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2/24/2008:
The premise is simple: all internal water cooling with no compromises. A silent rig with a factory look (possibly minus the tacky LED fan and slight tweaks on the side panels), and LOTS of cooling capacity for the option of a solid overclocking rig without the noise.
The concept: front mounted PSU leaves room for LOTS of radiator capacity in the 690 without lots of case cutting (not counting the floor). It also makes the wire routing for the motherboard power very short and gorgeously clean.
This work log will be incredibly slow moving, as my projected completion date is some time near the end of the semester, so be patient if there aren't updates for a week or two. My budget is a slow trickle, so I'm delaying the motherboard/RAM/CPU/GPU purchase until the end. The money is budgeted, but not here yet. Best to wait for as many rounds of price cuts as I can... Most of the layout issues should be pretty generic though, so I'm not too worried about that. It'll just make things more exciting!
I haven't decided on guts, as my budget is a slow but steady trickle. I don't know how many water blocks I'll be running (probably two), but I'd really like to have an excuse to "need" more than a triple radiator. I will definitely be floor mounting an MCR320. There is the possibility of roof mounting an additional MCR220. I really want an excuse to "need" the capacity just because it would make the project a lot more fun (and possibly challenging with the clearance issues at the top).
Parts I've got:
DDC2 with Petra's top
Fuzion CPU block
MCW60 GPU block
Swiftech micro-res. (I may end up just going the T-line route depending on how the layout goes).
1/2" barbs all 'round, and probably going with 7/16" MK tubing
Parts I'm on the verge of ordering:
MCR320
6 S-Flex SFF21F fans
Parts I might use as well:
MCR220
other water blocks (SLI/X-fire, NB, etc.)
Maybe some copper tubing, but we'll see. The deciding factor will be aesthetics - and my limited tool selection.
And now the reason I'm starting this work log so early (prematurely even?):
I'm having trouble finding some basic parts that I'll need for the PSU mod. I need an extension piece that will let me mount a female power cord plug on the back of the case, with a lead that plugs into the PSU, as the PSU will not be exposed. (The back of the PSU will be facing the front of the case, about an inch or two back from the bay covers, so the master power switch will be accessible from the front.) Ideally, I'd like the end that plugs into the PSU to have a 90 degree elbow plug on it. Is there a place I can get such a beast? Something in the 18"-24" long ballpark. It doesn't seem to be a standard monoprice type product... Any help in this regard would be greatly appreciated!
Also, I will be rewiring the PSU to shorten the motherboard plug a LOT (and maybe some/all the other leads too), but I think I'll be able to get the help I need just browsing the forums on my own. That's a job I know many have done before me. I don't have much experience but I've got patience, I'm not a COMPLETE idiot, and I'm not afraid to break things.
edit: Now for forum rules compliance, pic #1:
Needless to say, the HD cage is coming out - at least aprtially.
I plan on elevating the 320 off the floor. Not quite as much as the picture has it, but at least an inch. I'll be cutting a long horizontal (~13") cut in the left side of the case about 3/4" from the bottom, and making two short cuts (~2") up at each end of this cut. I'll be bending that flap inwards to make a long intake vent on the side of the case to help the airflow that's coming in from the floor. I don't want to cut the whole floor out, as I don't really trust the case to hold enough rigidity with all that gone. I'll be leaving one or two 3/4" wide spars across the floor roughly between the fan positions (although the fans will be on top of the radiator in pull configuration). Also, the 320 will be about an inch or two forward from the back of the case, so I can use the entire PSU cutout as another intake hole. All this extra ventilation is because I might have the case on carpet, and I don't want to have to redo the factory feet with something taller. Wheels just aren't my thing, and anything that would look really good is probably going to be more trouble than it's worth. After all, this isn't exactly a Lian-Li!
Update 2/25/2008:
Ordered MCR320, MCR220, and 6xScythe S-flex SFF21F fans. Should arrive later this week...
This guarantees prenly of headroom for a toasty warm processor and one GPU heavilly overclocked, or possibly a dual GPU setup witha moderate overclock. I'm not a heavy gamer (and the games I do play tend to be non-0FPS anyways), so I'm not going to be pushing the OC very high on my GPU(s) whatever I choose. I will be interested in cranking the CPU overclock pretty well though for work, folding, and just plain good old fashioned fun.
Update 2/28/2008:
Rads and fans are on the delivery truck. They should be waiting for me when I get home from work today, so i can start laying things out in detail, and marking for cuts. I can't wait!
