PROJECT: V300 Chilled

[StevenG]

Looking to modify this this fine Lian Li Case to fit a decent water kit in there.

Project Started - Rad being fitted to the case.

First time watercooling and all parts have been recommended.

Shopping List: (ALL PARTS BOUGHT/ORDERED UPDATED SPECS!!!!!)

Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R MATX
Intel Q6600 Quad Core
OCZ 4GB 2x 2x1GB 9200 Flex RAM
XFX 8800GTX
Seagate 7200.11 500GB 32MB
Samsung DVD-RW SATA
Corsair 620W Modular PSU
Lian Li V300b

Water:

Laing DDC 10w (Alphacool Top + 1/2" Barbs)
EK Supreme CPU Acetal
EK FC8800GTX
D-TEC G1/4" 1/2" Barb x2
Yate LOON 120mm D12SL x2
1/2" Tube Clips x10
Feser One (Purple dye)
Repack-cooling Slot Black UV Res (no longer being used as it may conflict with the placement of the gfx card)
Masterkleer 7/16" Tubing 4'
AC Ryan 2x 12" Blue Cathodes
Laser Cutting Click for Design or Read On
MagiCool 240 UV Radiator (Only one that fits in the case same make as XSPC)

With a total cost of about £1,100 this should be an interesting build.
Trying to fit a double radiator in a normal case can sometimes be hard,
so this Small Form Factor case should be a challenge.

Be sure to watch this space for updates.

Thanks
StevenG

 

[StevenG]

Rad will go at the front of the case, means taking out the floppy bays, moding the side panels with the blanking plates, making a custom bracket so the rad fits at the front. will look something similar to the exising bracket but taller

Should be good build. but ocuk just put the case price up today and they only have one left i hope they get some more in if not i'll have to hunt around for one.

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

Sounds like an awesome little machine.

Oh and by the way, what happened to my lovely GSkill ram?

Still going strong in my other computers (split it up) 1gb in my storage pc and 1gb in the pc i sold to my sis LOL

I'll be interested to see if you manage this. Good luck

This sort of mod has been done before in germany that i could find. but the case looked a mess so i intend to do a better job
If the budget allows i'll be getting something like this cut into the side.

what you guys think?

Ste0803

 

[StevenG]

My girlfriend... she knows how tight the budget is, but theres always room for a little more lol.

im struggling for ideas. i really want something cut into the side to show off the fact that its water cooled (it'll show the gfx block with the UV water inside it)

Ideas???

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

Good point, guess i need a new name & something to put in the side of my case c'mon people.. IDEAS

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

"V300 Ambient"?!

gt

you might be onto something there.

 

[StevenG]

whats wrong with my graphics? there only ideas at present so theres no point in doing them really decent as they might change.

trying to think of pictures that might look good here.. cant think of any. possibly a drop of water? i dont know. maybe i should start a new thread with Panel Ideas?

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

i dont think i like the v350b as much as i like the 300. yeah its less modding and they've fixed the origional problems with the 300 but then if i wanted easyness i'd have chosen another case or air cooling.

by the time january comes around i expect that my build wont change that much if at all tbh, happy with the parts ive chosen and i think i'll stick with it.

each to their own i say. i think the v350 looks a bit like a big square block of aluminum. just my 2p

StevenG

As with the panel i think i'll do something to do with h2o and ambient. Watch this space for updates around the time.

 

[StevenG]

After having a long hard think about the name ive decided to change it to:

V300
H20
EXTREME

 

[StevenG]

well i think that it'll look pretty good. as my graphics were cr** before ive made a better version for you all to look at and see what it might look like.

Extreme.. the word... i used this because all other words seemed to be so normal in comparison. its supposed to make my case look special lol. im sticking with it.

Some smaller mesh will be used behind the panel with a blue neon behind it, i think it looks quite cool.
thoughts?

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

well ive got the RAD and CASE coming tomorrow/wednesday, the case panel has been taken and will be laser cut and will be sent to me with my final purchase of parts on the 4th.

so i'll have an update soon when i start the case modding. watch this space

also: update on parts ive had to change a few things as i realised that a full cover block wouldnt fit into the case and a few other things have changed too. see origional post for changes.

 

[StevenG]

First Proper Update:

Rad arrived today so i thought i'd make a template for the bracket i need (at this point the case hasnt arrived)

after looking at the rad and trying the screws in, the blue paint had covered the threads so i had to screw out the paint to get the screws to fit correctly.

this is a rough outline of the radiator so i can make the markings on the steel i'll need to make my bracket

Thanks for Reading, another update when the case gets here, i'll need to take out the 3.5" drive bay and start measuring up and cutting out the bracket for the rad.

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

Another Update. (Case Arrived)

As you can see its a squarish box, with Aluminum PC Case on it LOL lets take a look.

As you can see here theres a missing panel, this has been sent for laser cutting

Here you can see the internals and some of the parts i need to mod. i need to make a bracket similar to the one you see here to hold the radiator at the front of the case. and i need to remove the 3.5" bay from the cage and mount a plate of steel at the bottom to add stability and the base to house my pump.

Here you see why i cant just mount it without removing the 3.5" bay, also it cant be mounted flat on the bottom of the case as there is a I/O plate at the front of the case at the bottom so it has to be raised about 15mm

ive started removing the rivets of the cage to get at it to start modding, there were internal rivets holding the hdd cage at the back and the cage at the front together which i couldnt reach, so i had to remove the whole thing as you can see below.

Removed the whole cage system to take apart and start chopping really need my rivet gun to get here so i can put this back together eventually.

this pic shows some dremmel time cutting away the 3.5" bay from the bottom for the reason stated above. i will need to make a plate of steel to get the width at the bottom back to what it was with this installed.

Well thats all i had time for today, my next update will be the stages of making a bracket, ive been thinking and because the power switch etc is on the front and id have to match these up, ive decided to use the supplied bracket and just add some material to make it up to what i need. seems easier.

Thanks for reading
StevenG

 

[StevenG]

Gonna be following this closely - I love projects involving putting silly amounts of stuff into microATX cases.

well i was thinking about a new build and i didnt want a tower on the floor so i was looking into mATX, watercooling is the only option when clocking something in a small confined space with only enough room for a small HSF.

Looked through the SFF case gallery and saw the v300, smaller version of a cube case which i like the look of, so heres the build.

Gemma (gf) is going out tonight christmas shopping so i'll do some more work on it then. im pretty limited to the amount of progress i can make on this with me waiting for funds & the rivet gun.

i'll try get the bracket part made and the plate for the drive cages, but thats all i can do, get them made, i cant put them together till my rivet gun gets here, wish i hadnt of bought one off the net and just got one from the shop but nevermind.

Update due tonight sometime

Thanks for Reading
StevenG

 

[StevenG]

i managed to get to do 4 hours work this evening, but the end result doesnt look much .
i managed to get the base for the drive 5.25" bay done in rough (going to stay that way untill i get my pump at the start of jan so i can start to drill the holes for mounting.

and i got some of the rad bracket made too. ive bought a whole saw so i'll try get that done and smoothed out tomorrow. so anyway.. heres some pics.

Heres the stock brackets and ive market out in masking tape the parts which i want to keep, the parts where the power switch goes in the middle and the threads for screwing it back in on the sides.

Cut out the parts i didnt need and this will provide me with enough metal left to rivet my extension piece (for installing the radiator)

Here you can see what it might look like when its done. ive got my hands on a whole saw so i'll get those cut out in my next update.

Speaks for itself really. just checking the fit etc.

cut out the plate for the bracket and drilled the holes for the radiator mounting and checked the fit (this was a right pain, my drill bit wouldnt go where i wanted it to lol)

and here ive made the bottom of the drive cage in rough, my pump will be mounted to this when it arrives but you can see its starting to look like a drive cage again

well i cant believe this took me so long to do, although i did sand and smooth out the pieces ive cut and the drive bay etc so what took quite a bit of time.

theres not really a lot left i can do on this, just need to finish up the bracket for the radiator and i can get that mounted within the case to see how it fits, other than that im pretty much stuck untill i can get my other parts.

if anyone has any money and would like to buy me the parts, feel free to do so

Thats all from me. thanks for reading. hope u like the updates. any comments are always welcome

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

fountain is going to be mounted on the bottom of the 5.25" drive bays with a bay res mounted oposite on the top bay. for easy filling/bleeding.

nice to see someone else with the same case

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

Paying Off

Update 3 - The girlfriend went shopping AGAIN so gave me some time to make some more progress on the case

okay so i got my hands on a hole saw which DID NOT want to cut through my metal so i ended up dremel'ing it all after scratching it with the holesaw. i was going to do sqares but decided to go for circles to match the fans on the other side.

here you can see the bracket. the way ive done this, i dont need to attach the 2 pieces of metal as the screws going through the brackets into the rad, join them just fine. as you'll see in the next pic.

bracket put on the rad to check the fit. looks okay, but i do need to rivet the middle piece where the power switch is, or put some meterial behind it as it flex'es when you push the buttons.

here you can see all this hard work paying off, the rad fitted and if i do say so myself it looks really neat

and from the front.

to show you how accurate this had to be. i put in one of the sides of the drive cages in to see how much space there was. and there doesnt look like there's enough space to add my base plate but i'll figure this out when i come to fit it all together.

well apart from spraying these piece's black that ive made i just need to wait on the rivet gun arriving so i can start to put the drive cages together and rivet all the cages back into place for the parts ariving early january.

comments please, just want to know what people think.

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

Thanks for all the comments


Well ive been thinking it over for a while and to make the case look its best ive decided to shorten and braid all wires within the case to try and keep the cable mess to an absolute minimum.
i havent decided how im going to shorten the wires yet, i may end up taking the connectors off the ends and just shortening the wires. or if this cant be done, just cutting the wires, shorening and soldering and then heatshrink them back up?

if anyone has seen this done, or knows the best way to do it. please let me know. my rivet gun arrived today and i went out and got some black spray so i should get that done at somepoint.

StevenG

 

[StevenG]

Another Update, Drive Cage & Rad Bracket Progress

Another Update for all you readers (i think theres like 6? lol) anyway

got the house to myself again so i thought id make some more progress, got some more little bits done on the drive cage, drilled the bottom where i plan to rivet the base plate to the drive cage.

i also got the bracket rivited up to stop the switch moving and i got some painting done.

Riveted up the bracket, i ended up putting more rivets in the side to make it a little more stable.

drilled the base plate so i could get the drive cage front painted today, the pump will be fixed to this plate once that arrives.

prep for painting i sanded down the cage front and the bracket.

i then taped up the back of the cage as i wanted this to stay silver, i had thought about painting the whole lot but it would have gotten scratched when i installed the drives etc so didnt in the end.

i think this was after 1 or 2 thin coats. and the same for the bracket underneath.

Finished products after 4 (cage) and 5 (bracket) coats of paint, i think they look quite good and will definately make the front of the case more appealing without seeing the silver behind the mesh. im going to let these dry out thoroughly before i try them in the case or anything. dont want them getting scratched.

Well thats it from me. hope you enjoyed another update on the project. unfortunately ive done just about everything i can without buying more parts. i should have the cash for the rest of the parts in under 2 weeks and i cant wait to get some more done.

Comments welcome as always.

Left to do:

Install the pump on the base plate of the drive cage.
Test the drive cage fit with the PSU in place.
Cut some of the back of the drive cage away to allow my tubing and power leads to enter and exit the cage.
Assemble the HDD cage and Drive cage and install in the case.
Assemble watercooling parts and leak test.
Cable routing (possibly shortening and braiding).

Thanks for reading
StevenG

 

[StevenG]

Still looking good dude, although i think you may have accidentally spray painted your bed sheets too

Must have missed that, the misses wont be very happy about sleeping in painted sheets lol

I had to paint in the kitchen and there's now a nice fine film of black dust all over the place that has to be cleaned up LOL. A tip for anyone thinking of painting in-doors... Dont lol but its too cold and wet ouside to do it... and i was bored..

StevenG