GIGABYTE Acrylic project by Spazloy
GIGABYTE Acrylic Project
Welcome to my new project :)
I recently won a competition on facebook with Gigabyte and then sent me one of their custom showcases (apparently theres only a few of these around, and none are for sale)
I have a liquid cooled rig now, but its not really up to scratch and the components only cool the CPU. So I am going to use this project to learn more about liquid cooling mods, learn more about PCs, and just have a good time.
Unfortunately I'm still a student and have only 2 months left before I have to enter the real world and find a job. So if the project doesn't progress for a while, don't be alarmed, I've just ran out of money and I'm waiting for my first paycheck. It may go a little faster as I will be trying to enlist a few sponsors to get the project moving.
Gigabyte will be following this build intently as this case is a bit of their pride and joy so I will be sending them snaps and a link to this page, I hope they realise that I'm about to drill lots of big holes in it :D
Before you look at the spec list, you need to know a bit about my degree. I am a game designer which means I use really memory heavy programs (thats why I have 16bg of ram) and I live in the UK and study 400 miles from home, so education is not cheap which means my computer was built on a budget. The parts will hopefully change over the course of the project as I would prefer to use a gigabyte motherboard and GPUs, and a more current PileDriver 9320, but it will take time to acquire these parts.
If anyone wants a look at what I do: http://lawrenceselly.wix.com/sellydesign
Specs:
Brain: AMD FX 8120 CPU
Heart: Corsair HX720
Bones: Biostar 990fx AM3+
Eyes: AMD Sapphire Radeon 7850 2GB
Skin: GIGABYTE Acrylic show case
Lungs: Phobya G-Silent Slim Edition
Nerves: MDPC-X Black... obviously
Long Term Memory: WD Blue 750gb
Short Term Memory: Corsair Ballistix 16gb
Plumbing:
Tubing: EK HD Acyrlic 12/16mm
Fittings: EK HD 12/16mm Black
Pump: Lliang DDC w/ EK Acyrlic Top
Reservoir: Alphacool Fusion 30cm Tube res or similar
Radiators: Magicool Slim 360 or Black Ice GTS-Lite 360 x2
Blocks: EK 7850 Nickel Acyrlic, EK Supreme Nickel Acyrlic
Fluid: Mayhem Pastel Blue Berry
The case arrived in perfect condition, it was packed so well! never before assembled. In hindsight I should have left it in the wrappings so it would have been easier for marking out and cutting the panels but out of pure joy I went ahead and put it together.
http://i.imgur.com/hom1cY0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0Dz5L8n.jpg
The instructions were simple enough but because of the odd panel shapes I put it together the wrong way around a few times.
I have also inverted the motherboard tray and the back panel just to see what its like. It does look better but unfortunately it means the PSU will be on the top, looking ugly.
http://i.imgur.com/EdXsVBf.jpg
I have realised I have to be extremely careful and take this build slow. With the obvious transparent awesomeness of the case, it does mean that any mistakes will be visible to everyone and impossible to hide. But if I get everything right and get the details perfect it will mean that from any angle it will look good.
Right now all I have is the case and some components, and a few pieces of my previous watercooling projects lying around (mostly the odd fitting, a bit of bitspower that escaped the eBay sweep, here and there.)
I will be sourcing parts and tools over the next few weeks, making sure I get the ball rolling in the right direction. I do have a lot of university work to do, but writing a games design document takes up a lot of brain power, and to relax I need a project! Playing games is just too much after you have spent the whole day designing one.
http://i.imgur.com/lAV8PcT.jpg
I do have a lot of equipment already and I have created a few things before that show my modding abilities, as well as being an amateur mechanic and welder so I should be able to finish this to a high standard.
Silverstone Fortress case, This is watercooled with a single massive Phobia 120mm radiator but only the CPU and it was not efficient enough to overclock it far.
http://i.imgur.com/netAxAZ.jpg
Edge Audio triple monitor stand with amplifier and modded PSU.
http://i.imgur.com/txJkmdM.jpg
I am going to be attending a multiplay iLan event at the end of the year, so I would really like the case ready for then, but I will be taking my case to University to show off my skill during our Expo in a few months.
For tonight, I hope I have sparked some interest. I'm going to start jotting ideas down and sketching over the next few days. I may also start masking out the case and marking up for when I get my drill bench.
Loz. Xx
