TJ07 + PA120.3 + PA120.2 = Photos of my version of this.

Latest Edit

Welcome to a somewhat scattered build log. The end result is a TJ07 with a 120.3, 120.2, and a 120.1. Here's a couple photos of the latest variation of this machine.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...install081.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...install086.jpg

And following is the log. You can see various versions of this build, various hardware changes, and other misc. stuff.

Enjoy!
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Here's a little build log of my new TJ07 with Thermochill PA120.3 and PA120.2 radiators stuffed in the bottom. It was time to move onto an overkill cooling solution as my 3x BIP.1 P180 was showing its limitations, especially with my desire to leave the fans at 7 volts, and my turning up the speed of my computer. Basically as that machine was, 3.6 GHz was the limit with the fans at 7 Volts, it could do 3.8 GHz, but the fans would need to be at 12 Volts, and the side panel off for Orthos stable running. And it was running kinda hot that way too. The water temperature was quite warm. So, what to do when needing more cooling to eek out that last few couple hundred Mhz for better internet surfing? Drop around $800 or so worth of new case and cooling to replace a perfectly functional case and cooling solution! :rolleyes:

And on to the build:

Stripping down the case, I randomly drilled 4 holes in the bottom of the case. They are the bigger white spots...

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build038.jpg

I then used some 3/4" Nylon barstock to make some footings for the radiators. This way in the end the fans will align perfectly with the vented side panel openings of the case. Nice and solid footings, but a pain to cut as your average jigsaw has a habit of melting the material when cutting it, so you have to go slow.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build039.jpg

Add a couple fans and a hunk of hose... Note the ziptie anchor on the hose. I figure it will keep the hose away from the side panel tabs on the odd chance they become razor sharp and decide to do some slashing.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build043.jpg

The next part to toss in the case is the PA120.2. Note the seemingly random timing of the BSPP 90 degree elbows I got from McMaster Carr. There is more to that than meets the eye.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build044.jpg

Here we have an elbow and barb fitting as delivered on the left, and a shortened version on the right. On my PA120.2, I shortened both of them for 2 reasons. 1st was to get more clearance between the radiators for easier assembly. The 2nd was so that I could time the position of the fittings on the radiator and be able to apply sufficient torque on them so they didnt get loose for whatever reason. Instead of using o rings, Permatex Ultra Black RTV Silicone was used for thread sealing.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build003.jpg

Bolt down another radiator, stick some more fans on, a bit more tubing and a D5 pump and you get this:

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build057.jpg

Pretty good clearance now!

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build064.jpg

Add some more ziptie anchors to another hunk of hose on the other side...

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build071.jpg

And cover with some more fans.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build072.jpg

And there you have it, nearly full utilization of that roomy TJ07 bottom section for some really good cooling capacity.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build075.jpg

Oh yeah, while in there, put a T fitting on that hunk of hose, might come in handy to fill this contraption. Coolsleeves are useful too for preventing kinks.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build090.jpg

Youre probably asking..."so where does the hard drive go now?" Uhhh, well, I'll get back to you on that. Just kidding, it goes upstairs now. You could buy a fancy Silverstone 5.25 bay device, or you can use a hard drive casing that comes with the case. I chose the latter route as I wanted the front of the case as clean as possible. First, I borrowed some parts from my P180. These are some silicone bushings from that case's hard drive mounting solution installed in the 5.25 panels of the TJ07...

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build094.jpg

And this is a screw that is used with those bushings...

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build107.jpg

I then put some 3/4" long standoffs on the hard drive casing.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build103.jpg

Ta Da...a nice floating hard drive mounting area. Should keep hard drive noise and vibes down.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build135.jpg

To doll that part up some, I added some black tape to the mounting ears for the fan that goes there.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build174.jpg

I figure black fan, black grill, and that black tape makes it look a little more integrated.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build183.jpg

While on the black fan grill kick, I also changed the top case fan grills to black ones as well, while reversing the fans so they blow downward. I figure my memory could use a shot of cool outside air for 'active cooling'.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build131.jpg

After making sure my fire extinguisher was close at hand, I proceeded to do some wiring. A few highlights include hidden MB wiring and some more of the famous ziptie anchors to route the wires.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build153.jpg

And custom length SATA power cable connectors

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build138.jpg

So things look like this:

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build140.jpg

And some cables run through nooks and crannies so they dont show. Here I cut the front panel audio and firewire cables off as I dont use onboard audio + my sound card doesnt use those connections, along with I have no idea what uses firewire anymore. Only USB cables here.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build168.jpg

The custom hard drive mount wiring looks a 'lil like this:

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build188.jpg

Speaking of silent computing, it was time to make a fan speed controller. Since I want a nice solid 7.0 volts going to my fans...I made this little jem. First some wires with some connectors:

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build198.jpg

Those same wires with heatshrink on them, along with another 'doner' wire and connector combo...

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build203.jpg

Which was used to make this:

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build207.jpg

And then it was magically transformed into this:

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build210.jpg

Still awake? You might be able to find my new fan controller stuck onto the back of the computer somewhere. I kept as much wiring out of the radiator area as possible for air flow consideration.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build259.jpg

Kind of a tight squeeze, but it seems to have decent enough airflow through here for the end of the PA120.3 on the other side. Also, with the offset between the two radiators, there is not that much radiator back there behind the power supply.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build260.jpg

And now a batch of photos of the finished product:

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build212.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build216.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build219.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build220.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build223.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build232.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build233.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build240.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...07build247.jpg


TJ07's are nice when too much cooling is just right, eh? :cool:




Below pics are some changes to the machine beyond the initial build...different MB, more blocks, and other misc. items. More info on these random photos buried in the thread :)

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...inished024.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...ki00/grill.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...kmosfet001.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...kplate3007.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...luminum012.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...luminum006.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...luminum023.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...vd_door065.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...luminum017.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...vd_door014.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...vd_door021.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...vd_door043.jpg
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...vd_door067.jpg

very nice, and good wiring job.

very nice

Very nice, great wiring job.

That's a lot of tubing though. If you could fit it, you would probably benefit from running dual pumps.

Theres some great builds in these TJ07's and this is a great build !! :up:

Very very clean job:)

Wow, very nice! Those TJ-07's are so roomy it seems.

Excellent job! :clap: :clap:

i like i like good job

case isn't quite my cup of tea but they sure seem to have a good amount of room down there. Great job!

very nice indeed.. the ziptie anchors was a nice touch too..

OMFG:clap:
..Andy that is great work..I am so jealous...I am really regretting spending $50:mad: on the Silverstone HDD cage

I am going to elevate my my PA120.3 with small round furniture pads...they have a sticky side and will use 6-8 and hope I get adequate elevation and stablity

I am also going to cut the large lower square and the long oval to allow me to take the water loop out entirely and more easily route my tubes..I am only using a single PA120.3

I bought some Dynamat Extreme as per Maxxracer..heck I spent a fortune already so what is another $60....goingto line the lower chamber floor and ceiling(??)..side panels and maybe the very top as well???

I just hope my work looks half as good as yours...and I am too afraid to psot pics based on my cutting skills...although I did pickup some molding from Petra's

AndyM..can you let us know how the top 120mm fans as intake work with temps..are you going to use the 92mm fans as exhaust?

Hey how did you get the ATX plug through that small hole?

How did you cut the mobo tray???

Sick stuff! Im definitively looking for a TJ07 for a future build!

Thanks guys!

nealh...holes are all 1" holesaw with some I think 11/16 grommets that fit in a 1" hole, bag of 50 or100 for maybe $6.00 at McMaster, I almost want to drill more holes with that deal, lol. It's real tight, but if you split the grommet to get it on, then use some finesse and brute force, you can get the 24 pin through a 1" hole. I think your running an XBX2 also, so you know the thermisters are between the cpu and memory, and between the memory slots. They are right under the fan wash, so I'm not too sure what they are reading now. I also got a chipset block also, so I dont know if that not heating the board anymore has anything to do with the temps I'm getting, they seem low. Anyway, I've been running Orthos all day to make sure I didnt break anything and right now with the wall thermometer saying 79F, my zone A is 40C, zone B is 36. Good thing that is blowing a noticably cool breeze on the memory, with the way the memory market cratered, I also got some D9 Ballistix (ddr2-1000 version) which I hear need some good cooling. I plan on turning up the juice on those once I get a feel for them. I'm leaving the 92mm's out, with 2 120 intakes those seem to best suited for exhaust holes as I'm just cooling memory and mosfets in there now. I'll say one thing, this thing works for sure. TAT is showing 48 through 51 Orthos loading, before at this room temp it would be pushing 60.

On that note, I found that one of my 36" SATA cables is bad, it wouldnt let the DVD drive be seen by the computer and it wont boot with it connected. The drive definately is ok with a cable switch. Now that it is a new cable (OKGear), and how the heck do you DOA a cable :confused: , any recommendations on another brand of known good cables in 36" preferably in black?

Well, time to start seeing how OC'ing this will go now, later!

Thanks Andy...could you have overlapped a couple one inche holes(sand with a dremel to smooth hole) to make things a little easier on the ATX plug

Hmm did the sata power cables for the HX620w cables reach the DVDRWs?

Great work and congrats...
FWIW..I have a MCX159cu on my NB...I use speedfan
Internal Temp 33c at idle(load with 12hr prime was 37-39 depending on ambients)
temp 3 33C( I believe this ram temp..I have an Antec cool spot on lowest setting blowing on ram)

i cant wait til i get my tj07

Wow great build and great wiring.

I wonder how the warmer air from one affects the cooling capacity of the other.

is there a guide anywhere on how to turn 3 fan cables in 1 like he did?

great wiring!

Looks cool. Very interesting and creative. Please come and do my wire management for me. :)

]Monty[

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nealh

Thanks Andy...could you have overlapped a couple one inche holes(sand with a dremel to smooth hole) to make things a little easier on the ATX plug

Hmm did the sata power cables for the HX620w cables reach the DVDRWs?
)

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I'm sure I could, but then I wouldnt have a pretty grommet to look at maybe twice a year :p: . The Sata power cables will reach, but just so. There is no hidden slack in that DVD power cable. I had to use a second Sata cable for the hard drive too, because if I strung it all on one cable, the cable wouldnt reach the DVD then where it is located on top.

I'm really liking this thing. Did a quick and dirty overclock (might be able to use less volts running cooler now), room temps ~78F, and it hasnt cooked to where it likes to crash at 68C like on the old setup with the fans full blast. On a small FFT cycle TAT is showing 65C, so maybe this thing will do 3.9, or even hit the 4.0GHz milemarker now. :up: I think I'll let this cook overnight at 3.8 (fans still at a nice quiet 7 volts) to see if it lives.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...i00/cool38.jpg

Fantastic job Andy!

It seems as if all the TJ-07 guys have wiring down to a science. I'm wondering why you didn't go with two loops especially with two radiators?

Also, you said you found BSPP elbows? I could only find BSPT male/ BSPP female 90 degree elbows at Mcmaster rather than the optimal BSPP male/BSPP female elbows.

Do you have the part number on hand?

Incredible wire management!

tj07 is the best case i think tj stands for tear jerker becuase they are good cases

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ranker

Fantastic job Andy!

It seems as if all the TJ-07 guys have wiring down to a science. I'm wondering why you didn't go with two loops especially with two radiators?

Also, you said you found BSPP elbows? I could only find BSPT male/ BSPP female 90 degree elbows at Mcmaster rather than the optimal BSPP male/BSPP female elbows.

Do you have the part number on hand?

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Thanks! I was trying for a minimalist look with this, as much stuffed in the bottom as possible, and the top as open as possible. Didnt really want extra pumps and tubing up there.

4860K606 is a BSPP male/male nipple that goes in the radiator and elbow.

4860K433 is a BSPP female/female elbow that does the rest.