The Stormtooper - From Air to Water | An Upgrading Build Log

[TheToxicgamer97]

Hello,

     I am planning out the future of my gaming/video editing PC. Here are the current specs: Case: Azza Genesis 9000  CPU: AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz  CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H60

Motherboard: MSI 990-FXA GD80 V2  Graphics: MSI Gaming n760 TF 2GD5/OC Gerforce GTX 760 2GB  RAM: ADATA XPG V1.0 series 16GB (2 x GB)  Storage: OS: ADATA Premier Pro SP900 128GB   Storage: WD Green 1TB

PSU: Corsair RM Series RM850  OS: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit

     I have attached some pictures of it, and as you can see, I did a terrible job with cable management. You may also notice that this case supports reverse ATX, meaning the MOBO is upside down. I thought I would like this at first, but have come to realize that I hate everything about it. So my plans for right now are to buy sleeved cables and completely rebuild the system, but with the MOBO right side up. Hopefully when I rebuild I will be able make the cable management much nicer. I have decided to go with white sleeved cables, as my motherboard has a lot of blue, and I want to use blue tubing with a blue LED reservoir in the future. (these can be seen with links below)

     In the picture of the outside of my case, you can see a large mesh square on the side panel. This is meant for a fan, but my hopes are to remove the mesh and replace it with a blue tinted acrylic window to match the smaller one below it. Also, I hope to eventually add a custom water cooling loop. I have been doing a lot of research and found many parts that I think would look really nice in this build. Here are link to some parts if you are interested:

Reservoir/Pump Combo: http://www.xs-pc.com...rvoirpump-combo along with: http://www.xs-pc.com...crew-ring-black for aesthetic purposes.

Radiator: http://www.xs-pc.com...-radiator-white along the top of the case (maybe paint the white part blue)  CPU block: http://www.xs-pc.com...-waterblock-amd  GPU block: EK-Thermosphere. This block is not yet released, but here's a link to the EK facebook page and an overclock.net thread where they share some images and information about it: https://www.facebook.com/EKWaterBlocks http://www.overclock.net/t/1482619/fb-new-ek-universal-gpu-block-ek-thermosphere  Fittings: http://www.frozencpu...tl=g30c409s1608  Tubing: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/17885/ex-tub-1616/PrimoChill_PrimoFlex_Advanced_LRT_Tubing_38ID_x_58_OD_-_10ft_Retail_Pack_-_Brilliant_UV_Blue_PFLEXA10-58-B_w_Free_Sys_Prep.html  Aftermarket Fans: for airflow: http://www.blacknoise.com/en/products/it/17/Noiseblocker-NB_BlackSilentFan_120mm  for radiators: http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?scase=&pid=257&area=en

     I could really use recommendations for actual cooling fluid. there are so many options out there, and it seems that a lot of people find plain distilled water with a chunk of silver in the reservoir to work perfect.

I will be adding a PCIe capture card into my system along with the graphics card and wifi card I have now, so when I get to installing the water cooling, I may run into clearance issues. This is all I have for now, but I will try to post to this regularly for updates and to check on any feedback or advice that can be given. Thanks in advance to any recommendations or advice you can give me 

[Jumper118]

this should be good fx8350 are much faster under water 

[TheToxicgamer97]

this should be good fx8350 are much faster under water 

Haha! Thanks for following Progress will be slow as I have many hobbies and am but 16 years old with a minimum wage job, so please be patient I hope I can make this rig an amazing machine over time, starting with some cable management

[Jumper118]

Haha! Thanks for following Progress will be slow as I have many hobbies and am but 16 years old with a minimum wage job, so please be patient I hope I can make this rig an amazing machine over time, starting with some cable management

i know what you mean, until i got my apprenticeship i got £20 a week at my saturday job. took me ages to save for my first pc. i could have bought it in less than 2 weeks now. 

[TheToxicgamer97]

Just got in my new Avermedia Live Gamer HD PCIe Card! So psyched to try it out! Come check out how well it works at https://www.youtube.com/user/TheToxicGamer97

[TheToxicgamer97]

Got my PSU cables! Decided to go with the white and use blue tubing in the future. I am going to do a rebuild and flip the motherboard since it is upside down as of right now due to the way the case was designed. However, I cannot rebuild it right now since Corsair didn't ship or even charge my account for the 24-pin power cable which has to be bought separately from the rest of the cables. It should be at my house within the next few days and I will rebuild withing next week or so. Here are links to the exact cables I bought: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/professional-individually-sleeved-dc-cable-kit-type-3-generation-2-white  http://www.corsair.com/en-us/individually-sleeved-ax-i-1200i-860i-760i-atx-24pin-generation-2-white

I also bought a BitFenix Alchemy LED Strip (12cm Blue) just to test some lighting effects within the case. Here's a link to that on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IB8IMUS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Prokart2000]

nice!

[TheToxicgamer97]

Got my 24-Pin Power Today I'll be rebuilding later this week and I couldn't be more excited so expect plenty of updates!

[TheToxicgamer97]

About to start the rebuild! May take a while, but I'll take pictures along the way and post them when I'm done

[TheToxicgamer97]

THE FLIP

 

It took me about 4 hours to complete, but I did it and I'm actually very pleased with how it came out I took some pictures along the way and they came out very blurry because I have shaky hands, oh well

 

I stripped the case of the side panels, top and bottom-front bezels. The purpose of taking the bezels off was to clean out some dust.

   

 

I removed the motherboard board tray. This part was a kinda sketchy because it flexed a little, and I was afraid I would break my motherboard

 

I flipped the mobo tray and slid it into play on the opposite side of the case.

 

I installed everything and just had to turn it on to make sure it worked before putting in the LED, cable managing, and closing up. I had to flip my power supply as well so that the CPU cable would reach its spot on the board. This was really the only issue I ran into.

 

Almost done with cable managing.

 

Finally Done! It ran normally and I hooked the LED. Finding the spot I wanted it was difficult, but I found a place and I will be adding more in the future. That bright glow isn't the LED, it's part of the motherboard.

 

Any ideas how I can make this nicer to look at?

 

I hadn't realized that since the side panels were switching sides now, they also had to flipped, so the window is at the top, which I like

 

A couple more "glory" shots

 

 

That's all for probably a while. I'm extremely pleased with how this came out (except the sata cables) and can't wait to add more. I think if possible I am going to make the area below the motherboard a basement and section it off (like NZXT H440), because otherwise it looks a little empty. I'll be doing some more planning and keep you guys up to date with any changes I make!

[Jumper118]

 

 

Any ideas how I can make this nicer to look at?

SataSadness.JPG

 

 

cut out some holes at the back of those 5.25" bays and turn the hdds 90 degrees so you can route the cables behind. you could also get a strip of white plastic to cover up all the mounting holes one those 5.25" bays. other than that it looks mint and very clean  

[TheToxicgamer97]

cut out some holes at the back of those 5.25" bays and turn the hdds 90 degrees so you can route the cables behind. you could also get a strip of white plastic to cover up all the mounting holes one those 5.25" bays. other than that it looks mint and very clean  

that's a good idea, and thank you

[TheToxicgamer97]

I think I may want to buy a new case. I've been tossing this idea around my head for quite some time now. I really like this case, but the shear size of it really bothers me. I want to simplify my desk setup by moving my consoles off of it, and putting them somewhere else (no idea where my room is tiny) I just want my two monitors, keyboard, mouse, mic, and tower on my desk. My current case doesn't allow this since it so big. I would have to stand up just to turn the thing on Another reason I don't like this case's size is that the inside seems so empty near the bottom. I knew when I was buying a full-tower that it would be large, but since this is my first build, I wasn't exactly sure what it was going to look like. When I look at builds in mid-tower cases, they seem full. The final reason is that I would like my case to have a larger window (mine could be modded, but then the emptiness would make the window pointless) I'm just not sure what I want for my rig right now, and I have all the time in the world to think about it, but I want to finish this soon. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Right now I'm looking at the Corsair Carbide Air 540 http://www.corsair.com/en-us/carbide-series-air-540-arctic-white-high-airflow-atx-cube-case, the new Bitfenix Neos which sadly only comes with purple mesh on the windowed version but if the mesh is removable it could easily be painted http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/neos  

, and the NZXT H440 http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/143-h440-performance-mid-tower.html

[Tearass]

Right now I'm looking at the Corsair Carbide Air 540 http://www.corsair.com/en-us/carbide-series-air-540-arctic-white-high-airflow-atx-cube-case, the new Bitfenix Neos which sadly only comes with purple mesh on the windowed version but if the mesh is removable it could easily be painted http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/neos  

, and the NZXT H440 http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/143-h440-performance-mid-tower.html

 

I would go for the Carbide or H440, as I find them both so smexylicious. The Neos are interesting, although I don't like the mesh front for some reason.

[TheToxicgamer97]

I would go for the Carbide or H440, as I find them both so smexylicious. The Neos are interesting, although I don't like the mesh front for some reason.

I've run into a wall with my case hunt. First off I can't really get the carbide because there wouldn't be any room for water cooling which I plan to do in the future. Also I like the look of a really thick rad in the front, however, most mid-tower cases put the hard drive cages here. I could obviously remove them, but I would be left with no place for my hard drive. I was thinking I could buy a 5.25'' to 3.5'' drive adapter and then stick my SSD to the top of the hard drive (if this an okay thing to do) but I'm just not really sure. Now I'm leaning more towards the Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/arc-series/arc-midi-r2.  I absolutely love the CM Storm Scout 2 http://gaming.coolermaster.com/en/products/cases/scout_2_ghost_white/ but there is no support for radiators. I was limiting myself to white cases before, but have realized that a black with blue LED combo would still look decent. This way my choices are wayyyy less restricted.

[TheToxicgamer97]

I would go for the Carbide or H440, as I find them both so smexylicious. The Neos are interesting, although I don't like the mesh front for some reason.

 

 

I've run into a wall with my case hunt. First off I can't really get the carbide because there wouldn't be any room for water cooling which I plan to do in the future. Also I like the look of a really thick rad in the front, however, most mid-tower cases put the hard drive cages here. I could obviously remove them, but I would be left with no place for my hard drive. I was thinking I could buy a 5.25'' to 3.5'' drive adapter and then stick my SSD to the top of the hard drive (if this an okay thing to do) but I'm just not really sure. Now I'm leaning more towards the Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/arc-series/arc-midi-r2.  I absolutely love the CM Storm Scout 2 http://gaming.coolermaster.com/en/products/cases/scout_2_ghost_white/ but there is no support for radiators. I was limiting myself to white cases before, but have realized that a black with blue LED combo would still look decent. This way my choices are wayyyy less restricted.

and now I just found this five minutes later  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/88498-build-logs-mrtuf-20-another-corsair-air-540/ The difference is I really want to be able to see the reservoir I'm so picky, but it must be perfect

[CJPowell27]

You could put a thick rad in the front of the H440 and put the HDD in the basement.  

[TheToxicgamer97]

You could put a thick rad in the front of the H440 and put the HDD in the basement.  

True, but you wouldnt see the rad due to the window shape

[TheToxicgamer97]

I also really like the Vengeance C70 http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengeance-c70-mid-tower-gaming-case-arctic-white but the one thing i hate is the fan holes in the window. Such a dumb idea

[CJPowell27]

I also really like the Vengeance C70 http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengeance-c70-mid-tower-gaming-case-arctic-white but the one thing i hate is the fan holes in the window. Such a dumb idea

http://mnpctech.com/mnpctech-clear-case-pc-panels/corsair-c70-window-replacement-clear-fan-holes-120mm/corsair-c70-custom-window.html?

[TheToxicgamer97]

http://mnpctech.com/mnpctech-clear-case-pc-panels/corsair-c70-window-replacement-clear-fan-holes-120mm/corsair-c70-custom-window.html?

You may have just made my day

[TheToxicgamer97]

cut out some holes at the back of those 5.25" bays and turn the hdds 90 degrees so you can route the cables behind. you could also get a strip of white plastic to cover up all the mounting holes one those 5.25" bays. other than that it looks mint and very clean  

I thought about your idea for turning the hard drives, but I don't see how I could. They are on sleds that slide in from the front, so how could I turn them?

[TheToxicgamer97]

So I narrowed my new case search down the CM Storm Scout 2 and the Corsair Vengeance C70. For both options I'm not sure if I want black or white. I thought I should go with white since it's called The Stormtrooper, but my friend brought to my attention the Shadow Stormtrooper http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Shadow_stormtrooper so a black case is still an option, I just change the name a bit. Another note on the Scout 2, I would probably mount a dual rad on the top-outside the case and have fans inside the case as well as another dual thick rad in the front-inside the case. Let me know what you would think of the external rad One last not about the C70, someone earlier in the thread, if you haven't seen, informed me of an aftermarket window that is without the fan mount areas so I would be purchasing that. So when recommending a case, keep in mind that the window will be all clear window. I still love the looks of the Carbide Air 540 and ARC Midi R2, but perhaps those will be for another build

[asusfan]

 

Any ideas how I can make this nicer to look at?

Looks very nice now you have flipped the m/board and done a refit.

only thing i can suggest that would make it look nicer is to have a larger side window, do your own mod and find some nice plexi glass or lexan. you could even make it the same profile shape as the side panel "H" part that is pressed. and then have is so it goes from clear for the first half on the left hand side to see the cpu / graphics etc and then the last part could get darker and be smoked out so you dont see the drive bays. that would be awesome if possible. and some more led strip lighting inside.

[Jumper118]

I thought about your idea for turning the hard drives, but I don't see how I could. They are on sleds that slide in from the front, so how could I turn them?

just drill some holes in the current sleds so that you can screw them in the correct direction.