Mountain Mods U2-UFO or TJ-07?

[w3bbo]

Yeah thats the first thing I thought when I picked the case up - light. The paint probably weighs more than the case lol. Had a mini heart attack though coz a window had what appeared to be a big scratch down the middle, a quick rub and it was gone...phew. The build quality is something to behold tbh and no picture on the net can prepare you for how nice it looks in the flesh - even when its 'naked'.

I don't think I have ever 'finished' a case, I'm always adding bits, tinkering etc. Just finishing a few odds and ends in preperation and then I can finally start the build.

I think I was the first to order and last to recieve , judging by the posts on here so now I gotta make that count, which is going to take a hell of a lot of effort as they all look damn good in this thread!!!!

 

[w3bbo]

Well I had 3 hours building time today and got a lot done. Motherboard, blocks, HD's and DVD's fitted aswell as all the fans and the PA 120.3. This is when the nightmare began.

I went out and bought a black ice GT 120.2 for the 2nd loop but it dont fit!!! The holes are just out enough to prevent both sets of holes lining up with the case - so much for the rear being compatible with HWlabs rads . I must have wasted a good hour trying different combinations but it looked poor no matter which way I tried. It was also VERY cramped and that was without any tubing being routed or pumps installed! So with that and the whiny D4 pump aswell as the orange dye not being to my taste, I am sticking to one (blue) loop until I get my 2nd GTX.

I took some build pics but now the batteries ran out aswell as my spare set. :cursing: Not having a good day lol.

Still the case is looking darn sexy

 

[w3bbo]

I might give the rad another try this afternoon. Gonna try and drill some new holes and hope I dont puncture the rad

 

[w3bbo]

**56k beware!!**

I was gonna make a separate build log but I guess it would be better if all the mountain mods cases were in this thread as there is a wealth of info here already. I'll do as others have done and update as I go.

Here goes anyway :

Newly unwrapped U2-UFO with origianl top and powdercoated in black.

....and yes that is my foot, difficult to get no reflections on such a shiny case

 

[w3bbo]

Sleeved the fans the other day, I also intend on sleeving as much as possible.

A shot of the fans on the PA120.3 - looks much better than a rats nest of molex cabling imo.

PA 120.3 with shroud and 3xYate loon D12SL-12 fitted

Had a bit of a nightmare earlier trying to fit a HWlabs blackIce GT Stealth radiator as the holes wern't a perfect match for the case. So I drilled my own in the rad and got a perfect fit now.

...taking my time with this build as I want eveything to be right first time.

 

[w3bbo]

Thought you had 2x repack res's m8? Decided to go with the microres eh?

Ok time for a little update.

The rads are now fitted. Heres the PA120.3 with the shroud, gaskets & yates attached:

I had to drill new holes in the black Ice GT stealth to get it to line up with the holes on the UFO. But its now flush with the case rather than standing off.

Just starting to mount some hardware to the motherboard tray:

More to come later - time to play with some tubing and work out the routing.

 

[w3bbo]

Couldn't resist building up the front any longer to give me a clue as to what it is gonna look like.

Should have really polished it up but hey...I'm still building it so you'll have to cut me some slack.

Also did some testing on the orange UV dye I intend on using for the GPU loop.

Thats all for now, its sleeptime for me, got a big day building tommorow

 

[w3bbo]

Just a mini update: Started leak testing yesterday after routng all the tubing and then added some dye - unfortunately the orange didn't work out as planned so I gotta drain a loop now, flush it out, and then replace with some green or purple that will be arriving on tuesday. I ordered both in case one didn't look right.

Sunday.

Finished most of the sleeving now, took bloody ages. Encountered a few problems such as I didn't have nearly enough molex connections for the 6 cathodes,9 fans, 2 pumps etc etc so I am busy making up some splitters (and sleeving them ) then I will be able to start wiring it all up.

Didn't have any leaks with the tubing - 36hrs complete. Thank goodness for that at least. HOpefully it will be completed later tonight bar the UV colours so I'll post some pics later tonight and then the completed version tuesday.

Kinda getting that exciting feeling now as its really taking shape but also feelin a little sad coz I have enjoyed the challenge and its nearly over.

 

[w3bbo]

Nearly done.

My hard drive rack placement - not standard but effective.

I couldn't place them on the back because thats where my pumps live, 1xDDC ultra and one blue impellor DDC pro (to be modded) :

Added a couple of temp monitors to monitor water temps of both CPU & GPU loop.

 

[w3bbo]

Have you thought about using a power port for the fans? Sunbeam make a nice little port for 6x fans... Multi Fan Power Port

That is a sweet little bit of kit. I dont think its possible to have one of them AND run the fans off 7V though unfortunately.

 

[w3bbo]

The Danger Den Dual bay res looks well and is suprising effective at bleeding.

Right side now done with UVs switched off.

Just doing a little tidying up and I'll be done with this for now until the purple UV arrives.

 

[w3bbo]

Haha, patience m8y. Gotta finish up tidying, no point in rushing the details - I spent too long sleeving etc to rush it at the end. Been like a fine wine this build, taken time to mature and I have savoured every last drop of it hehe

 

[w3bbo]

Almost there now - just waiting on the UV dye for the 2nd loop but heres how it looks for now.

...damn finger prints lol:001_tt2:

 

[w3bbo]

Sure you can, just 7V mod the Molex you plug into it and they will all be @ 7V, I've seen it done.

Also...VERY nice setup you have there! You and Clone have certainly convinced me I NEED a MM case.

Well its built now and I won't be taking it apart for some time to come.

Coming from a P180 which is supposedly a 'quiet case' I wasn't expecting the MM to be as quiet as it is. I never noticed my hard drive noise before and as they are spinpoints (regarded as one of the quietest hard drives) this shows how quiet this setup really is!

Thx for the very kind words everyone, Im certainly very, very happy with it atm

 

[w3bbo]

You don't REALLY need reservoirs tbh - they just make bleeding easier and look nicer imo. You don't need to have bay reservoirs either - they come in all shapes and sizes. So you could have - 2xdvd,1xmultipanel (usb's and card reader), XFI front panel and your fan controller and 2 internal reservoirs in a UFO. The one thing that attracted me to the UFO is that you can have all the wires and cabling in one side while you can have all the good looking bits in the other - unobstructed and well cooled. The opti offers more bays but at a cost of looks and motherboard space, even though it is 3"cubed bigger than a UFO(due to the extra drivebays).

 

[w3bbo]

Yates F.T.W

btw Clone m8, sent your plasma off today..enjoy

 

[w3bbo]

Some folk have mailed me asking about the plumbing of the dual loop in the UFO so rather than reply individually via mail and until I can be bothered logging a project, here are a few (blurry- my camera suxor) pics that may help along with a brief explanation.

CPU loop: DD res -> DDC Ultra -> PA120.3 -> D-tek Fusion -> DD680i Chipset -> DD res

All tubing goes across the top of the motherboard tray with the DD res high enough so that it feeds the Ultra pump via top inlet. Having the Res higher than the pump helps in initially bleeding bleeding the system, ideally the res should be the highest point in the loop.

I mounted the PA with barbs up again coz this seemed the easiest way of bleeding (even though the PA has a bleed screw at the other end), it also gave the shorter route of tubing.

The pumps were mounted to the back fans using the hard drive mounts that are in turn attached to the rad. The ultra uses the top inlet whereas the pro uses the front. Another plus forr using the alphacool tops is the versatility when mounting . There is also very little vibration and they are silent when fully bled.

.........

 

[w3bbo]

The above is the 'guts' shot of the watercooling loop, bit of a rats nest I know but until I get more sleeving there aint a lot I can do about it. The tubing was actuall pretty easy to route - easier than I expected tbh for 1/2.

The GPU loop goes like this: EK res ->DDC pro -> Black Ice GT stealth ->EK8800gtx ->EK res.

All the tubing for that goes from under the motherboard tray to the 'guts' side, keeps the cpu a little tidier.

Those that asked about loop order: it dosn't really matter aslong as the pump is after the res - just choose the shortest route possible (less tubing = less resriction).

Both loops are easily maintained via the reservoirs should there be any need to top up as each side of the case comes off...including the top!

Hope this helps.

 

[w3bbo]

Very nice, its also very bright unless its the camera lol

Bit of both. It isn't that bright in the day but the UV's certainly light it up at night

 

[w3bbo]

Be sure to post some pics of the build up - I'd be interested in seeing how the horizon looks compared to the standard UFO.