Project SnowBlind

[JonU]

 

Well, after having my last build running for the last 8 months or so I've got the itch to do another build. I had my eye on the Sabranco when I was ordering parts, but I wanted to do an ITX build and it hadn't been released at that point anyways. My last build log was pretty abysmal (can be found here). I have really enjoyed the computer and it has been nothing but stable, but I really want to go all out on the white. I'll be carrying over a lot of the components, and I plan to get a G3258 to go into the ITX case and let my neices and nephew use it for w/e they feel like. Anyways here is what I'm planning on using. 

 

New Parts

 

• Asus Sabertooth Mark S
• Fractal Design Define R5 White w/ window
• Seasonic Snow SIlent 750W PSU
• HyperX Fury White DDR3 1866 16GB

Reused Parts

 

• Intel 4790K
• EVGA 980 w/ EKWB Full cover water block and back plate
• AlphaCool 120mm and 240mm Radiator
• EKWB DDC pump w/ integrated reservoir

I've also got all the tools and supplies needed to sleeve all the cables in white, so I'll probably grab an old PSU to practice on. I still need to order a new CPU water block since the one on my current setup can only be used with the Impact VII. I also haven't decided on a name for this so let me know what you guys think. A couple that had crossed my mind are "SnoWhite" or "The Honky". I'm up for any suggestions you guys may have as well. 

 

And now a couple of questions for the more experienced than myself (probably a lot of you), If I wanted to paint the GPU water block and back plate, what kind of prep work would I need to do? I would definitely mask off the side facing towards the pcb, but is there anything I should be aware of that would prevent the paint from adhering well? I'm not worried about the heat since most of the heat is exchanged through the radiator fins. This brings me to the second question, what is the best way to mask the radiators? I still have the plugs for them so that will be easily taken care of, but what would be the best way to mask the fins so they don't get paint on them?

 

 

 

 

I did end up switching over to soft tubing for that build. As you can see most of my runs weren't lined up spot on and the misalignment caused it to have a few leaks I couldn't solve. 

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK S ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($269.00 @ B&H) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($88.79 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($310.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card  ($543.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($125.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Other: AquaComputer Kryos XT ($79.99)

PSU: SeaSonic Snow Silent 750

Total: $1747.73

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 15:50 EDT-0400

[TheMastr13]

This is gonna be good. I hope there will be updates

[JonU]

There will be, I just ordered the new stuff earlier today and will be ordering th new block sometime this weekend. I'm expecting the parts will be here by the end of next week at the latest

[JonU]

Just ordered a new CPU water block. I went with the AquaComputer Kryos XT. I felt that it would be a great match and the few reviews and comparison tests I found for it turned out pretty good. I also ordered more of the Primochill LRT flexible tubing in white for this build. While I do love seeing the build where people use all clear tubing and then use a dye in the fluid to get the color, I just don't like the idea of adding dye into what is cooling my CPU and GPU. Once I get everything in, I'll have to put everything into place so I can get an idea of how much acrylic tubing I need. I'll go with the white tubing like I tried to do in my last build, but this time I have an idea to make it work. I've also updated the first post with a list of all the parts being used along with some pics of the less commonly seen parts (individual part photos are coming from google since I left my DSLR at my friend's house).

[JonU]

I was looking at cable sleeving videos and pulled out an old PSU that didn't matter if a pin broke or not (i don't have extra crimp pins atm) and played around with the stuff. Pulling the pins is pretty easy once you know where the tabs are that hold them in place. After seeing the video done by Lutro0 back in 2012, I decided to buy a bunch of white wire. I probably went a bit overboard and got 100' of 18GA wire. I've also ordered 100 of the molex female crimp pins for the wire to board connectors. Again, probably overkill, but better to have to many than not enough. I would like to get white plugs, but the only source of those that I can find is FrozenCPU and last I heard they were having issues. I think I've just about got everything I want on order now it is just a waiting game for everything to get here. I've also been looking at cable lacing guides (both ones done for PC cables as well as industrial applications). I really like the way this stitch looks and may try to replicate it on my cables. I'm thinking I'll get some good no stretch nylon string next time I'm out and see how well it works on my old PSU cables.

 

[JonU]

I think I now have everything I will need for this ordered. It should all start rolling in around the middle of the week and I'm hoping the important pieces are here by Friday. I may have gone a little over kill on some things, but I would rather have too much than not enough. My last build was my first time doing a custom loop (really watercooling in general) and I probably bit off a bit more than I could chew trying to go straight to hard lines. I did learn quite a bit though and will be making another attempt at it on this build. I also ordered sleeving for the last build that never got used because I liked how the black cables blended into the case. I have been playing with an old PSU and practicing sleeving and stitching. I've ordered 100' of white wire and grey wire (should be almost 3x what i need). I've also got white connectors for the 8 pin PCIe, 24 Pin, and 8 pin CPU connections. I do have some Charcoal Grey paracord on the way and I'm still waiting on the white and silver grey to be sent.

 

Here are the colors I'm planning on using for the sleeving:

 

I'll hopefully be updating this around Friday if everything makes it here on time.

[W-L]

-SNIP-

 

If you were looking for places to get white connectors FCPU is currently open on a skeleton crew but ModDIY also has that stuff for sale. Also from a post earlier clear tubing and colored fluid theses days aren't as bad as  it was back in the day with it clogging blocks, but it is still more work to clean out.

http://www.moddiy.com/products/24%252dPin-ATX-Motherboard-Power-Female-Connector-w%7B47%7D-Pins-%252d-White.html

Edited August 3, 2015 by W-L

[JonU]

If you were looking for places to get white connectors FCPU is currently open on a skeleton crew but ModDIY also has that stuff for sale. Also from a post earlier clear tubing and colored fluid theses days aren't as bad as  it was back in the day with it clogging blocks, but it is still more work to clean out.

http://www.moddiy.com/products/24%252dPin-ATX-Motherboard-Power-Female-Connector-w%7B47%7D-Pins-%252d-White.html 

 

Thanks for the info, I've been staying away from FCPU due to all the drama. I've ordered from them in the past (before everything blew up) and had good experiences. I'll be hitting up ModDIY me thinks.

[JonU]

So I'm trying my hand at making a banner and was looking for some opinions and suggestions for what I have so far. Also open to suggestions on where to host the images and photos

 

[Conrad310]

So I'm trying my hand at making a banner and was looking for some opinions and suggestions for what I have so far. Also open to suggestions on where to host the images and photos

 

This looks good man. B)

[iludez]

I reckon this will turn out all white!get it?

[JonU]

I reckon this will turn out all white!get it?

All white, all white, all white!  lol, so many puns

[JonU]

It's taking a bit since I'm learning as I go, but I'm happy with how this banner is turning out. It's a bit time consuming, but since I don't have the stuff yet I might as well learn something. And it now has a name

 

[JonU]

Hey guys, I'm looking for a little help from everyone. I've got an idea on replacing the plastic side window (that apparently scratches easily) with a real glass panel. I've already confirmed with Fractal Design that the original window is 2.5mm thick. What I need help with is finding a place that sells thin sheets of glass. I'm not sure how big it will need to be but it shouldn't be any more than a 12" square I would think. Hopefully I will have the case in hand tomorrow or Friday, but until then I need to source a place to get the glass from.

[Conrad310]

Hey guys, I'm looking for a little help from everyone. I've got an idea on replacing the plastic side window (that apparently scratches easily) with a real glass panel. I've already confirmed with Fractal Design that the original window is 2.5mm thick. What I need help with is finding a place that sells thin sheets of glass. I'm not sure how big it will need to be but it shouldn't be any more than a 12" square I would think. Hopefully I will have the case in hand tomorrow or Friday, but until then I need to source a place to get the glass from.

I watch a video a YouTube video of Paul from Paul's hardware. He installed a glass side panel on his case. Here's the link he provided to the company he used to get the glass from. He sent the specs and they made it. He said it cost him around $80 or so. Worth a try. http://www.dullesglassandmirror.com/ trying to find a link to YouTube video but I'm on my mobile right now.

[Conrad310]

I watch a video a YouTube video of Paul from Paul's hardware. He installed a glass side panel on his case. Here's the link he provided to the company he used to get the glass from. He sent the specs and they made it. He said it cost him around $80 or so. Worth a try. http://www.dullesglassandmirror.com/ trying to find a link to YouTube video but I'm on my mobile right now.

https://youtu.be/RIqu_iAz8ew

[JonU]

I watch a video a YouTube video of Paul from Paul's hardware. He installed a glass side panel on his case. Here's the link he provided to the company he used to get the glass from. He sent the specs and they made it. He said it cost him around $80 or so. Worth a try. http://www.dullesglassandmirror.com/ trying to find a link to YouTube video but I'm on my mobile right now.

 

Thanks! I'll look and see if I can't find the video as well, but that link should work.

[Conrad310]

Thanks! I'll look and see if I can't find the video as well, but that link should work.

I got it! Had to do some forwarding stuff or whatever. Lol [emoji3]

[W-L]

Hey guys, I'm looking for a little help from everyone. I've got an idea on replacing the plastic side window (that apparently scratches easily) with a real glass panel. I've already confirmed with Fractal Design that the original window is 2.5mm thick. What I need help with is finding a place that sells thin sheets of glass. I'm not sure how big it will need to be but it shouldn't be any more than a 12" square I would think. Hopefully I will have the case in hand tomorrow or Friday, but until then I need to source a place to get the glass from.

 

Personally I would just use regular window glass any window shop or company locally can cut you a sheet for around $15, while tempered is nice and doesn't shatter as easily the cost is much higher. For mounting if you want no gap between the glass and the panel something like silicone will work great, compared to double side tape which will leave a gap.

[Conrad310]

Personally I would just use regular window glass any window shop or company locally can cut you a sheet for around $15, while tempered is nice and doesn't shatter as easily the cost is much higher. For mounting if you want no gap between the glass and the panel something like silicone will work great, compared to double side tape which will leave a gap.

^This , I'm going to be modding an old NZXT case of mine and putting glass into the side panel so that video was fresh on my mind. I did notice the double sided tape would leave a gap. Nice suggestion to fix that.

[JonU]

I've actually used that exact same double sided tape to hold the water pump in place on my current build. Not only does it do a great job holding it in place, but it also insulates the vibrations. But, I'm a bit hesitant to use double sided tape on something that will literally be hanging from it. My plan is to replace the existing plexi/acrylic window with a glass piece. From what I can tell, it looks to be held in by some metal tabs that are folded over. Plan A is to use those tabs to hold the glass in place. Plan B will be to use silicon as @W-L has suggested (thanks btw), and plan C is double sided tape (which I'm going to try to avoid at all costs).

 

I had actually found a place that sells glass for things like museum displays, pictures, etc., etc. I had thought of looking into it. It's expensive, but surprisingly not as expensive as that tempered glass that Paul was using. For example, an 18x18 sheet of the glass is ~$83 minus shipping. Here is a link if you're interested in what I found. I know from having found the glass maker's web page, that particular style of glass is 2.5mm thick which is perfect.: http://123frame.net/cusiinglrefr.html

 

My only concern about that Anti reflective glass is that it has a coating on it that could screw with what I want to do with the glass. I sent an email to see what they say about my idea.

[Conrad310]

I've actually used that exact same double sided tape to hold the water pump in place on my current build. Not only does it do a great job holding it in place, but it also insulates the vibrations. But, I'm a bit hesitant to use double sided tape on something that will literally be hanging from it. My plan is to replace the existing plexi/acrylic window with a glass piece. From what I can tell, it looks to be held in by some metal tabs that are folded over. Plan A is to use those tabs to hold the glass in place. Plan B will be to use silicon as @W-L has suggested (thanks btw), and plan C is double sided tape (which I'm going to try to avoid at all costs).

I had actually found a place that sells glass for things like museum displays, pictures, etc., etc. I had thought of looking into it. It's expensive, but surprisingly not as expensive as that tempered glass that Paul was using. For example, an 18x18 sheet of the glass is ~$83 minus shipping. Here is a link if you're interested in what I found. I know from having found the glass maker's web page, that particular style of glass is 2.5mm thick which is perfect.: http://123frame.net/cusiinglrefr.html

My only concern about that Anti reflective glass is that it has a coating on it that could screw with what I want to do with the glass. I sent an email to see what they say about my idea.

Thanks for the link on the glass. I'll be needing that soon when I get started on my next project.

[W-L]

-SNIP-

 

I'm pretty sure it would be fine to use on a case without any problems, but even regular glass isn't that reflective if it's light up from the interior.

[JonU]

Stuff is starting to trickle in. I'm hoping to have everything in the next week minus the window. Important bits will be here this week, but I don't think all the sleeving stuff will be here until next week. I'll be taking measurements of the window tomorrow and getting that out on order as soon as I get an answer to my question.

[Conrad310]

Stuff is starting to trickle in. I'm hoping to have everything in the next week minus the window. Important bits will be here this week, but I don't think all the sleeving stuff will be here until next week. I'll be taking measurements of the window tomorrow and getting that out on order as soon as I get an answer to my question.

[emoji3] can't wait