Shazza's MM Cube Water Cooling Worklog (pics)

[shazza]

nice work, what fitting did you use on the res, and what did you use to clean the gunk off of the gpu, oh and the fans, you found an article on em, can you link it?

You mentioned your NB running hot, they sell nice aftermarket air cooled options. I wouldnt waste the water flow on a water cooled solution

I just used isopropyl alcohol to clean off the GPU/CPU heatsinks. Seemed to work fine.

Regarding the fan sleeving/connecting ... the most helpful guide I found was this one by Patriote, and this one by phcjpp(post # 37).

[Talonman]

Thanks for the links shazza.

Did you do any of the fan connectors? I was wondering how big of a pain was it to pop them fan wires out, and back in their clips?

[shazza]

Did you do any of the fan connectors? I was wondering how big of a pain was it to pop them fan wires out, and back in their clips?

I was afraid to at first, but it was actually pretty easy ... made sleeving easy. I'd suggest practicing on something that isn't all that important first (since my Yate Loons were about $7 a piece, I wasn't too worried).

[Jedda]

Thanks for the links shazza.

Did you do any of the fan connectors? I was wondering how big of a pain was it to pop them fan wires out, and back in their clips?

Sunbeam have a good tool for the fan plugs.

[shazza]

arrrggghhh ... I knew things were going to well. My motherboard has started acting up. Now getting the dreaded "system opened, chassis intruded ... check system" upon booting. Sometimes it starts when I Save&Exit the BIOS, other times it won't start until I move the jumper to CLR CMOS (the one above the jumper on the chassis intrude pins that is SUPPOSED to stop this if you don't want it hooked up.

I've tried everything I can think of ... and everything I've found by googling (even tried reading TFM). Reset CMOS (power off, battery out, etc). Switched out RAM, unplugged all USB devices, replaced jumpers, even re-installed OS (Vista) and flashed the BIOS. Things got a bit better, but it's still doing it.

Just can't face the thought of having to tear down and start over

[pH(x)]

Great build, I love that you used the PA120.3 hands down best radiator out there.

[disruptfam]

arrrggghhh ... I knew things were going to well. My motherboard has started acting up. Now getting the dreaded "system opened, chassis intruded ... check system" upon booting. Sometimes it starts when I Save&Exit the BIOS, other times it won't start until I move the jumper to CLR CMOS (the one above the jumper on the chassis intrude pins that is SUPPOSED to stop this if you don't want it hooked up.

I've tried everything I can think of ... and everything I've found by googling (even tried reading TFM). Reset CMOS (power off, battery out, etc). Switched out RAM, unplugged all USB devices, replaced jumpers, even re-installed OS (Vista) and flashed the BIOS. Things got a bit better, but it's still doing it.

Just can't face the thought of having to tear down and start over

that suck's i've never had that problem sorry i can' help

[Jedda]

arrrggghhh ... I knew things were going to well. My motherboard has started acting up. Now getting the dreaded "system opened, chassis intruded ... check system" upon booting. Sometimes it starts when I Save&Exit the BIOS, other times it won't start until I move the jumper to CLR CMOS (the one above the jumper on the chassis intrude pins that is SUPPOSED to stop this if you don't want it hooked up.

I've tried everything I can think of ... and everything I've found by googling (even tried reading TFM). Reset CMOS (power off, battery out, etc). Switched out RAM, unplugged all USB devices, replaced jumpers, even re-installed OS (Vista) and flashed the BIOS. Things got a bit better, but it's still doing it.

Just can't face the thought of having to tear down and start over

Check PM

[shazza]

THANK you, Jedda. The I/O plate looked okay, but I did a thorough check of the motherboard to see if I could be shorting something else out, and found the top right screw had come loose. Replaced it, and everything now seems to be working as it should. Still not sure exactly what was causing the problem, but VERY happy that it seems to be fixed.

[Jedda]

Really good news

Strange things motherboards. I had one that turning one mounting screw one quarter turn more was the difference between dead or working flawlessly.
Some can bend like wobble-boards and others will split a trace with the tinyist of pressure.

[FallenCow]

Great looking build shazza! Diggin' the twin res setup.

[Darkatom]

Do the holes on the back of the case line up perfectly for a MCR220 ?

[Colossous]

Great job Shazza, i start my Opti 1203 soon and yours is inspiring !

[shazza]

Do the holes on the back of the case line up perfectly for a MCR220 ?

Yep ... the back holes on the Opti-1203 are set for the MCR220.

Have fun with your build, Colossus!



I've been busy with work lately, but finally had a chance to play around today. I am ALMOST done! Here are a few snaps in the afternoon light ... with the computer off, because the LEDs are too bright to get a decent shot with it on. Gotta figure out how to do that. These shots give a reasonable view of the color in daylight.

[disruptfam]

Aww, now that's so CUTE!

cute??? lol that's new

[shazza]

Cute is fine ... you know I'm going for that "Barbie" look


A few more pics:

[disruptfam]

wow nice!!

[Colossous]

Absolutely nice !! Get my case back Thursday and i cant wait to start mine now, great job Shazza !!

[Lu523]

Very nice work. i was thinking of gettin a TJ07. But the more I see of the MM cubes, the more I am leaning towards one.

[Jedda]

Ken will be proud he has such a clever little miss!

Finishing off nicely, it seems.
What's that big figure on your desktop? I love it's sense of depth.

[shazza]

Ken will be proud he has such a clever little miss!

Finishing off nicely, it seems.
What's that big figure on your desktop? I love it's sense of depth.

Maybe Ken will let me drive his convertible now Re the big figure on the desk top, I was worried my reflection was showing in one of the pics, but I think you are referring to the abstract tubing ... found it on a wallpaper site. I had another one that covered the screen, but can't find it now:




Thanks for the compliments, guys ... it has really been a fun project. Just a few minor things to take care of (gotta paint that "not so silver" DVD cover, straighten up my blue reservoir, and a couple of little things you don't notice til you take pics). Will also do a post mortem summary to share a few other mistakes that didn't make the log yet )

[Jedda]

Yes, I meant the abstract tubular figure showing in your monitor.
Have been playing around with abstract 3D figures and find it quite challenging. The artist has a nice result there.

[nestcrw]

everyone on xtreme should now complement with cute! lol.

[Darkatom]

Did the see through bay cover located on the left side come with the case ?

[shazza]

Did the see through bay cover located on the left side come with the case ?

Didn't come with, but ordered it from Mountain Mods. Was originally going to copy the right side, but my reservoir experiment went wild, so got the 5 x 5 1/4in clear plexiglass bay drive. The bottom portion is covered with black tape ... will be painted.