My rigs.
- Thread starter ALXAndy
- Start date
Hi guys figured I would update.
The rig has ground to a halt sadly. I took on a really big project and underestimated how hard it would be (a 5.1 rig using four amps, a powered sub and a 5.1 decoder for HDMI). I had a crap ton of wiring to do then there's sorting out the TV, shelves etc.
I also get married on the 2nd Jan, and have my step daughter coming so I daren't pee around modding right now.
I should have the project back on the go in late January. I am in the process of switching the GPU in X8 to an Nvidia because the 290 just doesn't want to play ball with OSX.
So no pics sadly but I'll be back
The rig has ground to a halt sadly. I took on a really big project and underestimated how hard it would be (a 5.1 rig using four amps, a powered sub and a 5.1 decoder for HDMI). I had a crap ton of wiring to do then there's sorting out the TV, shelves etc.
I also get married on the 2nd Jan, and have my step daughter coming so I daren't pee around modding right now.
I should have the project back on the go in late January. I am in the process of switching the GPU in X8 to an Nvidia because the 290 just doesn't want to play ball with OSX.
So no pics sadly but I'll be back
Soldato
- Joined
- 15 Feb 2013
- Posts
- 3,089
- Location
- Edinburgh
Congratulations on the marriage
haha I promise
The Big Purple Monster was just that. I like the hot rod look, hence the flames and skulls..
So basically I hit a brick wall. I started braiding cables and they look amazing with the orange plugs on, then I got the PCIE wiring out of the Corsair box and found they are totally unsuitable for braiding
I contacted the guy who made the cables for The BPM and he wanted the same price for unbraided cables, so £18.
I can't be spending that. The whole idea of this was to use left over parts or parts I already owned and I already splurged £200 or so on the CPU board and ram.
So, I found a Phobya 8 pin to 2 8 pin and a red 6 pin that are suitable. They cost me about a tenner which I was happy with, plus using the 1-2 splitter will be tidier.
The only other issue I foresee is that the cooler could possibly be too tall, but, I have an idea for that as I have a Mugen copy hood scoop I bought for a TVR themed build I did ages ago (whilst still cutting my teeth).
I don't want to sacrifice cooling because I want to clock the nuts off of this Pentium, so I may need to mod the top of the case.
OK I forgot to update. A couple of weeks back I got tired of seeing this.
They do get quite hot. So I ordered some of these.
And put them on. Note they're not uniform because the components they are stuck to are not uniform.
And the 8 pin I bought for braiding.
And the 6 pin. I will remove the braiding on them obs.
I also forgot I did work to the front of the case, fitting the fan controller and covering the two side turret parts. I will dust it down tomorrow when it's daylight and take some pics
They do get quite hot. So I ordered some of these.
And put them on. Note they're not uniform because the components they are stuck to are not uniform.
And the 8 pin I bought for braiding.
And the 6 pin. I will remove the braiding on them obs.
I also forgot I did work to the front of the case, fitting the fan controller and covering the two side turret parts. I will dust it down tomorrow when it's daylight and take some pics
OK explanatory update. First up here is the latest on I <3 DFI. I made up the molex for the fan controller...
So all that's left now are the PCIE cables and, if needs be, the fan cables.
Other updates. First up X8,
The Sandblaster (damn you auto correct.. What I meant was Sound Blaster) XFI Fatal1ty finally went home, so I removed that and have fitted a dashboard into the space that has USB3, card readers, temp display etc. I will get pics once some daylight comes into the flat because it's hard to take photos atm.
So this leaves me with a GTX 770. So that's where the Big Purple Monster comes into the picture. I'm going to put the 770 in with the Titan blacks to drive my 1080p monitor, leaving the Titans to the 4k TV screen.
I also bought some black light cathodes for BPM what seems like forever ago, but yesterday I did this...
And ordered a set of PCIE extensions for the GTX 770
I have to mod the SLI bridge because it's that EVGA number for TRI SLI. So I have to take it apart, wrap most of it in foil and then use my heat gun to desolder the middle fingers so I can run the 770 between the Titans.
So all that's left now are the PCIE cables and, if needs be, the fan cables.
Other updates. First up X8,
The Sandblaster (damn you auto correct.. What I meant was Sound Blaster) XFI Fatal1ty finally went home, so I removed that and have fitted a dashboard into the space that has USB3, card readers, temp display etc. I will get pics once some daylight comes into the flat because it's hard to take photos atm.
So this leaves me with a GTX 770. So that's where the Big Purple Monster comes into the picture. I'm going to put the 770 in with the Titan blacks to drive my 1080p monitor, leaving the Titans to the 4k TV screen.
I also bought some black light cathodes for BPM what seems like forever ago, but yesterday I did this...
And ordered a set of PCIE extensions for the GTX 770
I have to mod the SLI bridge because it's that EVGA number for TRI SLI. So I have to take it apart, wrap most of it in foil and then use my heat gun to desolder the middle fingers so I can run the 770 between the Titans.
Last edited:
So yay and all that stuff, I did some more work to BPM. First I removed the fingers from the SLI bridge which was actually very easy and did not require the heat gun. I just pulled off the plugs with pliers then snipped them all clean. Then I gave the rig a good clean/vacuum before putting in the new lights and putting it all back together.
And then finally.
And then finally.
So today I finished all of the braiding on DFI.
Ignore the black and white ends, they will be hidden under a cover panel.
Remember the GTX 480 Lightning? well here she is.
A marriage made in heaven.
I'm so glad I bought the custom connectors now. They were quite expensive at around £15 for the full set but they make all the difference I feel.
Coming next : A date with the rotary tool and two sheets of acrylic.....
Ignore the black and white ends, they will be hidden under a cover panel.
Remember the GTX 480 Lightning? well here she is.
A marriage made in heaven.
I'm so glad I bought the custom connectors now. They were quite expensive at around £15 for the full set but they make all the difference I feel.
Coming next : A date with the rotary tool and two sheets of acrylic.....
Time for an overdue update.
Things did not go so well with the DFI rig. I decided to build it as I wanted it out of the way before my wedding and had a couple of accidents. Firstly the cooler did fit, so that was nice. I had ordered a 8 pin PCIE - 2 8 pin PCIE and braided it. This turned out to be in the wrong packet and wasn't actually a 8 pin PCIE but a 8 pin EPS.
I was given an immediate refund and sent a replacement as a gesture but I just don't have the patience at the moment to redo it. It wasn't just a braid job, the plugs were replaced with yellow ones so they will also need to be fully removed, ugh.
Also, when fitting the GPU it snagged somewhere and I tore off a piece of the cover carbon so that needs to be replaced. A real pig if I'm honest, and the chip refuses to overclock at all, the rig fails to post, then gives me a warning about a bad overclock. Nightmare.
So any way, I decided to go back to X8 and update it a little. When I built X8 it was mostly built from womble parts and thus wasn't overly fantastic when it came to fit and finish. I did my best on a £18 case but obviously there were short comings. I don't regret it though, because had the OS installation failed I would have been left with a Windows rig I simply did not need nor want.
So, I decided to buy a new case for X8 because it had nowhere to install a 3.5" drive (for some reason the hot swap bay part refused to show any drives) and I wanted to install some serious storage, now that it was my daily rig.
So the hardware I chose was as follows. First up, a Silverstone Raven RV05. I got this for £81. It's small, compact, neat, and offers absolutely sublime cooling. Here it is here.
And a shot of the internals.
OK. So the main thing that I hated about X8 was the noise the 60mm fan made on the cooler. This was another womble part, as was the cooler itself, so it cost me nothing. It was more than up to the job with the hottest of 8 cores only reaching a paltry 53c but the noise did get quite unbearable at times. It made the most horrid whirring sound. So, I decided to replace it with a liquid cooler as I could tune this down to silence. Overkill? totally, but it would allow for great temps with absolutely no noise. Come in the H55, @ £29 inc refurb. I also like the mount on this with 2011, it's painfully easy to build and install.
And then for the fans. I chose Noiseblocker Bionic fans that run at a mere 800 RPM. I could probably even run the loop passive, but I wanted these for their quietness and the gorgeous look of them.
Quite expensive at £29 inc for a pair, but still cheaper than anywhere else I could find them
OK, so on with the rebuild. First up I stripped X8 and in my infinite wisdom decided to de-badge and de-sticker the parts.
Amazing just how much crap I had managed to shoe horn into that tiny little case !
Remove the old cooler.
And fit the H55 and two fans in push-pull
In went that and the board.
And the GPU (apologies for the flash, it was awfully dark yesterday !)
Man, that Quadro is a fine looking card..
It took me two days in all to rebuild the rig, but here are the final shots. I decided to keep the Intel panel as a PSU cover as I don't really like the XFX. It's quite ugly.
With the window fitted.
And finished, with the removable top on
And, a mini review for those considering this case.....
Pros.
For an ATX case it's incredibly compact. It literally wraps itself around your components.
It's nicely made and the internals are super solid.
The cooling is pretty much about as good as it gets. There are two 180mm Air Penetrators fitted in the floor which push the air upwards and out. So basically it's a wind tunnel.
If you can get it together it's incredibly neat.
You can fit a 120mm water cooler if you wish.
The white LED light on the front looks absolutely lovely.
Every fan has a removable filter and you don't need to take the case apart to remove and wash them.
Fan controller works very well.
Cons.
God, where do I start? DO NOT try building this case with a non modular PSU. I have had to cut off a SATA and MOLEX run just to get the cables squashed in to get the side on, and how the side ever fitted on is a mystery.
It's very, very small. Probably about the smallest full ATX case I've ever seen. This can be good and bad, but the bad is you're constantly smashing your knuckles trying to work in it.
The rear air filter for the PSU is magnetic and IMO a bit of an afterthought. I have seen reviews where it wasn't included so I guess Silverstone forgot.
No air filter for the top, meaning when you shut it down dust can fall in. I will have to make one with some netting.
The plastic finish looks OK, but, would have been incredible had Silverstone used that soft touch stuff (though admittedly that stuff does smear with dust and looks a bit nasty.
Cable management is for experts only. If you take this case on with little experience it will bite you on the ass. You need lots of cable ties and lots of patience, and, don't be surprised when you are cutting them all loose again to revamp the layout. It seriously is an absolute nightmare.
The fans are connected up in a very strange fashion. Basically they run to the front for the fan controller. It's incredibly easy to accidentally disconnect one, then, a crapshoot to get it back in the right way and get all of the fans running.
I had a fan wire snap off and had to break out the solder iron, so an amateur would be setting up an RMA right about now...
Edit on the cons.
I didn't realise that the optical laptop bay was removable, so I wired around it. Removing this would drastically improve the cable management but, hinder it even more should you decide to fit a drive. I recommend against using a non modular PSU in this case however...
Things did not go so well with the DFI rig. I decided to build it as I wanted it out of the way before my wedding and had a couple of accidents. Firstly the cooler did fit, so that was nice. I had ordered a 8 pin PCIE - 2 8 pin PCIE and braided it. This turned out to be in the wrong packet and wasn't actually a 8 pin PCIE but a 8 pin EPS.
I was given an immediate refund and sent a replacement as a gesture but I just don't have the patience at the moment to redo it. It wasn't just a braid job, the plugs were replaced with yellow ones so they will also need to be fully removed, ugh.
Also, when fitting the GPU it snagged somewhere and I tore off a piece of the cover carbon so that needs to be replaced. A real pig if I'm honest, and the chip refuses to overclock at all, the rig fails to post, then gives me a warning about a bad overclock. Nightmare.
So any way, I decided to go back to X8 and update it a little. When I built X8 it was mostly built from womble parts and thus wasn't overly fantastic when it came to fit and finish. I did my best on a £18 case but obviously there were short comings. I don't regret it though, because had the OS installation failed I would have been left with a Windows rig I simply did not need nor want.
So, I decided to buy a new case for X8 because it had nowhere to install a 3.5" drive (for some reason the hot swap bay part refused to show any drives) and I wanted to install some serious storage, now that it was my daily rig.
So the hardware I chose was as follows. First up, a Silverstone Raven RV05. I got this for £81. It's small, compact, neat, and offers absolutely sublime cooling. Here it is here.
And a shot of the internals.
OK. So the main thing that I hated about X8 was the noise the 60mm fan made on the cooler. This was another womble part, as was the cooler itself, so it cost me nothing. It was more than up to the job with the hottest of 8 cores only reaching a paltry 53c but the noise did get quite unbearable at times. It made the most horrid whirring sound. So, I decided to replace it with a liquid cooler as I could tune this down to silence. Overkill? totally, but it would allow for great temps with absolutely no noise. Come in the H55, @ £29 inc refurb. I also like the mount on this with 2011, it's painfully easy to build and install.
And then for the fans. I chose Noiseblocker Bionic fans that run at a mere 800 RPM. I could probably even run the loop passive, but I wanted these for their quietness and the gorgeous look of them.
Quite expensive at £29 inc for a pair, but still cheaper than anywhere else I could find them
OK, so on with the rebuild. First up I stripped X8 and in my infinite wisdom decided to de-badge and de-sticker the parts.
Amazing just how much crap I had managed to shoe horn into that tiny little case !
Remove the old cooler.
And fit the H55 and two fans in push-pull
In went that and the board.
And the GPU (apologies for the flash, it was awfully dark yesterday !)
Man, that Quadro is a fine looking card..
It took me two days in all to rebuild the rig, but here are the final shots. I decided to keep the Intel panel as a PSU cover as I don't really like the XFX. It's quite ugly.
With the window fitted.
And finished, with the removable top on
And, a mini review for those considering this case.....
Pros.
For an ATX case it's incredibly compact. It literally wraps itself around your components.
It's nicely made and the internals are super solid.
The cooling is pretty much about as good as it gets. There are two 180mm Air Penetrators fitted in the floor which push the air upwards and out. So basically it's a wind tunnel.
If you can get it together it's incredibly neat.
You can fit a 120mm water cooler if you wish.
The white LED light on the front looks absolutely lovely.
Every fan has a removable filter and you don't need to take the case apart to remove and wash them.
Fan controller works very well.
Cons.
God, where do I start? DO NOT try building this case with a non modular PSU. I have had to cut off a SATA and MOLEX run just to get the cables squashed in to get the side on, and how the side ever fitted on is a mystery.
It's very, very small. Probably about the smallest full ATX case I've ever seen. This can be good and bad, but the bad is you're constantly smashing your knuckles trying to work in it.
The rear air filter for the PSU is magnetic and IMO a bit of an afterthought. I have seen reviews where it wasn't included so I guess Silverstone forgot.
No air filter for the top, meaning when you shut it down dust can fall in. I will have to make one with some netting.
The plastic finish looks OK, but, would have been incredible had Silverstone used that soft touch stuff (though admittedly that stuff does smear with dust and looks a bit nasty.
Cable management is for experts only. If you take this case on with little experience it will bite you on the ass. You need lots of cable ties and lots of patience, and, don't be surprised when you are cutting them all loose again to revamp the layout. It seriously is an absolute nightmare.
The fans are connected up in a very strange fashion. Basically they run to the front for the fan controller. It's incredibly easy to accidentally disconnect one, then, a crapshoot to get it back in the right way and get all of the fans running.
I had a fan wire snap off and had to break out the solder iron, so an amateur would be setting up an RMA right about now...
Edit on the cons.
I didn't realise that the optical laptop bay was removable, so I wired around it. Removing this would drastically improve the cable management but, hinder it even more should you decide to fit a drive. I recommend against using a non modular PSU in this case however...
Last edited:
Wow, feels like forever since I posted an update ! So much has happened... Where to begin?
OK. Firstly let's cover DFI. The last cable came in (one 8 pin PCIE to two 8 pin PCIE) and I spent four hours modding it and braiding it only to find it was actually a EPS splitter in the wrong packing.
I was, put mildly, REALLY annoyed. So much so that I lost heart in the project. So it's like 80% done and I'm going to leave it there now. My step son's PC I gave him is playing up (my old Area 51 ALX) so instead of buying him parts to fix it I will just give him DFI and put his GPU in there.
OK. X8. X8 is finished but sadly I bought a 4k monitor with only one input so right now it's back in the box. I do have plans for it though.... I'm going to water cool the GTX 480 Lightning out of DFI and put it in X8 for utter silence.. Nice thing is I won't get any GPU sag from the AIO I have because the card will be vertical..
The Big Purple Monster. Ugh, where to begin on that? I planned to fit two AIOs to the Titan Blacks and it was all going really well until I realised the hoses on the H55s were woefully short and they would not reach. Ouch.... Kinda. As I said I am going to use one of the NZXT Kraken adapters and slap one of the '55s on my GTX 480 Lightning and put it in the X8 machine that runs 'that other OS'.
OK. So Big Purple Lightning... Not any more.
For the past couple of months these awful, terribly poorly made Corsair AF fans have been annoying me one by bloody one. They make a faint fuzzy sound kinda like the bearings are on their way out. At first I thought they were broken but nah, they're just RUBBISH. Last time I ever buy anything Corsair to be honest. I guess I'm just used to Alienware build quality so Corsair, though other people rave about their stuff, feels pretty meh to me.
So, the fans are all being replaced. At the same time I am getting a bit bored of the purple now. It's dark and depressing. So, I figured I would give the rig a bit of an upgrade and a face lift whilst I am at it !
So.. Here's what is going in.
two Cougar Vortex orange and black 120mm fans in the HDD cooling bay.
Four of these
Xigmateks. Always loved their fans OK so three of these (two rad one rear exhaust)
More Cougar basically, their fans are epic. I got these free with each one too, rock on OCUK !
OK. Now to combat the noise I bought this from the MM
The case controls some of the fans, I'll use that for the others.
So, with a massive fat old roll of DINOC in hand, some other coloured vinyl I bought for DFI and my lovely plotter I came up with this.
I managed to get the actual Nvidia font from Nvidia so everything is bang on. The Nvidia eye is actually upside down but I did that on purpose.. The zombies did it
And here's how the rig stands at the moment.
You'll note the pump head has been covered and I made a newer, sleeker IO cover and also wrapped that.
Left to do.
Well I was going to just cheat and go off to the guy who I got the black and purple cables from. Then I thought about it and I have about 250 feet of orange paracord sitting here. So, one by one I will remove the cable extensions and just literally remove the purple braiding and replace with orange paracord. That way I will end up with nice orange and black cabling for nothing
I've also ordered a 600gb Velociraptor for the PC as well as these.
Oh yeah and the good news !
Some one from OCUK sent me a trust message the other day and is very kindly sending me pretty much a full WC loop
A pump, a 240 rad, a 140 rad, res ETC ETC so basically all I need are fittings and blocks.
So full WC is now on the cards
OK. Firstly let's cover DFI. The last cable came in (one 8 pin PCIE to two 8 pin PCIE) and I spent four hours modding it and braiding it only to find it was actually a EPS splitter in the wrong packing.
I was, put mildly, REALLY annoyed. So much so that I lost heart in the project. So it's like 80% done and I'm going to leave it there now. My step son's PC I gave him is playing up (my old Area 51 ALX) so instead of buying him parts to fix it I will just give him DFI and put his GPU in there.
OK. X8. X8 is finished but sadly I bought a 4k monitor with only one input so right now it's back in the box. I do have plans for it though.... I'm going to water cool the GTX 480 Lightning out of DFI and put it in X8 for utter silence.. Nice thing is I won't get any GPU sag from the AIO I have because the card will be vertical..
The Big Purple Monster. Ugh, where to begin on that? I planned to fit two AIOs to the Titan Blacks and it was all going really well until I realised the hoses on the H55s were woefully short and they would not reach. Ouch.... Kinda. As I said I am going to use one of the NZXT Kraken adapters and slap one of the '55s on my GTX 480 Lightning and put it in the X8 machine that runs 'that other OS'.
OK. So Big Purple Lightning... Not any more.
For the past couple of months these awful, terribly poorly made Corsair AF fans have been annoying me one by bloody one. They make a faint fuzzy sound kinda like the bearings are on their way out. At first I thought they were broken but nah, they're just RUBBISH. Last time I ever buy anything Corsair to be honest. I guess I'm just used to Alienware build quality so Corsair, though other people rave about their stuff, feels pretty meh to me.
So, the fans are all being replaced. At the same time I am getting a bit bored of the purple now. It's dark and depressing. So, I figured I would give the rig a bit of an upgrade and a face lift whilst I am at it !
So.. Here's what is going in.
two Cougar Vortex orange and black 120mm fans in the HDD cooling bay.
Four of these
Xigmateks. Always loved their fans
OK so three of these (two rad one rear exhaust)
More Cougar basically, their fans are epic. I got these free with each one too, rock on OCUK !
OK. Now to combat the noise I bought this from the MM
The case controls some of the fans, I'll use that for the others.
So, with a massive fat old roll of DINOC in hand, some other coloured vinyl I bought for DFI and my lovely plotter I came up with this.
I managed to get the actual Nvidia font from Nvidia so everything is bang on. The Nvidia eye is actually upside down but I did that on purpose.. The zombies did it
And here's how the rig stands at the moment.
You'll note the pump head has been covered and I made a newer, sleeker IO cover and also wrapped that.
Left to do.
Well I was going to just cheat and go off to the guy who I got the black and purple cables from. Then I thought about it and I have about 250 feet of orange paracord sitting here. So, one by one I will remove the cable extensions and just literally remove the purple braiding and replace with orange paracord. That way I will end up with nice orange and black cabling for nothing
I've also ordered a 600gb Velociraptor for the PC as well as these.
Oh yeah and the good news !
Some one from OCUK sent me a trust message the other day and is very kindly sending me pretty much a full WC loop
A pump, a 240 rad, a 140 rad, res ETC ETC so basically all I need are fittings and blocks.
So full WC is now on the cards
Soldato
- Joined
- 29 Feb 2012
- Posts
- 2,813
- Location
- London
Omg it's like toys R us for PC's at your house 
Awesome builds really original, love the zombie purple build!!!
Look forward to more
Awesome builds really original, love the zombie purple build!!!
Look forward to more
Omg it's like toys R us for PC's at your house
Awesome builds really original, love the zombie purple build!!!
Look forward to more
Yeah it's getting a bit crazy. Will be getting rid of the small rig soon but will be taking my old Area 51 ALX in its place lol. God knows if I will be able to fix it..
Not got much done today with it being Mothering Sunday. Still, I did do the new improved IO shield.
Very fiddly. The blade in the plotter is losing its sharpness now and tiny decals are really hard to do. It's done though..
Fans arrive tomorrow