Silverstone TJ11 / EVGA SR-2 Mac Hak Pro Build - YES, IT FITS !!!

[PunkNugget]

I wanted to start out by saying that I've been extremely happy with my current (and first PC build) of my Mac Hak Pro, using the Silverstone FT02 case. I call it the "Blacksheep of the Family." Here are some pics to show you the finished work:


By punknugget at 2011-09-04


By punknugget at 2011-09-04


By punknugget at 2011-09-04


By punknugget at 2011-09-04


By punknugget at 2011-09-04


By punknugget at 2011-09-04


By punknugget at 2011-09-04

Core i7 970 @ 4.00 Ghz / Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 - Ver. 1 (BIOS - F7)
24GB G.Skill Ripjaws GDDR3 1600Mhz RAM Kit 9-9-9-24 / EVGA GTX 480 Superclocked
120GB SSD Mushkin Deluxe SSD / 600GB Velociraptor
Sony AD-7260S DVD & LG Blu-Ray Burners / Silverstone Fortress FT02 / Silverstone ST1500W
5500 RPM 253CFM Delta 120x38mm Fans w/Custom PWM Speed Control Knob (1500-5500 RPM)
CPU, GPU & MOBO are Water Cooled by Koolance / Mac OS X Lion 10.7
(Geekbench Score: 18,131 / Cinebench 11.5: OpenGL: 39.79 fps, CPU: 10.70 pts)

The reason for this build is too much to go into but I fell in love with the unique design of this case; not only on the outside (because of it's mac like look), but mainly because of how it is setup inside - IT'S VERTICAL BABY !!! As time has gone by I decided that I wanted to go after building another Mac Hak Pro, and take advantage of the processing power of the EVGA SR-2 Mobo and after viewing this vid from YouTube entitled:

"EVGA SR-2 HACKINTOSH: 24 Cores of Devastation" From: MikeD826
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzsH5z1PqRU

I finally made the decision after watching this vid and talking to Mike D. to make this happen… a year later !!! But better late than never…

I contact Joel at Silverstone and ordered the TJ11 (along with a few other parts that I knew I was going to need). The reason why I wanted this unit was (again) because of the vertical airflow design. Plus, I don't think anyone has completed or has shown any progress on a like/kind design with TJ11 / SR-2 build yet. BTW, if there is one out there that's completed this type of build, please let me know, thanks...

Well, here it is… FINALLY !!! The results. I was a bit nervous and excited at the same time; wanting to find out if this was going to need some major modding or not. So I took out a few things here and there to make the SR-2 fit and guess what… IT DOES !!! If you look closer you can see how well it fits. It butts up right against the bottom plate. Simply amazing !!! Now the only thing that I have to do is add 3 to 4 small washers in between each of the screws that lock the sliding plate (where the mobo is attached to) in place to elevate it by an 1/8 of an inch and it will be perfect.

I can't believe this actually fit the first time out. What's even more surprising is that the designers at Silverstone (if they had spent a little bit of time) could've been able to figure this out and also provided an optional back plate specifically made for the SR-2. Everything else is just fine. Just take out the 180 mm fans and put 4 x Silverstone Channeling AP121 fans in it's place of the AP181's and you'll have the same vertical airflow you're seeking (well, at least that's what I'm seeking). Even though this will be water cooled I still will want that additional airflow. More detail will be shared later on how this will work. For now I'm going to have to figure out how to cover the venting holes on the cover plates and a few other things. That shouldn't be too hard. I might even go so far to maybe order the backplate for that SR-2 from Mountain Mods, but as it stands right now, it fits just fine as it is. I might just leave it be. If I do I will have to mod the back a bit by cutting out some of the back plate for the lower positioned processor. This will be my second PC build. So far I'm very grateful to see that SR-2 fits. Well the great thing is, if anyone had any doubts… well, doubt no longer !!! Enjoy the pics !!!


By punknugget at 2011-09-17


By punknugget at 2011-09-17


By punknugget at 2011-09-17


By punknugget at 2011-09-17


By punknugget at 2011-09-17


By punknugget at 2011-09-17


By punknugget at 2011-09-17


By punknugget at 2011-09-17

More pics coming as things progress… Any comments/suggestions would be great. Later… PNugg...

PS - I'm actually a reseller for Silverstone, Koolance, OCZ, Mushkin, Scythe and a few others out there. So most of my parts will be installed in this unit by these various companies. If you're interested in this case or anything else parts wize, just PM me and let me know what you want and/or need. Hopefully I'll be able to meet what Newegg (at times) beats me on there pricing… They purchase in much larger quantity than I do. But I can definitely hook up some Silverstone parts deals… Again, later...

[nickbaldwin86]

TJ11 is such an amazing build, then you put a SR2 in it.... SHWEET!

[PunkNugget]

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to post something here today (or should I say tonight) to let people know that things are still progressing and I'm debating on which radiator that I want to use. I say this because I just won a bid on eBay from someone. Here is the link to show you exactly what it was that I won:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_500wt_1323

Now the reason why am hesitating on continuing my build, is I'm waiting for all of these parts to arrive (hopefully within the next couple of days). One of the big things that I'm debating, is if I really need to have the Koolance water block on my motherboard or not, (I really like it on there though). The other thing that I'm debating is whether I should use the Koolance 4 fan Rad or the FTC XChanger 480 (one that I had just one in that eBay bid). I would really like to keep everything consistent and just use Koolance parts and accessories but I read some reviews on the FTC 480 here:

http://martinsliquidlab.i4memory.com...80-Review.html

and although this is an older review, not much as changed with radiator technology with the exception of the new one that is supposed to be coming out from the Feser company (video located here):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ4oCy-vCsc

Talk about technology increasing to another level in radiator cooling - THIS IS MIND BLOWING STUFF !!! In any case, if the FTC 480 fits, then I will probably be using that radiator and selling the new Koolance one that I have on eBay in the near future (unless of course somebody here would like to have that one when I make my mind up when that time comes within the next few days). I'll be posting up some pictures to let you see how things have progressed here shortly in the next few days.

If any of you have used the FTC 480 and know the pros and cons to this product, please let me know. My current build that I have uses the high air flow Koolance 3 fan Rad and that's been working wonderfully plus it's much thinner and got a great review here:

http://skinneelabs.com/koolance-cu1020v/

It actually did better than some of the thicker Rads that he reviewed even his favorite one was beaten (just slightly) by the Koolance one, but I do have to say I really love the thickness, density and awesome presence that the FTC 480 has. Plus it can hold a lot more coolant and doesn't need to have higher fan speed to keep things cooler. But in reality, neither does the high air flow Koolance one that I'm currently using. I guess we'll see what happens. Until then thanks for following this post and I'll be chatting with all of you later…

PS - I just purchased a Xeon W3680 for only $400, (basically a 980X) and easily rocked it to 4.2GHz and it has not frozen even once on my Mac Hak Pro. I built another one using this CPU as well is using the new Corsair H100 and it's running very cool at 29°C in an 80 to 82°F room; which I think is fantastic. Just thought I'd mention that. I'm getting the using the same CPU on my very 1st build to see how much cooler it runs on my ALL Koolance (Mac Hak Pro) setup.

[Edited]

Hello!

First of; The TFC Admiral rads... You may never see them, they have some issues with their partners. (I had a reference link, but it's gone)

Protip on rad: http://skinneelabs.com/coolgate-360/ . Best radiator i've ever used. Also comes in a 480 version.



Good luck with the build!

[nksharp]

Thinking of buying a TJ11 on the 28th. Love seeing builds using the case. I plan on watercooling it as well but will probably wait until ivy bridge is released before doing so.

[Cookiesowns]

I hope you know that non 5 series xeons are only single cpu ( Single QPI link ). I may be stating the obvious but i've seen some people make this simple mistake. Great build, and I'm going to gladly follow

[RCG_Bex]

You sir, are nuts :P

[PunkNugget]

I hope you know that non 5 series xeons are only single cpu ( Single QPI link ). I may be stating the obvious but i've seen some people make this simple mistake. Great build, and I'm going to gladly follow

Yes I know, thanks. That's part of the reason why I said: "...I built ANOTHER ONE using this CPU." Thanks for following, later...

[PunkNugget]

You sir, are nuts :P

Who's nuts, me? Explain... later...

[PunkNugget]

Hello!

First of; The TFC Admiral rads... You may never see them, they have some issues with their partners. (I had a reference link, but it's gone)

Protip on rad: http://skinneelabs.com/coolgate-360/ . Best radiator i've ever used. Also comes in a 480 version.

Good luck with the build!

You're right. I just googled "tfc admiral partner breakup issues" and found this link:

http://www.realredraider.com/vbullet...p/t-43804.html

and this site:

http://hw-lab.com/thermalfins-a-new-...ercooling.html

WOW, looks like the Feser company is out and it looks like this company (Thermalfins) will be producing these rads now:

http://www.thermalfins.com/

Same thing happened with Robert Kiyosaki (from his famous book: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"), where he created the Velcro wallet back in the '80's and did NOT spend the $5,000 needed to patent it and it got duped/copied with the quickness and lost big time on that. Lesson learned on his part. Doesn't matter as he made it back through real estate and marketing himself and writing books on it. But that's another topic altogether.

Again I'm going to see if the TFC 480 Rad I'm getting will fit and if not I'm going with the original Koolance 480 Rad. Thanks Edited for the heads up... Nice pics of the new Rad though from Thermalfins. Looks like it will fit both 120mm & 140mm fans, so right there I won't be able to fit this inside my current setup; but they do have the Thermalfin Xs 4 that could fit, but we'll see after I try the TFC 480. I'm working on keeping the positive pressure vertical airflow the same. You'll see more of what I'm talking about as I reveal the pics later...

[nksharp]

How much can you buy a TJ 11 for with your reseller status anyway. I'll probably be getting one next week at $600 (Canadian).

[INFRNL]

I was wondering how your build was coming along. Can't wait to see how it turns out

[PunkNugget]

I was wondering how your build was coming along. Can't wait to see how it turns out

I can't wait to see how it's going to turn out either, since this my 2nd build ever, so I'll be just as surprised and amazed - LOL !!! I'll keep you (and others here) posted with some new pics here shortly... Thanks for your support, Infrnl, later...

[PunkNugget]

Well, just an updated post to the stuff that came in from the auction that I want on eBay. Now mind you this the 1st time I ever experienced anything that came in less than what I expected. But unfortunately this was one of those times.

When I went into the UPS store to pick up my package it was very heavy and I immediately could hear shifting of items when I slightly tilted the box to carry it. That set off a big alarm in my head thinking “Oh no, don't tell me this guy did not pack it correctly?” Well and I went home and that's exactly what I saw when I open up the box was very poor packaging.

As I was looking through everything the only thing that really stuck out to me that I would think would have been the ONE thing that I thought would have been properly packaged and that was the TFC 480 radiator, right? Although the item doesn't look mint anymore, (which to me as a meticulous builder was hoping for) I decided to test the radiator (as I was going to use it in my in my PC build anyway). Unfortunately the radiator is just too thick for me to be able install it inside the unit the way I want to, so I put it up on eBay for sale. If anyone is interested all you have to do is just get on eBay and type in the search engine:

TFC XChanger 480ER Feser

and it should pop up for you with no problems. You will obviously see some of the dings and dents on the radiator itself. In the meantime here are some updated pics on my build... Feedback is always appreciated, later...


By punknugget at 2011-11-02
(These are NOT the fans that I will be using. I will be using the PWM knob control adjusted 120x38mm Delta fans from my initial build (above). These are just being used as a reference tool)


By punknugget at 2011-11-02
(Rad on top of the 120x38mm fans)


By punknugget at 2011-11-02
(Bottom plate on top of the Rad. The plate will be custom cut and sandwiched between the Rad and the fans to maintain the stock Channeling Air-Flow design that I did not want to disrupt for this build. This was my main hurdle to make sure that would work, as the 2 x 180mm fans that came with this unit will NOT fit as it will clearly be in the way of the SR-2 Mobo.)


By punknugget at 2011-11-02
(Silverstone AP121 120x25mm fans on top of the bottom plate)


By punknugget at 2011-11-02
(Angle shot to get a better perspective on the setup)


By punknugget at 2011-11-02
(Another angle shot)


By punknugget at 2011-11-02
(Top View)

[PunkNugget]

Hey all, I haven't forgotten anyone here and I will be posting more pics on the build, and I'm just as anxious on getting this build done as newer CPU's have been released and I don't want to have this done when EVGA (whenever they decide to) release their new Dual OC'ing Mobo that will be able to work the newer processors (since this Mobo is already a year old). But to me, it's still going to be a screamin' machine; especially for what I'm going to be using it for. Anyway, I've been very busy (holiday season) and this is a whole new level of build for me (as it's my second build ever), this is about as custom as you're going to find for a PC build; as I've had to measure and cut holes in places that I didn't realize needed to happen, so the build is still evolving as I'm fitting everything together to make sure everything fits perfectly. Just to let you know the magnitude of how involving this is, I wanted to include a pic of how I have everything spread out right now (and believe or not everything that you see does have its place so I know exactly where everything is). When all of this is done the room will be completely clean and everything that's on the floor and on the table will pretty much be inside this machine; with the exception of the bike, flower stand & cabinet. Who knows, I might be able to fit the bike inside if there's room.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Enjoy the mess - LOL !!! I'm sure that enough guys that have seen this pic know what I'm talking about that have tackled this kind of project themselves...

[nuttcase21]

haha, thats what my computer room looks like all the time, not just during new builds. good luck on the build, i'm interested in how it ends as well.

[Beriphent]

True, I think many of us can relate to that type of room with parts all over! Still, that's not to take away from this; this looks to be a far more involved project than any I have personally attempted. Keep up the good work!

[PunkNugget]

Hey Guys, more pics. This is the Mobo - finished finally !!!

By punknugget at 2011-12-26

This wasn't easy, because the guy who I purchased this used equipment from on eBay was NOT HONEST in his statement claiming that the equipment he was selling was in excellent condition. Plus, when I contacted him he NEVER took any ownership and personally I think all the stuff he purchased (from another eBayer) never took care of it as well and neither one of them knew what they were doing and he more than likely got frustrated in trying to make all this equipment work that he probably said "bump this" and just sold everything the way it was and just pawned it off as being in "excellent condition" when it wasn't. I still would have purchased it anyway, since I like taking things apart and fixing things up to make them in like new condition... while I took apart the Koolance SR-2 MB-EVCSR2 water block I noticed the screws were loose and when I was separating the plates I noticed the seeping coolant throughout the OUTSIDE of the rubber seals (telling me that this was never properly re-assembled from the guy purchased from or the original owner prior to him) I took pics of it and I might load it up later, but it was clearly obvious to me that was something wrong. Well, I cleaned everything thoroughly and tightened everything properly and hope no leaks will happen in the future. We'll see what happens.

It doesn't matter I guess as this point because I sold some of the parts I didn't need on ebay (after I thoroughly cleaned everything) and basically got all the money back that I paid into this whole purchase as well is getting some money refunded (begrudgingly) by the awesome eBay seller who clearly knew he had to give some money back to me. I still can't believe that he couldn't see any of what he said and did being wrong at all; it's just simply beyond me. What got to me the most is how horrid his packing abilities were that he just basically shoved everything in the box that he packed it in (loosely), and of all things with the radiator in the center of the box sideways (and put an old thin layer of bubble wrap that wouldn't protect anything of value) for everything to smashup against it and dent it - HE'S AWESOME !!! Again, what saddens me the most is that he took NO OWNERSHIP and couldn't be HUMBLE enough to say two simple words... I'm sorry... and then work out a deal with me. If I treated my customers that way, in my line of work, I'd be OUT OF BUSINESS !!! In any case the the MB-EVCSR2 is back in business and hope it will perform for some years to come without any issues. It really is a great water block; SOLID & HEAVY !!!

Lastly, here is a recent pic from yesterday (Christmas Day) that I took. I had some free time when the kids were playing with their toys (and I was cutting up mine - he he ).

By punknugget at 2011-12-26

This is pretty much all I've been doing to the TJ11 to make everything that I want fit properly. This was my last cut to the case as I wanted to fit the PSU upside-down to have cold air come up underneath the unit so as to not have the power supply competing for air with the radiator fans literally underneath each other. This way, there will be blown in from separate openings. I'll explain more later when I upload the video once everything is finished and I will give you the link to everything when that time comes. I hope all of you that have been following this will tell as many of your friends as possible about this Mac Hak Pro Case Build so they can follow this as well as see the video when it's released. Well, got to get back to my work but I have some free time this week to get as much done as I can on this case. Later all…

[PunkNugget]

Hey Guys,
It's almost midnight; before the new year of 2012 - you go economic collapse (you know that's coming, right?) Anyhoo, I just wanted to update all of you with some pics. First this one. My wife put my B-Day cards (from her and my boys) IN the PC case that I was tubing a couple of days ago.

By punknugget at 2011-12-31

Here I am two days later finally bleeding the tubing. Man, these DDC Laing pumps, as small as they are, are POWERFUL & QUIET; especially when you run them in series with each other... Hope you like the pics...

By punknugget at 2011-12-31

By punknugget at 2011-12-31

By punknugget at 2011-12-31

BTW, HAPPY NEW YEAR and get prepared for the LOOOONG winter ahead (if you know what I mean, if you don't just PM me and I'll explain it in more detail). Later all...

[PunkNugget]

Question to anyone that reads this:

If I have a very small single-lined stream of air bubbles still flowing in my tubing of the Dual Bay/Dual DDC Laing Pump Koolance 402x2 looped system (that is running in series with each other), will that cause any issues? (Actually, I like it as it's reveals the water flow a bit). I ask this because I've never experienced this before in my prior (and initial build). It was much easier because I was able move the case with ease, but even with this build I was still tip the machine (while letting the motors still run) near 90° left, right, up, down, and I don't know this caused any further issues. I did notice that the right side of the bay seemed to have more fluid in it once I tipped it over and it would not stop making more noise, so I shut it off and I actually had to take out the Bay and open up the area that had more fluid and the pressure that built up in the unit was so strong that it literally spurted out right in front of me - LOL !!! Thank goodness I had a towel in front of it and below it to catch the fluid as I did not want to get anything inside the case. A few drops got here and there but I was able to quickly clean up and blow out the rest of it using my Metro Datavac electric duster. (That Datavac is extremely powerful and the best investment I've made so far, as I almost considered buying cans of air that I would've quickly gone through in no time and has been an invaluable tool for blowing things out and drying things up quickly).

Anyway, I don't know if this is typical for a setup like this to have that kind of pressure running in a looped system that is running in series with 2 pumps. I had the other system run with 2 pumps running separately and never had that issue.

BTW, just to let you know I was able to level out both sides of each bay once I opened up the the one side of the screws when all that fluid came out because of the pressure.

Lastly, everything so far has been working well and there has been no leaks over the last 15 hours that this unit has been running, but I'm going to let it run another 15 hours just to make sure tomorrow while I'm putting other things together in the unit. I look forward to any help that anyone can give. I'm also going to get in touch with Martin at: martinsliquidlab dot org to get his expert advice as I'm sure he's been through this before. I'm still puzzled as to why one side of the bay (while it's running) is pressurized and the other side isn't when I undo the front bay screws? But when I shut it off and I undo any of the screws on either side of the Koolance 402x2 Bay unit that they are BOTH pressurized and fluid wants to come out of both of them. Again, if anyone can give me some kind of advice that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...

[lowfat]

Bleeding the RP-402X2 is extremely difficult. Do you have the bleed kit installed in it? It might help. You will more than likely need to rotate the case on its back and side in order to get all the air out of the loop. The bubbles may work itself out after a few days as long as you keep the reservoir right full. If you had a t-line somewhere else in the case it would help with bleeding quite a bit.

[PunkNugget]

Bleeding the RP-402X2 is extremely difficult. Do you have the bleed kit installed in it? It might help. You will more than likely need to rotate the case on its back and side in order to get all the air out of the loop. The bubbles may work itself out after a few days as long as you keep the reservoir right full. If you had a t-line somewhere else in the case it would help with bleeding quite a bit.

Thanks for quick reply. I appreciate the help. I actually received similar help from Martin (here):

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2011/02/...2/#comment-528

and both of you are right on point. I'm actually seeing fewer air bubbles in the system since turing it back on this mooring, so thank you... Funny thing is, I just noticed that you've been thanked 14 times in 5 posts. Now it's 15... Thanks again - huh, now it's 16. You know I can keep going on with this - LOL! Later... :-)

[PunkNugget]

Hey guys,

Here's a brief update. I'm almost there with completing the build. I really wanted to provide more pics as the progress was coming along but I honestly haven't had the time. When I get a moment, I will post everything from beginning to end of my build process. For now I hope you like what you see... Take care everyone, later...

By punknugget at 2012-01-12

By punknugget at 2012-01-12

By punknugget at 2012-01-12

By punknugget at 2012-01-12

By punknugget at 2012-01-12

[Church]

I wonder if turning rad around so that inlets point up can ease bleeding and shorten/simplify tubing?

[PunkNugget]

I wonder if turning rad around so that inlets point up can ease bleeding and shorten/simplify tubing?

Actually that was the initial thought that I had but when using the Quick Disconnects (QDs), it would have made it where I wouldn't have the last bay available (if I needed for something) for future use... BTW, the bleeding issue went away after about 3 days (as lowfat & Martin from Martinsliquidlabs.org mentioned that it would). Thanks for the input churchy... Later...