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So continuing in continuation to this thread, http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/131704-new-case-and-psu/ I left the case for the end and I' currently 652.87$ under my budget, so I can have the case that I want. I'm hesitating between -the Obsidian 900D (awesome clean and professionnal look) -Graphite 760T (once it comes out) -Cm Storm Trooper (love the design) -Aerocool Strike-X air (Odd choice, I know but it's awesome) --> If I get this case, I won't be watercooling it or I'll mod it and watercool it like this case: -Caselabs TH10. Although this case is over my budget, I'm ready to save up the extra hundred buck and buy this case since it's awesome! Continuing my project I'll be watercooling these cases, once I gather up some more money.

Hey forum, so this is my first post and I need some help to choose a new case and a new psu. Since I'm only 16 years old, I can't afford anything to expensive. For the cases, I kniw that caselabs cases are expensive, but they are worth it, but I like the gaming look of the storm trooper, the clean look and everything of the 900D, the expandibility of the HAF Stacker, and again everything about the air 540 (plus I can get it for 100$ from linus). So it's really hard for me to decide As for the psu, I'm just undecided between the EVGA supernova series, the corsair AXi series and the cooler master silent pro hybrid. Either way, I need a modular psu since I have a non-modular one now and I hate it. Either way, thank you for your support and your help!!

So, about to confirm my build, but I still have some burning questions to tweak the water-cooling portion of the build, as I plan on doing it myself (and it will be my first water-cooled rig). Basic components to consider for my rig: Caselabs Mercury S5 (with extended ventilated top) --- getting the airflow config on NCIX.ca Darkside Thick (65mm) radiators 240mm + 360mm Laing Res/D5-Vario Pump Combo 5 x Sythe GT 2150rpm 5 x Scythe 120mm fan filters Just have to cool a 4770k & a Titan Black. I know. Overkill on the rads for just two components. But, just getting the 360mm rad and a full custom (while budget-friendly) set-up costs exactly the same with the 240mm kit. I just don't like the size of the res. It is small. Plus, it does make it relatively easy for me to SLI in the future (reducing the cost of the future upgrade). So where the heck would I mount it inside a case like that, with rads all over the place?? It is a bit of a big case, so I don't get why I'm having a hard time figuring out where to put it. Do I need a special res/pump stand? Where can I find it on NCIX.ca or dazmode.com ? Maybe you can take a look at the pump/res. Will I need some right-angled fittings?

Is it really worth it to buy a case from caselabs, or is it better to buy one of there cases as an upgrade? Since I've fallen in love with their cases but they are so pricey. And I've heard good stuff about them plenty of times like they are as strong as a tank. So what should I do LTT?

So I decided I wanted to redo my build since I wasn't exactly happy with it. I decided to change out the soft tubing with bent acrylic, do custom cable sleeving with MDPC sleeve, changed out my reservoir, and change out all my fans with Noctua. For the most part I'm happy with how things turned out considering what a nightmare it was to bend E22 tubing. Only things that didn't turn out so great that I plan to correct when I get more time is the tubing and sleeving. I actually didn't order enough tubing and the last tube I was bending collapsed from being overworked. So I ended up having to use soft tubing for the last run since there was no other option. With the sleeving I decided to do heat shrinkless and the sleeve pulled off a couple wires, this was mainly due to some of the wires not going into the connectors properly. I gotta say, doing sleeve on the Corsair AX850 was an absolute P.I.T.A. to put it mildly! Most of the pins wouldn't release in the 24-pin connector and once they did I couldn't get them to go fully back in. I don't know if there was something faulty with how my wires were done at the factory but it makes me rethink buying another Corsair PSU. The 8-Pin CPU connector and PCIE cables didn't have the issue so I'm guessing it was just a defect. Well anyways, here's a couple photos I took. Go easy on me since I've never done acrylic or cable sleeving and decided to do both at the same time lol! Before Gutted Radiators and Noctua fans installed New reservoir Monsoon Bending Kit Everything needed to bend Miter box Pump installed in new EK pump reservoir combo 3M tape on reservoir Reservoir/Pump installed (Moved afterwards) Tube bend First tube installed Second tube installed (money was there to give somebody on another forum scale) This was the tube I ended up destroying because I had bent it to the wrong outlet of the pump since EK didn't specify which one it was. Was replaced with soft tube! It's a shame since it was bent perfectly to the wrong fitting lol. Black MDPC sleeve Green MDPC sleeve Pin removal tool Nils drawing Starting sleeving Put heat shrink on Melt heat shrink (I used a lighter) Cut heat shrink off Sleeve melted to edge of pin Install in connector 24-pin sleeved (Wasn't long enough to run behind the motherboard) 8-pin CPU connector sleeved 8-pin CPU connector installed (Again, not long enought) Started filling Mayhem UV Green dye added With UV lights off Night shot

So I plan on doing an big (read: expensive) build in the next few months. It will be a move from a laptop (been using them for the last several years) back to the desktop (and a tablet for portable use), so I want to go all out and do my first water-cooled build. The case that has really caught my eye is the Caselabs Mercury S5 with Pedestal. The craftmanship of the product (and all the reviews I could find) make it seem "futureproof" in the sense that it will physically last a long time. In addition, I don't think I would ever go more than 2-way SLI/CFX, so I like the idea of the mATX. Also, I live in an old apartment with radiant ceiling (that's right, not floor) heating. It gets further frustrating since the heat from the apartment below me permeates into my room. I haven't needed to use the heater even during the recent chill that South-Western Ontario was hit with last week. The warmest air in my room is at the floor and I do not control the thermostat for it. I also use a "portable" air-conditioner that stands about 4ft tall and just a few feet from my desk for the warmer months. Another reason why I like the S5: the casters to raise the PC off the plush, heated carpet. Anyways, here is my main question: can two Alphacool NexXxos Monsta 360's fit in the pedestal in push/pull (both of them)? Measurements seem like there should be just over an inch between the two radiators with fans. Is that enough space? The radiators will be the only things in the pedestal. I like the idea of compartmentalized radiators from the main components. A second question: I was planning on getting the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 850W and still trying to figure out if I have enough power connections for my planned 18 fans (Noctua NF-F12) with L.N.A. What would I need to make it work?

CaseLabs announced the MAGNUM SMA8. It is a full tower case, which is 6.5” shorter than the STH10. It will be available on Monday, will be January 13, 2014. To be noted that the case will only deliver “flat-packed” (unassembled). The case has a price tag of $519.95. Also CaseLabs teased another new case, which looks like ATX version of Mercury S5. http://www.overclock.net/t/1458058/caselabs-announces-the-magnum-sma8 New Case Teaser http://www.overclock.net/t/1458099/something-new

Hello everyone, this is my latest build. Decided a couple of months ago to buy my all time favourite case. Caselabs has made my wallet cry a little due shipping rates to Australia but building in it has been such a blast. Such a fantastic platform and so modular. Hope you all enjoy . Case + guts: Case: Caselabs Merlin SM8 CPU: Intel Core i7 2600k GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 RAM: 8Gb Corsair Dominator Platinum PSU: Corsair HX 750 W Motherboard: Asus Maximus Formula V Water goodies: CPU: EK Supremacy Clean CSQ GPU: EK-FC Titan SE Pump: EK D5 Vario Rads: EK-Coolstream XTX 360 + 240 Res: Bitspower 150 Water tank Coolant: XSPC EC6 Blood Red Tubing: Primochill Advanced LRT 3/8" 5/8" Crystal Clear Thanks for viewing

Prologue Maybe you remember the big project a 15 years old Lucas planned some years ago. Too great visions and to much confidence about that future sponsors would come. I really put myself in a bad position, which I have regret so many times There I was, with one of the biggest cases I've ever seen, what was I supposed to do? I have built some mid-sized systems, some smaller ones, and some even smaller. To be able to decide what fits me the most, why not try something extreme? With an SMH10 from Caselabs, it can't go wrong. I can promise that not only will the looks be awesome, but also the power of it! During fall I will also host a modding-series at Nvidias youtube-channel which I am very hyped about! The computer is called Green, which is a part of the project, although the project include a much more. I want to create my dream gaming-cave! Below you can find the specs of the computer, and what I am supposed to do. Hardware Case: Caselabs SMH10, double window edition! Motherboard: MSI X99 SLI PLUS CPU: Intel i7 5960X GPU: Tri-SLI Nvidia GTX980Ti PSU: Evga 1200W Platinum Storage: Intel 730 Series, 240 + 480GB Cooling Fans: 16x BeQuiet Block: Bitspower Reservoirs: XSPC Photon 250 Radiators: Alphacool monsta 560 + Airplex 480 Coolant: Mayhems Pastel The inside Let's do this!

i found out this very moment that along with Frozen CPU and Performance PC that NCIX.US.com is looking to carry the mITX and mATX Mercury S3/5 line. taking per orders on thos specific cases and pedestals. could be interesting. the pricing looks a bit off, but prolly testing the waters for sales flow. international orders might benefit from this neat news. looks promising and perplexing at the same time. thoughts from the LinusTechTips membership?

I guess just what is your honest opinion about CaseLabs cases since you haven't reviewed any yet. I'm thinking about getting the S3, and just looking for a reason why it's worth that much more money as opposed to me just buying a Prodigy or Phenom.

Hi im on new project, Snef's "Sand of God" very hard to find good name lollll this rig will be my main rig, replacement of extremmmme red demon start with parts list Hardware Cpu: Intel I7 4770k: Motherboard: Asus Gryphon with Armor kit Mem: 16 Gb (4x4)Corsair Dominator GT 2133: GPU: 2 x Galaxy GTX780 HOF Case:Caselabs S5 with Pedestal white PSU: Silverstone ST1200-G with pp05 short cable SSD: OS: 4 x Samsung 840 pro 256GB and 1 x samsung evo 1TB Cooling Fan: 4 x Corsair AF120 + 9 x Corsair SP120 High Performance Fan Controller: Aquaero 6 CPU Block: EK Supremacy (CSQ) Plexi Copper (polish) or clean: Ram Block: EK Ram CSP plexi copper (polish) or clean GPU: 2 x EK white 780 HOF water block Rad: 2 x XSPC RX360 + 1 x XSPC EX360 Reservoir: 2 x EK-Multioption X3 RES 250 with white top and bottom: Pump: 2 x D5 Vario: Pump top: Bitspower clear plexi dual D5 pump top Tubing: E22 10/12mm hard tubing or EK 10/12 hard tubing Fittings: Bitspower compression and hard tubing fittings, angle and spacer all white, Coolant: Mayhems custom color (Bauhaus gold) Thermal paste: MX-4 and Gelid (EK) Mod Sleeving: Darkside White and Yellow sand 2mm, 4mm and sata data Sleeving Connector: all white connector: [ Paint: Rust-Oleum white primer and paint and Plasti-dip and Bauhaus Krylon paint Full custom White and yellow sand Sticker white and gold screw, and thumb screw: And more, inspiration thats it for now, still in planning mode need to find how to mix coolant and dye to have the right yellow thanks Sponsored by:

Hello i have one question since i've never done a multi GPU + CPU loop before. I am getting my hands on a Caselabs S5 in the coming week and i have a question regarding thickness on the radiators, the plan is to get a 45mm 360 rad in roof, and a 60mm 240 rad in front and do you WC loving guys know if i can get away with this setup and still get decent silence ?. Cards that are going to be WC'd are my ref 780's along with my 3770k, fans will probably Corsair SP120's since they just work, or if they get the thumb out of their asses and finally make a LED version of it i might get that. Will post more once i get the case assembled, and see if any modding will be done ( maybe an extra 360 rad somewhere who knows i just so happen to have this 360 30mm laying around )

Hurro! So,as you would expect,this is another build log but this time (for a long time) its for me for a change! I am working away on a scratch build in the ITX flavour but got held up trying to get stuff actually made up,so i decided to do a build anyway while im ironing out the wrinkles in it. You can see my scratch design here So i started looking at cases,nothing really caught my eye until i saw the S3 from Caselabs.......well,it ticked all my boxes and,even though its not cheap once its imported,I was sold on it. No expense spared on the naming as usual. The basic hardware will be as follows: Asus IMPACT Z87 ITX mobo,on pre order.....still waiting. i5 or i7...not sure yet as this will be a LAN box/daily driver while the SR2 gets its upgrade,i7 is a bit overkill for this purpose. Plus im delidding it,i5 is a bit less of a hit if my hands of meat ruin it. 780 of some description... Corsair Platinum 2400 ram,Scan have a good deal on this right now. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-%282x4gb%29-corsair-ddr3-dominator-platinum-pc3-19200-%282400%29-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-10-12-12-31-dhx- Couple of SSDs...The new Samsung EVO drives look a bit tasty. WD Caviar Black for the pron and pizza pics. Obviously wasserkooled,this time acrylic rather than my standard copper tubing (I dont think Magoo would let anything else happen tbh) So,shall we have a mooch around the case? I went for the full fat S3 with pedestal,windows all round and the vented IO panels I bought the pedestal as a precaution in case my cunning plan doesnt work out like i want,i did mention its going R-ITX rather than horizon right? No? Sorry.......= ) The finish is in primer grey as its having a custom paint job......airbrush work not done by myself so it should look good! Whats in the box Mr Parker? Instructions...thrown away....Im asserting my manliness today. All the nicely wrapped panels in a pile.this is the case bit,the pedestal is an entirely different pile.... First panel and the one that is not being used in the mod (R-ITX remember? Im making my own) I did mention to Caselabs about selling front and back blanks and it was well received so maybe I wont have to make one....... Base panel. A bent piece.....nothing a pair of pliers cant sort tho. And the 2 panels fixed up. Another piece im no likely to use...except the mounts for the SSD and HDD Pick of it inside.[...before it all gets hit with the mod stick. Front panel. Nice mesh. More assembly...... And panels on. Thats all im doing today,the light is going and my hand hurts,tomorrow i will be assembling the ped and then showing roughly what im doing inside before breaking it all down again. If you were wondering how easy is it to build this case...... Im doing it one handed....

Project MERCURY Caselabs Mercury S3 - mITX Watercooled - Simplicity Index #1 - 4770k IHS Removal - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury/?p=818295 #2 - ASUS Maximus IV Impact - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury/?p=833236 #3 - Nvidia GTX Titan - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury/?p=838360 #4 - Radiator & Fans - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=842895 #5 - Fittings & SSD - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=849644 #6 - Peripherals - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=857467 #7 - Himuro - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=857564 #8 - Himuro Mounting System - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=877824 #9 - Reservoir & Pump - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=881798 #10 - Polishing EK Waterblocks - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=907185 #11 - Initial Tubing Route - https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=919997 #12 - Mercury S3 Case - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=934144 #13 - Secondary Tubing Route - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=966149 #14 - Completed - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/56428-project-mercury-caselabs-s3-watercooled-gtx-titan/?p=1030532 Completion - Scroll Down for the start of the log! Introduction Back with another build log, this time a different path, less is more with mITX and i intend to showcase that in its full glory. Caselabs has always had a soft spot with me, ever since i first bought the STH10, clean lines, modding friendly and extremely well designed, so when the Mercury S3 was announced some months ago i couldn't resist. Prodigy may have started the mITX craze, Caselabs has perfected it with the Mercury S3. Unfortunately due to size restraints, my previous build Akula V2 is now to be disassembled, it's just too big for my desk and is a dust magnet. This computer will mainly be used for light gaming, work related use & general use, so the components don't have to be top of the line yet i intend to recycle my used components as much as possible. Vision & Color Scheme With all my build's i strive for simplicity, less is more. Once again the build will be based around the components, the colors will be subtle, the components will be minimalistic. Just like Akula V2, the build will incorporate Republic of Gamers products, which leaves me little choice but to follow to overdone red & black scheme. Watercooling will be done with primary EKWB products used from Project Akula with some new splashes of products just released. Mercury S3 Case One of the biggest selling points for Caselabs cases is the options when purchasing, these are the options/variations i chose. Matte Black Drop-in 120.2 Radiator Mount 36mm Ventilated Top Cover Left STB Window Right STB Window USB 3.0 Upgrade IO 120.2 Radiator Flexi-bay Upgrade Just a matter of shipping & waiting for it to arrive, sadly this thing cost me an arm & leg due to the shipping cost to Australia, worth it. Main Components Large portion of my components will come from previous builds, most from my Prodigy & Dimastech builds so my wallet won't be that much lighter in the end, i hope.. Intel Socket 1150 4770k ASUS Maximus VI Impact Corsair Dominator GT 2133 Mhz (2x4Gb) OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240Gb Western Digital Caviar Red 2Gb Silverstone Strider 650W Gold ST65F-G Gigabyte GTX Titan OC Windforce Edition Himuro 3.5" HDD Cooler Himuro 2.5" HDD Cooler Cooling Components Lucky for me, most of my cooling components i already own, for most this is the expensive part. New products that have just been released from EKWB will be tested within this build, including their new PE radiator's, hopefully they will have their ROG Impact waterblocks released in time.. On another note, i intend to delid the 4770k - I've done this process on the 3570k earlier and the temperatures were excellent, this time i will be going naked chip, so EK's Naked Ivy supports will be used. EKWB GTX Titan Nickel & Plexi CSQ Waterblock EKWB Supremacy Nickel & Plexi CSQ Waterblock Laing D5 & EKWB CSQ Acetal Pump Top Bitspower Z Type 150ml Reservoir EK CSQ Fittings Noiseblocker BlacksilentPro PL-2 x 4 EK CoolStream PE 240 x 2 PrimoFlex Advanced LRT 3/8in ID x 1/2in OD Tubing Clear EK Blood Red Coolant Extras 16AWG Individually sleeved cables, MDPC Black Sleeving Delidding 4770k & Using EK Naked Ivy standoffs Polishing EK Plexiglass Waterblocks Fabricate 2 x Himuro mounting brackets Closing Hopefully this will be a quicker build than my previous logs, I'm a perfectionist so these things take time unfortunately. In the coming weeks i expect to receive the Mercury S3, from there i will slowly incorporate the parts within the build. The biggest hurdle is always the sleeving, in such a tight build sleeving even the best power supplies can be tricky, lines are tough to hide so perfection is required when all eyes are on the cables. Stay tuned, I'm as eager as ever to begin and one day complete this build.

Hello everyone, Sgt here. I've been lurking here during around 2 months, and now, I've finally decided to come out of my cavern. I was thinking, which is the better way for me to introduce myself than doing a build log ? So lets do this :) I'm sure i'll meet a lot of nice people here :) I'm an huge fan of Portal games, so my idea with this build is to build something pure with a little touch of color here and there. Here is the color scheme : White, Orange, Light Blue, Black and Nickel Luckily, all my hardware parts match to this color scheme, as well as my cooling parts. Now you might want to know what's the parts list ? Well, here you go :) Hardware List : Case : CaseLabs STH10 White - Reversed ATX Layout Motherboard : MSI Big Bang XPOWER II CPU : Intel Core i7 3930k GPU : EVGA GeForce GTX 690 - Quad SLI - 2 Cards Memory : Corsair Dominator 1333Mhz - 32 Gb PSU : Corsair AX1200w SSDs : Intel 520 Cherryville 480Gb - 2 SSDs HDD : Western Digital Caviar Black 2Tb Cooling List : Coolant : Mayhems X1 - Clear Tubing : PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT - 10(ID) 16(OD) Fittings : Monsoon 10(ID) 16(OD) - 6 White - 6 orange - 6 Blue Adapter : Monsoon - w.i.p Pumps : Laing D5 - 2 Pumps Pumps Top : EK-D5 Dual TOP CSQ Reservoir : Koolance 240mm 80mm(OD) CPU Waterblock : EK-Supremacy - Full Nickel CSQ GPU Waterblock : EK-FC690 - Acetal + Nickel CSQ - 2 blocks GPU Backplate : EK-FC690 - Black CSQ Ram Waterblock : EK-Ram Monarch - Acetal + Nickel CSQ - 2 blocks Motherboard Waterblock : EK-Mosfet MSI Big Bang XPower II - Acetal + Nickel CSQ Radiators : EK-CoolStream XT 480mm - 2 radiators Fans : Corsair SP120 High Performance - 8 fans Now... Let the build begin ! Directly coming from the US to France (yes, I'm French), i present you my STH10 from CaseLabs ! Hope you liked this little teaser of my build log :) More to come soon ! Pictures are watermarked by myself to avoid a problem that James (remember the 900CSQ build ?) encountered here. ~Sgt

Just like the title. I am kinda obsessed with this case. I want to build a nice system with it this year and it will have a few rads. I was wondering if the holes that connect the mb side to the psu side were big enough for 3/4 outer diameter tubing. I have been looking at pics from google images that show tubing being routed through these holes but I can't tell the diameter. Thanks.

So Im going to be making a new build pretty soon and I would like to watercool it in the future. I was wondering which was a better case for both water and air cooling since I will be air cooling or a couple of months while I accumulate some money. I also have a couple of questions for owners of these cases. In debating between the Merlin SM8 in black or the LD-PC V8. Merlin:http://www.caselabs-store.com/merlin-sm8/ Cost:$430 LDPC V8: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/18258/cst-1363/LD_Cooling_Little_Devil_PC-V8_ATXHTPX_Mid-Tower_Case_-_Black.html?tl=g1c547&id=gfv8t4Xs Cost:$515 As for the questions: 1.Are they both powder coated? 2.Do they include all mounting screws for mobo, pci slots etc.? 3.Do they come with optical drive mounts? 4. Are there any add ons I need in order to have fans mounts in all of the 120 slots, as in, do they already have the pre drilled holes for them? Forgive me if my questions are a bit silly, but any answers are appreciated. Thank you!

HELIOS - Build Log Table of Contents 2013-APR-27: The SMH10 - Unpacking and Assembly 2013-APR-28: Radiators 2013-APR-29: Making a New Workshop 2013-APR-29: My Old Rig 2013-APR-30: The Raystorm CPU Blocks 2013-JUN-16: PSU & Pump Mount, Making the 24 Pin Cable 2013-JUN-21: Small Cable Progress Update 2013-JUN-21: Some Sketches and Information About the Cable Lacing 2013-JUL-06: What 40 Hours of Cabling Will Get You... 2013-JUL-18: Various Smaller Bits 2013-JUL-22: A Copper Face Plate for the Lamptron FC5V2 2013-JUL-25: The Aqua Computer Aqualis Copper Edition 2013-SEP-14: Prototype: The Bitfenix Spectre Pro Copper Edition 2013-SEP-15: Painting the M/B Block Screws 2013-SEP-20: Fan Disassembly: How-To 2013-SEP-22: Quick Status Shot of the Unfinished Rig 2013-SEP-23: The Bitfenix Spectre Pro Copper Edition (cont.) 2013-OCT-01: Colour-Coordinating the Kryographics Titan 2013-OCT-08: Loop Planning 2013-OCT-09: Colour-Coordinating the Raystorms 2013-OCT-13: Deciding on a Backplate, Small M/B Teaser 2013-OCT-13: The EVGA SR-2 Black Edition 2013-OCT-28: Requesting Opinions on Fittings... 2013-OCT-29: Colour-Coordinating the RAM Blocks 2014-FEB-20: Temporary Ghetto Setup 2015-SEP-03: Progress! Motherboard Looped Up! 2015-SEP-06: Assembled PDF Version http://alpenwasser.net/repository/files/helios.pdf Current Status Prologue Yes, yes, the SR-2 is old news by now, I'm well aware of that. However, it was not yet when I started this build almost two years ago. Health troubles intervened soon after that (again) and put a stop to my plans. Since I really did not want to sell the hardware I had already bought (the SR-2 among it), I decided to stick it out and finish it when my health and funds allowed for it. Originally, this was going to be a scratchbuild, but the nice thing about having such a long delay is that Caselabs have brought out pretty much the perfect case in the meantime. My own box would have been pretty similar in its layout to the SMH10 and also made from Alu. But buying all the raw materials and the tools necessary to do it properly would have probably cost me more than the SMH10, so I just decided to go for that. The Name Hysterical Excess Labouring Independently Of Sanity, aka HELIOS. Because: It's been going on for almost two years. And I am definitely starting to question my sanity . Also: I've been naming my PC's after Greek deities since forever. The first PC I built was an AMD Thunderbird C 1.4 GHz machine back in 2001, which lasted me for a few years, and it was called Helios (I use the name as the PC's host name within our network, for those wondering what practical use it has). It died a fiery death at the hands of a water cooling accident: Using the Eheim 1048 I had been befallen by the rattling pump wheel. Naturally, I wrapped some tape around the axle which solved that problem. Unfortunately, the tape became brittle over time and eventually, a piece of tape broke off and clogged the loop. Killed the flow, cooked the CPU (no overheating protection back then). I'll see if I can get some pics of the damage to the Cuplex and post them later. After that, I took that name out of use, until now. It's time for a revival. Oh, the original HELIOS was name after the A.I. from the original Deus Ex game, but I've always had an interest in Greek mythology, so it was a nice fit. The Inspiration Originally, PrometheusCU. I'm sure many of you are familiar with it, and those who aren't: Go read it, now! I'll wait a few days. Sadly, its creator passed on and never finished it (it did go to a friend of his, but no activity since last summer, at least not in the original thread ). I don't nearly have his set of skills and/or tools, but that doesn't change the inspiration part. Also, B Negative's SR-2 rig. Main Hardware As a side note: The computing power of this rig will mostly go to BOINC (I might use it for gaming from time to time, we shall see). If F@H ever get their stuff together with regards to GPU folding on Linux (highly unlikely ), I might switch over to folding again, since I'd been doing that for about 18 months before switching to BOINC due to the GPU problem (and a few other niggles I have with the project's behavior towards its donors). The O/S will most likely be Arch Linux (since I've been using that for about two years now and am quite comfortable with it), or if I feel experimental Gentoo or even FreeBSD. Certainly not Windows. I need my xterm and Z shell and UNIX utilities. This is also why I won't get an Aquaero; the Aquasuite is Windows only, and an Aquaero without Aquasuite is, if possible, rather pointless imho :( Anyway: M/B: EVGA SR-2 CPU: 2 ⨯ Xeon X5680 (not ES, normal retail version, got them for half price on eBay, brand spanking new) RAM: 24 GB of Corsair Dominator 1866 GPU: 1 ⨯ Geforce Titan (should do well at computing), 1 ⨯ GTX 780 (later addition). SSD: Intel 520 120 GB HDD: TBD PSU: Enermax Platimax 1200 W (don't need that much power, but the weaker models aren't fully modular, more reasoning for my decision later on) Case: Caselabs SMH10, reverse ATX layout, obviously in black Originally, I was going to use a Koolance 1.7 kW liquid cooled PSU, but it turned out to be incompatible with the SR-2. I'm not kidding, the PSU is fine, as was the M/B last time I powered it on with a different PSU. Somehow, the initial self-check of the SR-2 is not liked at all by the Koolance PSU, so I've had to get a different one. W/C Parts Well, of course it will be under water! . In fact, all my PC's for the last 12 years have had to get wet. CPU blocks: 2 ⨯ XSPC Raystorm Copper Edition GPU block: Probably the Aquacomputer Titan block in copper with the acrylic top. Haven't ordered it yet though, so this might still change. RAM blocks: Alphacool Dominator water blocks in copper with plexi (update: replaced /w acetal) tops. Yes, cooling your RAM with water is absolutely unnecessary. I just like how it looks. M/B block: MIPS SR-2 block in Acetal/Copper Pumps: 2 ⨯ Aquacomputer D5 without Aquabus Pump tops: 2 ⨯ Alphacool D5 pump tops in Acetal Reservoir: Aquacomputer Aqualis Pro Radiators: 2 ⨯ Hardware Labs SR-1 560 + 1 ⨯ Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper 480 (that's the equivalent of ~14.89 120mm single radiators, for those wondering). Fans: For the moment, Bitfenix Spectre Pros in 140 mm and 120 mm, respectively. Some people seem to be having bearing troubles, if that happens, I will probably go for some Noctuas. Fan and Pump Controller: Lamptron FC5v2 Flow Meter and Display: Koolance INS-FM17N with the DCB-FM01 as its display. I know flow monitoring isn't really necessary, and the Koolance flow meter doesn't really look good. This is mostly about satisfying my curiosity, and there's enough places in the SMH10 where I can hide the display and the sensor so that it doesn't uglify the build. Fittings: 16/10 mm compression fittings, Alphacool shiny copper and possibly also in black Tubing: 15 mm OD copper tubing (possibly some normal 16/10 tubing in some parts, to be determined). And yes, I have figured out a way to fit 15mm OD tubing into 16/10 compression fittings and getting it watertight (at least according to first tests, let's hope it keeps working). I'm not yet absolutely sure how the RAM blocks will look, maybe it will just be too much or I will have to accent them with some black in order to avoid "Copper overload". We'll see. Pictures Aka the thing that people actually care about. I have my own web space and will be uploading the pictures to it. Quite a few reasons for that, none of them relevant here. There are a few scripts in the background which resize the pics to any desired resolution. I'll be resizing them to 800px width for now, which should not overload people's connections while still providing enough detail. If that's too much, let me know, I can reduce the standard size. Most pictures are stored in 1920x1440 on my server, so if anyone wants to see some additional detail, I will hyperlink each image to its own full-res version. You can also specify any arbitrary desired resolution with the following pattern: http://www.alpenwasser.net/images/w000/h000/imagename.extension Where w000 and h000 are the desired width and height in pixels (you do need the preceeding "h" and/or "w" though). It's sufficient to use one of the two. If you use both, the image will be resized proportionally and the pixel values given will be treated as maxima. So, for those brave few who have not been deterred by my introductory novella, let's get started :)