TJ07: Black n Watercooled Project

[Jay78]

very nice work so far

[alphakry]

So in order to neatly hide the ATX power cord but still allow it to reach, I decided to try something new.

I drilled a hole into the motherboard tray to allow me to route the ATX wire through the tray from behind.
After cutting out a slot behind the tray to allow the wire to be routed, I had to then remove the ATX connector to allow the wire to fit through the hole.

ATX removal is not the easiest trick. I decided to try the Basic ATX Pin Removal tool from Jab-Tech
WHAT A PEICE OF CRAP! The instructions listed in the link specifies that it requires skill and practice to really be able to use this tool. Well that would be great, if the pins didn't break so incredibly easy. It also didn't fit correctly no matter what I tried.

First, pictures of the Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1000W ATX pin out:




So after breaking that waste of a tool, i decided to give the old "staple" trick a go. And to my surprise, it was a lot easier then I had thought.

The Staple Trick:




Because I taped each removed wire next to each other so that I wouldn't mix up any ordering, putting this back together was a breeze!

Final Product:

[alphakry]

And here are shots of the powder coating.

In total, it cost me $60 at a local shop. A deal in my opinion based on the time saved in having to do it myself (spray painting in the winter isn't fun!)
Plus all the holes they had to seal with silicone and then later unseal - not a bad price in my opinion.

Anyone in the NY area should check them out: Perfection Powder Coating










The only thing I was disappointed with is probably the most important and visible panel - the separating panel between the lower and upper compartments - seems to be a bit pitted.
I assume this may be because it was dusty/dirty before they started spraying it - or that maybe the paint just didn't take right. It's minor but being the perfectionist I am, I hate to see any flaws in what I consider the most important panel.

[AndyM]

Wow, really nice with that black interior!

[Kolapso]

Looks intresting, ill follow this and see how it goes, good luck

[flyinga2]

[QUOTE=alphakry;2763253]And here are shots of the powder coating.

In total, it cost me $60 at a local shop. A deal in my opinion based on the time saved in having to do it myself (spray painting in the winter isn't fun!)
Plus all the holes they had to seal with silicone and then later unseal - not a bad price in my opinion.

Anyone in the NY area should check them out: Perfection Powder Coating



The only thing I was disappointed with is probably the most important and visible panel - the separating panel between the lower and upper compartments - seems to be a bit pitted.
I assume this may be because it was dusty/dirty before they started spraying it - or that maybe the paint just didn't take right. It's minor but being the perfectionist I am, I hate to see any flaws in what I consider the most important panel.

<<It looks great alphakry! Question: I was told by a local shop in my area that the shell pieces, i.e. side panels and center piece could not be powdercoated because they were factory prepainted on the outside, and the 700F ovens would kill the external paint job! How did you get around that?

Be careful with a 620W PSU; a single GTX needs a minimum of a 460W PSU, but more importantly needs 30A on the 12V rail/PER CARD=60A just for 2 GTX's!>>

[Jay78]

black looks great

[alphakry]

Thanks for all the comments guys. I'll keep you posted as i do more

It looks great alphakry! Question: I was told by a local shop in my area that the shell pieces, i.e. side panels and center piece could not be powdercoated because they were factory prepainted on the outside, and the 700F ovens would kill the external paint job! How did you get around that?

Be careful with a 620W PSU; a single GTX needs a minimum of a 460W PSU, but more importantly needs 30A on the 12V rail/PER CARD=60A just for 2 GTX's!>>

a. The only parts I know of that are prepainted are the outside shell and side doors. Both of these parts, I left as is. The only parts I had powder coated were in internal cage - any part that was aluminum/silver colored.

b. Not sure if you've kept up with the updates and updated part list on post # 1, but I have since replaced the 750W Silencer with the Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1000W. So these GTX's should be happy.

[evil-98]

awesome build, im also putting together a tj07 and i like some of your ideas

good luck

[Tulatin]

As clean as the motherboard tray ATX passthrough is, i'd say that you would have been better off to use a short, sleeved ATX extension cable. Sure, it would boost resistance slightly, but it would take PSU swaps down by like what, 35-40 minutes?

[alphakry]

I don't plan on swapping the PSU often, if at all. So i'd rather have to spend the extra 20-40 minutes removing it the once or twice in it's life then compromise stability.

[C4PPY]

Thats just nice !

[charles_h]

Alphakry, I'm digging on that gloss black interior! Be sure to mask those surfaces before assembly. A scratch would be disaster.

Enjoy your build.

[\Karting_freak]

any updates?

[V3LOCIP3D3]

I'm in the planning stages for a new liquid cooled pc and I'm looking for ideas, and the way you mounted your reservoirs looks perfect and I want to do the same. How did you end up directly connecting your reservoirs to your fill ports? can this be easily done?

thanks, and i can't wait to see your finished system

[alphakry]

hey, sorry for the lack of updates boys!

i'm happy to report i have loop # 1 leak testing at the moment! here are a few quick shots of how she currently looks.








Loop # 1 CPU goes as follows: CPU -> RES -> PUMP -> RAD

Loop # 2 GPU goes as follows: GPU1 -> GPU2 -> RES -> PUMP -> RAD

Loop # 3 is still in planning as I want to be sure the radiator, reservoir and pump all mount in comfy ascetically pleasing locations. But you can get a general idea of what i'm thinking from the shots above.


I'm also glad to report that I have now replaced my DVDRW drive with a Lite-On BLU-RAY writer. Go Team Sony!

[alphakry]

so now the big question is:

What colors do i want the reservoirs to glow?

Blue, Blue, Blue
Blue, Green, Pink
Blue, Green, Green
Blue, Pink, Blue
Blue, Pink, Pink

yea, the tubes are all black but if i throw a UV light into the media bay, they'll glow a nice little color that should reflect somewhat throughout the whole compartment.