Hello everybody!
As some of you may know, I have been working closely with Bill Owen at MNPCTech over the past year learning and soaking up as much as I can as his intern. We have done several case reviews and mod guides together, and it is time for me to step it up a notch and take on a big themed build.
- Theme -
This is going to be influenced by oldschool Star Wars, and specifically Rebel Alliance equipment. I love the look of their gear, machinery, technology, and spacecraft, so this will take many ideas from that. We're starting with the Cosmos II, and will end up with something that looks dramatically different in the end.
I first must thank CoolerMaster for the sponsorship of the Cosmos II and Silent Pro Hybrid 1300w powersupply, EK for sponsoring the watercooling components, Lutro0 for sponsoring their beautiful sleeving work, Mayhems for supplying their world class coolants and dyes, Cheapskate for dedicating his time into designing custom waterblocks for the 680s, Brian Garrity for his time as the camera man for the upcoming video of this project, and of course Bill and MNPCTech for everything he has taught me and given me during my time working with him.
- Components -
Asus Rampage IV Extreme
Intel 3930k
Quad SLI GTX 680 Classified's
32gb of Corsair Dominator 2133mhz
CoolerMaster Silent Pro Hybrid 1300w
512gb Vertex 4 SSD
3x 3tb Seagate 7,200rpm storage drives
Cosmos II
Full dual loop EK watercooling setup with custom GPU waterblocks designed by our very own Cheapskate
- Supremacy Elite socket 2011 Nickel CPU block
- R4E Nickel CSQ mobo block
- 2x Ram Dominator X4 blocks
- 2x 480 XT radiators
- 2x DDC-3.2TP pumps
- 2x X3 150mm res
- Black Nickel fittings
- Custom Classified blocks by munkeybutt
Time for the pics to do the talking!
The Cosmos II
It's a bird. It's a plane...
Cosmos II opened up - I hate that mess of useless crap dangling there.
The build will feature MNPCTech's new Cosmos II Full Acrylic window side panel! Available soon for order. This is a serious chunk of acrylic!
A few components going into the system
Classified unboxing
These cards are bigger than 690's...
Shiny!
Why is quad sli not overkill? 6000x1080-across-three-monitors-gaming is why. Even the Rebel Alliance has to game from time to time!
Stripping down the CMII for some modding.
Taping off the top to cut room for a 480mm rad.
Lining up the top rad
Cages removed to make room for a 480mm rad in the front
Creating the mounting system for the 480 in the front bezel
Rad mounted into front bezel. I will be doing more in between the rad and the edges to make it more connected.
Front rad mounted in the case
I wanted to do something special with the edge frame work, so I decided on cutting out slots and putting some modders mesh behind it
Clamping down the mesh for some epoxying
This stuff is the best for all kinds of modding. Epoxy of the gods I say!
Removing the stock top panel mesh
Mounting a hinge on the top panel for some flap movement
Watercooling time! Supremacy 2011 block and black nickel fittings
I love the frosty tops on these blocks!
DDC's and tops
An army of black nickel fittings! So prettttttty!
-- Updates 1/1/13 --
Thanks for following guys! Here are some updates on what is in the works...
Measuring out pieces to make dual res holder from 1/4" thick Black Opaque acrylic sheet
Custom Dual Res tube holder for the EK Res X3s
EK Res X3s, ready for mounting
What remains of the factory front I/O, this was part of the CM II's top panel. This will flip open.
Modified "Laurey" style cabinet hinge, this spring loaded, and found at WoodCraft, http://www.woodcraft....ount-Pair.aspx
Spacer for hinge made from 1/8" acrylic, this will be painted later
Dual EK Res X3s mounted. This location will be ideal when it's time to fill the two loops.
The flip cover, creates easy access for inspecting the loops, if ever needed in the future.
The rear cover flips open now too!
I wanted to use an ipod touch for monitoring and fan control. This will be mounted in the front top panel and running through the Bitfenix Recon phone app.
Making the front phone mount
Initial looks of the front phone fan control module. Think Luke Skywalker's targeting computer/>
Custom shroud for the reservoirs
-- Update 1/6/13 --
Update time! I appreciate the comments and follows guys! I'm very dedicated to making this a very clean build internally, which is why shrouding everything is a must. I also want to keep the interior of the case very open and uncluttered, so there will be next to nothing inside the main compartment other than the mobo and what's attached to it. No drives, pumps, anything located here. It's all about the aesthetics!
Cutting 1/4" thick cast acrylic to use as a shroud for the lower portion of the chassis
1/4" acrylic over lower portion which will be easily removable with thumbscrews, 1/8" acrylic shroud on back wall will hide liquid tubing
The mid section has 1/2" thick acrylic floor so it's flush with the outter edge of the chassis
Using weld-on to attach lip to the tubing shroud for the back wall of the chassis, this will be painted later to match the exterior of the case.
Temporarily installing Mnpctech's CM II clear panel to determine the two 120mm fan hole openings in the removable lower chassis shroud
The two 120mm fan hole openings are aligned with opening in the clear panel
The epoxy on the side bezels has dried and I really like how they look with the mesh
Now it's time to do the same thing with the non-window'ed side panel. Cutting the double layered panel was a bit of a challenge, but it's cleaned up and time for more epoxy. I plan to mount an acrylic Rebel Alliance logo on the mesh and illuminate it.
As far as the custom classified waterblocks are concerned, Cheapskate has made great progress (though he has reminded me how complex these little buggers are going to be
More to come soon! We'll have a video worklog as well, so make sure you subscribe to MNPCTech's Youtube Channel!
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