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Hello All,

 

I'm a twelve year old boy living in Dubai, UAE. I love to do things myself, especially when it comes to technology. I have repaired my brother's and my mother's laptops, as well as building my own gaming rig with a 4690k and a couple of 970s. Inspired by case modders and scratch builders, I really wanted to try a scratch build. I want this case to be made out of aluminium and fit a mATX motherboard, particularly the

Gigabyte GA-Z97 MX-Gaming 5. 

 

There is a source of aluminium parts and sheets, as well as a source of tools. I can also get things 3D printed, so I'm OK on that side.  :)

 

I really want this to be a cube chassis, inspired be the Corsair Carbide Air 540. Why don't you just mod that case then, you ask? Well, I want it to fit my special needs as well as the fact that I want a challenge. I want something to do, a big project, this summer. Moving on...

 

I like the way Corsair designed the Air 540. I particularly like the division in the middle, showing only the pretty parts of a build (Graphics cards, motherboard, etc.). I want the same division in the middle, with the section at the back housing an EVGA Supernova G1 1000w PSU, three 360mm XSPC radiators along the back wall (ohh, la la!), two Swiftech MCP655-B pumps (one for the CPU loop and one for the GPU loop) as well as a couple of Seagate HDDs. This section will also house all of the cable clutter and mess. The other side will be clear acrylic, apart from the top and bottom, which will be aluminium for structural reasons. This way we can see the Gigabyte GA-Z97 MX-Gaming 5 with a watercooled 4690k and two watercooled EVGA GTX 970 FTWs, two Crucial 250GB SSDs on cool 3D printed mounts as well as two Phobya Balancer 250 Black Nickel reservoirs. The tubing will be hardline tubing, because I wouldn't think that normal tubing would like to fit in such a small enclosure. I also think that hardline tubing looks better.  ;)

The whole of the front section not be cooled, as all the hot coolant is taken behind to be re-cooled and then is brought back in. Do you think this is a problem for the RAM, MOSFET and chipset? RAM is running at 1.65v @2000MHz.

 

Two separate loops, one for the CPU and one for the GPUs. The CPU will have its own pump, 360mm radiator and reservoir. The GPUs will have two 360mm radiators as well as their own pump and reservoir. 

 

I have not yet decided on the color scheme for this build, but it will definitely be black and another color. Purple, anyone? Leave your suggestions below.

 

I have yet to put this design into a CAD software (I use Autodesk Inventor, I highly recommend it), and will probably do so in the next couple of days. 

 

All of the spray-paintable (new word, that is) items will be spray painted to match the color of the build.

 

I think that is about it for now, after everything is finalized I will start a build log with my journey of building this beast.

 

Please leave any tips, tricks, questions and answers below. I will try to answer questions as soon as possible.

 

Peace! 

<Insert joke here>

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Subbed, sounds interesting!

 

Im looking for my next build to be black white and purple. So I highly reccomend purple! Mainly so I can get some inspiration ;)

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I would suggest actually buying a prebuilt motherboard tray unless you have access you a CNC mill. The tolerances on the motherboard standoffs are almost nonexistent nowadays, and it's better to spend a bit of money to get it done right, than have the standoffs out by a mm or two. Worst case for a poorly built motherboard tray, you short out your motherboard, or crack it if you try screwing it in anyway.
 

EDIT: Or just scavenge an old motherboard tray from a prebuilt someone's tossed out.

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Subbed, sounds interesting!

 

Im looking for my next build to be black white and purple. So I highly reccomend purple! Mainly so I can get some inspiration ;)

Thanks for the input  ;)  

I was also leaning towards purple. I think purple and black is the most likely color scheme I will use.

 

I would suggest actually buying a prebuilt motherboard tray unless you have access you a CNC mill. The tolerances on the motherboard standoffs are almost nonexistent nowadays, and it's better to spend a bit of money to get it done right, than have the standoffs out by a mm or two. Worst case for a poorly built motherboard tray, you short out your motherboard, or crack it if you try screwing it in anyway.

 

EDIT: Or just scavenge an old motherboard tray from a prebuilt someone's tossed out.

Thanks, I don't have access to a CNC mill, do you know where I could get a good quality motherboard tray that is not too expensive? It must be mATX. Thanks again for letting me know.  :)  

<Insert joke here>

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Thanks for the input  ;)  

I was also leaning towards purple. I think purple and black is the most likely color scheme I will use.

 

Thanks, I don't have access to a CNC mill, do you know where I could get a good quality motherboard tray that is not too expensive? It must be mATX. Thanks again for letting me know.  :)  

Rip it out of a secondhand computer. Seriously, it's usually the computer hardware that's shot, not the physical component. If it's bare metal, then just put screws in the standoffs, so that the thread doesn't gum up, and spray the entire thing with automotive enamel.

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Hello All,

 

I'm looking for tools for this build. I have (more specifically, my mother has) a power drill and all the normal stuff. I recently took a look at

DIY Perks's Cloud Unit

and all he really used was a jigsaw and a hacksaw. I feel for this project all I really need is the power drill I already have, the jigsaw and the hacksaw. Do you think I will need a rotary tool at all? On Amazon I found a Black & Decker JS660 jigsaw for $38.99 and a Stanley STHT20138 hacksaw for $7.18.

 

Is there anything else I would need in the form of tools of any sort? 

Will I need a rotary tool?

Are the tools I chose good or is there anyway to get good quality for cheaper?

Please inform me on anything I need to know, as I am a beginner to the world of power tools, but am familiar with hacksaws and the like. 

 

Thanks for everything you guys have said so far, really appreciate it.

 

Peace! 

 

EDIT: Are there any age restrictions associated with operation of tools, specifically the jigsaw and/or the rotary tool, in the UAE? This for me is probably the most important question. Answers as soon as possible will be much appreciated as technically the whole project relies on me being old enough to operate power tools. Thanks!  :)

<Insert joke here>

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UPDATE:

 

I have decided to go soft tubing due to the extra cost of the heat gun and the tubing bender. And the fact that the hardline tubing gives zero room for error. And it's not recommended for my first watercooling build, and this is my first watercooling build.

<Insert joke here>

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You'll need a few files, mainly to deburr the edges. And the limits on operating power tools? Did you plan on the police walking into the garage while you were cutting? As long as your parents are happy with you using them, then you won't have a problem.

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You'll need a few files, mainly to deburr the edges. And the limits on operating power tools? Did you plan on the police walking into the garage while you were cutting? As long as your parents are happy with you using them, then you won't have a problem.

Thanks for the answer,

I'll factor in files to the cost of the tools. Also, instead of buying two reservoirs and two pumps and having two loops, could I get by with this:

 

Reservoir to pump, pump to CPU, CPU to radiator (360mm), radiator to GPU #1, GPU #1 to GPU #2, GPU #2 to radiator (360mm), radiator to radiator (360mm), radiator to reservoir? I'm using the "Extreme Pressure, Small Form Factor, 12 V Dc Centrifugal Pump" by Swiftech (http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Pressure-Small-Factor-Centrifugal/dp/B00OWKVYR2/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1435920578&sr=8-11&keywords=pc+watercooling+pump) and the Phobya Balancer 150 Black Nickel Reservoir.

 

I want to cut down on the cost as much as possible. This keeps my original plan to have three 360mm radiators but takes away the second pump and reservoir, cutting the cost by about $120.

 

Thanks!  

<Insert joke here>

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Thanks for the answer,

I'll factor in files to the cost of the tools. Also, instead of buying two reservoirs and two pumps and having two loops, could I get by with this:

 

Reservoir to pump, pump to CPU, CPU to radiator (360mm), radiator to GPU #1, GPU #1 to GPU #2, GPU #2 to radiator (360mm), radiator to radiator (360mm), radiator to reservoir? I'm using the "Extreme Pressure, Small Form Factor, 12 V Dc Centrifugal Pump" by Swiftech (http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Pressure-Small-Factor-Centrifugal/dp/B00OWKVYR2/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1435920578&sr=8-11&keywords=pc+watercooling+pump) and the Phobya Balancer 150 Black Nickel Reservoir.

 

I want to cut down on the cost as much as possible. This keeps my original plan to have three 360mm radiators but takes away the second pump and reservoir, cutting the cost by about $120.

 

Thanks!  

I'm not really the person to ask, but from seeing what other people have in similar systems i would suspect that an extra pump in serial would keep your flow rate up, without needing the second loop/res.

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I'm not really the person to ask, but from seeing what other people have in similar systems i would suspect that an extra pump in serial would keep your flow rate up, without needing the second loop/res.

I think instead of getting two of this pump, I could opt for a Swiftech MCP655-B http://www.amazon.com/Swiftech-MCP655-B-Liquid-cooling-system/dp/B000ODOKV8 That would be cheaper. Or even the Swiftech  MCP35X http://www.amazon.com/Swiftech-MCP35X-Liquid-Cooling-Systems/dp/B004N6ST8W .

 

EDIT: Re-watched Linus's Overkill build guide and saw he used one MCP655 (no -B, which probably represents a later version) and in that build there was more radiator real estate and he was cooling two cards like I am, so it looks like I'll get that pump.

<Insert joke here>

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