Project: Bangra - i7 SLI

[rjkoneill]

Hi XS

welcome to my build log

been here a while as a long term admirer
the names that spring to mind include clone [who i speak to on another forum] charles_h, SNiiPE_DoGG, dreamaxx, whuzabi

all of whom have posted worklogs that have been both inspirational and great fun to read

I dont post here very often but thought i would share my new build with another community


my current silverstone fortress has been with me since 'christmas day 08'.
it has seen: 3 motherboards, 5 graphics cards, 2 Pumps, 5 kits of memory...

in short, due to hardware dying, or me just never being happy with my system, i have ended up outgrowing the fortress

its a great case, dont get me wrong.

but the fortress' biggest drawback is part of the reason I can no longer run my rig inside it. Big Plans call for a Big Case

the fortress just doesnt fit radiators inside [and oh have i tried! :wallbash:]

I am keen on the look of the fortress and want my next rig to look similar whilst housing all my hardware inside
heres what i currently have:




so im going to take this one slowly


From this build: I want to achieve a few things...

1. Performance
2. Silence
3. Looks
4. something to be proud of and not want to upgrade :p

the TJ07 is currently in my shed drying, I have painted the interior black.
more on that when its finished.
I know the TJ07 has been 'done to death', but I really like it and it fits the bill - but its going to be a nice home for my hardware


the emphasis on this build is going to be the hardware in it...

• Intel Core i7 920 [sat at 4.4GHz 24/7 in my current Biostar Board]
• Asus Rampage II Extreme Motherboard
• 6GB OCZ BLADE 2000MHz Memory
• 2X Asus Geforce GTX 285 in SLI

the watercooling should keep the whole system cool and quiet

• Koolance MB-ASR2E Full Cover Waterblock
• Koolance MB-ASR2E DRAM Waterblock
• Koolance GTX 285 Waterblocks
• EK Supreme CPU Waterblock
• EK Mosfet ASUS X58 KIT
• Thermochill PA120.3
• Thermochill PA120.2

heres where I am so far...

Motherboard and Blocks

Naked Rampage




Koolance Winnage






QPI/DRAM Board


Mounting the NB/SB block


QPI/DRAM Board back on the board



Koolance QPI/DRAM Waterblock


Closeup side profile of how the blocks look




All Connected

[rjkoneill]

case pics today

[clone38]

Glad to see you over here matey

[rjkoneill]

i need to go to a mental health clinic for thinking that braiding was a good idea

i got two cables in and gave up for the day

just doing them on an 8 pin to start with to get the practice in


close up



then i will do the dreaded 24 pin


lots of wires



also - got a pump today - pre-braided for my convenience by a colleague
with a Petra'sTech top!

[rjkoneill]

Glad to see you over here matey

cheers clone!

good to see you too

just messing with radiator placement - started using sketchup
[havent got the hang of it at all yet :sigh:]

just the initial placement for the radiators
nothing fancy - still learning







many thanks to the model artists who created the renders for the parts i have used

they are so helpful!

[illidan]

can't see any photo

[viper2004]

Looks like you better Upgrade to Pro today!

[millertime359]

Need to upgrade your photobucket account. You have exceeded your bandwidth

[rjkoneill]

im on it
cheers for the headsup

------

there we go

forgot to renew my sub - off to a good start on XS then

[millertime359]

im on it
cheers for the headsup

------

there we go

forgot to renew my sub - off to a good start on XS then

Not the first and certain you won't be the last to have that happen

Photos looking good though. Hang in there on the sleeving. Yes it does suck, but it worth it in the end

[Chumbucket843]

are you going to use compression fittings?

[rjkoneill]

Not the first and certain you won't be the last to have that happen

Photos looking good though. Hang in there on the sleeving. Yes it does suck, but it worth it in the end

haha
it feels like my entire life is being taken over by it
i have much respect for the guys on here who are doing whole power units
that would drive me mad - i dont get much free time - so spending it braiding cables is pretty annoying
however - my pumps and 8pin adapter are looking pretty sweet, so i know its worth it, just got to find the motivation!

are you going to use compression fittings?

i am thinking of doing all round 'shining silver' fittings
i normally use dtek 1/2 barbs with 7/16 tubing but that seems to be an impossibility with comp fittings

i wanted to use 7/16 tubing throughout the build but im not sure
its still up in the air if im going to use comp fittings or not and i still havent planned my tube routing or where my pumps are going properly yet

anyone got any suggestions?

[rjkoneill]

got a delivery today

• ThermoChill PA120.2 Radiator (15mm)
• small cable braid
• big cable braid
• lots of heatshrink
• thermochill reducer screws to run normal barbs in my rads

im getting there slowly
just need my gpu blocks now - not sure which koolance 285 blocks fit my cards

there is the old style


and the new style


and i have the asus 285's with the super ml caps

anyone have an idea of which to get?
i know there is the OG 285 design and the one that looks similar to the 275

anyway

heres the front panel plate with the USB and audio braided

cant see me needing the audio as i use g35's which are usb but i guess i may as well braid the lot
just worried about having to run an ugly cable across the board

i practiced my braiding on the 8 pin adapter

going to get my 24 pin looking a lot nicer [apologies for the shoddy photos - my room is really bad for photography and it is raining outside]

also
got some silent series fans from GELID
they are cracking fans - really pleased with them
thankyou to all at GELID for supplying me with them and the kind sponsorship
the fans will be fully reviewed in the review section soon

i must say - they seem to push just as much air as the noctua nfp12s i had before - they are much quieter and look 100% better

[sinticfury]

This s nice, inspired my schol pc upgrade

[clone38]

Cant go wrong with white fans

Heads up on buying bitspower get them from Highflow in Holland as they arrive faster and you pay no tax on them .

[sinticfury]

No new updates????QQ

[rjkoneill]

not yet - been at work lots - then i have a holiday coming up - so new hardware will have to wait a few weeks
i am busy braiding though!!!

off to the shops to buy a new dremel today

[seba84_2005]

I like it unique marking cables ATX 24 I look forward to the continuation of work

[BNDMOD]

Very nice! Good Work there bro! Congratulation... nice to see that TJ-07

[rjkoneill]

heres my progress for today...

all the braiding finished!!! FINALLY!!!


also removed the start button and braided the cables on that
braided them together for 4 inches to make it look smarter - will use a hammond box on the pcb maybe if i can find one...

[rjkoneill]

right then - a bit of a turnaround after my holiday

my initial plan was to get a pair of blocks for my 285's
these cards were not reference design so this has hindered me slightly
in the fact that i cannot get blocks from v1 or v2 285's to fit my graphics cards [good work ASUS]

so i had to sell my 285s [at a loss ]
meaning i had a choice between a single pcb 295 or crossfire 4890s
so im going for the 4890s as i fancy a change
will have the cards tomorrow and plan on ordering the nickel/acetal blocks from EK this week
not ideal as i wanted koolance to match my chipset block
but beggars cant be choosers

plus i doubt they will be in my rig longer than 6 months anyway

[rjkoneill]

new cards are here and being tested in my current rig
i will have to wait until some funds become available to order my blocks from EK







i have also ordered a bunch of fittings to arrive shortly:
1X Bitspower G1/4 Black Sparkle Rotary 45
4X Bitspower G1/4 Black Sparkle Stop Fitting
1X Bitspower G1/4 Black Sparkle Rotary 90
1X Bitspower Premium Black Sparkle D-Plug Set NORMAL
14X Bitspower G1/4 Black Sparkle Compression Fitting - 7/16" to 5/8"

[shazza]

Shiny new cards! They'll look great with water blocks. Nice job on your sleeving as well.

[rjkoneill]

I emailled ChilledPC [my regular WC supplier] to see if they had any of the nickel plated GPU blocks by EK - the answer was no but they can nickel plate the standard copper blocks for me to match these
will cost significantly less than buying direct from EK due to shipping/import taxes etc]

many thanks to Tom from ChilledPC for suggestion the idea and being so quick in his replies to me.

also - some of my bitspower fittings arrived today [got more - these are the interesting ones]






black sparkle nickel plating is epic, my [fail]photography does not do them justice

my comp fittings cant be obtained, i need over 20 compression fittings to match and kit out the system - currently trying to find a european supplier with the fittings i need:

Bitspower Premium G1/4" High Flow 7/16" ID (5/8" OD) Compression Fitting
Model: BP-BSCPF-CC6

if anyone can help on this it would be greatly appreciated

[mpower1001]

Very nice indeed, always nice to see someone mod a TJ07