Big Black Box (U2-UFO Build, 56k is death)

Recently Philly_Boy sold off his U2-UFO ("Wraith") and I was the lucky buyer of that case. Went to pick it up in person the other day, and just had to buy a few WC parts while I was there :D Props to Philly_Boy for explaining WC to my dad.

This will be my first WC project, albeit a pretty standard one at that. Here are the goals:

-Quiet -> Yates all @7v is the plan
-Fast -> Looking for a higher overclock
-Cool -> Why WC if your temps are any better?

Here are the parts I bought from Philly_Boy
*Swiftech MCR220
*DTek FuZion (will be getting this once he's finished testing it, he loaned me a TDX in the meantime)
*Swiftech MCW60 w/ RAM Sinks
*Swiftech MCRES Micro
*Few ft. of Tygon
*Hose clamps

Just ordered the finishing touches from Petra's
*DDC w/ Petra's Top
*Pentosin
*PT_Nuke
*Petra's Gel-Stuff

Other Misc. Parts Being Installed
*Scythe 5.25" Fanless HDD Box
*Yate Loon D12SL-12 Fans
*Sunbeam Rheobus

That will all be cooling the rig in my sig (and hopefully a C2D/Barcelona/Whatever rig within the next 8 months) and housed in this puurdy new UFO. Let me just say: this case is AWESOME. It's positively jaw-dropping in person. Not to mention, it has all the room in the world.

While I'm waiting for that shipment from Petra's, here are some pics...

What the case looked like when I brought it home
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4894/img6415sb8.jpg

Stripped down and ready for a bit of work
http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9316/img6402pd4.jpg

Side Panels/Mobo Tray/HDD Rack
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/7727/img6405nn7.jpg

Ran into my first problem when test fitting the Mountain Mods bay covers and the Scythe HDD Box: The HDD Box wouldn't fit with the bay cover installed! The lower part of the bay cover was preventing the HDD box from sliding up/screwing in. There's a simple fix for that...
http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/7750/img6413nu7.jpg
Cut a notch out of the bay cover, and now the HDD box fits like a charm! First ever mod (however minor) 100% successful!

All my fans and 3 pin extensions/splitters sleeved
http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/6837/img6414te8.jpg

And a little pic of my workspace
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3867/img6404wb6.jpg

More to come...

Really nice Istasi, looking forward to this. I was wondering how to get the inside black-look of that case, does anyone know? Doesn't have to be exact, just similar.

Well the entire case is powder-coated, you could probably get that done to yours at a local auto body shop. Not sure how much it costs though.

Hmm, do u reckon some sort of special spray paint and some special cover if there is any will do?

If you wouldn't have been a local buyer, it would have been mine!

But after all that tease, and when Philly told me that you bought it from him, i decided to order one directly from MountainMod! lol It should be there in a week.

Same exact case. But with different fan grills and stuff.

Anyway, have fun! I will too! :D

subscribed for the love of UFO

Lookin good! :toast: :toast:

Hmm, anyone have any ideas on where I should mount my pump and res? My MCR220 will obviously be mounted on the rear two 120mm holes, and I just can't seem to find a good way to route the tubing.

If you had of bought the AlphaCool top with rubber isolation bushings you could have mounted it in your 3.5" HD rack. I have my micro-res mounted to the top right side (facing case) of my 5.25" bay and my UFO is newer and came with two smaller 3.5" HD racks that mount to a 120mm fan so my pump is in fron of the right bottom rear fan (D12SM-12) with the fan blowing cooler oustside of case air on to the pump at 12v.

http://www.mountainmods.com/product_...roducts_id=325

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...oducts_id=4506


http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/6...42largell2.jpg

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/7...43largewd1.jpg

Looking great. Man, I was really torn on which U2-UFO to go with. Finally went with the 1203, but these posts REALLY make me jealous. Nice build out.

Here are all the WC parts cleaned and ready to go!

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6126/img6417us6.jpg

Should be getting the pump and the other finishing touches tomorrow and Weds, so then the real fun will begin. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Istasi

All my fans and 3 pin extensions/splitters sleeved
http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/6837/img6414te8.jpg

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Could u give me a close-up pic of the sleeved fans connected to the extenders? Really nice build.

Just received my DDC, and it did not come with the mounting brackets seen here

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6977/ddczj3.jpg

Any idea why? It's a blue impeller MCP350 if that makes any difference.

have no clue why it would not be there...*-(

If you have the blue impeller DCC make sure the petra top is the 01s as i killed my pump with the 01 top.

Top is the 01s. Got the pump, rad, and res all fitted in the case, gonna be installing the rest this afternoon (with lots and lots of pics of course.) Ended up not needing those mounting brackets on the DDC.

Note to self: NEVER use an Accelero X2 on your vid card if you want to remove it in the future. Had to pry it off the chips with a razor blade.

how come, hmm mind telling which TIM you used?

Used the RAM pads which came with the X2. It's a widely known issue that these pads bake on over time, but I was unaware at the time of purchase.

Hit a HUGE stumbling block a few minutes ago. The TDX I was loaned has hairline cracks in the top of the block. It's able to hold water just fine, but I'm 99% positive I don't want to risk running it in its current state. Hopefully I can get another loaner block from Philly_Boy, or I might just have to buy a new block online.

Wow so far it's looking great. It's odd you didn't get a mounting bracket for the pump. What kind of fan grills are those on the front of the case? They look cool.

The grills on the front are from here with standard aluminum filters underneath.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Istasi

Here are all the WC parts cleaned and ready to go!

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6126/img6417us6.jpg

Should be getting the pump and the other finishing touches tomorrow and Weds, so then the real fun will begin. :)

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Whoa careful man, yesterday I found out alcohol eats acrylic :( Hope you didn't put any on the acrylic tops.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by serialk11r

Whoa careful man, yesterday I found out alcohol eats acrylic :( Hope you didn't put any on the acrylic tops.

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Nah, that was just for cleaning the toothbrush, funnel and the base of the MCW60.

Although that would have explained my cracked TDX top, but I'm positive I didn't use any isopropyl on it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Istasi

Note to self: NEVER use an Accelero X2 on your vid card if you want to remove it in the future. Had to pry it off the chips with a razor blade.

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Uh oh.... My X1950XT came with the accelero preinstalled (powercolor did that). I hope it won't do any damage coming off the card :eek:

Just be gentle and you should be okay. I followed a cycle of 1) wiggle/twist Accelero, 2) Wedge razor inbetween RAM chip and Accelero, and 3) Pry very gently, and repeated over and over again.

Lucas, YGPM re: exchanging loaners.

I'll leave you a new boxed Swifty Apogee GT on my doorstep.
Just drop off the TDX when you come to pick it up.
Note to self...that TDX was new...must rma to DD.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Istasi

Just be gentle and you should be okay. I followed a cycle of 1) wiggle/twist Accelero, 2) Wedge razor inbetween RAM chip and Accelero, and 3) Pry very gently, and repeated over and over again.

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I'll get it good and hot too right before I pull it, that should help I'd think.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Philly_Boy

Lucas, YGPM re: exchanging loaners.

I'll leave you a new boxed Swifty Apogee GT on my doorstep.
Just drop off the TDX when you come to pick it up.
Note to self...that TDX was new...must rma to DD.

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You da man, Philly_Boy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SparkyJJO

I'll get it good and hot too right before I pull it, that should help I'd think.

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From what I've read, making it hot actually strengthens the bond. If you're having extreme trouble getting it off it's suggested that you freeze it. However, I was able to get mine off at room temperature with a little effort.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Istasi

The grills on the front are from here with standard aluminum filters underneath.

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Good looking build Istasi :)

Those grills are insane - I like them VERY much. Will definitely follow up on them..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Istasi

From what I've read, making it hot actually strengthens the bond. If you're having extreme trouble getting it off it's suggested that you freeze it. However, I was able to get mine off at room temperature with a little effort.

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Darn, I want to remove my Accelero also and it seems quite impossible without breaking the card.

I spent a good 45 minutes-1 hour removing mine. Very slow work, but it eventually gets there with the right tools. I actually used a combination of a razor blade and a very thin flathead screwdriver to cut/pry the RAM pads off one at a time.

Just got an Apogee GT from Don (Philly_Boy) so I should hopefully be leak testing through the night. :woot:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2k7zero

Could u give me a close-up pic of the sleeved fans connected to the extenders? Really nice build.

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Sorry, not the greatest pic in the world.
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/3...trip003tc6.jpg

BIG update today!

Finally got all the necessary parts over the last week, so let's get this show on the road. Mounted my MCR220 with the fans pulling fresh air through the back. Pump is mounted in neoprene to the floor of the case, and res is mounted with velcro to the drive cage.

Here's a pic of the Rad/Pump/Res mounted and preliminary tubing in place
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/8...trip007vy4.jpg

After this I proceeded to strip down my previous system. The P180 has been great to me, but I needed something a bit bigger. :D
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/4...trip012uo1.jpg

The guts
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6...trip013mg4.jpg

Now, jump forward a few days. On Wednesday I discovered my TDX had a botched top, and Philly_Boy was kind enough to replace it with an Apogee GT. I also routed the rest of the tubing, fitted the MC14's to my X1900 using a mixture of AS Adhesive and Ceramique, and generally took care of all the loose ends.

Today I started leak testing. I thought I had cleaned out my rad pretty well, but as soon as I started running the loop today, tons of tiny metallic particles, from the rad I assume, began filling my system. I immediately emptied the loop and proceeded to flush it with distilled until I could no longer see any particles. Filled her up with Distilled/Pentosin again, and we were off. It's leak testing as we speak, here are a few pics.

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/725...trip015qc8.jpg
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1...trip016nr2.jpg
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1...trip020ru8.jpg

The only issue I ran into while bleeding/leak testing was a very slow leak from the lower barb of the MCRES, but a thicker o-ring fixed that right up. The system is 99% bled as of now, and I'll hopefully be installing the components tomorrow afternoon. I'm extremely glad I had the foresight not the have the mobo/gfx card in there while leak testing/filling/bleeding, because let's just say it wasn't the cleanest process.

More to come tomorrow!

The Corsair psu looks really good in that case.
You lucked out in the paint matching like that.

Oh my god I think I have voltage regulation controller phobia...:P
Hmmmm...I'm thinking your rig might look better without the coolsleeves but that's cuz I'm an anticoolsleeves whore. Apart from that and the fan controller :stick: Sorry if you don't understand what I'm saying, its because my rheobus burned up on me.

thats really sick! i like the color contrast...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by serialk11r

Oh my god I think I have voltage regulation controller phobia...:P
Hmmmm...I'm thinking your rig might look better without the coolsleeves but that's cuz I'm an anticoolsleeves whore. Apart from that and the fan controller :stick: Sorry if you don't understand what I'm saying, its because my rheobus burned up on me.

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Can't live without my rheobus, fans @ 12v are unbearable. I'm not too sure about the CoolSleeves either, might replace them with blue or get rid of them altogether. But for now, I'm gonna leave it as it is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Istasi

Can't live without my rheobus, fans @ 12v are unbearable. I'm not too sure about the CoolSleeves either, might replace them with blue or get rid of them altogether. But for now, I'm gonna leave it as it is.

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You have no blue cool sleeves because you didn't ask me for them.....I have like 2 packs on the shelf...blue in the coolsleeves matches the blue led's in the fan's purrrrrfectly...

Well, I'm posting from my main PC right now :woot:

Still working on the final touches (lighting, wire management, fine tuning everything) but so far this thing is great. Fulfills all my goals as well.

Will have some final pics up tomorrow.

Well, here she is, all completed!

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/6525/img6454qp1.jpg
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/6126/img6469tk0.jpg
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/4809/img6456ef7.jpg
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/9779/img6457yv4.jpg
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/5346/img6462sp5.jpg
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2994/img6464kr0.jpg
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/64/img6465fi0.jpg
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/5910/img6467gf2.jpg

Big thanks to Philly_Boy for the case, WC gear, and being an awesome guy.

Next up: Get myself a PA120.3 :rolleyes:

Looks good Istasi! :thumbsup: I like the grills.

Check out mine if you want :p:

well I'm glad it turned out well man :toast: I wish to have a UFO case some day...some day...

Looks great. :clap: :clap:

I have two Sunbeam Rheobus controlling eight fans and they work great. I would raise the Micro-Res up to the top of the drive cage, I had mine low like that at first but found it bleeds faster and doesn't stress the supply tube to the pump as much in the upper posistion. Just a thought.