December Project - unnamed

[AT0MAC]

20. December

Spoiled my moods by getting a bike stolen.

21. December

Got introduced to the game Ring of Elysium and ended up playing it for pretty close to all day with friends getting a good amount of wins.

22. December

Last christmas shopping done

23. December

Picked up a free christmas tree, wrapped presents and a lot more

24. December

Pleased with I named this thread December project, and not christmas project.

Everything did not go as planned, but the month is not over so I might actually still be able to turn it on before new year.

Taking a small christmas break with family, so no work will be done the coming days, but Ill be back later with more mods.

Merry Christmas

 

[AT0MAC]

 

Almost made it possible in December, but not fully finished. Hit a few roadblocks on the way and now the family is back home from their long holliday, so im again workerant, houseowner, family dad and husband - bit of a puzzle to be modder on the side, so I will return with more progress whenever possible.

Its not like I actually need this pc, this build is purely because I can sort of thing...

 

See ya'!

[AT0MAC]

I still have not given up on this project, it just takes quite a while, mainly because a lot of it is disassemble, paint/mod, assemble - and that alone takes tons of time...

Beside that there is still a job to deal with, a family and some stuff because we own a house, so everything takes time.

I think its about time you guys get a proper update.

 

One of the things I have done, is to disassemble one of the graphics cards and change thermal pads - and that alone was surely about time!

 

 

The blue ones are the new ones, I switched out one pad before I took the picture, oops.

 

This graphics card is pretty insane...

MATRIX-HD7970-P-3GD5. Disassembled and its build like a tank!

 

 

 

No matter all the work, it was sure worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, I still dont know if any of the hardware is faulty. But I have taken the chance and installed the best old-school CPU I have laying around, I just hope the BIOS can handle it without a BIOS flash.

 

 

I even lapped it as it was not really equally flat in all corners.

 

 

 

I guess my luck with hardware is greater than most, have not really been measuring a lot in this build, I just wing it, and see here how close it was that the CPU block would not fit, damn.

 

 

Seriously, there is 1mm of space!

 

 

 

It is after all an AIO, så the tank is build into the rad, but it was too boring.

The build is car inspired, so I have wrapped the rad in gold heat shield like you do with engine parts on track cars.

 

 

 

I dont know when next update will come, by now this build is more art than practical, so its even a surprise to me if it actually runs when I first time turn it on... but honestly, at this point I dont really care if it dont, its just pretty to look at.

 

 

 

See ya!

[AT0MAC]

By the way, most of these progress updates have also been showed off on my Instagram, if interested then there is more to show in there, I only collect and do a bigger update here when I feel there is something interesting enough to show

 

https://www.instagram.com/_at0mac_/

[AT0MAC]

I know its been over 1 month since last post and the thread have been dead silent, I have been really busy with "real life" and ideas evolve over time and changes the original plan a little

 

Oh, and I've started playing a "new" game - Sea of Thieves, that takes a load of time too

 

So, what I wanted to update you on is, I have painted the new toppanel like 7 times, 2 black layers and 5 blue, with a little sanding in between for total smoothness, takes a really really long time too

My radiator is only 240mm for the CPU, so looked bonkers having a 3x120 space in the top panel on the 800D cabinet, im sorting it by remaking the top, it will be all worth it, just wait.

 

 

Sneak peak:

 

 

 

I'll Be Back.....

[AT0MAC]

Came to think about during test-fitting of CPU loop that its almost impossible to fill liquid in that loop...

• I can't unmount CPU block because of the way the GPU radiator is mounted.
• I can not mount the CPU radiator full of liquid, because I cant measure the CPU tubes correctly before the CPU radiator is placed where it should be.
• I don't want to mount and unmount everything more than I have to.
• I want to mount the CPU rad so its res is facing towards the front, the res is an eyesore and the CPU tubes will be shortest this was for maximum pressure on the CPU
  

There is standard G 1/4 in the res on CPU rad, but its placed almost all up against the front, right above the DVD drive.
Im thinking of making a fillport somewhere with some standard water cooling parts...

It just got even more complex and expensive... Let me remind you, I still don't know if the hardware is actually alive (its dang old, and I forgot to test it before I exploded it all to pieces and am trying to make it into a full build again), also I don't really need this PC, its just a hobby when I await some other newer tasks to hit me

Come back later for more............

[AT0MAC]

Came to think about, I have not shared the latest pictures other than on my Instagram (I'm @_at0mac_), sorry

 

There was the day I cleaned fans and soldered a broken one

 

 

And there was a day I mounted the top panel and test fittet the CPU rad with fans on

 

 

The new flat top in metallic blue and chrome air filter looks soo mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm imo. Most likely you have never seen a Corsair 800D like this before

[AT0MAC]

Hehe another thought, did you know this thread is on 4 different pages at the same time?

I can almost fit all 4 in a reasonable resolution on my 32" monitor at the same time.

 

 

Tweak.dk

 

Overclock.net

 

LinusTechTips

 

Bit-tech.net

 

 

Daily I converse and write in both English and Danish, so why not share the tech enthusiasm 

[AT0MAC]

Solution for the filling issue? - use more hose!

 

But need some fittings to do so, these look a lot like im going to do plumbing on some  kind of house issue with the design/colors these have

 

 

 

Am now waiting for a package before I can continue...

C'ya later...…..

[AT0MAC]

Sorry but I been a little silent again, for those who follow me on Instagram you know I lately have been struggling with a eye injury, and today I remembered that I totally forgot to update!

So here goes, mega update:

 

Have drilled the holes bigger in rad, so I can use M4 screws instead of the funky size Swiftech originally used, I even wonder where the original screws are, well never mind....

 

 

Mounted the first fans and fill port adapter, true gold digger

 

 

When this was done, I realized there is actually not enough space for it all, the fill port adapter is hitting the end of the DVD drive. So what to do, lets mod it! Problems arise, the drive is build like a tank and dont want to come apart, so I have to mod it with whatever tool possible and ended out with a not so great hole, but whatever, will not be seen in the end result.

 

 

 

 

Fill port finally installed!

 

 

Reinstalled the cooling tubes for the CPU AIO, but now much much shorter (the black tubes)

 

 

 

At this point, there are so so many details in this build, its a huge task both in term of work and in size.

 

 

 

 

No doubt about this PC is heavily car themed, here a picture of the front, top and backside as it looks now:

Next step is to deal with a lot of wires, there are SO many!
Also need to install the light, finish building the psu shroud and mount all the last stickers.
Actually, if all end out working I have a new investment in mind for something really cool to add, but will only do it if everything pans out so maybe you will see it in a later update.

 

Continues at a later time...

[AT0MAC]

To give an idea about why there is so many tubes in the system - there is 3 individual loops!!

 

 

Red - CPU AIO, the unmarked one right under rad it the fillport, yes a AIO with a fillport. Technically not a part of the loop and therefor unmarked.

 

Green - one of the graphics cards I got for free, came with an EKWB waterblock attached, so have to watercool it.

 

Blue - chipset, because Gigabyte back in the day decided this board should be able to be watercooled, so lets do it 10 years too late

 

A true old school system where looks is not nearly as important as todays builds

 

 

...C' ya

[AT0MAC]

A status update of where im at now, the mod is actually DONE now - but the first time I turn it on, something starts smelling bad...

I suspect that the GPU I originally got for free is actually broken and I think it has somehow broken the motherboard too, as it is now it dont boot and just keeps turning on and off.

And yes I have tried 2 different CPUs and other RAM, no luck.

 

To be honest, I dont trust my chinese psu extensions, I might think they have broken the PSU as well, the PSU is afterall about 10 years old so the slightest little thing and it will not work.

 

I have to get all parts out of the case and test one by one.

 

In the end maybe I need to replace:

 

• Motherboard
  
• One GPU (or dont run with Crossfire)
  
• Powersupply
  
• Extensions
  
  

 

I'll return when I know what to do from here on out.

(I have build PCs for more than 20 year, but I have never build anything this old, so I should for sure have tested it before putting it inside the case, but I trust hardware too much)

[AT0MAC]

AWESOME UPDATE!!!

 

Today I got a little time to transfer the most basic parts of the build to my "test rig", with a totally standard aircooler on top of the CPU.

 

 

Pushed the button and o... m... g...

 

 

It's freaking ALIVE! (said in Frankensteins voice)

 

 

This is with the little 920 CPU, need to check if everything is A-ok before I install one of the much beefier Xeons.
Need to check RAM, if GPU performs as expected or bugs out and just a general inspection before reinstalling it into the modded case.

 

Also just remembered that my HTPC have an AM1 based ITX board with a PCIe 16X slot on, so I can install that in the modded case with the watercooled GPU, just to see if that GPU actually survived the mishap I had with the motherboard.

I expect to get some little time in the weekend for more trouble shooting, but at least this was a very nice surprise on an else kind of boring Thursday.

Stay tuned!

[thedemoncowboy]

So you fabbed this all by yourself, where did you learn autocad and machining

[AT0MAC]

It has taken way longer than I estimated to bug test the rig, but it looks like I can move forward again.

It turned out it would not boote from either USB or SSD as it was, no matter what I did - and I did a lot!

 

Kind of frustrating, but yesterday I got an idea, maybe it would boot from CD...
So I made an ISO into a disc, only God know when I last did that.

 

 

Success!!
I now have a pretty slow Windows 10 installed!

 

Next up is finetuning and making it an actual usable machine.

Its far from over yet

 

 

[AT0MAC]

On 4/28/2019 at 4:36 AM, thedemoncowboy said:

So you fabbed this all by yourself, where did you learn autocad and machining

Not sure what you mean, all this is made by hand, like Dremel, hacksaw, drill bits, scissors and such and drawn in SketchUp. Not really that difficult just takes tons of time

[AT0MAC]

Everything good takes a while, just think of cheese or wine

 

With the latest developments, I have actually found a purpose for the build, it will end up in the living room and be used for gaming from in there - because it is as good looking as its functional, will be such a shame to hide it away somewhere else.

 

I do miss a few components that by now almost look like they got lost in the mail, but I have today picked up something that sticks out compared to the rest - I have decided to upgrade the graphics now I have an actual use case.

 

And I will go with modern graphics to be on the safe side:

 

PowerColor AMD Radeon RX580 Red Devil Golden Sample!

 

 

 

 

 

Before I start using the new card, I kind of have to know how bad the old one is...
So now I am starting to do a mountain of benchmarks, starting with an overall test of the whole system with PC Mark 10

 

 

We are not at roads end yet, but now its starting to be actual interesting again!