ABS/Tagan Black Pearl - evolution of a water-cooled rig

Hey Shaz! <3 good to see you back ;) Can't wait to see how your build progresses!

good to hear from you Shazza, now don't make us wait anymore! :p:

My latest diversion ... rebuilt the Torture Rack (as a test rack, not to be "pretty"). Planning to test out a number of Radiator configurations on my EVGA Micro-ATX board. Will report the results in a separate thread if I make any progress. Too dark to get any decent photos, but here's the idea:



http://shazza53.smugmug.com/photos/6...98_qeySW-L.jpg

what are you using to hold your HDD?

shazza, that still looks good :rofl:

Thanks, CP ;)

For holding the hardrive, I'm just using one of the drive cages from the Antec 900 Two case. Only the middle is being used right now - there's actually a 128GB G-Skill Falcon SSD in the enclosure. Another part of this "experiment" was to load 64-bit Windows 7 and test out the SSD drive. So far, works like a champ. Only problem I had was sorting out the 64-bit driver for my Linksys wireless adapter. Currently running Boinc-64-bit for crunching to test stability. I'm planning to test a number of radiator/fan combos on the i7 920. Sorting out what I'll ultimately put in the Black Pearl.

I also have a couple of 1TB drives I plan to add down the road. Want to test if I can get a reliable back-up strategy for my other PCs with Windows 7, while deciding if I need to run a Server OS.

All part of the "evolution" of this rig :p:

I guess we have to be nice to Shazza now seeing she has the ban hammer. :p:

Looking forward to seeing more updates. You might be seeing a build log coming from me soon as I think I am going to pull the trigger on the I5 build within the next few weeks. :yepp:

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Originally Posted by millertime359

I guess we have to be nice to Shazza now seeing she has the ban hammer. :p:

Looking forward to seeing more updates. You might be seeing a build log coming from me soon as I think I am going to pull the trigger on the I5 build within the next few weeks. :yepp:

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Looking forward to seeing some i5 builds.


(no need for ban hammers around here :cool:)

Hey Shaz what's going on with the Black Pearl? You putting the stuff from the torture rack into it? :)

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Originally Posted by rjkoneill

interested in this case - never seen one in the UK before

should be an interesting project

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really? O got mine from here

but it was £180 when i got it

http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/prod...de=CAA-CSBPWCR

best deal by far in UK everywhere else is like 200~


love this case, im slowly building up parts to watecool in this case, and so this build i hope will give me a few ideas :)

Good to see ya back home Shazza.
Looking forward to your test results.

I haven't seen one around here, but now that you guys brought up i5. Theres a nifty little thread over here. I haven't really read much of it, but should have some nice info for those looking into i5. :)

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=103362

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Originally Posted by Chicken Patty

I haven't seen one around here, but now that you guys brought up i5. Theres a nifty little thread over here. I haven't really read much of it, but should have some nice info for those looking into i5. :)

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=103362

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There are a couple of OC threads on here with the I5s in the Intel section and I have found a few others floating around.

It has its limits, but still seems like it will be fine for what I do. :)

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Originally Posted by millertime359

There are a couple of OC threads on here with the I5s in the Intel section and I have found a few others floating around.

It has its limits, but still seems like it will be fine for what I do. :)

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I probably didn't search much, or I just missed it. Anyhow, I'm sure each thread has something the other doesn't. So read'em all :ROTF:

any news :( i love this build we need moarrr

OK, OK, already :p: I was wobbling on using the Micro-ATX board or my Gigabyte Smurf stuff in the Black Pearl. I set up the Micro on the Torture Rack to test which radiator I might use, and, I like the red and black so will go with that for Round 1 with the Black Pearl:


Here's the thread I started to describe the radiator testing. Will be updated as I go along. Like I said, I like the red and black better than I thought I would:


http://shazza53.smugmug.com/photos/6...10_ZczG3-M.jpg




http://shazza53.smugmug.com/photos/6...58_X8h3o-M.jpg



Going to rip the Black Pearl apart and paint the interior ... starting that today, so let's hope I don't kill it.

A couple pics of the test layout with the Gigabyte board in ... was planning to paint the inside white or blue, hadn't decided. But, now that I'm going red and black, think I'll paint the inside red.


http://shazza53.smugmug.com/photos/6...44_ZUQb2-M.jpg





http://shazza53.smugmug.com/photos/6...29_VtpRM-M.jpg

my god the black pearl looks great as is and its only got a mobo and PSU in it :rofl:

Red and black gets my vote :D

Thanks guys. Yep the red and black is growing on me (guess that's why we see so many nice Classified and Bloodrage builds now).



OK ... actual progress on the Black Pearl today. Have it 95% apart. I'm pretty good at removing rivets. However, I have never in my life popped a rivet back in :eek:

This makes me either a) very gutsy, or b) very stupid. I can tell you my husband did not vote for "a."


I did take photos as I tore it down, in case I had problems figuring out how to put it back together. Somehow, I'm not so sure these are going to help me (nervous, anyone?):

http://shazza53.smugmug.com/photos/6...43_43maa-M.jpg




Some shots of the disassembled Black Pearl:

http://shazza53.smugmug.com/photos/6...39_e74Ww-M.jpg





http://shazza53.smugmug.com/photos/6...10_tqGdg-M.jpg




The hardware watched the process, trembling and anxious about the state of its future home:

http://shazza53.smugmug.com/photos/6...78_vdffr-M.jpg





I do not believe I did this ... I can only imagine what trauma my attempt to paint the interior parts will bring.

if you need all the rest of us black pearl owners would gladly help with new pics if you need them xD me being one ;)

Yet another reason to trade him in for a better model. :p: :D

Looking good though, love the action shot.

Looking great, Shazza :up: Glad you went with the Red and Black theme. That was my vote.

Any teaser shots of the paint job thus far?

I'm certain it will turn out perfect. (No pressure or anything.) ::D

Looking good so far Shazza.

Hay, I also had a beach towel like that some 30 odd years ago too.

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Originally Posted by Caoder

if you need all the rest of us black pearl owners would gladly help with new pics if you need them xD me being one ;)

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Gracias, Caoder. Most of the pics came out fine, but I may very well reach out for help as I'm putting it back together.

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Originally Posted by millertime359

Yet another reason to trade him in for a better model. :p: :D

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Ha! Nope - gonna keep him. He keeps me grounded (and he's a heck of a cook!).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CptDreadFlint

Looking great, Shazza :up: Glad you went with the Red and Black theme. That was my vote.

Any teaser shots of the paint job thus far?

I'm certain it will turn out perfect. (No pressure or anything.) ::D

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Thanks, Cpt. Getting ready to start the prep work now for painting. I'm not at all sure it will come out well - I've never painted anything bigger than the stuff I did for the Smurf Blue Torture Rack. I'll post up my progress - even if it's bad. One thing, is, I'll keep at it 'til I get it right. I define success as not getting so frustrated I give up, order a new case, and send it for powder coating.

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

Looking good so far Shazza.

Hay, I also had a beach towel like that some 30 odd years ago too.

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Thanks, kgtiger :up: That towel is at least 15 years old.