Sense and Sensibility [A Build Log]

twwen2,

Good job on the flushing. I'm proud of you.

Normally, I would prescribe what works for me, but I don't want to put you through unnecessary risk. I use a power washer on all my rads, but I'm worried about you damaging your pA120.3. My TCs have not been damaged on low settings on the power washer (its gas engined power lol) and I use that setting to blast my car wheels clean of brake dust, especially after a hard romp on a rainy day.

The outdoor tap should be plenty powerful for you. No sense being an egotistical hero (aka moron) like me :p:

Lol that power washer sounds like fun!

There's still a blue film inside the rad which won't come off, it's really annoying me actually. However after that tap blast and about 15 rinses with boiling water, whatever is coming out has already come out. I think the blue film is there to stay...:(

In better news, i recieved notification today that my backplate for the EK Supreme has been shipped, finally! Expect some decent updates later this week. :up:

Update week!

I thought i might do a quick mockup using the mobo tray, with the intention a getting the rig up and runnning on air so i could intall Vista. Sadly, that won't be happening anytime soon thanks to the designers at DFI :rolleyes:

Check it out:

The bare tray
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000146.jpg

With mobo
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000148.jpg

GPU and RAM installed
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000150.jpg

Ilove this angle, the 4870 stock cooler looks awesome if you ask me :D
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000152.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000157.jpg

CPU and cooler
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000160.jpg

In she goes...
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000163.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000164.jpg

Now one with the cooler sitting on the CPU. Those of you with a keen eye will notice that the push-pins aren't actually down. The stock intel cooler actually hits the NB cooler (also stock), ensuring that there will be no air-cooled action. What was DFI thinking...?:shrug:

Oh well i guess this rig will be a pure WC one, never to see the air of day...:rofl: man that was lame
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000169.jpg

Stay tuned, i've got heaps of updates in store for this week. It's just a matter of finding the time to write them up amidst uni assignments and part-time work!

*****

talk about bad design.
maybe you can remove the stock push pins and use the screw mounts for ek supreme?

and looking at your dominators makes me miss my ddr2s...

Mt Buller '08

I've been at the snow this last weekend, or what was left of it anyway.:D Myself and a group of friends decided last-minute to pack the cars and head to Mt Buller for a Sunday/Monday overnighter. We traveled up on the Sunday afternoon, spent the evening at a ski resort in Mansfield; drinking beer and champagne and sitting around in the spa just chatting. The next morning we got up early, and after a buffet brekky we drove up the mountain and hit the slopes! Because it is now springtime down here, there's not as much snow as during the peak season, but still plenty enough to have a day's worth of skiing/boarding. Enjoy the pics!

Two of my crazy mates, Nick (left) and Pete (right). We had just finished cooking ourselves dinner.
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85614_9239.jpg

Unloading the cars up on the mountain. We parked in the day carkpark and caught the shuttle bus up to the village. I'm adjusting my headgear, second from the right.
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...385619_768.jpg

Ben and his fiance Karina on the bus
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85620_1066.jpg

Pete and myself (left) on the bus
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85621_1387.jpg

Why do i always have to wait for the slow boarders!? Skiing FTW! :rofl:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85623_1993.jpg

We spent a good portion of the day building and using a jump on one of the quieter runs. Here's some pics of the craziness:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85625_2600.jpg

It's only a little one, c'mon we're all noobs (except Steve, pics soon!)
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85626_2951.jpg

Pete was quite happy just to watch at the start.:rofl:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85627_3257.jpg

Nick however, got straight into it!
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85628_3582.jpg

Steve got some good air too
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...385648_501.jpg
Pete says "that looks piss easy, i can do that!"...

We'll see Pete :p:

Good start
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85637_6502.jpg

Starting to look bad
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85639_7245.jpg

Oh dear, what happened Pete!? :ROTF::D
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85640_7578.jpg

It's ok, he's all good. :up:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85641_7917.jpg

Nick had a real bad jump towards the end, he was pretty sore after this one!
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85655_3043.jpg

Me having a go. I'm not much of an aerial skiier :p:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85657_3760.jpg

Probably Steve's best grab! :shocked:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85659_4514.jpg

And one last happy snap of the group before we left. I'm third from the left, in between Steve and Pete.
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...85668_7925.jpg


All up it was a ripper weekend. The company, the food, the snow, it was all awesome. Man, i need to find some hobbies that aren't so expensive!!:rolleyes:

*****

Nothing beats a good ski trip. Nice pictures!! ;)

It should be an interesting week if you keep posting. ;)

nice work Twwen2 - weird about the stock cooler though...:shrug:

wish I had the time (and money:rolleyes:) to go to the snow....oh well maybe next year.

Fan wire soldering: Burnt fingers and other fun stuff!

This has been done before, but i thought i'd show how i went about it. The pictures speak for themselves, but essentially all i did was to snip the last connector off, solder it to the middle fan's wire, then snip that connector off and solder to the end wire.

That was very badly worded, so just look at the pictures. :p:

The first cut
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000189.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000188.jpg

The second cut
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000191.jpg

First join complete
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000193.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000194.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000197.jpg

All finished. Notice that i forgot to shrink one of the wires before i soldered it. I have to get my hands on some black electrical tape to clean it up. :(
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000198.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000200.jpg

The EK backplate i've been waiting on has finally arrived, so the real work has finally begun. Thanks for reading and i promise more very sonn!

*****

:woot: for update - nice work and looking forward to pics of it coming together.:up:

Nice!! Can you take more pictures of the tubing please? Oh, and a quick review of it? I'm interested in it, but just unsure at this point. Thanks

Perfect!! Thanks for the soldering/splicing pics. I had a general idea how to do it, but your step by step photos really help. Now I know the sequence to put sleeving here, shrink here, then solder, then sleeve, etc.

How did you strip the fan wires in the middle like this??
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2425/im000191gf5.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kibbler

Perfect!! Thanks for the soldering/splicing pics. I had a general idea how to do it, but your step by step photos really help. Now I know the sequence to put sleeving here, shrink here, then solder, then sleeve, etc.

How did you strip the fan wires in the middle like this??

---

Yeah that was a PITA. I used the wire stripper to cut the insulation at each end, then used a razor blade to remove the insulation in between the two cuts. It was a bit fiddly but it seemed to work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BlueAqua

Nice!! Can you take more pictures of the tubing please? Oh, and a quick review of it? I'm interested in it, but just unsure at this point. Thanks

---

Sure thing. My first impressions are:
- looks great, especially under UV.
- is quite stiff. others may disagree, but it's definitely much stiffer than the masterkleer and Pro-LRT that i also own.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RealRedRaider

Great Work... :up:

I sure do wish we had mountains in Texas, oh well, that's why God made Coloado, so Texans would have a place to ski...:up:

---

I wish we had bigger mountains. Buller is good for a day or two, but it's not big enough for a weeklong stay. Look out NZ next year! :up:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by twwen2

Yeah that was a PITA. I used the wire stripper to cut the insulation at each end, then used a razor blade to remove the insulation in between the two cuts. It was a bit fiddly but it seemed to work.

---

Thanks man, I'll give it a shot.

Fans and more Sleeving

The Lian Li V350 has 3 internal fans, two intake 120mm and one exhaust 80mm. They are black ball-bearing, fast and loud. Naturally they must be swapped out for something more appropriate! :D

The new fans are these:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=24114
They have orange UV-reactive blades and 4 white LEDs in the corners. They fit in great with the "orange and black" theme.

Here's my trusty workbench with everything laid out
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=24114

We'll start with the stock 80mm fan
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000227.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000228.jpg

And it's classy replacement
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000229.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000231.jpg

Another arty-farty shot. Sorry these are so pretty, i just couldn't resist.:p:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000232.jpg

About to be attached with a trick sound dampener
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000233.jpg


Then i got to work on the 120mm fans. They are held in a cage of sorts, the pictures make things pretty clear i hope. :)
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000234.jpg

Just the final shots now:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000235.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000236.jpg


I decided to sleeve the internal case wiring. I used a combination of Techflex PET in 1/4" and 3/8".

Ugly bare wiring:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000238.jpg

Much better!
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000239.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000241.jpg

And the bigger front-panel connectors:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000243.jpg

Everything back in the case
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000246.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000247.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000249.jpg

Next up I get to work on the HD4870. Think EK full-cover goodness. Yummmmmm....:cool:

*****

Great job on the sleeving. It's something I'm not a fan of lol but your effort makes me want to do the same.

Awesome work twenn2! Looking forward to more pics and progress! Might get some more work done on my case this weekend seeing as we have a long weekend in WA.

emu

nice work twwen2! :up: picking up some pointers from you... :)

I've been lusting after some blingy fans like those xigmateks (or noiseblocker/gelid/nanoxia) for a while now, which doesn't make ANY sense since I already have brand new S-Flex's. You're not helping...:( Are there any performance tests for these newer fans?

Good work twwen2! It's looking good, the fans will make a nice addition! I sleeved most of my ugly cables today. Still not to happy on my case. I'm having a look at some full towers.
Keep giving the fans more of what they want! More updates! Are you showing the problematic case design photos?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MomijiTMO

Great job on the sleeving. It's something I'm not a fan of lol but your effort makes me want to do the same.

---

Yeah it's a PITA but definately worth it IMO.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by emuexport

Awesome work twenn2! Looking forward to more pics and progress! Might get some more work done on my case this weekend seeing as we have a long weekend in WA.

emu

---

Long weekends FTW! :p: I've got a week off now but i'll be away, so no updates after tonight.:(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by emoners

nice work twwen2! :up: picking up some pointers from you... :)

---

Cheers, glad i can help out :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kibbler

I've been lusting after some blingy fans like those xigmateks (or noiseblocker/gelid/nanoxia) for a while now, which doesn't make ANY sense since I already have brand new S-Flex's. You're not helping...:( Are there any performance tests for these newer fans?

---

Sorry bro, i couldn't resist myself. They're orange, which fits the build theme perfect. Malik has been using them too, they look great under UV. I've no idea what the fans perform like, i've got S-Flex F's on my rad and they're great. The orange ones will only serve as in-case airflow, so as long as i can't hear them on the controller i don't really care how they perform. :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by switch8

Good work twwen2! It's looking good, the fans will make a nice addition! I sleeved most of my ugly cables today. Still not to happy on my case. I'm having a look at some full towers.
Keep giving the fans more of what they want! More updates! Are you showing the problematic case design photos?

---

Good job on the sleeving, i'll have to check it out sometime soon. More updates incoming!

Yes i have been having some serious problems with the case, but i've managed to push on and have found solutions to everything so far. Pics up shortly! :up:

wonderful update!
nice sleeve job... and those fans are awesome
btw, how noisy/silent are those?

Parts underwater, well not quite yet...

A few evenings ago i felt compelled to tackle the GPU. :D
Most people comment in their logs that taking the graphics card(s) apart is the scariest thing they have to do, i can testify to that! Usually the GPU is the most expensive part in the build, so it makes for nervous times. :p:

Now i've taken a few stock coolers off in my time, but none as large and heavy as this one. I'm pleased to say it went well. :)

Stock card
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000203.jpg

All screws taken out and cooler removed
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000205.jpg

EK full-cover block installed. Sorry i was concentrating so hard on the removal and installation of the block i forgot to take any other pics of the process. But most people are familiar with the deal, and the end pics are nice too. :up:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000208.jpg

Ok, as you can see, the card is still gonna take up two slots in the mobo tray thanks to the double-width PCI bracket. But i need all four available slots, so the bracket must go. But what can i replace it with...?

Koolance to the rescue!!! :rofl:

Yep, that's right, koolance make a single-slot bracket for Radeon cards. It's actually for the x1900 series, but ATi haven't changed their DVI port arrangement since.

The old and new brackets
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000212.jpg

New bracket installed
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000214.jpg
Walla! :up:

I decided to install my CPU and NB blocks while i was in the mood...:ROTF:

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...IM000252-1.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...IM000254-1.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000258.jpg

I almost couldn't get the Supreme on. With the EK backplate installed under the mobo, the screws weren't quite long enough to allow me to screw the top nuts down. However i persevered, and after much cussing and pain i got them all on:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000259.jpg

Here's one of my favourite pics so far:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM100272.jpg

Now in my jubilation i whacked the GPU into the mobo and went to slide it into the case to take some happy snaps, and to my dismay i found this:

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000252.jpg

Yep, that's right. Your eyes do not deceive you. The GPU block is too tall to slide the mobo tray in. DAAMIT!

"oh well", i hear you say, "you'll just have to install the card once the tray is in the case." Unfortunately it's not that simple. The internal HDD cage is the same height as the offending bar, and so card won't actually ever fit int the case! :eek:

So in my desperation last night, i decided to do some Xtremely noob case modding. Hey, everyone has to start somewhere! :p:

First to go was the HDD cage. Removing that involved drilling out the rivets that attach it to the case frame.
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000269.jpg

Then i grabbed my trusty hacksaw and attacked the frame:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000274.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000273.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000270.jpg

Now the card will slide in nicely :)
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000275.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000276.jpg

Unfortunately removing part of the frame has weakened the structural integrity of the case, but i found that once the mobo tray was installed with its thumbscrews it held together nicely. It's wasn't gonna fall apart or anything, but i could tell the frame was a little weaker. I'm not really worried about it, it's not like i'll be sitting on the case anytime soon...!:p:

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000277.jpg

Here's a few more shots of the mobo & GPU inside the case. The pictures demonstrate just how much room i have to work with.

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000278.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000281.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000283.jpg

Here's a good side-on perspective
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000284.jpg

And a few more arty shots:

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000285.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/c...g/IM000286.jpg

That's it for tonight folks. I'm quite pleased with my progress so far, and am almost ready to install everything and plumb the tubing runs etc. Unfortunately for you guys, i'm going away with my family this next week, and so there will be no more updates until Friday at the earliest. Sorry for the delay, but one must live a family life too :D

Thanks once again for reading, i hope you guys are still enjoying the log.

Cheers :toast:
Tom