HELIOS - ASSEMBLED 2015-SEP-06 - (Caselabs SMH10 | Black/Copper | EVGA SR-2 )

[alpenwasser]

That looks like a hell of a good job! WOW!

Thanks! :)

but just to clarify my...thoughts :D You are not using all three radiators, do you? If you do, what do you need them for? o.O

I'm well aware that this is quite a bit of overkill even by my own standards. My personal

rule of thumb is usually 1 x 240 (45 to 60 mm thickness) per CPU and per GPU, at least.

So for this build that would get me something between 1 x 480 + 1 x 240, or a 560 with

a little bit extra; something in that neighborhood.

My intention is for lowest possible noise and still excellent temps, and since I have the

space in my case for the radiators I thought I'd put in as many as I could fit. Originally

I had planned only on those 2 x 560's, but then I thought "Why not just go all out?" and

bought the Alphacool as well.

The fans will only be spinning at very low speeds; there must only be a slight whiff of

air gently flowing over those radiators. My own breathing must be louder than my PC ;)

[Nicktrance]

That looks like a hell of a good job! WOW!

but just to clarify my...thoughts :D You are not using all three radiators, do you? If you do, what do you need them for? o.O

 

He's doing an SR-2 build... that means 2 CPUs, and it's not like they won't fit in that case :D.

[David89]

Well, on that aspect it makes quite a lot of sense :D Are the Pumps you are using that silent? i had the opportunity to hear a CM Eisberg on 5V, 7V and 12V. I was quite impressed, because i didn't hear a thing...

Btw: YAY for ArchLinux ;) I've been using it also for about 1,5 years now... :)

[alpenwasser]

He's doing an SR-2 build... that means 2 CPUs, and it's not like they won't fit in that case :D.

Hehe, precisely :)

To be a bit more accurate:

• CPUs: 2 x 130 W @ stock = 260 W (and they won't stay @ stock)
• GPU: ~250 W
• Intel 5520: 27.1 W @ stock (will likely not be @ stock either)
• Intel ICH10R: I suppose not that much, but I couldn't find anything concrete
• 2 x Nvidia NF200 chips: No idea, but I've heard they run quite hot
• M/B power delivery system losses: No idea.

So yes, there will actually be quite a bit of heat going into the water (oh god, the power bill :D )

 

Well, on that aspect it makes quite a lot of sense :D Are the Pumps you are using that silent? i had the opportunity to hear a CM Eisberg on 5V, 7V and 12V. I was quite impressed, because i didn't hear a thing...

I have the D5's on Aquacomputer's yellow decoupling buffers (linky), and as long as I turn the

pumps down a bit (one of the reasons I'm using two, to get good performance without having to run

them at full speed where they produce a bit of a humming noise) I can't really hear them. Turning

them down means setting 3 of 5. Although I will probably be running them at setting five from

a fan controller, and just turn them down with that (the Lamptron FC5V2 can handle up to 30 W on

one channel, which is enough for a D5 on 12 V).

So, long story short: Yes, the D5 is really that silent, provided it's not on full speed and

is properly decoupled. :)

 

Btw: YAY for ArchLinux ;) I've been using it also for about 1,5 years now... :)

Wooot! :D

[David89]

Hehe, precisely :)

To be a bit more accurate:

• CPUs: 2 x 130 W @ stock = 260 W (and they won't stay @ stock)
• GPU: ~250 W
• Intel 5520: 27.1 W @ stock (will likely not be @ stock either)
• Intel ICH10R: I suppose not that much, but I couldn't find anything concrete
• 2 x Nvidia NF200 chips: No idea, but I've heard they run quite hot
• M/B power delivery system losses: No idea.

So yes, there will actually be quite a bit of heat going into the water (oh god, the power bill :D )

 

Well, you live in switzerland and pay around 16-17 euro cent's per kWh, we in germany pay 28 cents! :D So don't complain xD But that sounds like a balling machine...

 

Wooot! :D

 

Because i just finished ME 3 (meeeh, i hate the ending) :D

[alpenwasser]

Well, you live in switzerland and pay around 16-17 euro cent's per kWh, we in germany pay 28 cents! :D So don't complain xD But that sounds like a balling machine...

True, we don't have it particularly bad here. Nonetheless, costs will not be trivial ;)

 

Because i just finished ME 3 (meeeh, i hate the ending) :D

Yes, the ending is... controversial. Nonetheless, the trilogy overall is still quite

an impressive achievement imho. They just dropped the ball somewhat in the last act.

Ah well, can't have everything. Won't take away the fun I've had with ME2 :)

[...LEGION image...]

Haha, I have to admit, that one got an actual, literal LOL from me :D

[David89]

True, we don't have it particularly bad here. Nonetheless, costs will not be trivial ;)

Well, that i quite believe :D

 

Yes, the ending is... controversial. Nonetheless, the trilogy overall is still quite

an impressive achievement imho. They just dropped the ball somewhat in the last act.

Ah well, can't have everything. Won't take away the fun I've had with ME2 :)

Well, i'm going to play it again with a "ending" Mod i found...so hopefully that's going to resolve some things. I don't believe it's even BioWares fault...EA is probably to blame for that.

 

Haha, I have to admit, that one got an actual, literal LOL from me :D

hehe...i'm using linux since the end of 2005 and started with ubuntu...found arch linux a while ago and was totaly blown away how easy it was (and is!) to set up a linux from scratch...tryed gentoo and gave up quite frustrated :D

Btw, do you have some pictures of that cooked AMD you mentioned in the first post? :D

[alpenwasser]

hehe...i'm using linux since the end of 2005 and started with ubuntu...found arch linux a while ago and was totaly blown away how easy it was (and is!) to set up a linux from scratch...tryed gentoo and gave up quite frustrated :D

Haha, I actually started in 2004 with Gentoo (although I had the help of a knowledgeable

buddy, so the learning curve was not quite as bad as one could imagine, but it was still

rather steep).

When I went into the Army I sort of lost touch with the computer world and was running

Windows most of the time since I just didn't have the time anymore to read up on all the

things that one needs to read up on in order to be able to get around in Gentoo (at least

back then, I hear nowadays it's actually not that bad anymore).

Then in 2007 I got into Linux again with Ubuntu, and when they introduced Unity in 2011

I thought I'd check out what else was out there, found Arch and have been quite happy

with it since then. I have to agree, it's really not as difficult as some people make

it out to be. I would even happily recommend it to a newbie as long as they weren't

afraid to do some reading and I could help them out and give them a bit of guidance.

For more of my thoughts on Arch, check out this post.

On another note: I've actually started to experiment with FreeBSD since last fall,

and it's been quite a ride. I'm still not yet really comfortable with it, but it

has some very interesting stuff going on.

Btw, do you have some pictures of that cooked AMD you mentioned in the first post? :D

Pics not yet, but I still have the CPU and can take a few pics next week. Although the

more interesting bit is actually the molten Plexi on the Cuplex. But I'll explain when

I upload the pics.

[alpenwasser]

New Workshop

Two weeks ago, I made a new workshop with my dad in our appartment. Since much of the work for this build will be done in that room, I thought I'd post a few pics of it here.

The Tools

My dad used to be an engineer in construction, and we still have quite a few rather awesome tools left over from those days.

Saws

We ordered a massive plate of wood for the load bearing table part (not the one in this picture, that was just for support during work).

However, we needed to make a cutout for a chimney that comes from the lower apartment through ours to the roof (we live on the 2nd floor according to British numeration, and on the 3rd floor according to the American numeration, and there's one more floor above ours). Both the circular saw and the jig saw are professional grade tools which were originally bought for the construction company dad used to run.

Saws

Yes, this thing is massive. It will only turn on when you have both hands placed on certain safety levers, as it would be way too dangerous otherwise. You could easily cut off your leg with this thing, so you could also use if for cutting up a body I suppose (not that I've tried that ;)).

Do not worry about that film of rust. That happens as soon as it is slightly humid. The main substance of the blade is actually still in very good condition, as is the rest of the tool. Also, compare my hand for size :D

I've known this jig saw forever. I used to make swords and guns out of wood with this baby back when I was a kid (~8ish). And no, there were no accidents. Dad showed me how to use it, and that was that.

You know how power tools come in those plastic boxes nowadays? Yeah, not so back then :)

Makita Bit Driver

It's not the most heavy-duty of tools (we have a proper Bosch rotary hammer for that), but it's very good quality and a lot more handy than a full blown drill.

Table Plate

The table plate is made of three parts: A solid load bearing plate, a cover plate and a protective angle at the front edge, which makes things look clean, protects the edge from damage and prevents stuff like bolts and screws from rolling off the table.

I can easily sit on this thing without it bending.

We installed a 4 mm thick cover plate on top of the load plate. Its purpose is to provide a surface that is easier to clean and can be replaced if it gets damaged too heavily.

The plates' edges are rather sharp. One could either sand them down or do what we have done. This has the advantage of providing some additional protection for the plates' edges, and it prevents small parts (screws, for example) from rolling off the table.

Support Beams

Remember that support plate on which the two saws are laying in the first pic? Yeah, we reused the support beams for that table for this one. If anyone is wondering why we didn't just use the table itself: For one thing it's too small, and secondly the table plate is not made for heavy duty use.

The support beams themselves are very stable though, so it was a no-brainer to reuse them for this project. In this picture, they are not yet bolted to the load plate.

Each of the support beams is bolted to the load plate with four of these. Apologies about the flash, but there's not really a lot of light beneath the table. ;)

Wall Mounts

To prevent the table from moving around when working on it, it is bolted to the back and side walls.

EDIT: The screws are not fully in yet here because dad forgot to tighten them before I took the picture. It's all good now though :)

Overview

And that's almost as it is now. We've added a second plastic cover angle for the lower front edge, since then, but other than that, this is it. Those are the remains of a Lian Li PC-343B under the table btw.

Edited February 11, 2016 by alpenwasser
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[andrevautour]

Workshop looks great!

[David89]

Nice work on the Table and nice tools :D

 

Are the Srews under the Table to long and would be sticking out on the top or is that...well...it looks like bungling =/

[alpenwasser]

Workshop looks great!

Thanks! It's not very huge, but it's large enough for most things I will ever do.

And if I really need more space, I can always work in the basement or the garage.

What's really nice about it is that it's actually in our apartment (in fact, my

room is just on the other side of the left wall in the last picture). So I don't

need to carry around a lot of stuff between the apartment and the workshop, and

it is properly heated (so, comfortable to work in even if it's cold outside).

My dad is also very pleased with it. He sells accordions as a hobby/second job

sort of thing, and from time to time he does smaller repairs on them. He needed

a proper workshop to be able to do that. And voilà! :)

EDIT:

Nice work on the Table and nice tools :D

 

Are the Srews under the Table to long and would be sticking out on the top or is that...well...it looks like bungling =/

Thanks!

The screws are just not fully in yet in that picture, forgot to mention that. Dad

forgot to tighten them before I took the pic. It's all flush and nice now though :)

[alpenwasser]

My Old Rig

I have taken my old rig apart by now and thought I'd show a few pics of the old lady. My old rig had been in a Xigmatek Elysium since December 2011, and previously to that I had been using a Lian Li PC-343B since about September 2007. The Elysium I picked due to its many 5.25" bays since I was running two Aquadrives and another 3 HDD's on air, and even though it has quite few faults, the core chassis is sturdy enough to handle all that weight quite well. Also, it's quite affordable for what it offers, which was relevant as well.

Overview

As one can see, it was not exactly a work of art. Due to budget and time constraints I had to make a few compromises, but it did its job, and it did it well. It just didn't look very elegant doing it.

HDDs

The Front

The two Aquadrives at the bottom housed 4 x WD RE4 2 TB, 3 x Samsung 1 TB and 1 x Samsung 750 GB, above that I had 2 x Samsung 500 GB and 1 x WD Velociraptor 150 GB.

Cable "Management"

Ahem, as mentioned, not exactly a work of art :D

Some Dust

As you can see above, the radiator was at the top of the case, and it pushed air out. It's not overy dusty where I live, and it looks a lot worse here than it actually was. The dust was really only at the radiator's fins' edges. But yes, it was time for a cleaning anyway.

Edited February 11, 2016 by alpenwasser
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[alpenwasser]

The Raystorms

Since XSPC could not deliver Raystorms for a while, I had to wait a few weeks between getting my first one and the second one. Interestingly, they changed the surface work on the copper top. The one I got from an earlier production batch had milling marks on top, whereas the newer one was buffed to some degree.

These two different surfaces won't really go together, so I will be polishing them both to a nice mirror shine (that was always my intention anyway, but now it has become a necessity).

The Earlier Sample

You can see the mill marks quite clearly here, especially in the full version of the pic (as always, click for that).

The Newer Sample

The difference between the two is quite striking, especially in person. They would definitely not look right sitting next to each other.

Sanding and Polishing - Round One

There are still lots of micro scratches in the surface, although they are only visible if the light hits them at the right angle. Not good enough yet, but I've never done this before, so I estimate it will take me a while and a few tries to get this right. But this would be boring without having the occasional challenge and learning new stuff, so that's ok .

This is the one from the earlier batch, and so far I've spent about five hours working the surface.

Custom Copper Decal Plate

I wanted to try out how a it would look replacing the black cover with a copper one. This was two days of Dremel work and filing by hand, and it's still in a rather crude stage, as one can easily see from the edges. However, it was enough to allow me to get an impression of how it would look. I painted the silver alu bracket black with a sharpie and placed the copper cover on it.

But alas, it was just too much copper, and I doubt I will be going with this for the final build. It was an interesting Dremel challenge though. Most likely I think I will paint the silver bracket black. The silver just doesn't quite look right to me. I didn't want to paint the black covers with copper (I do have copper spray paint, which you will see later), since for one I was skeptical if it would look right from the get-go and I didn't want to ruin the original covers, and secondly if it had looked right I would have felt like I was cheating.

I forgot to take any pictures with the black sharpie on it, but trust me, it was still not right. Also keep in mind that I will probably have two Alphacool RAM blocks (yes, I bloody know they are pointless, but I like the looks, probably) in copper next to these.

Next I will be planning the cable management (and therefore possibly custom cables), but that will be a tricky one, so don't expect me to solve that problem within the next week or so ;)

Edited February 11, 2016 by alpenwasser
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[Nicktrance]

I kinda prefer the look of the black one to be honest. :D.

[alpenwasser]

I kinda prefer the look of the black one to be honest. :D.

Agreed my friend, agreed. I just wanted to see how it would look, and it was a cool

way to kill two afternoons with my Dremel. It does look a bit better with the mounting

bracket painted black, but I forgot to take pics of that.

Most likely I will paint the mounting bracket black and use the black decal plates, I

found out by accident that I quite like that look. But with the copper piece it's just

too much copper (especially with the copper RAM blocks right next to them).

The copper decal would probably look very neat on the standard Raystorm with the black

acetal top.

[andrevautour]

Ah I love seeing all those panels from the caselabs case!  It looks so good when it's put together :)

 

LOVE the copper. I love the color of copper. I think it looks so pretty. :) I agree the black looks better - a nice bit of contrast.  I also love the look of that texture they put on copper for grip. 

[alpenwasser]

Ah I love seeing all those panels from the caselabs case!  It looks so good when it's put together :)

Yes it does :)

LOVE the copper. I love the color of copper. I think it looks so pretty. :)

I think we might share an affliction there ;)

I agree the black looks better - a nice bit of contrast.  I also love the look of that texture they put on copper for grip.

Yeah if both Raystorms had the same finish I might have left them as they were, but

since they're so different (I know it doesn't look like much in the pics, but it's

quite noticeable when you have them in front of you) I just couldn't let that be.

[alek]

kinda a bummer to see u go through all the work of getting everything custom painted and then not doing any cable management and no color scheme. Although it is still a very nice build.

[Stylez]

awsome case buddy, would have loved to have seen more time put into cable management, but its your build and if it performs well than all is good :)

[alpenwasser]

kinda a bummer to see u go through all the work of getting everything custom painted and then not doing any cable management and no color scheme. Although it is still a very nice build.

 

awsome case buddy, would have loved to have seen more time put into cable management, but its your build and if it performs well than all is good :)

Did I miss something? I haven't put any time in cable management so far, it's

not even assembled yet! :D

No worries, my friends, there will be custom cables with a nice paracord sleeving.

I'm absolutely anal about cable management, in fact I have been thinking about pretty

much nothing but cable management in the past few days and how to best go about

it once I get to that stage.

I have arrived at the conclusion that in order to get this tidy I will require custom

wires, so I have to order a few tools for that, which means I'll have to wait two weeks

or so until they get here.

Anyway, thanks for the visit, and I look forward to presenting you with some nice cable

management :)

[Winther]

Oh, was it hard to make the raystorm faceplate-thingie? I'm considering making a blank Alu one for mine, just to see how it looks.. :)

 

good job so far!

[alpenwasser]

Oh, was it hard to make the raystorm faceplate-thingie? I'm considering making a blank Alu one for mine, just to see how it looks.. :)

 

good job so far!

Not necessarily very difficult, but it takes a lot of patience to get all those curves

right. As it is now, I have spent about 7 hours on it, and that's just the rough Dremel

work so that it fits into the mounting bracket. If I really wanted to use it I would

probably need to spend several more hours getting it to a perfect finish.

Bottom line: It's definitely feasible, but unless you can get a CNC cutter (water, laser,

whatever) it will take a lot of patience and time.

Thanks! :)

[alpenwasser]

Status Update

Just a quick status update: I have placed an order for some crimping stuff at Lutro0 customs, which I will need to make the custom wiring. His crimper is a bit more suited to crimping connectors onto 16 AWG wire (which the Enermax uses for most of its connections) than the one from MDPC-X, which is why I went to Lutro0's even though Germany would be a lot closer to where I live ;)

Aside from that I've also ordered some Silicone wire in 16 AWG, 18 AWG and 20 AWG from a British shop for making completely new cables. And just to avoid misunderstandings: That's Silicone, not Silicon. ;)

For those not familiar with the awesomeness of Silicone wires, they have basically two main advantages over the normal PVC insulation wires (if they are of good quality, of course there is also lesser quality Silicone wire): They are more resistant to chemicals and heat (the one I've ordered can be used continuously at 200 C) and they are ridiculously flexible. The downside is that they are a lot more expensive and that they are ridiculously flexible (since that can also be a disadvantage if you're trying to get your cables to look neat and stay where they have been placed). Also, they smell funny when they come out of the packaging. :o :lol:

I will probably make a Youtube demo vid to demonstrate the flexibility, it's really an enormous difference. As for the heat and chemical resistance thing, that's neat and all but of course I hope not to have to test those parameters in my build. The main reason I'm spending so much money on wires is their flexibility and the quality.

Making completely new cables will also spare me from having to destroy some of the PSU stock cables. I will have to reuse some of the connectors for the PSU modular PCB, but I won't have to destroy the cables and if I ever have a problem with the PSU I can just pop the connectors back onto the stock wiring and RMA the unit.

Until that stuff is here I will be experimenting on getting those Raystorms to a mirror shine, which is a lot of work but unfortunately does not make for a very exciting build log section. So yes, the prime directive for now is patience, but I'd rather wait a little bit longer and have it turn out exactly as I want it to than start to get shoddy now.

Thank you for your attention. :)

Edited February 11, 2016 by alpenwasser
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[Blade of Grass]

:O You have TWO builds going on?