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I finally decided the upgrade my old Coolermaster Stacker case that has served me well for 12 years now, my plan was to keep all my existing components and replace the case to give me a good foundation to play with for the next few upgrades. This is the shopping list:
Use Existing
New
I will stick with the basic PSU cables for now and upgrade them to sleeved extensions to match my motherboard when that gets done. OK so this is my current PC:
Note the old heat exchanger with no proper mounting, I will miss my fishtank bay res though. It was a good case for the time but twelve 5.25 bays aren't really needed in today's world. One thing I've seen others do is swap out the coolant in the loop but I've always left it between CPU upgrades which happen ever 4 years or so and I've never had a problem. I normally check the fittings are still tight once a year.
Lots of dust when inside... dust filters weren't standard in 2005. OK time to start the new build!
Removed one of the 3.5" cages and fitted the remaining one with 2.5 HDD adaptors.
Moved the HDD cage to the top slots and fitted the Res using the universal adaptors.
Installed both radiators and fitted the RGB fans which are oriented so that air will be drawn through the bottom of the case and expelled out of the top. The dust filter was removed from the top of the case.
Testing the pump mounting position.
I installed the rest of the PC using air cooling to ensure that everything was still working. That stock Intel heat sink & fan is nasty!
Playing with the 90 degree fitting to work out hose layouts to the back of the case.
This is the back with 3x 2.5 disks in place. I've also installed the Seasonic PSU, this has had the stock fan replaced with a Noctua unit so I can control the fan speed from the motherboard. I'm trying to control the cable spaghetti with some Velcro!
Here the pump is in place on the Shoggy Sandwich to help eliminate vibration.
CPU/GPU block is fitted and the loop is filled with water.
Tested done with a jump pin adaptor. After no leaks for 2 hours I deem it good enough.
This is the finished result, due to the tempered glass photos don't really show much but I'm happy with the look in person. The new 10/13 hose seems so tiny compared to the old 13/16 I had before, it kinks more easily too which is annoying. Now to switch on and play with the colours.
Again photos look odd but I'm really happy with the look in the flesh. I'm really pleased with the case but would love to get hold of some small wheels or casters to allow for easier maintenance. I've also since ordered and fitted a T-Splitter and drain pipe above the pump to allow from simple draining. Next step will be component refresh with matching cable extensions. Probably a neutral light colour to help reflect the RGB. I could go hardline for the front of the case as there are only 3 sections to install, I'll see how I feel at the time!
Use Existing
- CPU
- RAM
- Motherboard
- GPU
- SSDs
- HDD
- PSU
- Pump
- CPU Block
New
- Case
- Lian Li PC-O11WXC Midi Tower - Black Window
- 2x 360mm Radiator
- EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream PE 360 (Triple)
- 6x 120mm PWM fans
- ThermalTake Riing 12, 120mm LED RGB Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition
- 2x 3.5" to 2.5" drive convertors
- Lian Li HD-321X Internal 2.5" HDD/SSD Mounting Kit
- Thermal Paste
- Noctua NT-H1
- Reservoir
- EK Water Blocks EK-RES X3 150 Reservoir
- Reservoir Mount
- EK Water Blocks EK-UNI Holder 50-70
- GPU Block
- EK 980ti Block (second hand)
- Fittings
- EK Water Blocks EK-ACF Fitting 10/13mm - Black & 45/90 extensions
- Hose
- Mayhems Ultra Clear Watercooling Tubing 13/10mm
- Pump mounting
- ModMyMachine Shoggy Sandwich V2
- Coolant
- EK Water Blocks EK-CryoFuel Clear Concentrate
- 3x Black SATA 3.0 cables
- Akasa AK-CBSA05-50BK Super slim SATA cable
- Long Molex Cable
- BitFenix Alchemy Molex Extension Adaptor 45cm - Black
I will stick with the basic PSU cables for now and upgrade them to sleeved extensions to match my motherboard when that gets done. OK so this is my current PC:
Note the old heat exchanger with no proper mounting, I will miss my fishtank bay res though. It was a good case for the time but twelve 5.25 bays aren't really needed in today's world. One thing I've seen others do is swap out the coolant in the loop but I've always left it between CPU upgrades which happen ever 4 years or so and I've never had a problem. I normally check the fittings are still tight once a year.
Lots of dust when inside... dust filters weren't standard in 2005. OK time to start the new build!
Removed one of the 3.5" cages and fitted the remaining one with 2.5 HDD adaptors.
Moved the HDD cage to the top slots and fitted the Res using the universal adaptors.
Installed both radiators and fitted the RGB fans which are oriented so that air will be drawn through the bottom of the case and expelled out of the top. The dust filter was removed from the top of the case.
Testing the pump mounting position.
I installed the rest of the PC using air cooling to ensure that everything was still working. That stock Intel heat sink & fan is nasty!
Playing with the 90 degree fitting to work out hose layouts to the back of the case.
This is the back with 3x 2.5 disks in place. I've also installed the Seasonic PSU, this has had the stock fan replaced with a Noctua unit so I can control the fan speed from the motherboard. I'm trying to control the cable spaghetti with some Velcro!
Here the pump is in place on the Shoggy Sandwich to help eliminate vibration.
CPU/GPU block is fitted and the loop is filled with water.
Tested done with a jump pin adaptor. After no leaks for 2 hours I deem it good enough.
This is the finished result, due to the tempered glass photos don't really show much but I'm happy with the look in person. The new 10/13 hose seems so tiny compared to the old 13/16 I had before, it kinks more easily too which is annoying. Now to switch on and play with the colours.
Again photos look odd but I'm really happy with the look in the flesh. I'm really pleased with the case but would love to get hold of some small wheels or casters to allow for easier maintenance. I've also since ordered and fitted a T-Splitter and drain pipe above the pump to allow from simple draining. Next step will be component refresh with matching cable extensions. Probably a neutral light colour to help reflect the RGB. I could go hardline for the front of the case as there are only 3 sections to install, I'll see how I feel at the time!
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