Build Project "Nameless"

[irtuk]

Build Project "Lionhead"

I have a blue office. A lovely blue recently decorated in my new house.

I have a red themed PC, watercooled in a corsair carbide case. Red LED's, very, very red. It clashes, badly.

More importantly the build has recently dropped out of the top 10% based on 3dmark benchmarks hitting a paltry 13899 in FireStrike. Time for a new build and the theme will be pale blue.

To get this I am going for a mainly white build and then approach the lighting with LEDs so I can match the PC lighting to the LED's I have on the back of the monitor

Here's the shopping list, currently making it's way around the South East in the back of a DPD van wrapped in lovely OCUK packaging and doubtless containing a couple of bags of sweets.

• LN2 Tested 8Pack Speed Binned Intel Core i7 4930K Hyperthreaded Hex Core Processor - OEM
• Asus X99 Deluxe/USB3.1 Intel X99 (Socket 2011) DDR4 ATX Motherboard
• Avexir Blitz Original Silver 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C15 3000MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit - White L
• Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Arctic White (CC-9011048-WW)
• Super Flower Leadex GOLD 1000W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - White
• Super Flower Braided Cable Kit - White
• EK Water Blocks EK-HDC Fitting 16mm G1/4 - White
• EK Water Blocks EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM (incl. pump)
• EK Water Blocks EK-HD PETG Tube 1216mm 500mm (2pcs) ( swapped for acrylic as I read the PETG did not like glycol in the coolant )
• 2 x Asus GeForce GTX 980 DirectCU II OC Strix 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards

I have a couple of other components directly from manufacturers but lets not talk too much about them.

I am currently assembling a workbench on which to do the build as the wife says the kitchen table is required for eating. I hope to be getting some footage up on my youtube channel once all the components are in and the build area is ready. This will be my first hardline tubing build and it's fair to say I am kinda worried!

Watch this space and I will get some images up as soon as the kit arrives.

 

[irtuk]

Thanks for that mate, the valuable feedback on the parts has saved me a massive amount of grief!

So I have swapped the CPU for a haswell E 4960x

Any other problems on the parts list?

 

[irtuk]

I have 32GB of the RAM, 4 x 8, didn't come up on the list as "x4"

The PETG to Acrylic swap was after I saved this component list, so yeah, typo.

Just finished modelling the case in Sketchup this morning.

 

[irtuk]

To be honest its more something to do whilst I am waiting on everything to arrive.

Quick crosslink to the water cooling forum here as it turns out with the EKWB X99 full cover block you need to very gently punch some holes in this insulation foam stuff in the board.

 

[irtuk]

So I have a new name for my build project. It will be, from this day forth, Project Lionhead as the build will be "Black and White"



And some gear has arrived:







-Ed.

 

[irtuk]

So here is a summary of the last couple of days work:

2 x 980 GTX blocks and backplates installed:




Case boxed out inside with matte white acrylic:




( wonkiness due to nothing being bolted in yet... )

And this rawlplug based solution for the bottom of the case to cleanly seal off the HDD bays at the bottom of the Corsair 540 Air

 

[irtuk]

The radiators are on the outside of the house and linked with quick release fittings, so the plan is that the inbound/outbound run through holes to be drilled in the circular gap where the original fan was fitted.

 

[irtuk]

Yeah its available in black and white at this very local link

Quick update for today, I have thrown out the rawlplugs in favour of smart little aluminium legs:



They didn't work ( could not get the damn things level and the back left one was a mare. Also they didn't quite fit the screws snugly so they were going to rattle...)

Next solution, some aluminium..




That works really well. Here's the interior with the panels bolted in place. Also shows the white plastic stand-offs to bring the rear panel flush with the bottom.





And finally the reservoir mounts. I want the res perfectly in line with the cable ducts so the hardline tube can run straight up and in without having to do any kinking about. I am figuring this will save me a lot of pain down the line.

The mounts are the same aluminium with brackets dremmelled to place the res 30mm into the case from the front plate. I will be mounting it using the fan holes in the case and using the case metal to add strength.



I have also started layering acrylic gel medium onto a laser printed tattoo which, my artistic friends assure me, will, through some magic process, turn into a transparent acrylic transfer of the image:



So that is destined for the floor of the machine just above the now hidden pluggable drive bay.

-Ed.


Working tomorrow. Wedding Saturday. Meh.

-Ed

 

[irtuk]

Ummm yeah. the CPU was a bit of a **** up. Originally I went with a LN2 speed binned 4930k that I thought was really good value, then LePhuronn pointed out it would not work, value or no. ( still really grateful for that! to get the thing mounted and then discover that would have sucked... )

When I informed the wife of the **** up to her eternal credit she said "get whatever is best dear" so... there you go. Bought it separately.

As for the cards, I didn't think there was that much in it, trying to save a couple of hundred quid when I was originally speccing it up.

In hindsight you are probably right, the cost of this thing is escalating rapidly. The benches are new, nice gear from Clarke, umm, I bought a Dremel, I think I am on first name terms at B&Q / Screwfix / Homebase etc. So yeah, maybe later. Just want to get it built now and see what it benches to. My AMD rig benched pretty well so once I get the cold winter air cooling the thing through the external rads, should be good.

Would it be wrong to put a little snowman in the bottom of the case? with an Anna doll from Frozen?

-Ed

oh btw the Dremel is the best toy ever!

 

[irtuk]

Yeah I found that the best way to remove a smudge from matte white acrylic is to gently sand it off so, yeah its very smooth and getting thinner.

 

[irtuk]

Daily Update

First snags hit last night with the res mount...

here is the constructed mount from cut and painted aluminium:



Here are the screws to attach the res:



Wait there are no damn screws there? where are the screws?

Turns out I cannot locate the screws so we go to the big bowl of spare screws:



Four matching machine screws seem to fit the bill so we have the res / pump combo fixed to the mounting:



and here we have the mounting in place. tricky job, tight space. screwed in tightly with screws that have had O-rings fitted to try and reduce and absorb any vibrations.





A blanking plate is needed there so I cut and spray one with the intention to cheat and fix it with Velcro.

Pleased to see that the res fill port is nicely positioned




So I move on to the motherboard block fitting







no real drama there and the block is on. yes I used too much thermal paste, always do



I put the motherboard and components in loosely just for fitting and assessing the next steps:





And here is the problem, the IN port of the res is nicely aligned with the cable duct so that in line will only need a single 90 degree bend in it, on this side of the case at least, however the OUT port is not perfectly aligned with the IN port on the motherboard / CPU block and it's off by about 10mm which is, I think, going to be a nasty bend to make.

So, looking at the build this morning I am thinking that I need a more elegant solution to line that res up. The aluminium mount is a bit clunky and its in sort of the wrong place, this came about due to me using the pre-drilled fan holes in the case for support, and the size of the L shaped aluminium, oh yeah and not checking this in advance, that didn't help either.

Off to work now, sort of, but will check in later. Anyone got suggestions? I have a few ideas myself but I am not sure they will work.

-Ed.

 

[irtuk]

Oh yeah one other thing. Can anyone recommend a good cleaner for the loop?

The current machine is red and using mayhems red dye. I am thinking that if I fill the loop with mayhems white pastel without thoroughly, completely and obsessively cleaning the existing radiators I will get a new hybrid "Mayhems pinky white pastel"

There are actually 2 x 360mm radiators outside and I am debating whether to split them, put one in the existing machine to be handed down to the wife and use one rad, or whether to get a new one.

mmmm

 

[irtuk]

Break out the freakin Laser Beams!!

Ok so my learning yesterday was that the res position is likely to be absolutely crucial to the easy fitting of the hardline because there ain't no give in it.

My res was in the wrong place, by just the wrong amount, not enough for a bend, too much to make do.

To this end I have broken out the freakin laser beams:





This should give me a really good shot at positioning the res, however my plan now is this:



< Image now not freakin massive .... >

So, I drill two aluminium pipes into the case and I find or devise some sort of mount that will allow me to attach the res to the pipes and adjust it vertically whilst I am doing the hardline fitting.

This will not only look a lot more elegant than the squared off bracket , but it will gain a bit of space, be a bit more unique and hopefully make the hardline fit ( which I am scared to death of ) easier.

-Ed.

 

[irtuk]

Chapter .. umm ... 9ish? "A Fortunate Coincidence"

So after another trip to B&Q I have found a fortuitous coincidence.

Turns out that this product which is some sort of plumbing device fits the EK Pump/ Radiator combo perfectly..



Its called a "Munsen Ring" ... nope me neither.




So this is going to make the precise placement of the res significantly easier as I will be able to get the tube in the exact X offset from the CPU input and then adjust the Y offset by loosening Munsen's ring. Sorry couldn't resist.

The actual pipe I have either steel pipe or wooden dowell to work with. I am inclined towards wood because I can drill directly into it at the top to secure, the steel pipe is hollow so I would need to bang some wood into it anyway to give me something to screw into.

-Ed.

Edit / The B&Q link is fine ... isn't it? not a competitor, not even a computer product ... just fits the EK Pump like a glove. /

 

[irtuk]

So there will now be a short hiatus whilst I await the delivery of a new piece of acrylic having put a crack in the front blanking plate whilst mounting the reservoir

 

[irtuk]

OK so my spare - read "replacement" Acrylic arrived today and I can crack on with the res placement:



The laser measure is out again but only because it's about the right size:



Lining it up



Cutting the new panel:



Bit of a nightmare when a munsen ring broke, I was trying to put an extra turn on it to level it up nice and straight and the copper sheared and broke. Fortunately I have a spare but it does mean a respray:



That gives me time to look at the bending process...



mmmm what next?

Ok here are attempts one and two....




Third times the charm...



I need a 16mm holesaw and some grommets, or a 17mm holesaw and a 1mm grommet to proceed, I have worked out my loop so this gives me some time to work on the case decoration



TOP TIP!!! Print it backwards, so then when you spray mount the acetate to the acrylic then the inked side is DOWNWARDS

So, here we are so far. Its starting to look like a build not just a pile of parts!



-Ed.

Couple of quick notes.

1) Yes I know only half the RAM is in.
2) Which two attachment points do you use in Two card SLI? the ones I have the bridge on or the other ones?

 

[irtuk]

So today is about getting the rest of the tubing in and heading for a leak test. I start with cutting holes in the acrylic back plate for the tube out from the CPU. I want to come into the GFX cards from the bottom to minimise air pockets so I am going to run the tube out from the CPU block to the back of the chassis, down and in again.

Yeah that's some neat drilling. Going ok so far today:



not looking bad down here:



Just a bit off kilter up here:



I am using 16mm inner diameter rubber grommets but the material depth of 5mm is too much so I have had to take the back of them off making them single sided. I have attempted to glue them in but not feeling confident



I am going to use a length of soft tube down the back of the case



Getting there



inbound and outbound ports ready to be looped together for a leak test. The rads are outside the house so this is just going to be a shortcut



and here we are five minutes into the leak test



Yup. total failure! The fitting method was wrong, you really need to push the tube into the fittings, its not really a click but a sort of docking feeling. I had not done this and the consequent leakage was massive. BIG learning point for my first hard line build!

GFX cards are taken up to the airing cupboard, everything else is dried off and I go have a think. The Grommets are also falling out.



thinking .... So I am going to dismantle it, rebuild it with correct fitting technique and I am also going to replace the back panel with something in lightweight foamy stuff to get the placements right.

TOP TIP!! When in doubt and your last plan failed, take out every tool you have and line them up until one of them looks like it might help........



Top tip. Don't use a 16mm drill on lightweight foamy stuff





I reassemble the graphics blocks separately



and use the patented liner-upper to work out where the holes should be. I can then use the light foamy thing as a template for my remaining bit of acrylic.



Leak test 2 starting



About an hour in. Couple of drips from the quick releases but they are outside the case so ... not a killer and very slow




so there we go. My first ever hardline build. Still work to do but, I think its getting there and the loop is running



I am going to change the exit point, drop it down a bit, there is no need to go up from the top GFX card I can just turn 90 degrees back, will make it cleaner. I also want the grommets back and I might swap the back plate for powder coated aluminium with a 1mm thickness so the grommets can fit neatly. Other than that, looking ok I think.

Next jobs are to flush the radiators with cleaner, they are running with mayhems red atm... decommission the old machine, rebuild it with a second R9290 that I have not accidentally exploded, give it to wife and store her damned MacBook Pro safely in a ****** lake.

-Ed.

 

[irtuk]

Thanks man. Quick crosslink here to the storage forum because I am having a job getting it to boot nicely. Might get some ideas from here.

 

[irtuk]

amazingly it seems to be my CH rudder pedals it does not like....

 

[irtuk]

FINISHED!

So, its done, I went through the painful process of moving it from my garage, plumbing it in and then firing it up hoping like hell it worked!

It Worked! Here we are finished and in situ:


















And of course the most important thing, this is with some very light clocking, I don't know the BIOS on my new board and I have never clocked on the intel platform yet so, plenty of headroom here. Not quite knocking on 8Pack's door yet but ...




Right now I want nothing more than to build another one! I will take the old machine I think, which, at the time I was happy with:




Not happy with that any more! I think I can do better!

Thanks for all your support.

-Ed.