It turns out I didn't get time to post some more pics tonight but should have time tomorrow.
Some additional comments...
In regards to attention to detail, thanks... this is my main hobby these days and so it's as much about the journey as the destination. The consequence of this is that by taking several months my electronics were nearly obsolete by the time I was finished. The good thing is that this case and the core cooling setup should last for several future PC builds.
In terms of money, it is excessive by some standards, but perhaps more practical than you might think. What annoys me the most about this hobby is that you have to buy most parts sight unseen over the internet based on a picture or two and when you are doing a seriously custom job with a lot of planning you end up making assumptions about parts size, fitment, and compatibility that simply don't pan out. I don't know how much money I wasted on brackets, fans, shrouds, modding parts, etc that I ultimately couldn't use or didn't want to use once I had the parts in hand. With shipping costs what they are, it's not always practical to return stuff you don't want/need either. Sadly, I could probably build another entire rig with spare parts I have lying around from this one. That's where most of the money is wasted in my opinion.
This case is expensive as everyone knows, and the accessories are steeply priced as well, but things like nickel plating, powder coating, sleeving for cables, and modders mesh to hide unwanted things, are really insignificant and well worth it.
One last thought on the the cost... perhaps the most expensive part of custom computer building is the investment in tools. I have a very modest tool set compared to some folks around here (i.e. I don't have a machine shop!) but the right tools can make a project like this so much simpler... but those tools can add up quicker than a pair of SLI graphics cards.
By my calculations, without the cost of tools factored in or my time... just the parts, materials, and outsourced plating/coating, I spent about $5K which is not much more than a high-end Vodoo or Alienware rig would cost and it's a lot more satisfying (albeit frustrating at times) than ordering a rig from a catalog.
Some specific questions...
IanY, I simply put the res cap upside down in the drill press vice and drilled a 7/64" hole in the center of the cap and then tapped it to #8-32 and used a #8-32 x1/4" cap screw with a rubber washer to seal the hole. Bleeding it is then a simple matter of bleeding as much out of the loop using the big main cap off and then working with just the bleed screw out and using the syringe to purge the last remaining air with more coolant. As I said, it does take about 10 rounds of this nonsense to purge all the air but once done, there's not a single bubble of air in the loop. PPC's sells spare caps for these tanks and you may want to get a spare in case you screw one up. I had one crack on me after about a month of being in service... probably the result of the drill/tap over time... the crack was so small it was hard to detect and wasn't really causing a leak but I discovered it because I was getting small amounts of air in my loop from somewhere.
SiGfever, the temp probes I'm using are from Innovatek...
http://www.highspeedpc.com/Merchant2...de=FanTempFlow
Originally Posted by ladderman
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