Project Shrink Ray (or something better)

looks good ive got a similar set up in the same case, but i cut a fan into the side panel, it helps a lot.

P1000339.jpg
 
hehe yeh it sure does, but luckily for me it cant be seen as it faces a corner :) and it drops temps all-round but mostly the mobo temp by 20C, to be honest it probably isn't that needed with current set up but the I7 would just overheat without it.
Ive got some plans to put a window in at some point or perhaps a full smoked acrylic side panel.
 
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Since the original pictures, I've fitted an Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo Pro to my 5850, replaced the Xonar DX with a D1, fitted an Alpha Cool LCD where the two blank covers were (shows CPU usage, network usage, time etc whilst gaming).

No chance on getting a 5970 in there with the WC as well. Not only that, they are a tad pricy for me.

I'm not sure whether I like the side fan, but if you can't see it I guess it makes no odds.

I've started overclocking it a bit (to 3.5GHz on CPU, 2.4GHz on NB, not bothered yet on HT/SB, and have played with timings on the RAM):

Temps.png


After 15 goes at IBT, overall OC is stable (though still need to play with the HT link), with undervolted CPU (from 1.35 to 1.30V so far), and temps don't exceed 48°C.

The new GPU cooler works wonders... Under normal gaming load before (with stock cooler at stock clocks) it was reaching 86°C after an hour's gaming. I've just posted this after gaming for about 2 hours, and max GPU temp reported from Afterburner is 58°C, and it's a lot quieter to boot. I've set up two OC profiles with Afterburner, as the stock 2D clocks seem a little unstable (157/300), so it now sits at 400/750 in 2D mode, and then boosts up to 850/1100 for 3D.
 
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Sayso said:
Just noticed how you was able to fit the dual bay in there!! no DVD/Blu ray drive?
Click to expand...

No, with the age of Steam (pun...) and digital downloads, I haven't really needed one...

Pics would be pointless at the moment - my 5850 has died, and my computer is currently running with the stock cooler on the MB tray outside the case.
 
Nice build. That's a lot of stuff in a small case.

One point though. From the pics it looks like you dont have any hose clamps on the tubing. If it was 7/16" tubing over 1/2" barbs you would be ok but for 1/2" tubing you really should use some hose clamps.
 
In the original pics they weren't shown (as they rather ruin the look), but there are cable ties on every section now.
 
Really nice job! Makes me feel bad about having to lug around my antec 1200 when I go to uni in september :eek:#

I would consider doing something similar but this case isn't even 6 months old. I guess I could put it on the bay... hmm. I'd have to ditch the psu aswell.
 
To be honest, whilst it looks great (and it's brilliant having such a small PC), I am always modifying my set-up, and this case is a complete pain to work with. It probably wouldn't be too bad air-cooled, but with the tubes everywhere, it means I have to remove my CPU block every time I want to take a PCI card in or out, the mobo tray is a good idea, but limited.

Soon I'm moving all my stuff over to a slightly larger but more practical case, especially as the temperatures are not good in this case (I think it killed my 5850 over the time through heat-damage).
 
At the minute I'm looking at a Mountain Mods Bob Slay V2, a Danger Den Torture Rack (with front and top panels) and a Lian Li A05N.

If you aren't going with watercooling, and don't need to get to the motherboard every minute then the V351 is good. For shoe-horning, not so good.

For my needs, one of the cases above would be better - I almost went too small to start with.
 
Well what kind of temps did your 5850 hit underload?

Well it seems the Lian Li PC-V352B will be in stock this month, maybe I'll check out some reviews on that and see if they imporved the coolling much, it has an extra 120mm fan at the front atleast. It's slightly bigger too. Pricey though.
 
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