Pimp My Rig - TJ07 aka. "Project: Open-Source"

hughythomas

hughythomas

hughythomas

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Hi guys!

Project: Open-Source is a humble endeavour - I ask the community to help me realise my dream of a 'pro' looking rig.

I know it is no small order (check this out - how she looks currently):

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Note, the first 3 of those pics were a year ago or so, whereas the last few taken today on girlfriends sucky camera

***SPOILER ALERT*** ***SPOILER ALERT*** Some of my photos might be down right SHOCKING untill I borrow my dad's dSLR

The technical stuff

I have just bought the following to get the initial ball rolling (but suggestions are encouraged!):

5m Koolance 1/2 ID - 5/8" OD Tubing (UV Dark Green)
8x Koolance 16/13mm ID 1/2" OD 5/8 (Matte black compression fittings)
4x Bitspower 7/16" (Matte Black barbs)
XSPC RX480 Quad Radiator (to replace the slightly damaged TC PA120.3)
XSPC Universal Radstand 120mm (to mount quad radiator in bottom compartment)
4x Scythe 120mm Gentle Typhoon (1850rpm)
XSPC RayStorm CPU block

Specs:

Intel i5 2500k @ 4.5Ghz (1.384v currently HK 3.0 but will be XSPC Raystorm)
ASUS P8P67 (thinking of replacing this with a different board to give a decent colour scheme)
8GB G.Skill RipJaws (@1600Mhz - 9 - 9 - 9 - 24)
NVIDIA GTX 580 1.5GB (with a FC-EK block currently)
Auzentech X-Fi Prelude (might sack this off as use the HDMI on gfx card now)
128GB Crucial M4 SSD (5.25" adaptively mounted)
1TB Samsung SpinPoint F3 (5.25" adaptively mounted)
mCubed T-Balancer BigNG Fan Controller (mounted with velcro currently)
Silverstone TJ07 (Black with black powder coated internals - has a few scuff marks and might need powdercoating externally)
TC PA120.3 (bottom compartment with 3x Yate Loon DSL13s)
XSPC RS360 (top compartment with 3x Yate Loon DSL13s with triple roof mesh mod to TJ07 - should we replace with an EX360?)
EK Multioption Res 150 (Attached to motherboard tray of TJ07)
Laing DDC Ultra 18w (XSPC Top - I am unsure that where it is mounted currently is best...suggestions?)

Now, I want to make it clear from the get-go that I have no real plans for this other than 'riding the wave' of suggestion from a fantastic community! I want this build to be organic and 'see where the wind takes us'.

I have a tight budget but anything you guys can recommend to help me along my way of modding this 'vintage' case into something I can be proud of would be great!

I am willing to push my skills (my biggest shortcoming is lack of proper DIY experience) to get the most out of this rebuild. I should also stress that colour scheme is important to me - as is the overall 'look' of the case (including cable management which I clearly have a big problem with!).

I will add a new reply with updates on progress as I first de-plumb her.

Look forward to hearing from you all!
 
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Fittings & Dark Green tubing (1/2 ID - 5/8 OD) - hopefully this will increase flow as my previous sizing was 7/16 - 5/8...

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Dusty as hell - I really don't like the look of the motherboard/RAM either. Don't think the colours really match at all:

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GTX 580 - gonna need to take block apart as I suspect corrosion...
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I think it would, but I have seen people remove and paint those blue heatsinks on the Asus P8 boards and use covers for the open pci slots to even the color out.

Hows the raystorm performing? plan to get one later this week :D
 
I also have a TJ07 and also refitting my watercooling after a leak disaster on Saturday (thankfully, everything's still working despite a litre of coolant emptied onto my graphics card and filled my PCI-e slots).

Can I just ask how you have mounted the radiator in the bottom of the case? I also want to do this but I'm struggling to think how I would go about this without drilling through the mesh.

Thanks!
 
Here's the thing guys - I am fairly incompetent when it comes to DIY. I had to send the case off to a modding specialist who fitted my pump and radiator for me. The radiator is attached to a triple rad stand via a couple of screws going into the bottom of the TJ07.

Obviously, how I mount the new quad rad I have bought is going to be an issue. In preparation I bought the XSPC 120mm Universal Radstand link

I also purchased some Alphacool velcro although a more professional approach would be to use screws and drill into the case. I have never done this before but with the help of the pros on here I want to expand my horizons (how else do we learn?!).
 
pgi947 said:
I think it would, but I have seen people remove and paint those blue heatsinks on the Asus P8 boards and use covers for the open pci slots to even the color out.

Hows the raystorm performing? plan to get one later this week :D
Click to expand...

Ah cool - do you know what kind of paint would be best?

As for the Raystorm - I am as far the last bunch of pics (wanna take my time with this and do it RIGHT as opposed to usual) so don't know yet!

EDIT: The more I think about it the more tempted I am to grab that Gigabyte board as it is compatible with Ivy Bridge...what say you?

Tom
 
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TBH, i think it is a mistake going with green tubing as now you want to change the motherboard to match - why not get blue tubing to match the motherboard - that would look really good :)

also:
- stealth or remove that dvd drive
- corsair blue low-profile ram
- fit the tube res properly or get a bay res
- cable tidy the whole lot
- get rid of those cathodes

that would be my suggestion :)
 
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Thanks for the reply Panyan!

I should have made it clear from the get go - strictly NO DEAL NOEL on premixed coloured coolant. This rig will be comprised of coloured tubing only as I do not want another rig wrecked by dye seperation (or whatever causes the gunk inside the blocks).

I'm interested by the prospect of stealthing the drive - how does one achieve this? Also, you mentioned fitting the res properly...it's currently got the EK arm holders screwed to motherboard. Are there better alternatives?

Look forward to hearing more suggestions! I've just got back from work so will continue de-plumbing and draining.
 
hughythomas said:
Thanks for the reply Panyan!

I should have made it clear from the get go - strictly NO DEAL NOEL on premixed coloured coolant. This rig will be comprised of coloured tubing only as I do not want another rig wrecked by dye seperation (or whatever causes the gunk inside the blocks).


ok then, blue tubing that will match the motherboard?


I'm interested by the prospect of stealthing the drive - how does one achieve this?

there are some good guides on here about it, basically one uses the bay cover and sticks it to the front of the drive :)



Also, you mentioned fitting the res properly...it's currently got the EK arm holders screwed to motherboard. Are there better alternatives?

it just looked a little wonky in the image :p

Look forward to hearing more suggestions! I've just got back from work so will continue de-plumbing and draining.

more pics please, i wanna see the inside of your 580 block :)
Click to expand...
 
Quick update:

I started to take my GTX 580 block apart and GUESS what I found...

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How would one go about cleaning this off?

Thanks for your email btw panyan - unfortunately I am looking inside the HK 3.0 and it looks mighty similiar situation. In fact, the exact same thing happened to a mate of mine's build and recently and we replaced his block with a Raystorm too.

I'm starting to think I'm a complete noob and have messed up somewhere along the lines. Having said this, we did both used to use the TFC precoloured coolant (green!) so might this green gunk build up be left overs from that perhaps?

Would love some insight into why this exact same green gunk built up in both me and my best mate's rig. Check out some older photos of his Heatkiller 3.0 (which we had to throw away in the end!!!):

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Probably never flushed my system properly since moving to Mayhem's Pure H20 (with a few drops of biocide). Could this be the culprit or is there something fundamentally wrong with my approach?

Please advise guys!

Tom
 
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the 580 block looks much better

you wont get off that yellowish stuff as that is the copper tarnishing i think :)

i would also look at the build logs with the same case as yours to see how they did their cable management :)
 
Not sure yet Avathar,

Gotta XSPC RX480 sat here (to replace my damaged TC PA120.3 in the bottom). Couple that with with the XSPC RS360 which is already installed with a triple mesh mod in the top and I assume that will be sufficient?

I couldn't find any benchmark comparisons between the RS360 vs the newer EX360. Might an upgrade to the top radiator be worth it now as I'm taking her to bits for the first time in years?

My trusty RS360 has the benefit of all 3 fans being braided into one 3-pin for tidyness (again I didn't do this myself):

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Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy an EX360 with 3 more Gentle Typhoons for the top mesh? What are your thoughts guys?

Anyhow, I've made some small progress tonight:

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Sneaky peek down under:

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What the hell are we gonna do with this front panel malarky?!

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I wanna mount the pump someplace else so it doesn't block the XSPC RX480 going in the bottom...any ideas?

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