Here is a description of my second mod:
Updated on September 25th 2002: (Note: the window
panel on these pictures was not screwed in yet so the panel did
buckle a little... I took care of that but didn't get to the pictures
yet...)
Well, I've been bored with my previous design so I went back to
work and came up with some changes. If you check the next pages
you'll be able to see the old design as well as a full installation
details (not to mention that pictures are worth a thousand words).
I also started to experience some issues with my one year old
Radeon 8500 OEM (overclocked) so I ended up getting myself the
sickly expensive 9700. First 3Dmark2001 SE tests in default config
without overclocking the system were around 9700 but I'm hoping
to be able to push that a little higher (though I probably won't
try as I already reinstalled everything on my system: remember
that you'll get better results with blank drives).
Upcoming is a CPU upgrade (probably an Athlon XP2600+) until real
new stuff comes out (64bit cpus, SATA drives and faster memory).
For now, the system is still plenty fast (it's a 1 1/2 year old)
and can put some shame on some newer P4 rigs.
You can see here how the system was taken
apart, replanned (for bay locations, as well as wiring) and fully
isolated with sound proof foam.
What has been changed? Well pretty much none of the internals yet; I'm still running an Asus A7V266-E with 2*40G 7200RPM drives in RAID 0, 1*80G 5400RPM backup drive, CDR, DVD, Asus iPanel, Radeon 9700, and the water cooling system... the 1.33TB will soon retire, still waiting for a powerfull XP to come out (the cpu is currently clocked at 1551Mhz@1.75V load temps around 43C).
Here is some
more work being done on the rig as well as the newly installed
CompNurse for HD temp monitoring. The LCD is viewable from outside
the case thru the window.
What's new: I decided to go for a killer overclocked yet stealth system (I know the new yellow paint job is probably louder than the fans) so I got ride of most smaller fans, and added rheostats on the three 120mm fans left for better control. Also new is the beautiful Matrix Orbital Blue LCD. The LCD has some GPO (general purpose outputs) that allow me to have one LED flash when incoming mail is received. The paint job was quite painful but came out great (color is Sunshine Yellow from Odds 'N' Ends, no clear needed as the enamel came out perfect). I also applied bondo on the LED groove and power LED, relocated the switches/LEDs, and added front Line IN, OUT, and MIC connectors (plugged directly into the mobo, and it works great).
The cold custom
Evil Inside Badge (got it for free from some place in Australia...
and yes it is domed). The lower portion of the rig looks sweet
with the radioactive applique in the middle and fan grill... Not
to forget the superbe Maxtrix Orbital LCD... it's a piece of art.
White power LED next to the LCD, Blue Email LED flashes on upcoming
messages... cool cool!
The neon lights switch has been relocated to the top right next to the LCD. The pumps switches (which I had to change BTW) are now under the floppy drive, next to the sound ports, and the system LEDs (all LEDs are now .5mm; the green LED is still connected to the network card as activity light).
Work lasted
about 2 weeks (delay on some silicon tubing from DangerDen) so
my place was a real mess again...
The fans rheostats are now where the LEDs used
to be. 3 rheostats controlling the front fan (hidden behind the
radiator now... I'm also using a filter) the top fan (also hidden
behind the radiator. it has also been spaced out for reduce noise)
and the side fan.
I also got a new window and window applique but this time, I ordered
it online with a custom 120mm hole (from FrozenCPU which BTW did
an awesome job for little $$). The fan hole is closer to the AGP
slot for even better cooling and I am using a grill for less dirt.
Top rad looks sweet with the lights on... actually
the whole thing looks sweet with the lights on.
I also did get a second CoolerMaster HD cooler
and stuck a CompuNurse probe in it for HD temperatures. The probe
LCD can be found inside the case, right next to the 5 1/4 bays.
The 3rd HD has been relocated below the floppy drive, right behind
the new switch panel.
For the cooling, I now use 1 80mm fan in the middle of the case
to move the hot air to the upper part, the 3 120mm fans, a PCI
cooler to extract some hot air from the Radeon 9700 (which BTW,
gets its dedicated ramsink) and the chipsets coolers. Much less
fancy here.
And here is
the finished product... not too shaby again!
The inside of
the case was completely isolated using some sound foam (costs
something like $1/ft*ft so that wasn't too bad); even the back
of the mobo gets a special treatment with a think foam piece though
I'm not sure yet how much this will be affecting cooling but so
far no problems. The Mag Drive pump was supposed to be attached
to the case but due to space restrictions I had to let it lose
but got more sound proofing around; I am also now using some Silicon
tubing from DangerDen has my old vinyl pieces got really hard
and almost unusable when I took the system appart. The purge tube
has also been relocated for easier filly of the rig.
Well I think this pretty much covers it all. Not too many new
stuff but a much better overall look and best of all, you can
barely hear the system, unless I crank the fans during extreme
gaming sessions (those 120mm fans can move some air... rating
is 120cfm/per).
Now comments are welcome but please don't ask me where I got which and which part (just look online) or how hard it is... it's all relative. There are plenty of cool sources out there that will teach you how to mod you case, just be prepared and pray that you are handy...
Final thought: toughest part was definitely the wiring... it isn't hard if you just wanna get it to work but for this system I wanted everything to be neat, something real tough when you have almost no space left.
