Associate
this chocbox is simply yummy 
Chocolate Box
- Thread starter JR23
- Start date
Associate
Man that is some build! Who'd of thunk brown could look so good!
Soldato
How is the Darkside LED strip? I need to sort out lighting in my build so looking for best potion.
Despite it's earlier magnificence the reference 290X in Chocolate Box has been showing some troubling signs of age in recent weeks and so it's now time to roll in a new younger model to take over. I really didn't want to change the build too much as i'm quite attached to it, particularly as a LAN rig. Hence i'll be using a card with the same PCB and EK 290X rev2.0 acetal nickel block.
As i'm quite busy writing updates and doing work I won't be narrating this one blow by blow and I did already show the block getting mounted earlier in this thread so here is some Radeon eye candy...
I can't wait to see how this new card performs, while i'm not expecting any colossal improvements perhaps the added VRAM will permit some even more Ultra Grass in GTA V. That's all for now but i'm sure I will find something else to do when rebuilding the rig, perhaps some changes to the fittings to get them looking a little more consistent.
JR
Associate
looking forward to updated rig photos but I assume visually nothing is changing 
looking forward to updated rig photos but I assume visually nothing is changing
Not hugely I don't want to change how it fits together at all but hopefully a few additions will get it looking a little sharper. I'll be changing to skylake and getting the new Z170 Stinger and a 6700k. All new bitspower enhance style fittings and slightly thinner tubing. I'll probably add a window to the back side too so everything is on show. Quite excited for the little rebuilding session actually.
JR
Soldato
very very nice 
I'm starting to get excited for the rebuild now i've had some hands on time with the motherboard, as I acquired an i7-6700k I have switched to the newer Z170 Stinger and my god it's beautiful, one of the finest Z170 motherboards I have ever witnessed.
Had a quick test fit of the Noctua L12 and thankfully it nestles in just as neatly as before, hopefully later in the week I will collect some DDR4 and fresh Bitspower fittings and get Chocolate Box back in the scene.
JR
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I've had an extremely busy few weeks of work and lets just say I wasn't sure I wanted to see any PC's for several days! However I couldn't stand to see my X1.0 sit dismantled in a cardboard box any longer, so it was time to get a little progress in and continue with the rebuild!
With the move from Haswell to Skylake it not only meant that I needed a new board but of course some DDR4 to go with it.
While this may appear to be Vengeance LPX, it really isn't, just yeah
So to remove one element of confusion and to add another I decided to remove the 'stock' LPX not LPX spreaders and fit watercooling kit spreaders just like the old DDR3 that came out.
So thats the last of the main hardware upgrades taken care of!
Next I will be addressing the tiny aesthetic details. Chocolate Box had always been a huge mix of watercooling parts with an EK pump and block, XSPC radiator, Alphacool tubing and the occasional Bitspower fitting. Purely because at the time that was the most effective solution performance wise and aesthetically. However to alleviate the huge mixture of fittings I will be switching them all to Bitspower along with the relatively recent 12mm OD chrome tubing.
Today i've just been working on the back of the case and as before using a lathe to accurately face the pipework to length. Not exactly a requirement but just because I can.
The one new tube fitted perfectly into place!
I also swapped in Bitspower pass through, rotary and extender fittings to keep things extra clean and consistent. I went for 'enhance' style compression fittings as although I prefer push-in style for rigid tubing these just looked incredibly slender and discrete. Each length of tubing stems from a rotary hence it made sense to just use the one fitting rather than conventional rotary and C47.
So the back side of the loop is looking on point once more, I just need to pick up two more 90° enhance rotaries and then I will progress with the front half.
JR
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Over the weekend I cut the four remaining tubes for Chocolate Box using the lathe just as before.
I'm using Bitspower enhance style fittings which incorporate a traditional compression ring into almost any imaginable fitting, in this case a 90° rotary.
There are also 90° links with a compression ring on both sides allowing relatively slender and simple bends without attempting to form the pipe.
So a quick test fit was in order to ensure my measurements were accurate, everything came together neatly.
When it's possible I like to keep a consistent knurling pattern and diameter throughout the build hence I found some matching stop plugs.
I'm really happy with the results and the consistency now all of the tubing and fittings are Silver Shining. It's actually much lighter than the previous 10/13mm components and the rotaries are much tighter too so hopefully it will sit just as true in the build when coolant is added
Next up I just need to give everything a clean off and then reassemble, very excited to see how it looks and performs with all the little changes now.
JR
Soldato
Very nice as always. I like what Bitspower have done to make those fittings sleeker - definitely an improvement looks-wise.
Associate
Looks amazing!
With the tubing completed in the previous update, there really was not much left to do besides add the cables and fit the CPU cooler but after many months of service the L12 deserved a thorough cleaning.
So I decided to give him a shower!
...and of course the IP67 F12 wanted to be involved too.
Left to dry out in the afternoon sun, I wanted to be sure the fan would not throw out some water when it was powered on in the build.
While the original vibration mounts were still in perfect order I had 120 or so original brown parts left over from LIGHTNING, hence I just picked out some fresh new ones.
Just like new again.
Always the tricky part of this build is connecting the CPU fan, but it can be done with some patience.
Second round of final pics to come very soon
JR
Associate
Great photos!
Soldato
Now there's a selling point for the PC fans!
Each little detail has manifested into the latest revision of Chocolate Box and while none of these changes were radical together they make quite a difference. So for the second and i'm sure not the last time here are the 'final' photographs!
Case - Custom Parvum X1.0
CPU - Intel i7-6700k
Motherboard - EVGA Z170 Stinger
RAM - Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8GB 4000C12
GPU - XFX R9-390X DD Black Edition
SSD - HyperX 3K 120GB
SSD - HyperX 3K 240GB
PSU - Silverstone SX600-G
Fans - Noctua IndustrialPPC NF-F12 ip67 2000PWM x2
CPU Cooler - Noctua NH-L12
GPU Block - EK FC290X Nickel/Acetal w. Backplate
Radiator - XSPC AX120
Pump - EK-DDC 3.2 PWM
Pump/Res - EK DDC X-RES 100
Fittings - Bitspower Enhance Silver Shining
Tubing - Bitspower 10/12mm Silver Shining
I suspect another installment of photographs will come, these just stood out from the 250 or more that I took this afternoon. Thanks for checking it out, catch you all soon!
JR