case. I also did a few other upgrades this time around. So here is a list of my equipment:

Hardware:
Q6600 @ 3.75Ghz Lapped (Go Series)
Asus Blitz Formula Special Edition
4GB of G-Skill DDR2 8000 ram
4x Seagate 320Mb Hard drives in 2 Raid 0 configurations
2x ATI HD3870 Video cards in Crossfire Setup
Vista x64

Water Cooling:
D-Tek Fuzion V1 with #4 nozzle
DD NB Waterblock
2x EK 3870 water blocks
2x MCR220's
1x MCP355 with XSPC reservoir top
1x MCP350 modded to be a MCP355 and another XSPC reservoir top
Koolance compression fittings
Clearflex 3/8" ID, 1/2" OD tubing

12 San Denki fans at 5v
A Coolermaster fan with blue LED to add effect

Most important piece of equipment is the Mountain Mods U2-UFO case.

1x A lot of patience.

Utnorris

[Utnorris]

Here is my first rig following the failed Swiftech H2O Compact setup:

[Utnorris]

My first Acrylic case:

[Utnorris]

My second Acrylic case:

[Utnorris]

Lets start with a few pics:

[SeanB]

Cool, i love arylic-ish cases and cube cases :D
do something different with the pumps than everyone else here, il like it :D

[Utnorris]

Here a few pics of some of the parts I will be using:

[Utnorris]

Hmmmm, so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Logos]

I like this thread, and that you showed your previous boxes was a good idea as well...subscribed :)

[Dangals]

Looking good

subscribed!

[Utnorris]

Well that's it for now, I'm tired and I have a few issues I have to deal with on this case and setup. I have to modify the front of the case to accommodate 2 MCR220's. I was originally going to order the case directly from MM, but found this on Ebay brand new. What I didn't realize is that not all MM cases are fully modular. I was going to do a horizontal MB mount, but this case doesn't allow for it, so I am having to make some adjustments. Also, I have to figure out pump placement, they are big and with the return on top they have to go low in the case. Also, the res top does not allow the fill port to be swapped out with a regular barb so that I can use a DD fillport to fill the water. These and many more issues have to be resolved. I will update as I work on this.
Hope everyone enjoys my first true project,
Utnorris

[Utnorris]

Thanks guys, all encouragement and suggestions are welcomed and sought after, :D.

Utnorris

[Dangals]

Also, the res top does not allow the fill port to be swapped out with a regular barb so that I can use a DD fillport to fill the water.
Utnorris

It can be done - xspc released a fill cap adapter that will allow you to attach a regular barb....like this one.

http://www.flabbergast.com.au/fillcap-adapter-m20x1-5mm-to-g1-4.html

should solve your fillport problem.:up:

[BlueAqua]

Your UFO looks exactly like my UFO. NICE!! I put a coat of wax on mine and it really shines, a lot better for withstanding fingerprints too.

I used Koolance fittings too and really liked those, I'm sure you will too.

Keep us updated, lots of pictures!

[systemviper]

very excited! nice stuff, you got some great stuff there,;///
subscribed! :up:

[septim]

nice. more pics pls...

[MomijiTMO]

Looking good mate. Your EK FC blocks turned out great.

[Asgard_thor]

beautiful

[Utnorris]

It can be done - xspc released a fill cap adapter that will allow you to attach a regular barb....like this one.

http://www.flabbergast.com.au/fillcap-adapter-m20x1-5mm-to-g1-4.html

should solve your fillport problem.:up:

Thanks for the link.

It's a shame no one in the U.S. carries these. I am not sure what the exchange rate is or how long it would take to get from Australia, but since it is a pre-order I would imagine it would take 3-4 weeks to get. I plan to have this done by the end of next week, so that is out of the question. Once I figure out where they will go I can figure out how best to fill them.

Anyway, more pics tomorrow. Thanks huys for all the support and suggestions.
Utnrris

[Dangals]

Thanks for the link.

It's a shame no one in the U.S. carries these.

Jab-tech has them - http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-M20x1.5mm-to-G1-4-fillcap-adapter-pr-4205.html

I knew I had seen them there awhile ago it was just that I knew about the ones at flabbergast becuase I just ordered some stuff there the day...

[Big_Daddy]

Looking good, but word of warning, try the vid cards in your motherboard. Koolance slot spacers really only work well with their own coolers. Looks like it is a couple of mm's too wide.

[Utnorris]

Jab-tech has them - http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-M20x1.5mm-to-G1-4-fillcap-adapter-pr-4205.html

I knew I had seen them there awhile ago it was just that I knew about the ones at flabbergast becuase I just ordered some stuff there the day...

You know, I looked on their website and didn't see them, thanks, I will order them today. That's one issue taken care of. Thanks a million. :D


Looking good, but word of warning, try the vid cards in your motherboard. Koolance slot spacers really only work well with their own coolers. Looks like it is a couple of mm's too wide.

I tried it already and it looks like they will work, my only concern is the weight since they will be sideways. This is why I wanted to do a horizontal setup, hopefully it will be ok.
Thanks,
Utnorris

[CyberDruid]

There is a way to brace the cards a bit using some threaded rod. Usually cards have an area on the corner where you can safely drill a small hole for some #6 or #8 rod and by using something like a piece of Bic pen as a hollow spacer you can keep them parallel and have an attachment point for a bracket.

[Utnorris]

Ok,
So I have to mod the front to accommodate a second MCR220. I created a face plate to go over the hole since I will have to cut 1 hole to each side of the existing hole. I will probably round the corners, but this will give you an idea of what I was thinking. The other option is to order a AC Ryan grill to go over the hole. Give me your ideas please.

Utnorris

[CyberDruid]

That will work.

[Utnorris]

Ok, another issue I have ran into. If I remove the stock heatsink I then have to cool the SB, Upper left mosfet and the crosslink. I am thinking I may just take the stock cooler and cut out the NB block and use the the stock heatsink for the mosfet, SB and crosslink, I know of course once this is done there will be no turning back, but since I am running CF, the selection of SB and crosslink coolers is slim to none. I thought about using the HR05SLI for the SB, but that will still leave me with the mosfet and crosslink to cool. I got an Enzotech cooler for the mosfet and of course it will not fit. I could go water cooling on the mosfet, but I was trying to avoid that, I will make a decision on that tonight I guess. Anyway, right now I am stuck and would appreciate any advice. For now, I am going to go cut the mod for the front of the case, crossing fingers, :D.
Thanks,
Buddy

[Utnorris]

By the way, here is a pic of the stock cooler:

[Dangals]

You know, I looked on their website and didn't see them, thanks, I will order them today. That's one issue taken care of. Thanks a million. :D


Not a problem mate :up: Glad I could help

[Utnorris]

So tonight I got the front of the case modded to hold a second MCR220. Lesson learned, do not let me near a MM case with a dremel, :D. Seriously, thank God for the cover plate. Anyway, I got the case fans all sleeved and the rads mounted, so a little progress. Here are some pics of the sleeved fans:

[Utnorris]

And pics of the front of the case, the back fans for HD's and rads mounted:

[Utnorris]

That's it for tonight. I work on the weekends, so probably not going to be many updates. I need to sleeve the water pumps, figure out what to do on the MB cooling and drill holes for fillports.

Thanks for stopping by,

Utnorris

[CyberDruid]

Okay explain to this poor sufferer of OCD why you have the fan grills this way and that way. WHY (sobs, bites raw calloused stubs)

Oh if you need some SanAce 1011 for your project...:ROTF:

JK

[Utnorris]

Hmmmmm, :shakes: See, I wouldn't have really noticed that, but now it bothers me too, :D.

Utnorris <------ Slight OCD

[IanY]

Ohh.. beautiful San Aces...

Although this guy thinks his Coolermasters produce over 90+ cfm at 19 dB.. so your San Aces sux :D :rofl::ROTF::p:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=194566

[Utnorris]

Ok,
So I just got this from Ben at MM. Its the bay cover, I was kinda hoping it would show more and be visible with light from behind since I am using blue cathodes in the case, but you get the idea.
Utnorris

[Anemone]

Nice job. I too noticed the fan grills. And you wanted the chrome ones too for contrast? Hmmm... You may consider, over time or later down the road, filtering those intakes for the rads because dust loves to coat rads.

And I've often wondered that MM doesn't make standard a design like yours, but with a triple along the bottom front, and a double then going up from that on the left side. A triple and dual rad combo is a very common 2 loop system.

Anyway I love to see work on the MM cases!

[Utnorris]

Nice job. I too noticed the fan grills. And you wanted the chrome ones too for contrast? Hmmm... You may consider, over time or later down the road, filtering those intakes for the rads because dust loves to coat rads.

And I've often wondered that MM doesn't make standard a design like yours, but with a triple along the bottom front, and a double then going up from that on the left side. A triple and dual rad combo is a very common 2 loop system.

Anyway I love to see work on the MM cases!

Thank you, sir.

You can get either the Duality or the CYO U2-UFO case and that will give you 6 120's spaced along the front which would allow you to do a triple and dual rad setup. Unfortunetely, I got this off of Ebay thinking I would be able to do a few things (I didn't do my research and assumed a lot) like horizontal MB placement and of course I will not be able to do that. I am changing the grills orientation so they all match, that was a good catch by CD that I wouldn't have noticed right away and once the rads are filled it will be harder to change. As far as the chrome, it's what I have on hand and I like the way it looks with the piano black. I may do filters later on, but I find a can of air works well at cleaning the rads too.

Anyway, I like the feed back, please keep it coming as I will probably miss quite a bit of the details without realizing it, so a second(or third or fourth) set eyes always helps.

Thanks,
Utnorris

[Utnorris]

Like that drive bay cover

Thank you. Wish I could have gotten it so the light behind it would make it stick out. I am going to do some research on that and see if I can find someone that does that.

Anyway, I am liking your build and I see you got the XSPC res converter so you can attach a fitting to it. I got mine today in the mail, now to setup the filports. :D

Thanks again,
Utnorris

[CyberDruid]

Try taking a piece of paper just as a test and cut it to size and hold a 4" CCL tube behind it and see what you think. If you are looking for color try a piece of 1/8" colored acrylic (transparent tinted) that has been lightly sanded on one side with 320 grit. This will diffuse the harsh CCL light and enhance whatever color lamp you choose. By placing the "frosted" acrylic against the interior of your artwork bay cover in a friction fit you have the option of changing colors or whatever later. If you just want "pure" white you can use some white (semi-opaque) acrylic and it will diffuse the light much more evenly. I would mount a pair of 4" tubes at the top and bottom from behind with foam tape. Again easy to change.

[Utnorris]

Cool, will try that tonight when I get home.
Thank you Cyber, you really have some great ideas.

Utnorris

[Big_Daddy]

So tonight I got the front of the case modded to hold a second MCR220. Lesson learned, do not let me near a MM case with a dremel, :D. Seriously, thank God for the cover plate. Anyway, I got the case fans all sleeved and the rads mounted, so a little progress. Here are some pics of the sleeved fans:

Ok, where'd you get those san aces?

[CyberDruid]

I assumed the baycover was transparent to light in some areas...was I right :p:?

[lolhalol]

love how this is going.. subscribed..

[Utnorris]

I assumed the baycover was transparent to light in some areas...was I right :p:?

No, it turns out it's a solid black. I am talking with MM about possibly doing a clear with the etching and then a solid black piece behind that with 2 blue led's installed on both sides of the etching. They also suggested a mirrored peice, but I don't think it would go well with the case. Another choice would be either transparent blue or smoked. Will have to do some experimenting with it to see what looks best.

Thanks,
Buddy

[Utnorris]

Ok, where'd you get those san aces?

Had a bunch laying around, so I used them. They push a decent amount of air even at 5v's.


love how this is going.. subscribed..

Thanks,

Buddy

[CyberDruid]

The photo made me think it was transparent...lol

Hmmm...you could recess the etched cover and hide some small (flexible LED strip?) lighting behind the lip of the opening ....maybe use some of that non-reflective glass you can find in cheap picture frames (WalMart) to close off the front of the opening from the inside and leave a small space the width of the led module or w/e and then the etched cover...making a "shadowbox" of sorts.

Or you could overlay it with a piece of polished or lasercut acrylic cut out in the center to outline the artwork and edge the acrylic with embedded LEDs...and cover the acrylic frame with either aluminum or plastic or paint plastic...w/e to hide the lights and then if you take it one more step and route a 45 degree chamfer and lightly sand that and apply the acrylic trim piece so that the angle of the chamfer faces the etched piece it will take most of the LED light from the edges and transmit it through the frosted edge.

I imagine that using some spare Lian Li type bay covers and simply cutting them to make the trim pieces for the acrylic would look good. Trim them to just cover the lights and glue them in place with Goop. To me indirect lighting that just illuminates the area you desire is worth the trouble...similar to the shaded tube lamps often used over paintings and artwork...just in miniature.

[Asgard_thor]

subscribed x 1000000

beautiful, kiss the BLACK SHINY PAINT NOW

[Utnorris]

The photo made me think it was transparent...lol

Hmmm...you could recess the etched cover and hide some small (flexible LED strip?) lighting behind the lip of the opening ....maybe use some of that non-reflective glass you can find in cheap picture frames (WalMart) to close off the front of the opening from the inside and leave a small space the width of the led module or w/e and then the etched cover...making a "shadowbox" of sorts.

Or you could overlay it with a piece of polished or lasercut acrylic cut out in the center to outline the artwork and edge the acrylic with embedded LEDs...and cover the acrylic frame with either aluminum or plastic or paint plastic...w/e to hide the lights and then if you take it one more step and route a 45 degree chamfer and lightly sand that and apply the acrylic trim piece so that the angle of the chamfer faces the etched piece it will take most of the LED light from the edges and transmit it through the frosted edge.

I imagine that using some spare Lian Li type bay covers and simply cutting them to make the trim pieces for the acrylic would look good. Trim them to just cover the lights and glue them in place with Goop. To me indirect lighting that just illuminates the area you desire is worth the trouble...similar to the chaded tube lamps often used over paintings and artwork...just in miniature.

Yeah, I really need to show you what I did with that dremel to the front cover. I do have a couple of ideas I am going to try this week. I have a few more supplies coming in so I can make my OCZ Gamestream PSU half modular, plus I need to re-sleeve it with the blue sleeving. So much for the warranty on the PSU though, but hey, doesn't modding mean screwing the warranty, lol.


subscribed x 1000000

beautiful, kiss the BLACK SHINY PAINT NOW

Thanks, I have a couple of pics to post tonight, nothing major, still waiting for parts, but it's something.

Utnorris

[CyberDruid]

THat looks sexy.

You may need a cable tie around the middle of that one tube: it's starting to kink in the middle...

[Utnorris]

Yeah, I was thinking that too. The Koolance compression fittings use 3/8" ID, 1/2" OD so the walls are thin and seem to want to kink easily. Do you know if the Tygon in the same size is the same way?
Thanks,
Utnorris

[Dangals]

coming along nicely!!!

What did you end up deciding to do about cooling the sb/crosslink chip??

[Utnorris]

I have a couple passive heatsinks coming this week for the SB and Crosslink. They don't need a lot of cooling so it should be fine. Once I have it up and running I will be able to evaluate whether that is true though and then if I need to I will make a few changes. Right now, my next project will be to finish sleeving the wires.

Thanks,

Utnorris

[septim]

CD i like that frosted acrylic advice, i might have to try that sometime...

utnorris, i don't think air flow will be a problem inside you case, even the mobo area is bound to have air moving or being sucked by those San Aces...

[Utnorris]

Ok,
Some updates. I am still waiting on some stuff to come in, but I have made some progress. Also, I am trying to decide on whether to upgrade to the EK Supreme. I already have the Fuzion with the quad nozzle, so it would be more for bling than anything else.

Anyway, here is what I have done for my Hard drives. I made a custom cable for power and I am in the process of modding my PSU to be semi-modular to take out some of the cable length and shorten the ones I need. Anyway, here are some pics.

[Utnorris]

Ok,
Next up is inserting the MB tray and running some tubing and the Sata cables:

[Utnorris]

And the Sata cables:

[Utnorris]

That's it for now. Got to work tomorrow and this weekend, plus I am waiting on a few more things, so I will post more next week, hopefully I will finish it then.
Thanks,
Utnorris

[Dangals]

Looks great - coming along nicely!

[ubermensch]

wow this case must be like 2+ years old with that old style hard drive bracket, but it still looks brand new. What youre doing with it looks slick too.

[Utnorris]

Thanks everyone. Surprisingly, although it was an older model it had never been open, seriously, still in the plastic wrap. That being said, if I had know it wasn't the modular one I would have not gotten it, but for $250 it's not bad and it does fit everything nicely and is easy to work with.

On a different note, I decided to upgrade to the EK Supreme acrylic and I should have it next week sometime. I think it will look sweet in the case with the blue water running through it.

Anyway, it's late and I have to work tomorrow. Thanks again for all the encouragement everyone. :up:

Utnorris

[just a noob]

how did you make the sata power connectors? on another note, looks like the build is coming along nicely

[Utnorris]

Thank you. The SATA cable was easy to make, I just bought some ends from PerformancePCs.com which were punch down type connectors and then made the cable to length. Since I am modifying my PSU, I just cut the SATA cable off and added a 6 pin connector to it and did the same on the custom SATA connector so they matched up. Pretty easy actually.

Thanks again for looking,

Utnorris

[just a noob]

norris, do you mean something like this: http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=60_164&products_id=1220 or something like this: http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=60_164&products_id=22478

[Utnorris]

RRR,
lol, I am actually from Tennessee and truthfully, I wouldn't mind living in Houston to be near the beach.
Thanks for the help and the inspiration.
Utnorris


P.S. The "UT" in Utnorris is for Tennessee, not Texas. :D

[Utnorris]

Ok,
So I have had some setbacks, but I have prevailed. One of the biggest mods I was doing for this project was a PSU mod. I have a OCZ gamestream PSU which is not modular and has way too many cables. Therefore I decided some had to go and while I was at it I wanted to re sleeve it, change some connectors and just make it look cool. Anyway, here are some before and after pictures, hope you enjoy.

Utnorris

Before:

[Utnorris]

After:

[Utnorris]

More wire management, although not completely done with routing and I need to change some of the ends out with 90 degree and of course, blue connectors:

[Utnorris]

Pumps:

[Utnorris]

Finally, some test run shots:

[Utnorris]

Yeah, I got it, although it didn't come with the correct plate. Apparently, Jab-tech has old stock. Oh well, Petra's to the rescue.

[Dangals]

Very nice!!!! Love the plexi top on the Ek Sumpreme!

[emuexport]

Looking good Utnorris been following your build for a while now! Looks like its just about done!

Good luck with the rest of the build and nice work on the sleeving.

emu

[Wolf132]

Hey got a question for you guys with MM. Do you know what size #6 screw is needed to fit a fan grill, yate loon, filter, neo pad, and then screw into the thermochill radiator. The thermochill screws from petras are only long enough for the fan, neo pad, and the radiator. Im guessing you guys cut your own to fit perfectly?


edit - #6 Sheet Metal screws 1 1/2" did the trick. To bad they didnt come in black. Nothing some paint cant fix.

[skinnee]

Hey got a question for you guys with MM. Do you know what size #6 screw is needed to fit a fan grill, yate loon, filter, neo pad, and then screw into the thermochill radiator. The thermochill screws from petras are only long enough for the fan, neo pad, and the radiator. Im guessing you guys cut your own to fit perfectly?


edit - #6 Sheet Metal screws 1 1/2" did the trick. To bad they didnt come in black. Nothing some paint cant fix.

Yup, 1.5" screws. I used anodized black 1.5" socket head screws for the back rad on my project. 1.25" screws for the fans into the rad and .5" for attaching the front rads to the case.

[Utnorris]

Leak Testing

[Utnorris]

It's Alive!!!!!

[Utnorris]

Thank you, not done yet. I have to work out some kinks, but at least I can take a break and play a few rounds of BF2142.

By the way, I won't it against you for being a Texas Tech fan,


GO BIG ORANGE!!!

Utnorris

[Utnorris]

LOL, not sure what that meant, but hopefully you know that I am a Tennessee fan, not a Texas fan.

Utnorris

[Utnorris]

Changing some things in my build. I should have some pics next week.
Thanks,

Utnorris

[skinnee]

What are you changing? :shrug:

[cobra_kai]

Looking good. I like the all blue sleeving and SATA cables. Are those UV active or just blue?

[Utnorris]

Got a modular MM case so I could mount the MB horizontally. Placement of the rads and hard drives will change as will the pumps. The new case has a duality front, so I may place one of the pumps in each of the 5 1/4" bays separating them from each other. I also got a new QX9650, so I get to play with that this upcoming week. And finally, I may change my tubing out to Primochill blue tubing.

As far as the sleeving, it is UV, but I do not have any UV lights. I mainly used it because it went well with my color scheme.

Anyway, look for new pics next week.

Thank you for stopping by,
Utnorris

[CyberDruid]

Nice looking build. Good work ;)

[Asgard_thor]

looks great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Utnorris]

So here are some updated pics, I will have some new ones later tonight once I have completed everything. The changes I made are as follows:

1 - Changed the case to a fully modular MM case. I love the fact I can take off the front of the case to work on it.
2 - Changed the video cards to HD4850's, so I had to go back to my old school MCW60's for cooling.
3 - MB is horizontal now.

Let me know what you think. Also, I know the pics are the best, but since I am limited by the 200kb upload setting they will have to do. I may check out Imageshack to see if and how much it costs to upload some high rez pics.

Thanks again,
Utnorris

[BlueAqua]

Looking good. The hard drive bracket looks nice, is that a part of the MM case?

Is the motherboard brace acrylic?

I use Photobucket for my image hosting service and I think it works quite well. All for free too. You can just add the image tags in each post, up to 1mb per picture if you want.

[Utnorris]

The MB brack is a piece of aluminum strip and it only bows because I mad it a little taller than needed to put pressure against the MB tray. I would have gone with the MM brace, but first they were down 4 days and then they wanted to charge $15-$18 to ship it. Wasn't going to do that. I can ship a 20lb item across the U.S. for that amount. If it had been around $8 like it should have been then I would have gotten it. Anyway, I will take a look at photobucket and see about posting some better pics. I need to swap out the MB again, I am putting my Blitz back in, tired of messing with the Maximus.

Thanks again for the comments and suggestions,
Utnorris

[Utnorris]

Finally done. I know, I need to wipe off the fingerprints, :D.

Utnorris

[Utnorris]

More Pics:

[Utnorris]

And some more. :D

[Utnorris]

Final set.

[CyberDruid]

Looks great. You appear to have thought of everything. That's a beast.

[Utnorris]

Ok, so I got my pedestal in today and I have started my rebuild, but first a few shots of my old build. As you can see it was getting a little crowded and after doing several upgrades, including adding a third loop, the wire management had gotten thrown out the window.

[Utnorris]

I have a few goals for this rebuild:

1 - Wire management will be a priority.
2 - Get some room back by moving one of the radiators down to the pedestal and moving the hard drive cages down there also.
3 - Add quick disconnects for draining to alleviate that headache.


Here are some pics of the pedestal and a mock up of the frame with the pedestal:

[Utnorris]

And some more:

[Dangals]

looking good - cant wait to see you start filling her up! :up:

[Utnorris]

Ok, so I got it taken apart and drained. Now comes the fun part, putting it back together. The thing about the modular UF2O is that you can change the face plates around, which also means putting it together, looking, taking it back apart, shifting and putting it back together again. I am still trying to figure out a final configuration and I am waiting on a few more parts to come in, but I am hoping to have this done by Friday before I go back to work. Thanks for stopping by and look for more updates over the next few days.

[Utnorris]

looking good - cant wait to see you start filling her up! :up:

Thank you, this is probably my favorite part of building a computer, but I don't want to be down for to long. Hopefully I will be able to meet all my goals with this and have a build that I am proud of.

[0xdeadbeef]

Very nice! How's the pedestal feeling when you are handling it?

[BlueAqua]

That really makes a standard UFO A LOT bigger. I like it. If I ever want to rebuild my UFO I just might try one of these pedestals.

Are you going to have to cut the bottom of your UFO?

[septim]

solid from the looks of it, solid enough to support a loaded MM case that is...

it almost looks ascended with BDS front...

[Utnorris]

Very nice! How's the pedestal feeling when you are handling it?

Very sturdy just like the MM case. The paint job is spectacular also.


That really makes a standard UFO A LOT bigger. I like it. If I ever want to rebuild my UFO I just might try one of these pedestals.

Are you going to have to cut the bottom of your UFO?

The bottom of your MM case gets moved to the bottom of the pedestal. The top you order from MM can be pre-cut for $5 or you can cut it yourself. That then goes on the bottom of your MM case and then attaches to the pedestal. Took me few seconds to figure out.

I only wish they would include assembly instructions with it. I know you can download them, but a single sheet with a diagram would have saved me time. It's a minor thing, just a suggestion.

[shazza]

Very nice! Catching up on worklogs, and am enjoying yours. I like your evolution through the MM series.

[Pellepel]

Very nice UT, I like to know what power supply you use? Also how are you running those pumps? single 12v wire to all 3 pumps?

I am also re-configuring my system like you, was wondering if the following method will work?

I have 1100 watts psu, I want it to power my whole system, but I'm not sure if that will work. I have another 450 watt psu which powers all the fans & pumps. This method works fine and each pump have its own independent wire. However I want to get rid of the 2nd psu. I'm trying to eliminate as much heat as possible inside the case.

Good luck with the setup :up: looking forward to your progress.

[Utnorris]

Very nice! Catching up on worklogs, and am enjoying yours. I like your evolution through the MM series.


Thank you very much. It's going slower than I want, but I am waiting on parts.



Very nice UT, I like to know what power supply you use? Also how are you running those pumps? single 12v wire to all 3 pumps?

I am also re-configuring my system like you, was wondering if the following method will work?

I have 1100 watts psu, I want it to power my whole system, but I'm not sure if that will work. I have another 450 watt psu which powers all the fans & pumps. This method works fine and each pump have its own independent wire. However I want to get rid of the 2nd psu. I'm trying to eliminate as much heat as possible inside the case.

Good luck with the setup :up: looking forward to your progress.

Thank you. I am using the Gigabyte 800GT Odin. I power all three pumps on a single rail along with the SATA, Fans, Fan controller. That rail is rated for 25 amps, not that I ever go over 13amps, but I like having the headroom. I don't think you need a second PSU, here is everything I am running:

QX9650
Maximus Formula
4GB G-Skill 1000 DDR2 Ram
2x 150GB Velicoraptors
4x Seagate 320GB HD's
2x HD4850 in CF
7 San Ace Fans
1 OCZ Ram cooler
1 Coolermaster fan
2x MCP355 pumps
1x MCP655 pump
2 Blue UV lights

The most I have used is 538 watts according to the Gigabyte software. I do run each HD4850 on separate rails, but I don't think it would be an issue to put them on the same rail. My rails are rated at:
12v1 - 18amps
12v2 - 18amps
12v3 - 25amps
12v4 - 25amps

So since you have 1100watts, I just don't see you needing the extra PSU. Hope that helps.

Utnorris

[Utnorris]

Ok, so I really haven't made any real progress in my book because I waiting on some parts from PerformancePC. Hopefully they will get here tomorrow. I did finally decide on a final configuration and I was able to mount one of the rads and the Swiftech res for the MCP655. Speaking of, which do you think I should put on the CPU only loop:

1 - MCP655 non-variable
or
2 - MCP355 with XSPC Res top

Thanks for the input and stopping by. Here are few pics for the time being, can you guess what the last picture is and what it is for?

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

Looking good so far norris :up::up:

[Utnorris]

Looking good so far norris :up::up:

Thank you Sir. :D

[j.almonte]

looking good... keep it coming!!

[R0bert]

Wow, it's big : O
Keep'em coming, can't wait till I see finished : )

[BlueAqua]

I bet the Koolance fittings are to connect multiple radiators together.

I hope your house has vaulted ceilings. :rofl: :D

[Utnorris]

I bet the Koolance fittings are to connect multiple radiators together.

I hope your house has vaulted ceilings. :rofl: :D

You will see tonight..........

Until then, here are a couple of pics of some stuff that came in today. Now, I get to put it together.

[Utnorris]

Alright, time for some updates and pics. I am currently leak testing and will do so for the next 5-6 hours, I might even just let it run for a day or too since I had a LEAK :eek: Yeah, I had a leak, I will get to that later, anyway here are few pics. Case and motherboard, oh, and that mysterious connector is for connecting my two cards together. Since I do not have full cover blocks I had to improvise, tell me what you think of it.

[Utnorris]

Ok, moving on, this is the pedestal, in it I have two rads and my hard drives. I will also run most of my cables there to hide them since the sides are solid. Notice the quick disconnects, easy draining from here on out. :D

[Utnorris]

And finally, a pic of that beautiful Enzotech Sapphire water block and some assembled, not completed, pics. As I said befor I am currently leak testing, after that I will finish connecting all the cables and take some final pics.

[Utnorris]

Ok, so about the leak. I use Koolance compression fittings and they have these red o-rings that normally work great, I usually just hand tighten them and all is good. However, due to how the Saphhire is designed the fittings don't quite seal and well, I had a leak. About 2-3 spoon fulls of liquid got on my board, nothing TP can't take care of , :D. At first I thought I didn't tighten them enough, so I re tightened them and guess what, still leaking. So I took the block aprt thinking it mught be the o-ring inside, but is was all good. So I then took another look at the fittings and that's when I discovered they were not sealing properly. Not a big deal, I just replaced them with larger o-rings and no more leaks. I am still going to leak test for a good while just to make sure no other leaks rear their ugly heads. After that I will finish the cabling, neaten it up and then post final pics. By the way, this case is huge, :eek:. So that's where we stand at 4am in the morning. Maybe time for some sleep, :rofl:, seriously, I think I am hallucinating, so some sleep it is. Good night.

[rubidium]

Nice neat arrangement inside that pedestal. I wouldn't have thought of putting HDDs down there, but after seeing it it's a great idea.:up:

Although I haven't received mine yet, I too will be using the quick disconnects from Koolance for fill/drain functions in my cooling loops. Clean looking and functional. Great minds think alike.:up:
rubidium

[Pellepel]

Thanks for answering UT. I took a look at my PSU and it has 12v(6) rails @ 20amp each. So plenty to run all 3 D5's in one rail.

Coming along nicely there, that crossfire 90's is pretty slick. The QD+Delrin T on the rads is nice too! I must say those Koolance fittings in your system is rubbing on to me :p:.

[ward0]

its nice to see what that pedestal did to your U2-UFO, great result.. looking forward for more pics.. i'm also looking for a easy drain solution you might have the key for me :) I don't want to steal your worklog or anything but i have a quick question about that pedestal... I want to add 2x TFC 480 rads in it and and the front and back should hold 2x aquacomputer aquadrive x4 ( needs 3x5"25 bays) You think i will have enouph space in the pedestal to place atleast 4x MCP355 + XSPC res?:shrug:

[Utnorris]

I love the Koolance compression fitting, I only wish they were a shiny silver, but for the price I am not complaining. Hopefully the drain idea will work if I need to ever drain it. I got the idea from another member here, Naekuh. Anyway, just checked and no leaks, so good there. Still going to continue leak testing for most of the afternoon and I will probably try firing it up later tonight.

[Utnorris]

its nice to see what that pedestal did to your U2-UFO, great result.. looking forward for more pics.. i'm also looking for a easy drain solution you might have the key for me :) I don't want to steal your worklog or anything but i have a quick question about that pedestal... I want to add 2x TFC 480 rads in it and and the front and back should hold 2x aquacomputer aquadrive x4 ( needs 3x5"25 bays) You think i will have enouph space in the pedestal to place atleast 4x MCP355 + XSPC res?:shrug:

The pedestal has plenty of room for that, although I do not know where you will mount a 4x120mm rad anywhere in the UF20, but the pumps will not be any issue. It is 18" deep, 18" wide and 9" tall, so plenty of room.

[Jor3lBR]

Looks great! Those MM cases are very interesting! Sub'd!

[_Slim_Shady_]

Looking great! I have the same tubing, and need to get off my butt and get MM put together! Thanks for the motivation.

[zlojack]

So nice...so much room...

I'm waiting to see a MM with an internal phase unit!

[Utnorris]

Thank you and you are welcome. Now put the keyboard down and start building, :D.

[masxerofkartis]

That case IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it also looks very nice Well done mate

[Pellepel]

btw what size are those Koolance compression fittings?

[Utnorris]

btw what size are those Koolance compression fittings?

They are made for 3/8" ID and 1/2" OD tubing. Model NZL-V10KG for the straight fittings and NZL-L10KG for the 90's. They are really good, although I wish they were more of a shiny silver like the BP's.

[CyberDruid]

Nice idea on the QD drains. I wonder if there is some way to plumb a loop with a pair of those to sort of "charge" the loop with fluid top to bottom or side to side or something.

[Utnorris]

Never thought of that, but I am sure you could with a long piece of tubing since the quick disconnect closes when disconnected.

[ward0]

can you put a link here utnorris about that drain fitting? I don't seem to find it on the koolance website...

[0xdeadbeef]

Koolance Quick Disconnects: http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/default.php?cPath=62_60

Koolance @ PPC: http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=203&zenid=2b812a12c374aa892aacc688c1ed4c31

[ward0]

Koolance Quick Disconnects: http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/default.php?cPath=62_60

Koolance @ PPC: http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=203&zenid=2b812a12c374aa892aacc688c1ed4c31

thanks for the reply, looking forward how Utnorris will do this.

just payed for my MM case today, should have it by the end of next week :eek::eek::ROTF:

[Utnorris]

This is exactly what I got in conjunction with DD delrin T's

1 x Koolance QDC (Low Profile) Shutoff Nozzle, Female Compression [10mm, 3/8"] $7.99
3 x Koolance QDC (Low Profile) Shutoff Nozzle, Male Threaded G 1/4 $17.97

I would recommend the BP or other metal barb T instead of the DD T. Also, the Koolance SPL-XUFY5B is a brass nozzle body that will work. My delrin/acetal T's had pieces loose or not completely sut out, so the metal probably would be better. The other thing is to get the right angle quick disconnect, VL2-F10L which helps getting into tight spots.

[Utnorris]

More pics:

[Utnorris]

And more pics;

[Utnorris]

Even more pics:

[Utnorris]

Oh no, not more pics:

[Utnorris]

Almost done:

[Utnorris]

And finally the last one. I am still going to change a couple of things, mainly add a couple fans up front to blow air across the MB, but for the most part the rebuild is done.

[BlueAqua]

Looks great Utnorris. I like the use of the same fittings all around.

Do you have anymore detailed images of how you mounted your D5 with Ek top? I see you used a UN bracket. Did you have to drill out new holes to fit the Ek block?

Do you plan on installing any fans in the front?

[Utnorris]

Looks great Utnorris. I like the use of the same fittings all around.

Do you have anymore detailed images of how you mounted your D5 with Ek top? I see you used a UN bracket. Did you have to drill out new holes to fit the Ek block?

The EK top went right on like a glove, however the holes do not line up with the UN bracket and therefore I had to use just one hole. I cranked it down and it will not move. I could have just drilled another hole, but I didn't want to mess up the paint. As far as mounted to the case, double sidded sticky tape, ghetto? Yes. Effective? Yes. :D Can it be seen? If you look for it. :D


Do you plan on installing any fans in the front?

I am debating this. The original plan was not to have any fans, but if I do that I will not have enough airflow to cool the heatsinks on the GPU's. I am debating on whether or not to do fans or just get the XSPC FC blocks for the HD4850's. I was hoping that Swiftech would put out a solution like they did for the HD4870, but they do not plan too and at the price they are charging I wouldn't get it anyway. Maybe if they sold it separate from the waterblock (which is what it was supposed to be) and it was less than a MCW60 I would go that route since I already have the MCW60's.

[Utnorris]

Looks great Utnorris. I like the use of the same fittings all around.



Thank you. :D

I did the same with the screws. Replaced all of them with black oxide screws for uniformity and so they would not stick out like the silver ones do.

[ward0]

nice work , utnorris :) and i'm first to say gratz yay!! :)

[Dangals]

Nice work Utnorris - looks good :up:

Need to fill up the Micro-Res though ;)

[Utnorris]

Nice work Utnorris - looks good :up:

Need to fill up the Micro-Res though ;)

Trying to get the air out of it currently, stupid res just keeps recycling the air, :(. I am going to unmount it tonight and get as much of the air out as I can.

[Dangals]

Trying to get the air out of it currently, stupid res just keeps recycling the air, :(. I am going to unmount it tonight and get as much of the air out as I can.

Yeah I found that as well when I was trying to bleed this res in the Cosmos S build I did - when the res was half full it would continually cycle the air through the loop. I then filled the almost to the very top and it bled nearly straight away after that. Give that a go as you shouldnt have to unmount it.

[mstrmold]

Good job UTnorris on your pedestal addition. :up: That machine looks enormous!

[Utnorris]

Yeah I found that as well when I was trying to bleed this res in the Cosmos S build I did - when the res was half full it would continually cycle the air through the loop. I then filled the almost to the very top and it bled nearly straight away after that. Give that a go as you shouldnt have to unmount it.

You were exactly right. I unmounted the res, got the initial air out of the loop, then filled it up almost to the top. From there I just kept cycling it until I had about 99% of the air out. The remaining bit is lowly coming out by itself.


Good job UTnorris on your pedestal addition. :up: That machine looks enormous!

Thanks. Yeah it is big. 27" tall, won't fit under my desk anymore, :rofl:. I guess I need a new desk. :rofl: