Project: Grotesk

Welcome to Project: Grotesk.
"Faster, why did you name it Grotesk when everything you do is so amazing?" I hear you ask.
Well, if I was a kind person I might respond "If you were a typographer you would understand", but I am not a kind person so I will not dignify that question with a response.

If you do understand the name, you will realize why the build logo (actually a signature, but let's not go into that) is ironic.
"What logo?" I hear you cry out.

BAM!

http://imgur.com/UOCS1.png

On the left hand side you will notice a little water droplet/bubble guy. First person to name him gets a free copy of TF2 providing you are willing to login to a new steam account (not joking).

Here is a short vid of my unfinished comp as of PAX09. Notice the funnel at the top of the comp. Video courtesy Darth Beavis.
Bonus points for watching the guy behind my case.

Oh, and here are some pics of somethings:

24-pin connector. I have some improvements planned for this.
http://imgur.com/F4Y2q.jpg

MOVE IN!
http://imgur.com/HKEv1.jpg

Parts to paint and drying. Don't worry there is much more.
http://imgur.com/JukF2.jpg

http://imgur.com/NbytU.jpg

Here is the front of top panel of my case sans handles which are... hey, what are they doing up there?
http://imgur.com/6W4Np.jpg

My poor beat up case wheels. These got destroyed thanks to PAX. I might replace these or try and fix them. There is also one of my rads in there.
http://imgur.com/IQFSj.jpg

Sample of the bottom divider. It is hard to tell with my crappy camera exactly what it looks like. I will try to get better pics of this.
http://imgur.com/eC8AN.jpg

http://imgur.com/LAR8R.jpg

UPDATE

Specs and plans:
Case: Rocketfish black outside, glossy white on the inside.
The goal for the inside is to let the white reflect the lights. I will also be building top, bottom and front dividers so as to separate the different compartments for a clean look.
Mobo: DFI t3eh6
Good color scheme that matches my build.
CPU: Core i7 920 D0, cooled by GTZ
GPU: 4870X2 cooled by EK block
Mem: 6gb OCZ Platinum

There is the basics.

I plan on having two loops. Here are the tentative plans.
CPU:
DDC 3.2 w/XSPC top
BIX240 (might swap for MCR220) fans will depend on my budget.
MCR320 w/ UK 2000RPM
GTZ
2x Koolance VL3N (maybe)
fillport/t-line

GPU/NB:
DD CPX1 (maybe)
2x Koolance VL3N
MCR220 w/ Delta 3000RPM (might swap for BIX)
MCRes V1
EK 4870X2 GPU block
Custom made NB

Both of these loops are going to be super short compared to my previous setup. Probably slightly less than 3ft of tubing/loop with 1ft visible on the GPU loop and maybe 6in visible on the CPU loop.

I planing on doing something cool to make it easier to understand everything. Hopefully I will get that done. Unfortunately I started Dragon Age during this build and it seems to want my soul.
-mmp

looking forward to is faster. :up:

Today I spent all day doing my least favorite thing... sanding.

Here is the case:
http://imgur.com/TbEEL.jpg

I got it painted by a body shop a while back. It only cost me $40 to have the entire frame done, but the paint chipped and peeled with rough use :(.
I am hoping to get it done tonight, but since I am doing this by hand it takes a long time and will most likely roll over to tomorrow, where I will be lucky to get it done since I have plans.

Here is the top rad cover:
http://imgur.com/aVddm.jpg

http://imgur.com/NmzfP.jpg

This was also painted so I had to sand it. It now has 4 coats of primer on it.

Full plans will be divulged some day this week when I don't have an update. That probably means Thursday since I get to visit Valve :up:
-mmp

This is looking like a pretty sick project. Subbed

Ok, small update. I have done lots of work and planning but I don't have pictures for my ideas, just yet.
Most of the work I have done would be rather boring to see, so I didn't bother taking pics.
I do have a plan to better display my work though, hopefully I can get that up in the next few days. I feel like describing everything I plan on doing won't really do it justice and just posting mock-ups might get confusing, so hopefully this will sort it out.

Here is some of the more interesting stuff:

http://imgur.com/tuggb.jpg

I'm not quite done with the GTZ, there are a few details I need to fix.
http://imgur.com/cC7Tk.jpg

http://imgur.com/6jP88.jpg

This is my current setup with all the hardware I plan to use. Original post updated with specs.
http://imgur.com/1dGx4.jpg

I'm testing parallel flow with NB and GPU. The results are very promising.
http://imgur.com/cqPix.jpg

As I mentioned, I got to visit Valve. Supposedly I will be getting an email of the group picture we took, but it will take a week :/.
In absences of that here is what I got in my goodie bag.

A L4D t-shirt, Soldier keychain, HL2 Sticker, and super high quality photos of the L4D2 campaign posters.
http://imgur.com/vAiqv.jpg

Plus, a jumbo sized L4D mouse pad.
http://imgur.com/Lved1.jpg

http://imgur.com/Fo7dt.jpg

The Valve trip was insane, I really don't think I could have learned more or been more impressed with the people who work there. Honestly, these are the smartest guys in the biz. The trip has me supe psyched for L4D2. I could probably rave about the trip all day, so I will stop here.

-mmp

Some new friends arrived thanks to Lu(ky.

http://imgur.com/rmHbM.jpg

Getting a new coat.
http://imgur.com/xIwEp.jpg

Looking good, faster. (maybe I should say, looking "creepy" :up:)

Looking good there faster. Looking forward to more updates. :up:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shoopdawoopa

This is looking like a pretty sick project. Subbed

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Thanks :up:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by millertime359

Looking good there faster. Looking forward to more updates. :up:

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They should be coming. I am finally starting to get into some of the more interesting stuff to look at. Hopefully I can get a better camera to take some pics. My Casio QV-R62 doesn't quite cut it. Apparently $200 cameras from 2005 don't quite compare to nice DSLRs :p:.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shazza

Looking good, faster. (maybe I should say, looking "creepy" :up:)

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This isn't supposed to be an intentionally creepy build, but I know what you are getting at so thank you.

The name "Grotesk" is in reference to Sans-serif Grotesk (commonly spelled Grotesque), which is a kind of typeface. E.g. Akzidenz Grotesk, Helvetica (Neue Hass Grotesk), and Arial (poor man's Helvetica). I named it this since when I thought of my loop setup I wanted them to be simple and clean, just like Grotesks.

One day I was staring at an "a" and an "i" in Helvetica. I became elated upon viewing this typographic art. The movement and relationship of it really inspired me and hopefully some of those ideas will be expressed in this build. Let's just say the still unnamed bubble dude is not a bubble by accident ;)

Anyway, how do you like my work bench?
http://imgur.com/812mx.jpg

LOL, working with about the same quality of camera I was. :)

Man, that case has seen some better days. :yepp:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by millertime359

LOL, working with about the same quality of camera I was. :)

Man, that case has seen some better days. :yepp:

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Wow, your pics look much better than mine do!

One thing I noticed is that this camera can't do anything except extremely well lit shots.

Here are my soldiers (mages maybe) going off to battle:
http://imgur.com/IEHqP.jpg

The return, victorious!
http://imgur.com/oz2uZ.jpg

One even leveled up!
http://imgur.com/YaIOj.jpg

If you are wondering why I am painting first, it is because these things take so long to dry and I have a bunch of little bits to paint.
-mmp

I love that rad cover.

And those BP fittings look amazing painted!

Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by faster3200

Some new friends arrived thanks to Lu(ky.

http://imgur.com/rmHbM.jpg

Getting a new coat.
http://imgur.com/xIwEp.jpg

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WOW those fitting got to you fast, looking good.. Subscribed :up:

sweet!!! i hope the paint does not fubar the threading on the fittings

Mine is about the same as far as lighting. If its not a bright, sunny day, the photos seem to suck. :(

Those BPs look freaking awesome painted. I can't wait to see them on the tube. Nice job. :up:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wezly

I love that rad cover.

And those BP fittings look amazing painted!

Good luck!

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The rad cover I discovered while wondering around a Home Depot one day.
It is actually a "floor register" or air vent cover. I lucked out in being able to find one exactly the size of my MCR320. After some cutting I had a $10 rad grill :up:.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lu(ky

WOW those fitting got to you fast, looking good.. Subscribed :up:

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Yes they did. Just barely made it to me before the weekend so I didn't have to wait.
It certainly helped that you got them shipped crazy fast.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DarthBeavis

sweet!!! i hope the paint does not fubar the threading on the fittings

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I already checked one and it still threads fine. This is just the primer though. In another 72 hours I will find out how well it works with paint.

I might have stolen some of Boddaker's ideas after seeing Trident at PAX. Hopefully he won't mind.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by millertime359

Mine is about the same as far as lighting. If its not a bright, sunny day, the photos seem to suck. :(

Those BPs look freaking awesome painted. I can't wait to see them on the tube. Nice job. :up:

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Yep, low ISO ftl.

If I am lucky I should have the bottom panel done by Tuesday (sans painted frame anyway). I am working on the frame for it right now. Lots of filing ahead of me :(. I also plan to have a gallery up somewhat soon. It should be different from most galleries and should be good jQuery practice for me.

The only thing standing between me and finishing this mod is time, Dragon Age, and soon L4D2, which is awesome btw.
-mmc

Quote:

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Originally Posted by faster3200

The rad cover I discovered while wondering around a Home Depot one day.
It is actually a "floor register" or air vent cover. I lucked out in being able to find one exactly the size of my MCR320. After some cutting I had a $10 rad grill :up:.

The only thing standing between me and finishing this mod is time, Dragon Age, and soon L4D2, which is awesome btw.

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I thought that looked familiar. I couldn't quite put my finger on it though. That is an awesome idea for a rad grille.

Yea, IW net on MW2 has been a bit annoying. I think I will be getting L4D2 here soon and missing around with that. I hope IW gets our dedicated servers here soon. IW net is really holding an awesome game back. :)

Looking forward to the gallery too. :up:

Looking great so far. Love the fittings :)

Really liking where you're going with that bottom divider with the ccfls shining through.
I'm attempting something similar on a smaller scale. Would love to see more pics of it if DA and L4D2 allows you such a time slot. :D

Looking forward to more of your progress, faster!

nice fittings! even only primed they look amazing :)
keep it up

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Armitage

Looking great so far. Love the fittings :)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by aka_GK

nice fittings! even only primed they look amazing :)
keep it up

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Thanks, they will be painted black and white. I think if I went just white I might have too much of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CptDreadFlint

Really liking where you're going with that bottom divider with the ccfls shining through.
I'm attempting something similar on a smaller scale. Would love to see more pics of it if DA and L4D2 allows you such a time slot. :D

Looking forward to more of your progress, faster!

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Glad you could get something from those pics. I have put in word to hopefully get a better photographer and camera to take pics of the bottom divider, the comps, and the top of the case.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by millertime359

I thought that looked familiar. I couldn't quite put my finger on it though. That is an awesome idea for a rad grille.

Yea, IW net on MW2 has been a bit annoying. I think I will be getting L4D2 here soon and missing around with that. I hope IW gets our dedicated servers here soon. IW net is really holding an awesome game back. :)

Looking forward to the gallery too. :up:

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IW net was the main reason I didn't buy that game :(.

As far as the gallery goes... uhh, I may have spoken too soon. We will see what comes of it. Unfortunately in my desire to make the best gallery possible I have made something rather complicate and time consuming :p:, but that is how it normally goes for me.

Progress has been rather slow for me since the weather has not been kind :(.

Hopefully it will let up for a moment and I can finish my cutting and drilling and get the bottom section done.

Excellent work so far Faster.
Also like your rad grill, it's one of a kind.

Looking good man. I was going downstairs just now to paint My apogee white!! Are you spying on me?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

Excellent work so far Faster.
Also like your rad grill, it's one of a kind.

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Thanks, I'm a big fan of cheap and original. Hopefully I can satisfy that.

Slight update:

PAINTED COMPS!

Top is white, bottom is black.
http://imgur.com/jwGpK.jpg

White, black, white
http://imgur.com/BqJu3.jpg

Originally I had it black, white, black, but when I mocked it up in PS it looked like an Oreo :p:.

Weather is still keeping me down :(. Today was the first day since my last post we had a few moments of sun. I got the metal cutting done and the frame is nearly done with the exception of some drilling and maybe some filing. Hopefully I can get the frame done tomorrow.

Those comps are pretty cool. :up:

yeah looks awesome

Great project.Also great and very special compression fittings.Can't wait for more pictures.:clap:

I too like the paint job on the fitting.

Damm! it! I just talk to Weather just the other day about holding down people, youd think he would listen.
I even told Sunshine to get over there to Washington and sort out that crapy sky.

Yeah looks like I will need to talk with him again, and sunshine, well, Im gona turn up his bright sky, Im telling you, come over and play, he will.

Keep up the good work there mate I will see what I can do from my end about the wheather, but you know what winters like when she has her mine made up.
Takes a dam good three month to move her fat back side.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

I too like the paint job on the fitting.

Damm! it! I just talk to Weather just the other day about holding down people, youd think he would listen.
I even told Sunshine to get over there to Washington and sort out that crapy sky.

Yeah looks like I will need to talk with him again, and sunshine, well, Im gona turn up his bright sky, Im telling you, come over and play, he will.

Keep up the good work there mate I will see what I can do from my end about the wheather, but you know what winters like when she has her mine made up.
Takes a dam good three month to move her fat back side.

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:ROTF:

Well, you must have done something since it stopped raining around 8:00pm and I managed to finish the frame :up:. I am sure my neighbors enjoyed that.

I will hopefully have the bottom done sans paint tomorrow. Only thing in my way is helping some relatives move.

Glad I could help, not sure what "sans" are, but hope it all work out for you.
I would help my relatives move, move away that is, after all you do need to be helpful when it comes to family, right :up: :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

Glad I could help, not sure what "sans" are, but hope it all work out for you.
I would help my relatives move, move away that is, after all you do need to be helpful when it comes to family, right :up: :rolleyes:

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Sans is French for without.
I literally just got home and the weather once again sucks. I might just cut inside and vacuum and hope no one notices. I can't really expect anything but crappy weather this time of the year.
-mmc

Thanks Faster for that. French is one of language I am determined to learn.
Looking forward to an update and sans delay, please.

Just an update on the current build status since nothing has happened for a few days.

The bottom section will be done today and the frame should be painted and done drying by Friday, when I will have some pics taken by a proper camera.

I have also been hard at work on a website I think you guys will like. I have a working demo of it up, but it is hosted on my home comp without DNS and I don't really want to freely distribute my IP.
If we could somehow get to three pages of comments that would help me tremendously. Maybe I just have to get to work on this build :p:.
-mmp

I should have some better pics tonight of things. Unfortunately my Dremel broke so there will be another delay in progress. Here is a small sample of what is to come.

http://imgur.com/W9Brm.jpg

Pretty soon I will *have a preview of* a tech demo of the web project that has consumed most of my free time. You guys should like it ;):cool:.

-mmp

mmm yummy :)
you are doin it in the kitchen? :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aka_GK

mmm yummy :)
you are doin it in the kitchen? :D

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No, I actually have to haul everything down to another house. I just did a quick setup and run through to make sure how I wanted to do things would work.

-mmc

Dude, this looks to be awsome... ;)

Had a little photo-session tonight. Here are some of the better snaps. If you want higher res stuff let me know. I didn't bring the final bottom divider since it is massive and I want to sand it a bit more.

Sample of my bottom divider. Final version will not have the black, but it helps to show the texture for pics.
http://imgur.com/khP4F.jpg

Dark background, light is being projected from underneath like it will be in the final version.
http://imgur.com/Q4J3Q.jpg

Close-up
http://imgur.com/xrCjh.jpg

http://imgur.com/2aTGK.jpg

http://imgur.com/Fp6zq.jpg

I had a leak.
http://imgur.com/YkcTJ.jpg

24-pin connector
http://imgur.com/yZY2Z.jpg

http://imgur.com/BzV19.jpg

http://imgur.com/khmX8.jpg

Hopefully that is enough to satisfy you until I can get a new Dremel.
The website demo I am working on I can show you some time after this thread reaches 3 pages. I need the 3 to debug :p:.
-mmp

sorry if I missed it, but...what material is that exactly?

oh, and could I just spam this thread to get to page 3 sooner so we can check our your tech demo? :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kibbler

sorry if I missed it, but...what material is that exactly?

oh, and could I just spam this thread to get to page 3 sooner so we can check our your tech demo? :D

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The bottom divider is plexi +paint.

That bubbly foamy-looking pattern is paint?:eek: Whoa, would love to know how you did that.

Interesting ;)

Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kibbler

That bubbly foamy-looking pattern is paint?:eek: Whoa, would love to know how you did that.

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I have a "frosted glass" spray. I do one layer of that and wait until it is dry. Then I get out a spray bottle of water and spray that on it followed up with the frosted glass spray again. Repeat previous step only with white spray paint. Another layer of white can be done to prevent it from be too translucent or black can be done to show off the pattern better. Make sure the white and black are done in super thin layers.

The trick is to get the right spray bottle since the water droplet size and variance is what will make or break it. I found that a Febreeze bottle tends to work the best.
-mmc

Really nice work there Faster, it reminds me of metal dust on a white, wet surface.
Will this perspex be for a light box in the bottom?

This post is in no way a bump to help Faster get this thread to three pages...

Anyway I'll also chime in that bubbling texture effects are really unique and awesome and that the secret web project (which I've seen) is really cool as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

Really nice work there Faster, it reminds me of metal dust on a white, wet surface.
Will this perspex be for a light box in the bottom?

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Not really. The bottom is kind of ugly/boring looking, although you should get a nice kind of translucent view of it. I will have some more interesting stuff in this project anyway. Progress has just been super slow so my apologies. I have basically spent 4 days sanding the bottom divider and as many sanding the frame, so that eats up a lot of time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by algorhythm

This post is in no way a bump to help Faster get this thread to three pages...

Anyway I'll also chime in that bubbling texture effects are really unique and awesome and that the secret web project (which I've seen) is really cool as well.

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Thanks... I feel I may have over hyped the web project for people who don't understand the coding portion of it :p:.
Basically, I am making a gallery and worklog site. Now before you groan I should let you know it works much differently than other, typical, sites.
-mmc

This is going to be awesome, love how the fittings came out. Also, that shade of green you have going is looking great :up:

Damn, looking really good there. :up:

Are we there yet, how much longer, I need to pee, oh look, a cow :cow:

After spending 4 days sanding, would it have been easier to just got the case sand blasted then either painted or powder coated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

Are we there yet, how much longer, I need to pee, oh look, a cow :cow:

After spending 4 days sanding, would it have been easier to just got the case sand blasted then either painted or powder coated.

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Probably, but that costs more. Spray paint and sanding sheets are cheap, college is not. The case itself is entirely sanded. I had to sand the bottom divider I am making to get everything to fit right and be straight.

Yeah, this is taking much longer than I anticipated. Part of it is due to my lack of a proper sander and spending so much time on the website.
Most of it is the weather since I have to wait until it isn't raining or windy to be able to do anything. Seattle (area) in the winter is not known for its good weather.

Hang in there champ, the blisters will be worth it in the long run.:rolleyes:
As you then get calluses. :rofl:

Oh wow, I just noticed the 3 pages. Thanks guys :up:

I plan on buying the dremel today and I will start cranking out some work while it is still nice out.

I am going to use this post to debug the smilies for the site. Hopefully, the mods and admins don't mind.

:):(:confused::D;):eek::mad::rolleyes::cool::p: :yepp::rofl::ROTF::clap::welcome::shocked::shrug: :shakes::up::down::lol2::yawn::lol::rotf::doh: :help::hehe::wave:

-mmp mmc

:YIPPIE::YIPPIE:
:party3:
:party:

I got carried away, smilies are fun. :D

Looking forward to more updates. :up:

New pump arrived! Not super powerful, but it is small and should work well for my GPU and NB loop. :up:

My apologize for the crappy pics. I had pretty much no lighting since I left my lamp in the car :(.

http://imgur.com/dgA82.jpg

http://imgur.com/LFIbZ.jpg

http://imgur.com/jm6Bb.jpg

Website demo is done! I just need to do some server optimizations and get a few more opinions and I will go live.

PM me if you have Steam or Google Wave and would use a worklog/gallery site.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/4901/thumbsupq.gif
-mmc -mmp

Hey man, those fittings look amazing. Nice choice on pump. Should be enough for what you want it to do. :)

Man those comp fittings look killer.

It has been a while since my last update since I have been working hard on other web related things.
I thought it was about time for a little state of the mod update.
My mobo decided to go funky on me. It wasn't working for a while however, now it seems to be working kind of...

Anyway I bought a new mobo. Expect the color scheme to reflect this.
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2544/09mobo.jpg

Here is what is currently done:

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9352/09state01.jpg

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/4149/09state02l.jpg

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/8977/09state03.jpg

http://img194.imageshack.us/i/09statetop01.jpg/

http://img97.imageshack.us/i/09statetop02.jpg/

I will add another update tonight with some more pics. I should have a package arriving today and might attempt to go Tap Plastics (located next to the largest mall in the area). Wish me luck.

nice work man! :up:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by faster3200

might attempt to go Tap Plastics (located next to the largest mall in the area). Wish me luck.

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:rofl::rofl::rofl:

You are either really bored, or have a death wish. :p:

Going to be interesting to see how you tie in the Gigabyte board. :yepp:

Any new updates on the site?

Where did you get the green psu extension? or did you dye one green

Quote:

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Originally Posted by millertime359

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

You are either really bored, or have a death wish. :p:

Going to be interesting to see how you tie in the Gigabyte board. :yepp:

Any new updates on the site?

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Yeah... 2 hours of driving for something maybe 10 miles from my house.
Due to this and unexpectedly having to buy Christmas gifts for my family on behalf of my Dad the pics tonight will probably be delayed until after Christmas or I will just show some concepts.

Tons of updates on the site, just nothing you will really see or that is ready to be shown.

The most noticeable thing is that I wrote a page caching system which means that no site will get more than 8 hits per page per hour. This should make admins happy since they won't see a noticeable increase in server load. It also makes pages load much faster if the cached version exists.

The thing that is taking the longest is writing the database system. I could just use mysql and be done with it, and for some things I might, but for most things a human readable format is needed to properly admin the site.
I would already be done if IE could read XML streams. I finished about half of everything when I noticed that problem. Now I need to convert the XML to JSON and I should be good.

I might throw up a mock-up of what the main page will look like if you don't mind fake content.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by liveify

Where did you get the green psu extension? or did you dye one green

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Nope, I made it. Green wire, pins, connector, project box, plexi, screws, and some hair gel :p:.

-mmc

This is one awesome build!! Very creative and original.

It's Excellent to see you back Faster. :yepp:
I really like the white case with the black top, it help make that modded fan grill stand out a treat, look excellent.:up:

As I know nothing about coding, page caching system and convert the XML to JSON.
You can show me as much fake content as you want and I will still think its outstanding. :ROTF:
But seriously, go ahead, throw up a mock-up of what the main page will look like, I would love to see what you have been doing. :up:

Have a Marry Christmas Faster and an outstanding new year, all the best champ.:up:

Man thats gona be sweet ..

The white inside the case makes it look bigger !

Keep up the good work !:up:

Thanks all!

Here is a mock-up of the main page.
It isn't finished in any way but it at least gives a decent representation of what it will look and act like.
The gallery looks a bit odd since I didn't bother to resize the images. This section will be for galleries or worklogs I think demonstrate excellent workmanship and ideas. Kind of like how MDPC does it, but not nearly as selective.

Merry Christmas and belated Hanukkah.

-mmc

Very creative stuff! :up:

Excellent job with the painting - looking forward to following your progress. :)

The webpage mockup looks good - very clean and well balanced; nice job!

Btw, you could probably buy a new video card with all those pennies... ;)

Pardon my ignorance but what kind of fittings are in the middle plate? Is that for a clean transition?

Well done on the webpage, color and composition looks well balanced. You certainly have an eye for aesthetics.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by charles_h

Very creative stuff! :up:

Excellent job with the painting - looking forward to following your progress. :)

The webpage mockup looks good - very clean and well balanced; nice job!

Btw, you could probably buy a new video card with all those pennies... ;)

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Thank you very much :up:. A compliment from you goes a long way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nismosd

Pardon my ignorance but what kind of fittings are in the middle plate? Is that for a clean transition?

Well done on the webpage, color and composition looks well balanced. You certainly have an eye for aesthetics.

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Those are VL3N QDCs. I got them for both a clean transition and because it will make my life a bit easier.

Thank you.

So... I have quite a bit of stuff done, but I just need a few things like heatshrink, pins (seemed to have lost mine), paint to dry (my god does that take forever), and packages to arrive (should arrive the same day I go back to school :().

I got some stuff from Petras, namely blue dye for the GPU loop and some lights.

I bought the "lazer" LEDs. One problem though, they look like this:

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/2814/10lightspot.jpg

So I had to diffuse them with hot glue an now they look like this:

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/498/10lightdiffuse.jpg

Unfortunately I ran out of hot glue so the blue is diffused, the green is partly diffused, and the UV isn't diffused.

Anyway, Swiftech shipped me some new screws for free! My old ones were used to the point that they were completely stripped :shocked:.

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/7...kcompclose.jpg

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/1...ockcomptop.jpg

Here is (part) of my case in the light:
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/7199/11comp.jpg

The GPU cables will go through those holes.

The green isn't positioned how it will be when things are done, but here is an idea of the lights:

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/1576/11complights.jpg

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/7...omplights2.jpg

The pictures turned out rather poorly, so my apologizes once again. Hopefully I can get a better camera once again.

I also painted some ZM-F3s, but I didn't take any pics since the lighting during this time is pretty poor. I have a cool idea for a HD activity light as well. I need to get the GPU cables done to make sure it will actually fit though.

-mmp

hotglue to diffuse the LEDs is a great idea - it never dawned on me to use it!

That lighting effect looks very interesting; looking forward to seeing more. :)

Excellent work there Faster, the black really stands out well in the light, looking forward to see what you do next.

This is fantastic. So many original ideas. Sorry I haven't chimed in before. I have been really busy with that thing we all hate - real life.

I really like where this is going - makes me Jealous :)

Nice updates :D

Good work your doing

How did swiftech sended you those screws?

So....Im just guessing wild when I say you like L4D? ; )
Very very good looking build so far. The end result is going to be a riot! Love the colors, great looking.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by charles_h

hotglue to diffuse the LEDs is a great idea - it never dawned on me to use it!

That lighting effect looks very interesting; looking forward to seeing more. :)

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Thanks! I can't remember where the hot glue idea came from, I just know it is cheap and easy to do, both of which I am big fans of.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

Excellent work there Faster, the black really stands out well in the light, looking forward to see what you do next.

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Yep, it also reflects off the connectors nicely.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Armitage

This is fantastic. So many original ideas. Sorry I haven't chimed in before. I have been really busy with that thing we all hate - real life.

I really like where this is going - makes me Jealous :)

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I too have been busy with real life :p:. Thanks for the originality comment, I really liked your build as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raiden

Nice updates :D

Good work your doing

How did swiftech sended you those screws?

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I just emailed their support and they shipped them out free the same day (actually only a few hours later). Great service.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anemic

So....Im just guessing wild when I say you like L4D? ; )
Very very good looking build so far. The end result is going to be a riot! Love the colors, great looking.

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Yep, L4D and L4D2 are my favorite LAN games.

Thanks for the comment.


Here is the HD activity light:

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/8...ightshdoff.jpg

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/8...lightshdon.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/4282/12darkon.jpg

It is fully sleeved now. I have some more pics, but hopefully I will get some stuff done by Wednesday after my packages arrive.

-mmp

Maybe I missed some key information but, will that be the res also? If not, what are you planning to use it for aside from a light :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Armitage

Maybe I missed some key information but, will that be the res also? If not, what are you planning to use it for aside from a light :)

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I thought about using it as a res, but didn't go with that. It is just a light :p:. I made it so large because you get this really nice looking light gradient coming from it.

I should look cool when in use.

-mmc

I do like it, but it's functionality is odd. Everything else in the build looks great but serves a good purpose. This thing seems beautiful, but also large. And it's only my personal opinion, but HD lights annoy me more then they serve a purpose. Hope you take my criticism lightly as I love the originality, maybe I just want it to have water in it :)

Whoa I've missed a few updates!

I am glad to see Gigabyte (disregard that my last mobo is a classified :P)

I really like how that "rad grille" turned out!

Hey bud, looking good. It seems I missed a bit from being gone for a week.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Armitage

I do like it, but it's functionality is odd. Everything else in the build looks great but serves a good purpose. This thing seems beautiful, but also large. And it's only my personal opinion, but HD lights annoy me more then they serve a purpose. Hope you take my criticism lightly as I love the originality, maybe I just want it to have water in it :)

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I actually feel the same way on every point you made there. I originally designed it to have two of those things on the bottom panel in view and it looked really cool. However, I ran into space issues and realized that just wasn't going to happen. So now I have re-purposed it as a light holder. It will be behind the side wall and for the most point out of view. It is really just going to be there to add a bit of dynamic activity since I hate how static most mods look in real life.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wezly

Whoa I've missed a few updates!

I am glad to see Gigabyte (disregard that my last mobo is a classified :P)

I really like how that "rad grille" turned out!

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Thank you :up:.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by millertime359

Hey bud, looking good. It seems I missed a bit from being gone for a week.

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:( I missed you.

-mmc

Sorry guys for the delay. I have had quite a few set back and distractions recently.

My plan for the front panel didn't work out so well, so I have to repaint it.
The top section cracked so I need to redo it.
My Dremel just died for the 2nd time on this build so I had to buy a new one. Shockingly, I opened the new to find I got a display unit. So after an hour waiting in line to return it turns out there was only one other unit of the same model, which had been opened and the Dremel stolen. Now I have to use a lower end one and I am hoping I can make it through without breaking it or cracking the plexi again.

I also started school so now I have homework and website building to contend for my time.
I am going to put the website building on hold and dedicate a lot of time to the build now so that I can just get it done.
Hopefully I will have something new to show you in the next few days.

Here is a new signature (logo + type) I made for my portfolio site. Comments are appreciated.

Ok I will stick my neck out and be honest with you.
I hope that is only steem coming out the chimney and not greenhouse gas. :rofl:
Sorry I just had to say that. :rolleyes:
Ok seriously.
I am no graphic designer, howerver the one thing that really makes a good logo (to me) is simplicity in its design.

I like your Logo is ok, However if it was small, say like it would be on a letter head for example, I feel it might be hard to make out the word Grid, it's just a bit to busy for me.

Take EKs logo for an example, its simple but easy to identify, no matter how small it is.
Mercedes benz and for that matter all the car maker have very basic but unique which are also easy to identify.

Please take this as it is ment to be, just my first glance impression.

I do beleave it take a person with some big ball to make/design something and then ask the world,
What do you think.
For that I am proud of you for being that person.
Well done mate. :up:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

Ok I will stick my neck out and be honest with you.
I hope that is only steem coming out the chimney and not greenhouse gas. :rofl:
Sorry I just had to say that. :rolleyes:
Ok seriously.
I am no graphic designer, howerver the one thing that really makes a good logo (to me) is simplicity in its design.

I like your Logo is ok, However if it was small, say like it would be on a letter head for example, I feel it might be hard to make out the word Grid, it's just a bit to busy for me.

Take EKs logo for an example, its simple but easy to identify, no matter how small it is.
Mercedes benz and for that matter all the car maker have very basic but unique which are also easy to identify.

Please take this as it is ment to be, just my first glance impression.

I do beleave it take a person with some big ball to make/design something and then ask the world,
What do you think.
For that I am proud of you for being that person.
Well done mate. :up:

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Thanks for your opinion. I think you make some valid points, but I am going to disagree with a few things.

Lots not get me started on the EK logo :p:.

Here is a reduced version, which I think works well.

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/5...evisesmall.png

Simplicity can be good, but I don't feel it is necessary.

http://www.logodesignlove.com/images...g-low-logo.gif

http://www.logodesignlove.com/images...union-logo.jpg

http://www.logodesignlove.com/images...rhart-logo.gif

http://www.logodesignlove.com/images...ds-on-logo.jpg

http://www.longlunch.com/blog/wp-con...ge-300x300.jpg

http://www.paul-rand.com/assets/gall...ugEvans_th.jpg

These are considered a few of the best examples of logo design (the Yale Press one especially). Yet I don't think they really fit your definition for good design. Actually, I asked a few people what they thought of these and most people didn't like them, which makes me want to ingest a large amount of drain cleaner. I think that it is entirely possible to design something brilliant and yet most people won't like it since it requires some knowledge to understand it.

Now I will say my design isn't as good as any of those, and it certainly needs improving (my design is not brilliant). I will and planned on working on it more. The problem is after staring at something for an hour I tend to go design blind and have no idea what looks good. I will take your recommendation of simplicity and work this a bit more.

My designs in general don't usually look great at first glance. There is normally some sort of inherent logic you have to look for.

In this the idea is to use black space to create a factory (windows, doors, etc.) while the white space says grid. The important thing to note is that the design does use a grid meaning every edge, line, etc. lines up with something else (and this is an aspect I hope to improve more). Another thing I did (maybe to its fault) was that I made it a bit more illustrative, thus less complex, since I know everything it will be used on is going to be very minimalistic.

Now I will ask you, did you see these things? If not, do you see them now?

Please don't credit it me in any way for asking the world. Any designer who isn't able to ask the world what they think of their work is a poor one. The problem is to try and not take everyone's opinion since then it just becomes design by committee. I also think that people think some designs are good simply because they are being used by large companies with brand recognition.

Oh well, I will stop my rant there.

I was going to comment how it is hard to read from the first picture. But after the smaller picture it is much better. I don't know what it is about the large picture, maybe it being on a white backdrop or something. The smaller one is readable, but the larger one is hard for my eyes to figure out what it's saying.

Sorry for your luck in the build process. Been checking for an update from you almost every day :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Armitage

I was going to comment how it is hard to read from the first picture. But after the smaller picture it is much better. I don't know what it is about the large picture, maybe it being on a white backdrop or something. The smaller one is readable, but the larger one is hard for my eyes to figure out what it's saying.

Sorry for your luck in the build process. Been checking for an update from you almost every day :)

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Thanks for the comments on the logo. I have revised it to look more like a factory. It is harder to read, but I don't really mind as there are plenty of successful logos that it takes a bit to figure out. I will probably never stop tweaking it though.

Thank you sir for checking for updates. I take that as quite the compliment. I have made more progress on one front and had set backs on another. It seems my primer sprung a leak and no one sells it anywhere. I just bought a different kind and hopefully that won't affect things.

Thanks faster for taking my ideas, comments and thinking them through.
It can be really hard to offer some people your fellings about there work with out them getting all bent out of shap with you.
As I only know you from a few of your comments that I have read around XS and this work log, it's good to see you are an open minded person who's ego is in check.
I totally agree with you about the statement below.
" Any designer who isn't able to ask the world what they think of their work is a poor one"
It's just a shame I have spoken to some of them about there work, hay.

Anyhow!
After looking back at your logo for the second time I do like it more the second time around. :up:
I don't know what you have changed in the smaller logo, other than the lighter colour used for the wording Grid Factory.
Maybe it's just that I have seen it twice now and can associate it with you.
Have you tried using different colours for the factory, not the wording below, just the bit above it?
For some reason I feel using italics for the word Grid Factory would look really, what do you think faster?.
Also is this logo going to represent your website?
If so, how did you come about the name Grid Factory?
What is this website all about?

As for the other logo's you have shown 3 totaly sux, one looks to have something to do with wine, it's ok and the other one, the last one is probably the most catchy to me.
All though I have never seen it. It just makes me want to look at it to see what it is, I think the colouring has a lot to do with it.

Just keep chiping away at it and let us see what you come up with, all the best mate. :up:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

Anyhow!
After looking back at your logo for the second time I do like it more the second time around. :up:
I don't know what you have changed in the smaller logo, other than the lighter colour used for the wording Grid Factory.

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Actually nothing changed in the reduced version. I just shrunk it down significantly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kgtiger

Have you tried using different colours for the factory, not the wording below, just the bit above it?
For some reason I feel using italics for the word Grid Factory would look really, what do you think faster?.
Also is this logo going to represent your website?
If so, how did you come about the name Grid Factory?
What is this website all about?

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Every design should be done in black and white first. Color should never be used as the driving force behind a design, it is supplemental. I don't think I will try color anyway. I really like the idea of minimalism and having a dynamic feel through relationships rather than a dynamic design, at least for this logo and websites I make for myself.

I don't really think italics would be appropriate for a variety of reasons. One being legibility and two being that it would break the grid.

The logo will represent my portfolio website.

I chose the name Grid Factory because it seems it is the only good domain not taken. Even my full name was registered, which is kind of creepy.

I made a revision as I think I mentioned earlier. It is a lot simpler, which i like.

Project update:
I managed to get my top panel done which I will take pics of when I have the time. The front panel was done, but then someone stepped on it so I either need to get a new one or try and fix this one :(.

I am glad you have found a logo design that you like mate.
It's good to see that you know what you like and will work best for you, all the more power to you.
But I agree with you that having your full name registered by someone else is way creepy to me.

Any Updates here ? :)

Heh, yeah sorry I kinda stopped visiting XS. I finished the mod. Here are some pictures I took somewhat quickly. They could use some color correction but nonetheless, here they are.

http://imgur.com/wMoHl.jpg

http://imgur.com/gNpay.jpg

http://imgur.com/FfV1s.jpg

http://imgur.com/1apOv.jpg

http://imgur.com/Lk1tQ.jpg

http://imgur.com/YmyMm.jpg

http://imgur.com/0S12t.jpg

http://imgur.com/EJVa5.jpg

http://imgur.com/2DdSF.jpg

Oh wow, I love the way you used the QDC's there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by eppopipe

Oh wow, I love the way you used the QDC's there.

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Me too, it makes maintenance a breeze compared to before.

Very nice ! There a many details which i like ! The midplate looks like "ice and snow" what is it for a material ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bundymania

Very nice ! There a many details which i like ! The midplate looks like "ice and snow" what is it for a material ?

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Thank you. Plexiglass and spray paint is all I used.

Looks really nice... you're giving me some ideas to put my best buy Rocketfish case to use...