BUILD LOG - Project: Stealth X - The Rebel Appliance

DJ_Switch · 27 Jan 2009 at 13:01

Before I start I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone in the community here for all the help and advice in getting me this far. I've always owned pc's although just got others to build them for me. The last 3 months I've done my first build and first ever over clock so thought I'd go for the hattrick and get some watercooling and really how far I can push this chip.

Now, with the thanks out of the way...I curse you all for giving me this bug.

PROJECT: STEALTH X - The Rebel Appliance.

Wallpaper by Draxian Dezigns here http://draxiandezigns.deviantart.com/art/Rebel-Alliance-Wallpaper-56937665

I give to you the styling of the new pc

Actually, no.....it's going to look more like a darker Cosmos S with watercooling.

The main hardware going in will be

Q9650
Gigabyte EP45 Extreme
4gb Corsair Dominator
Ati HD4870 512mb

On the cooling side there will be

D-tek Fuzion v1
XSPC 4870 full cover block
Laing DDC 12v (with plexi top)
XSPC RX360
XSPC RS120
XSPC Dual Bay Pump/Reservoir
EK Multi Option 250 Reservoir
Tygon 1/2"
Feser Tube - Light blue
Xigmatek - White led fans
Noctua - Vortex Control Fans
Scythe Kaze Master

DJ_Switch · 27 Jan 2009 at 13:05

First off was to take this annoying case to bits...no quick task, I can assure you.

Now to start the masking and painting.

I've been using Hycote Acrylic spray for this. It seems to be best for the plastic parts rather than the metal ones though.

DJ_Switch · 27 Jan 2009 at 13:14

After lapping the CPU it was time to wash out the rad. Thanks to those of you in the Cooling section for all the stickys and advice. After seeing what came out my rad I'm glad I read through it all.

The rad

The gunk.

The other 2 bowls are the 2nd and third rinse.

I knew I'd have a few schoolboy errors along the way and this was the first. The rad fits in the case fine although the fan won't attach there due to the end of the heat pipe and heatsink. It doesn't look too much although it's enough to make even modding the heatsink a bit of a nightmare. Looks like the fan will have to be mounted on the other side of the case now.

DJ_Switch · 27 Jan 2009 at 14:08

I seem to have misplaced my tape measure amongst the chaos that is in here just now but I'll need to check that out. If there was a fan that could fit there then it would be much better.

DJ_Switch · 27 Jan 2009 at 14:17

You, Sir, are a star.

That looks like it would fit exactly. Thanks for that.

DJ_Switch · 27 Jan 2009 at 14:40

Just got one of them ordered now. I didn't even know about them. Cheers for that.

Decided to mount the rad the other way now. It doesn't solve the proximity of the fan to the mb but it does get the barbs and tubing a bit more of out the way and will make for a neater loop in the case.

DJ_Switch · 27 Jan 2009 at 17:36

Changed the front fan, without managing to snap the stupid plastic fan screws off. There surely had to be a better way of them attaching a fan to the HDD module. :confused:

Xigmatek fan under the UV (no power to fan)

Fan with power and without UV

DJ_Switch · 27 Jan 2009 at 18:13

Yeah. I'm just going for a watercooled Cosmos S with a few decals now rather than anything "stealth". Haha! I really have stuck to the original plan although hopefully it doesn't look too much like an arcade when it's done.

I decided not to paint the inside. The cost of either powder coating or even buying that much paint just wasn't worth it when I'm going to have a smoked/black acrylic panel as the window.

Bradley8988, I was coming from Noctuas to this fan so the noise is pretty noticable. Having said that it is a 1500rpm fan and I've yet to put it on a fan controller and see how much quieter it will be. At full whack it's still quieter than the Tricools I had before the Noctuas.

I'll report back on the noise when I get the fan controller installed.

DJ_Switch · 27 Jan 2009 at 21:47

Cheers!

Got a bit more of the tubing hooked up. I'm now going to be held up waiting for other hose clips. I'm not feeling those Primochill clips at all. Couldn't get them as tight as I wanted. Still going to have to sort out the tubing going to the rad at the back.

Up next, while I'm waiting for the hose clips.

DJ_Switch · 28 Jan 2009 at 18:04

Managed to get the side window fitted now. For anyone else fitting a window to a Cosmos S, the AC Ryan Acrylpanel is the exact length of the fitting...only need to cut 1 side and then drill the holes.

DJ_Switch · 28 Jan 2009 at 18:26

I'm now wishing I had just done that. At the time there wasn't much choice in the way of 7/16" tubing for sale. Next time I'll definitely be going with 7/16" as all these clips are a PITA.

DJ_Switch · 28 Jan 2009 at 20:03

Bradley8988 said:
I bet. you going orange Coolent? This your first Wcing? Very good if it is.

Close. I ended up going for yellow coolant as the orange one always looks a bit funny. I've seen pictures of it looking quite strange. So, yellow in the main loop and blue for the other loop.

Yeah...it's my first time watercooling and it's also my first solo build. I'm trying not to mess anything up along the way so just trying to take my time just now and get all the advice I can.

matt100, It looks like the slim fan is going to fit. It's good to know that it won't have too big an impact if it doesn't fit though. The RX series rad that's in there is supposedly optomised for low fan speeds so hopefully it will be alright should the fan not fit.

Update. I've put the feet and sides back on before I start to fill anything.

The rad on the back had to go as the sides wouldn't fit without some more cutting. I'll try it inside the case and hopefully find it another home.

DJ_Switch · 29 Jan 2009 at 18:36

Bradley8988, the slim fan arrived today. It does fit although there's still a bit of contact. By shaving about a mm off, between the fan casing and the fins, I'll be able to fit it.

Thanks for pointing that out.

DJ_Switch · 1 Feb 2009 at 17:04

Finished the ram cooler. It turned out better than expected as the white UV paint was a nightmare to apply.

Thanks to w3bbo for the idea of painting the ocz cooler.

All had been going alright until I filled it with coolant and then EPIC FAILURE. The yellow from Feser wasn't quite the kind of yellow I had in mind. It looks more like ink from a neon highlighter pen. :mad:

Think I'm going to have to swap it out with some orange? Any suggestions are welcome at this point as I can't even bring myself to turn the UV on at the moment.Haha!

Here you go...for anyone thinking that yellow Feser might be a good idea. :eek:

I think it's back to the drawing board before it's too late. It's not too late for it to be an Imperial mod.

DJ_Switch · 1 Feb 2009 at 19:02

I'm a bit hesitant to mix it rather than drain it and refill. There was a warning on the bottle about not mixing different colours within the range. It would be much easier if I could mix it with another dye though.

DJ_Switch · 8 Feb 2009 at 18:09

Work has been a bit held up on this. Ran into some problems with the Feser One fluid so am in the process of flushing it all out and cleaning. Think I'll go for the orange this time as the yellow was looking dodgy anyway.

DJ_Switch · 8 Feb 2009 at 18:39

Yeah. I always wondered why I never saw anyone using that yellow in the gallery.Haha!

I'll definitely be going with coloured tubes next time.