Project: Angel

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ensioncopy.jpg

Sponsors so far:

Case:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...el/m01copy.jpg

PSU & Fans:

http://enermax.de/fileadmin/enermax/img/site/logo.png


Here's the movie of the finished build:

PROJECT ANGEL


I'm still on the lookout for a watercooling sponsor so if you feel you can contribute email me at webbo10 at msn dot com.

Time for a new project me thinks. The base of this project will be a Mountainmods Ascension, powdercoated in Sky White. It will then form the chassis for Project: Angel.

The colour theme I will try and stick to will be White with hints of blue here and there.

I'm still in the planning stages of this but here's the spec accumulated so far:

Hardware

Intel i7 920 D0
Gigabyte EX-58 UD5
6GB OCZ Blade DDR3
Asus Xonar DX
2xGTX280
2x Samsung F1 1TB
Enermax Revolution
Watercooling

2x DDC Ultra 18w + XSPC res tops
3x Thermochill PA 120.3
2x EK FC-280 blocks
EK Gigabyte X58 mobo kit
Heatkiller CU v 3.0

Spec will be added to as I go along:).

For this log I plan on doing the basic picture + text log and finish off with a video blog of the build.

I'll update the thread as and when new bits arrive and a progress of the mods I hope to do.

Let's get it on...:)

Here are the fans which should suit the build perfectly:

http://www.enermaxusa.com/catalog/im...ster_1_big.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3621.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3622.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3623.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3624.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3625.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3626.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3627.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3628.jpg

Ok, so I've taken delivery of the Ascension Duality (Extended) which will be photo'd soon and reviewed but it gave me the kick up the backside needed to make a start on my project.

As the sunshine was out I decided to get on with some colour coding.

First I got some of the kit from a previous build together which needed tarting up a little:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3810.jpg

With them prepped, I gave them a couple of coats of primer (white):



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3813.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...IMG_3820-1.jpg

After a light sand, I then gave them the first coat of gloss white spray, slowly building up the layers:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3819.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3816.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3814.jpg

More to follow...

So with a good few coats, resprays due to catching them inadvertantly and a 24hr drying period they look none the worse for wear:

Matrix Orbital GX Typhoon:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3837.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3841.jpg

Pump Bracket:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3843.jpg

2x Zalman fan controllers

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3840.jpg

Pioneer DVD RW:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3844.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...IMG_3846-1.jpg

I've still got loads more spraying to do but that will have to wait.

nice white theme!

hoq do you get sponsored for something like this ?

nice build

pure

Glad to see you build on here Rich mate :)

Hehe. More to come :)

Nice color scheme. I really hope you use white tubing.

looks good so far cant wait to see some tubing.

Love the white. Went white and black on my build.

Can't wait to see this one.

Ah I saw this build on WCUK, at least, I thought it was this build. Gigabyte motherboard? That blue coloured ram, I think Patriot?

Hehe, here's a link for anyone who wants to see more! :)

Man, white is the new black=P. Looks great.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dreamaxx

Ah I saw this build on WCUK, at least, I thought it was this build. Gigabyte motherboard? That blue coloured ram, I think Patriot?

Hehe, here's a link for anyone who wants to see more! :)

---

Aye it's that one. I gotta upload some different pics though coz some of those are watermarked ;).

Tiger style is a fantastic build too mate, well done!

I love tigers :)

Here's a few pics of the Ascension which arrived flat packed but in perfect condition:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_3823.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_3824.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_3832.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_3970.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_3970.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...G_3987copy.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_3991.jpg

Here's the angel which is engraved on the windows courtesy of Mountain Mods:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_3848.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_3986.jpg

While waiting for the rest of the fans to arrive from Deutschland (Enermax) I found the time to do a few more mods. Well make that spraying a few more items to colour code the rest of the build.

The Black skin of the Thermochills would have stuck out like a sore thumb as they were so I went for a satin white flavour here. I also did the same to the shrouds.

Here's the bits and bobs I have lightly sanded down to give the paint a key to work to:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4063.jpg

Primed

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4064.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4065.jpg

and the rads drying off after a couple of rub downs with wet and dry and a final top coat:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4066.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4068.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4071.jpg

For fitting the shroud I wanted to use the same button head screws used on the Ascension case so every matches up where possible:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4077.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4078.jpg

Heres a few shots of the finished rad assembly:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4085.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4075.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4076.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4080.jpg


More to come soon...

Got a couple of these to cool the memory down. These will also be going on a fan controller to run silently. They still need braiding but will do this when I get to the mammoth braiding sessions laying ahead of me. I also need to do something about the black thumbscrews.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4090.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4088.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4089.jpg

Rads fitted to the case.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4094.jpg

Also fitted the rest of the Enermax Clusters to the front (all to be controlled via fan controller). It would be a shame not to power them up wouldn't it?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4093.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4092.jpg

Decided to give my pumps a little service:

Remove the magnet and the black stock O-ring:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4131.jpg

Fit new build matching O-ring:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4132.jpg

Take XSPC Reservoir top (best performing solution):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4133.jpg

Fit top to pump and check for correct and even O-ring compression:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4138.jpg

Rinse and repeat for 2nd 18w DDC pump:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4139.jpg

Add DDC res holder (custom):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4140.jpg

Add blue LED's

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4142.jpg

Job done.

Just need barbs and braiding now :).

Finished of the other cooler tonight. If anyone is wondering what fans I used here they are:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4143.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4146.jpg

Work well on a fan controller. Here's a Zalman I modded previously :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4148.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4145.jpg

Need to buy some more bit's now as I'm almost modded out :D

There are a lot of white builds around now and wow I'm liking this one quite a bit!

I like it so much I spent 5 minutes loading the pics because I'm capped. .. . :D

Haha, sorry m8. This thread would be useless without pics :D

Haha, people from the UK and USA don't know what "capped" means. Stupid crap internet in Australia *shakes fist*

I'll swap my bandwidth for the weather you get down under.;)

Not right now you wouldn't ;) Perth has been stormy recently. It's awesome actually lol :) I LIKE the rain! I think because it is a rare occurence. I don't like cold too much though. Thank god I'm from Australia hey? ;) Half English actually but I've never lived in the UK, only visited rellies.

BTW, do you still have your Tiger Style case? I really love it, you did a great job. Great ambassador for Mountain Mods :)

I'm liking what I see, but I'm a bit afraid of it turning out to white.
We'll see how it turns out, you're on the right way ;)

Looking nice as always duder.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dreamaxx

Not right now you wouldn't ;) Perth has been stormy recently. It's awesome actually lol :) I LIKE the rain! I think because it is a rare occurence. I don't like cold too much though. Thank god I'm from Australia hey? ;) Half English actually but I've never lived in the UK, only visited rellies.

BTW, do you still have your Tiger Style case? I really love it, you did a great job. Great ambassador for Mountain Mods :)

---

English weather is the most unpredictable in the world. Snowing one day, sunny the next. Ideal for some bench runs though when temps hit sub-zero:D

I moved on from the Tiger a while ago and turned to the 'dark side' (LianLI V2000) but regretted the move and came back to Mountainmods \o/.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by matsjuw

I'm liking what I see, but I'm a bit afraid of it turning out to white.
We'll see how it turns out, you're on the right way ;)

---

I'm hoping to make it like a bit of a gradient, white in the bottom section rising to blue up top. White tubing is a must for this build though:cool:.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brad8988

Looking nice as always duder.

---

Haha, didn't know you were also on here m8, it's like CPC all over again except I can't ban you now :D

lol i didnt know u were. Whats with the name? Top gun wannabe eh?

Lol, I did ask mods to change it but meh.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dreamaxx

Not right now you wouldn't ;) Perth has been stormy recently. It's awesome actually lol :) I LIKE the rain! I think because it is a rare occurence. I don't like cold too much though. Thank god I'm from Australia hey? ;)

---

Ha ha, would you like our rain? Glad it's gone and terrorised upper NSW.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ic3man

Haha, sorry m8. This thread would be useless without pics :D

---

Who cares about me. More pics =D It's worth the wait xD

i like it but why are there so many of those corsair fan airflow ram things
i might rethink on getting enermax fans

Enermax fans look AWESOME, really liking their look. This build is gonna be super sweet when finished, can't wait.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dreamaxx

Haha, people from the UK and USA don't know what "capped" means. Stupid crap internet in Australia *shakes fist*

---

As Canucks do though, my old cap was 40Gb a month, I used it up in the first week getting Steam games and spent the rest of the month with 1/5 of my regular speed:(

@Ic3man: Great looking build, like what you did with the rad(that I still need to do with mine).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ILikeCosmosS

i like it but why are there so many of those corsair fan airflow ram things
i might rethink on getting enermax fans

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dreamaxx

Enermax fans look AWESOME, really liking their look. This build is gonna be super sweet when finished, can't wait.

---

Aye the enermax Cluster really are a sweet bit of kit. Expensive but worth it imo.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by No1451

As Canucks do though, my old cap was 40Gb a month, I used it up in the first week getting Steam games and spent the rest of the month with 1/5 of my regular speed:(

@Ic3man: Great looking build, like what you did with the rad(that I still need to do with mine).

---

I got another (possibly two) PA120.3's to add to the two I already have, should keep things cool enough:D.

Ok, here's some snaps I took during my first battle with the PSU which might I add is pretty damn gorgeous to begin with. Sadly the black/yellow braid just dosn't hold with the theme of this build. Here's the PSU (Enermax 85+):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4168.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4175.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4173.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4178.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4176.jpg

Time to do some braiding...

I originally planned on all white for the braid:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4181.jpg

However the braid I got was not the best and showed alot of the colour of the cables through the braid. I should have gone for murdermod braid but meh. I could have gone the easy route and chosen black but every man and his dog is doing black so opted for blue.

For the ATX I opted to sleeve each cable individually in blue with the ends (the bit nearest the PSU split into 6x4 cables and braid them in blue which gave a neater, easier to manage bundle rather than the PSU exit looking like a rats nest of cables.

Heres the 3mm braid used:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4263.jpg

Unclasping the cables from the ATX block was a total PITA. Forget about using the pre-made tools, they snap after about four pins. Bring on the ghetto ATX pin remover :p:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4179.jpg

Each pin was painstakingly numbered so I knew which pin went where come rebuild time:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4180.jpg

Then I comenced the braiding:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4260.jpg

A whole lot of mess!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4264.jpg

Note some of the cables are frayed at the ends. These were trimmed before sealing with heatshrink.

Here was the tricky part as I needed to judge how far up the pin to put the heatshrink so's not to interefere with putting the pin back in the block but also not to have any pesky cable colour showing. Here's the 'best fit' that worked for me:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4267.jpg

Once braidied up I then had the tedius job of realigning the barb on the pins (24x2!)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4268.jpg

Getting there....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4265.jpg

Done (although need to trim some heatshrink to level it all out a little).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4266.jpg

Rinse and repeat for 8 Pin 12v:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_4269.jpg

You can still see some colour through the cabling but it's not as bad under normal light, camera flash seems to have brought it out much more than you can see. Either way it's a helluva alot better than the white looked!.

Thats about it for now, still got alot of braiding to do, molex, SATA then all the misc wiring in the PC. I'll crack on with that once I get the feeling back in my fingers....sigh:(

Again I would like to say how much I love your build... but as far as the sleeving, in my humble opinion my friend, you most certainly need to go back and change over all the wires to blue, or some other alternative... trust me, I can relate, I was sleeving for nearly 12 hours straight last night... it can become a tedious wretched blood spewing hell (har... least for me)... but with a build as exceptional as yours is / and will be, every detail is paramount. :)

Just my 3 or 4 cents.

Shoulda got Murdermod blue sleeving, then you wouldn't have been able to see ANY cable. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dreamaxx

Shoulda got Murdermod blue sleeving, then you wouldn't have been able to see ANY cable. :)

---

+1 on that, love my Murdermod sleeving.

Great looking build though. I can't wait for more :up:

Damn, Shazza,s may not look so good after you get finished with this.

Looking good man.:up:

While I greatly dislike the MM boxes, much admiration for the clean and quality job you're doing, and love your accy work.

Cheers for the kind comments guys.

As I said, I know the MM sleeving would have been better but I can't seem to find any in blue, only black. Does anyone have a link?

you should drop nils a PM or something. i am sure he can hook you up...

Once again, sorry for the (very) long break between updating this project. Sorry to both my sponsors and just as importantly, the members of this forum who have been so kind with their comments thus far. I'm not the type to give up on anything and intend to complete this rig if it kills me! Anyway, I've finally sorted most of whats been going on in my life so it's time to get this project back on track.

You may remember that I fitted two Thermochill PA 120.3's to the front panel and those more astute among you may also remember that there is actually room for four PA 120.3's. Well I went and did it, I fitted four :D.

Having a bit of spare time on my hands this week, I sprayed up the remaining two rads and fitted them to the case complete with 6 enermax twisters and colour coded fan grills:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...10/Angel/1.jpg

The first one was fitted above the other two but due to clearance issues come tubing time, this one was not fitted with a shroud. The front fans on the rads attached to the case will be working as intakes, sucking cold air from outside the case over the rads.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...10/Angel/3.jpg

The fourth rad is positioned low down to the rear of the case. While this rad will not recieve clean cold air (sucking air from inside the case, acting as an exhaust) it should still prove cool enough to keep the chipset cool....and it would have been rude not to make use of the space for another rad :cool:.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...10/Angel/2.jpg

Starting to look a little cramped in the bottom half of the case so I think that'll do for the cooling capacity of the 'Angel'.

Next up - Pump mounts.

Im liking your progress in it .. where did you buy such case? .. 4 radiators all 360?
And why do you need that much radiators ?
I think its useless but explain me please..;)

I remember this build fondly. Glad to see you back at things, Ic3man. :up:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raiden

Im liking your progress in it .. where did you buy such case? .. 4 radiators all 360?
And why do you need that much radiators ?
I think its useless but explain me please..;)

---

It's a Mountainmods Ascension:

http://www.mountainmods.com/

4x360 rads are over the top I agree but useless I think not lol!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CptDreadFlint

I remember this build fondly. Glad to see you back at things, Ic3man. :up:

---

Cheers:)

Oh and Happy New Year all:up:

As promised, here's how I intend to mount the pumps. The position may be altered slightly depending on the routing of tubing but you get the general idea.

Custom made dual DDC pump bracket:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...10/Angel/4.jpg

Pumps mounted with XSPC reservoirs:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...10/Angel/5.jpg

The pumps will be mounted with rubber noise dampening mounts as even though the DDC's are not loud they can give off noise through vibration:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...10/Angel/6.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raiden

Im liking your progress in it .. where did you buy such case? .. 4 radiators all 360?
And why do you need that much radiators ?
I think its useless but explain me please..;)

---

Have you not seen my build then? MANY radiators in that.... Speaking of which.. I should really update.... after I clean up this mess I made from being drunk as a skunk last night....

Ice - It's bloody good to see you back, this build makes me small and feel all warm and fuzzy, but I wish you'd used better sleeving :(

WCUK's sleeving isn't bad for money and is bloody beautifull - almost MDPC style

~Bex

Cheers Bex. The braiding WAS from WCUK but before they got the new stock in. I'll probs do it again if/when I get the time (and after the sliced/burnt fingers have healed!).

Aaaah I see. Unlucky :(

Hope you heal soon!

~Bex

this is coming out beautiful. The white is definitely something to ponder for a bit. Amazing job!

Got enough PA120.3's there?

Man, what a nice build!

Sorry for the severe lack of updates guys. Lot's of RL issues I've had to cope with which have sadly taken priority. Anyway, here's the continuation:

To keep the white theme going, I sprayed the PSU:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0374.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0376.jpg

I also added a little detailing to the grill and GTX back plates:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0379.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0381.jpg

After leaving the paint to fully harden on the PSU for 48 hours, I re-assembled it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0390.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0394.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0395.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0393.jpg

Quite pleased with the results :). I might do a bit more detailing on it (Project Angel on the sides perhaps?) but I don't want to over do it and spoil the effect. The grill surround was sprayed cobalt metalic blue, matching the board. It appears a little dark in the photos though :(.

Decided on using barbs and 7/16's. I know the fashion is to use comp fittings but I personally think they look a little bulky. I also don't trust them. That said they do look mint if there isn't too much being cooled. For me however I don't think they are right for this build.

The barbs are standard hi-flow affairs which give the best grip imo. This is imperative as I intend to use 7/16 tubing WITHOUT any form of fixing (tie wraps/jubilees etc). This should give a nice clean appearance.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0396.jpg

To minimised the amount of flex on the tubing, I also intend to use these babies:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0441.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0442.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0404.jpg

Gotta love shiny bitspower goodies. Overpriced for sure but they certainly look the dogs danglies!

Motherboard prep:

The Gigabyte EX58-UD5 is the older revision but that doesn't mena it's any less capable than the newer one. Infact I've heard on the grapevine that it actually overclocks BETTER than the newer revision. Anyway for those that don't know what this board looks like here ya go:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0428.jpg

While the stock cooling looks nice, like most things OEM, they are made with budget in mind. I decided to go for the full monty EK setup but first I removed the stock heatpiped affair, which is a doddle to do as it's only attached via push pins:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0429.jpg

Stock vs the EK kit:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0430.jpg

more to come...

Strip washing the mobo was made all the more easy thanks to IPA. Both sets of MOSFETs, NB (QPI) and SB (ICH10R) were given a good clean to remove all traces of the original compound, to ensure the best possible surface contact to the blocks:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0439.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0443.jpg

I was gonna use paste on the fets but as the levels were so misaligned, thermal tape was the best option.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0437.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0444.jpg

For the chipset I used Arctic Ceramique which is getting on a bit but still pretty good stuff (and more importantly non conductive!).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0438.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0445.jpg

Appologies for some of the poor quality pics - crap lighting and crap camera.

Back to the shiny bits. Heres a few shots of the chipset blocks:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0413.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0417.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0421.jpg

Fitting the blocks was a doddle thanks to EK's perfectly machined blocks and aligned screw holes. An idea for the future might be to get some white delrin/acetel style tops instead of the acrylic but for now the acrylic look better than black for my build.

Here they are fitted to the board:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0449.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0450.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0451.jpg

...Oh an it would have been a shame not to take a piccy of all the onboard copper blocks together :D :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0425.jpg

As mentioned earlier in the build log, I will be using the full copper Watercool Heatkiller block for the CPU so here's a few snaps of that block too:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0407.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0409.jpg

Must say this block is perhaps the best looking block I've seen for some time. Not only that but it's also (and more importnantly) the best performing block on the market at present. The LT version with the Delrin top is cheaper and almost performs on a par with the full CU block but I couldn't resist the lush full CU version :).

For those who are interested here's the FPO/Batch of the CPU. No idea if it's a good one or not but as long as I get 4/4.2 without issue I'm happy:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0454.jpg

The paste choice is not so critical as it once was as most popular 'high performance' pastes perform within a degree of each other so I went with what I know is good, Shinetsu Microsi:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0457.jpg

Next up - CPU mount

Spreading the microSI was a total PITA as the batch I got was very dry but with a little persuasion I got a then sliver onto the CPU. I prefer to use the spread method rather than the blob, it's what works best for me but I have little doubt that the blob method works best for others so I won't get into an arguement about that here!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...IMG_0462-1.jpg

Fitting the CPU block at first presented no problems, however after doing a little research I quickly realised that the Heatkiller block should be fitted horizontally on the UD5 thanks to the row of caps (highlighted below) that prevent a good mount.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../highlight.jpg

The caps are just a smidge to close to the CPU socket so with a little more (very) gentle persuasion, I bent them out of the way to allow vertical fitment of the Heatkiller:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...IMG_0467-1.jpg

Sorted :)

Here's how the board looks now with the blocks fitted:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0466.jpg

I had a quick play with the 45 angled bitspower fittings and attached the barbs to judge how I'm going to plumb in all up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...IMG_0469-1.jpg

So with the motherboard blocks fitted thats pretty much all the prep work done save for the GPU's which I'll come to later in the build.

The GPU's I will be using for this build are the GTX280. While they are no longer top dog of the graphics card world, they are still powerfull, especially as the ones I will be using are XXX versions - 2 of :D.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0474.jpg

Of course it would be rude not to watercool them and overclock the nuts off them too, we'll see how that goes later. The blocks for the GTX280 I'll be using are EK-FC280GTX. Mine were bought second hand, and while thye were in good nick they needed a bit of spit and polish to bring them back to their former shiny glory:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0473.jpg

With the backplate I sprayed earlier:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0475.jpg

Stripped the cards back:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0477.jpg

and fitted the blocks.

Couldn't resist doing a few mock up shots of how the cards look installed:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0481.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0478.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l/IMG_0480.jpg

I went for a horizontal fitting with the MM Ascension case but for all intents and purposes, the motherboard tray looks exactly the same as one which would be fitted vertical:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/Angel/12.jpg

I dunno which way to have the fan yet as there are two more 120mm fans on the case roof so for now ignore the fan orientation:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/Angel/11.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/Angel/10.jpg

Fitting both GTX's in situ was a bit of a pain as MM have a nasty habit of placing a pop rivet directly in line with the PCI backplates making it tricky to fit the cards into the 16x PCIe slots at the same time. A little bit of 'jiggling' (technical term) and they slotted right in.

With the pumps sitting directly below the mobo tray, routing the tubing neatly was always going to be difficult so to cut down on the amount of tubing used, I made use of a couple of Bitspower 90 degree connectors:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...10/Angel/9.jpg

I'm still not totally sold on them as I generally hate 90 degree bends in any loop, let alone one with 2 rads which is going to be restrictive enough. However I'm also a bit of a magpie when it comes to shiny stuff so I'll give them a go. I restriction is too much then I can easily swap them out.

Here's where I have hit a little snag:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...10/Angel/8.jpg

You cant really tell that much from the photo but there is a severe slant on the motherboard tray courtesy of all that copper on the mobo and the fact I have not fitted the supporting strut from MM. The problem with the supplied strut is that it sits directly infront of the window which would dull the effect off the lush engraving there so I am determined not to use that. I plainly do need to use some sort of support though as I can't leave all that weight just hanging there. One to poner while I do a few mock ups of the tubing....

Loop one:

18wDDC -> PA120.3-> PA120.3 -> CPU -> GPU1 -> GPU2

Loop two:

18wDDC -> PA120.3-> PA120.3 -> MOSFET1 -> MOSFET2 -> NB

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...10/Angel/7.jpg

This is the best way I found to route the tubing, whether or not it is the best regarding heatload is doubtfull as I would prefer to have the GPU's split between the two loops but that is inpractical with this rig really. We'll see how it fairs when its up and running.

Heres a close up of the business end of the loops:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../Angel/6-1.jpg

The only real difficulty in routing the tubing was with the MOSFET blocks:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../Angel/5-1.jpg

Note that one section of tubing appears flattened. It is slightly flatter but still fairly rounded and certainly not as bad as the photo suggests.

I was quite impressed how easily and painless it all went tbh. With quite a lot of tubing left over I can easily re-dux the loops should it be necessary.

Got the new barbs - bitspower diamond silver:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ngel/barbs.jpg

Hopefully they will solve the leak I had from using the d=tek ones which were a little too long on the thread. On inspection the thread of the d-teks seemed long enough but when everything was plumbed in there were minor leaks on all fittings :(.

Heres a shot of the d-teks:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...Angel/leak.jpg

So I got a little more done this weekend.

The new bitspower barbs sorted out the leaks I was having from the old d-tek barbs:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5619.jpg

However, I had issues with one of the rotarys as it sprung a leak too but as it was slightly compressing part of the tubing anyway, I opted to remove it completely from the setup and replace it with a plain barb. So here's the new tubing layout:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5617.jpg

Looks a little better than before but I reckon I'll also change the input to the heatkiller as that looks a little stretched and could be smoother, good job I bought plenty of spare tubing eh?

I've also chopped the ikea curtain pole down to size and braced it to the motherboard tray which has evened things out a little and given the tray much more stability:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5628.jpg

While I was on a roll, I began to do a little cable tidying. Anyone who has owned a mountainmods case will tell you that they are notoriously poor for cable management so this is in the forefront of my mind when making this build.

I know I will never be able to completely hide all of the cabling so making it look as neat as possible was the task at hand, so I began with the SATA cables which were braided earlier:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5615.jpg

Because the case has loads of fans I needed something to keep the fan cables tidy. Lucky for me a fellow forum member helped me out with some nifty little ties that work a treat should you have ample screw holes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5611.jpg

They come in plenty of sizes too so depending on your cable number/width, the right size could be chosen to minimise clutter:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5620.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5616.jpg

More to follow later this week.;)

Finished of bleeding the loop the other night (still a few minor bubbles to get rid off but they will go soon enough ;). Also added a couple of LEDs to the XSPC res's:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5635.jpg

Did a bit more braiding this time a couple of molex splitters and the cabling for the cathodes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5638.jpg

Painted invertors:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5632.jpg

I'll be using a combo of 2x blue for the motherboard area and a couple of white for the water/rad area.

Decided to 'upgrade' the ram from the 1600MHz Patriot Viper to some lush 2000MHz CAS7 OCZ Blades:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5630.jpg

..with the Corsair ram coolers fitted:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5641.jpg

Here's how the front of the case looks:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5644.jpg

While the buttons look 'ok' they are not bling enough so I got hold of a couple of switches:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5645.jpg

As ealrlier mentioned, the fact I am now forced to use two psu's one is a latch switch which by definition locks into place (push on - latched/ release off unlatched). This is the one on the left and will control everything bar the motherboard. It's a single white led but thanks to the opaque cover it's not too bright.

The one on the right is a momentary switch (blue ring) and will control the motherboard. The ring will be attached to the HD led header.

I tend to get quite a few emails asking how these are wired up, particulary the momentary switches which are best used fo a 'normal' pc. So here's a quick 'how-to'....

Heres a shot of the latch (left) and momentary right. I'll do a quick guide on the momentary as they are the most common used:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5646.jpg

These are the 'spade' type and in all honesty the screw type are much easier to install so if you can get those do so, especially if like me you are not good with a soldering iron!

You could use spade connectors for the ones I have tbh and it would be easier but I didn't have any spare at the time so I decided to solder mine.

First sort your wires out. Twisting the ends makes for a neat and tidy job:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5651.jpg

Then connect the LED wires to the + and - connectors (middle):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...IMG_5647-1.jpg

If your LEDs dont work then switch the motherboard headers around. Don't worry, you wont do damage if they are the wrong way around. Also note that the leds are rated for 3.4v but motherboard headers give out 3.3v. This is within the threshold so no bad things will happen :D. The led's will be very slightly dimmer thats all. I wouldn't advise wiring up the leds to anything other than the rated spec though as you will most likely burn out the LED.

Then connect your motherboard header (in this case power + and - but the same goes for a reset switch) to tabs 3 & 4.

Heres a diagram:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...iagramfull.gif

Here they are wired:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...IMG_5648-1.jpg

Then all that is left is to solder the wires to neaten things up and to prevent a short:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5649.jpg

Then braid the cables to complete the job:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5652.jpg

I left the blades exposed as I 'may' wish to solder other wires to the swiches to control other sections (lights etc) so not quite finished with those yet ;).

Hope this helps somewhat.

After a little jiggery pokery (sliced my thumb, note to self - scalpels are dangerous!), I fitted the switches I wired up earlier. Here's how they look:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5682.jpg

The Aquero is gonna take some configuring with this setup but it's a handy device which will hopefully keep an eye on things for me :).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5686.jpg

Along with the aquero I got a Matrix Orbital GX Typhoon:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5689.jpg

The typhoons screen colour can be configured to display the same colour as the aquero but thats something I'll have to sort out once the OS and software is installed. Look forward to playing with those two goodies :cool:.

Well I've finally come to the part I was dreading - cable tidy!

To give you an idea of what I am up against here's a basic list of cables I have to tidy:

2xPSU's (4 molex cables, 2 SATA cables, 2x 24pin ATX, 2x 8pin CPU, 4xPCIe 8pin, 4xPCIe 6pin).

5x SATA data cables

2x Pumps (+2x sensor cables + 2x LED cables)

16x fans

Fan controllers x2

GX Typhoon + aquero + sensor cables

Motherboard headers

4x Cold Cathodes

...all to be hidden in a case with 3 windows and not alot to hide them behind!

So i did a quick mock up and found that no matter what I did, in whatever orientation, the thing looked liked a rats nest! My last hope was to use the thick motherboard tray support bracket.
I made a few extension cables so most of the wires can be hidden behind the bracket as well as cutting down the amount of excess wiring inside the case. Here's a shot of the zalman fan controller and above it the aquero with barely anything attached!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5670.jpg

One problem that I found with braiding the SATA cables was that it made them much stiffer and more difficult to bend/route in a neat manner due to the decrease in flexibility. However, I persevered and managed to get the HD rack (2x1TB raid 0, 1x2tb, 1xSSD, 1xDVD) looking reasonable:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5672.jpg

Fitting the bracket while everything was in place was an absolute PITA. I had to drain the loops, remove all cabling then adjust it slightly from it's correct mounting position as I wanted the bracket to cover the modular fittings of the PSUs to make the whole thing look as neat and tidy as possible:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5673.jpg

It's getting there now! Still a bit more tidying to do (the above shot is the 'messy' end but certainly starting to take shape :).

The reason why I didn't originally want to fit the brack was because of the window engraving as it tends to 'bleach' it out being opaque on white:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5654.jpg

So my next task was to make the Angel engraving stand out a little more without making it look like some cheap sticker. I opted for placing an LED under the edge of the perspex which would hopefully refract the blught light on the engraving. The LED was not directional so I blanked out the side of the led with some good old insulation tape as I just wanted the beam to point upwards toward the perspex of the side panel:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5658.jpg

With the side panel on (white cathodes off):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5660.jpg

With the side panel on (white cathodes on):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...0/IMG_5661.jpg

Worked out quite well. It's a shame the photos really don't capture the full glowing effect of the Angel.

Here's the movie:

PROJECT ANGEL

Hope you like :cool:

Big thx to Mountain Mods and Enermax who were kind enough to supply parts for this build :D

WOW! The radiator work really shines in this build!

sweetest revolution PSU I've ever seen :) I just wish the sleeving was a little more dense
overall, nice build so far!

Yeah I know what you mean. Wish I'd gone MDPC sleeving, maybe next time;).

You know, normally I'm not a big fan of completely white builds, but you managed to completely blow my mind. I'm truly in awe :eek:!

its all good :)

nice build man, that'll make Apple jealous :)

Can you tell me what paint you used? That paint job is flawless!

Just regular spraycan paint + primer. The key to good results is in the prep work.

Final update:

Rig featured on Mountainmods homepage:

http://www.mountainmods.com/

Can't really get a better compliment than that :). Very happy!

Which ram cooler are you using? did you have to spray those white to?

Just an overall wicked PC. Looks incredible...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Beezie

Which ram cooler are you using? did you have to spray those white to?

---

2x Corsair dominators coolers and yes, I sprayed them white to match the build. I also replaced the fans.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SovietKitsch

Just an overall wicked PC. Looks incredible...

---

Cheers :up:

Lovely project! It`s a shame we dont have good parts like these here in Brazil. After seeing this, i think i will start planning building a big case like that by myself. :P

cheers.

***NOTE*** Please see video build log

PROJECT ANGEL

...until bandwidth issues have been resolved.

Sorry for any inconvenience.