[Build Log] Project Circuit - Watercooled Define S

[MadPolygon]

I love the case. It was a complete pleasure to work with.

It is definitely the easiest case to build in for it's given size.

I quite like the look of the pump. Will look even better if you do change to coloured coolant

I might look into changing mine for that pump.

To give you an idea, here is a pic of mine in a Define S. Clear tubing with white pastel coolant.

I'm also using a EK PE360 rad up top, thou my fans are pull rather than push like yours.

Hope it gives you an idea of tube layout & how you would like yours to look.

 

Nice build I was thinking of going with a black and white build too at some point.

I really like the Define S so far, the only thing that annoyed me was that three holes for the motherboard standoffs had no threading cut into them...

The pump is really nice too, it's absolutely quiet on speed 1 and 2 (case open, no fans running, only pump itself) even on 3 it's really, really quiet, maybe you can hear it a bit (depending on how air-free your loop is), but no way you can hear it with the case closed and fans running. Oh and it's good looking too

When adding the gpu to the loop I'll put another 360 in the front. While two PE360 will fit, I might go with a SE360 which is 26mm thick. Should still be more than enough cooling capacity.

May I ask what size yout tubing is? I'm a bit worried that when I go for clear tubing with colored fluid at some point, that it won't look as nice because I'm using 16/10 and the walls of the tube are quite thick.

 

I've been thinking of making my first water cooled build in a Define S so definitely subbing to this.

 

- sets up chair to take notes   -

So far the Define S has been easy to build in. It gives plenty of mounting options to maintain the focus on your custom water loop while still being able to use 3 full size hard drives and 2 SSDs.

Hope you'll get more info and inspiration as this build progresses 

[Purplehazeffc]

 

Nice build I was thinking of going with a black and white build too at some point.

I really like the Define S so far, the only thing that annoyed me was that three holes for the motherboard standoffs had no threading cut into them...

The pump is really nice too, it's absolutely quiet on speed 1 and 2 (case open, no fans running, only pump itself) even on 3 it's really, really quiet, maybe you can hear it a bit (depending on how air-free your loop is), but no way you can hear it with the case closed and fans running. Oh and it's good looking too

When adding the gpu to the loop I'll put another 360 in the front. While two PE360 will fit, I might go with a SE360 which is 26mm thick. Should still be more than enough cooling capacity.

May I ask what size yout tubing is? I'm a bit worried that when I go for clear tubing with colored fluid at some point, that it won't look as nice because I'm using 16/10 and the walls of the tube are quite thick.

Cheers. My last build was Black & Red. But so over that now lol. I quite like the clean look the white gives it.

 

My tubing size is 10mm x 16mm or 3/8 x 5/8 Mayhems Ultra Clear.  Real easy to work with.

I've just got the PE360 up to & a Alphacool 240mm x 45mm at the front, with a extra fan above the rad at the front.

A 360mm will work at the front, but the tube fittings will have to go on the bottom.

I prefer just the 240mm at the front. Cause then the extra 120mm fan can bring in cooler air into the case.

Rather than always the warmer air from the Rad. Though thats just my thought

[MadPolygon]

You could have gotten a pump red combo for the build, that may have cleaned up the res area

Yes you're propably right. But I just dig the look of the pump and being able to kinda look into it 

 

Cheers. My last build was Black & Red. But so over that now lol. I quite like the clean look the white gives it.

 

My tubing size is 10mm x 16mm or 3/8 x 5/8 Mayhems Ultra Clear.  Real easy to work with.

I've just got the PE360 up to & a Alphacool 240mm x 45mm at the front, with a extra fan above the rad at the front.

A 360mm will work at the front, but the tube fittings will have to go on the bottom.

I prefer just the 240mm at the front. Cause then the extra 120mm fan can bring in cooler air into the case.

Rather than always the warmer air from the Rad. Though thats just my thought

Ok, that's great, I thought clear 16/10 would look weird with colored fluid because of the thickness  :rolleyes:

Fair enough point regarding the radiator config. I really wonder how big the impact would be. But there is still time until I'll add the gpu to the loop

 

 

 

Update:

Here are some pictures of the case and building the test loop. A few things already have changed a bit, but overall the layout stayed the same. I also orderd some 4-Pin PWM extensions earlier today, to clean up the fan cable routing. They should arrive tomorrow thanks to Amazon Prime  .

The new acrylic top was in the mail today, since I noticed a crack on the original one last week, which propably came from over tightening the screw a little bit when I had a look at the jetplate. I also had no issues with the testloop at the weekend, so the only thing missing are the new jetplates  :lol:

 

[PCBuilderVR]

Build looks great saw a fully white build at EGX!

[MadPolygon]

Does anyone have an idea to reduce vibration with the vardar fans? I can quite notice the vibration at higher rpm (around 1000-1100).

I even thought to return the vardars and go with the Venturi HP as they have a built in anti vibration mount, but I don't know how they compare to the Vardars performance and noise wise in an overall look.

[IMPERIUS]

Does anyone have an idea to reduce vibration with the vardar fans? I can quite notice the vibration at higher rpm (around 1000-1100).

I even thought to return the vardars and go with the Venturi HP as they have a built in anti vibration mount, but I don't know how they compare to the Vardars performance and noise wise in an overall look.

 

Are they properly screwed in?

[MadPolygon]

I would say yes.

Do you think if I try to tighten the screws a little more, that could reduce vibrations?

[Necrodead]

I would say yes.

Do you think if I try to tighten the screws a little more, that could reduce vibrations?

I'm surprised such a supposedly high quality fan is vibrating. I would definitely tighten them down if you can. Are they the rad fans or the front fans? You could use rubber mounts or gaskets on the front ones maybe.

Also great build! Can't wait to see more!

And nice keyboard, I'm typing this on my K65 now.

[colinreay]

So hyped for the product! Have a Define S aswell, really want to watercool it when I get the money next year!

[MadPolygon]

I'm surprised such a supposedly high quality fan is vibrating. I would definitely tighten them down if you can. Are they the rad fans or the front fans? You could use rubber mounts or gaskets on the front ones maybe.

Also great build! Can't wait to see more!

And nice keyboard, I'm typing this on my K65 now.

 It's just a tiny little bit, but with 6 fans it's quite noticable (I use 3 Vardars in the front and 3 on the rad). Maybe I'll try something like those: http://www.aquatuning.us/air-cooling/fans-decoupling/18664/noctua-nf-sav2-anti-vibrations-mounts?c=6626. They could work with the front fans.

 

The keyboard is really nice indeed

 

Didnt EK include antivibration mounts with the fans?

No, I whish the included some rubber mounts like blacksilent fans come with or some kind of rubber mount built into the frame like the Venturi fans

[MadPolygon]

So I just ordered some more parts worth ~100€ :blink:, mainly extenders and adapters to clean up some connections. I will also ditch the shoggy sandwich and mount the pump sideways with the plexi-top upwards with these anti vibration screws: http://www.aquatuning.us/water-cooling/pumps/pump-decoupling/12926/aquacomputer-decoupling-kit-for-pump-mounting-extrasoft-yellow-rubber-buffer?c=6562. That should look way more clean and elegant  . Furthermore I added the Noctua anti vibration fan mounts, which will hopefully reduce vibrations.

Hopefully everything works out as planned in my head

[MadPolygon]

It's been some time...

 

So you might have wondered (or not) what is going on with this build here. I simply haven't had the time to write updates, but there wasn't much left to do at that time anyway. I posted some minor updates in my build log over at a german forum, but the lack of time with studying for exams didn't allow me to post those updates here too.

Since then a lot of plans have changed. I'll try to update the first post with everything today or tomorrow and post some pictures of the current progress.

 

Here are some things you can expect:

• got a new camera, so picture quality will be better (that image above is made with that new camera)
• hardline tubing (Primochill PETG)
• RGB LED system controlled by an arduino nano
• custom psu cover made from plexiglass with a self-built acrylic bending table
• changed color theme to red
• "circuit board design" on the psu cover that will be backlit

[The Cool n00B]

nice

[MadPolygon]

Ok, here are some of the older pictures. Not much to say about them, but if you want to know something, go ahead and ask 

 

 

But now to the stuff I'm currently doing and planing.

 

Some minor things like painting the PCIe slot cover black

 

Here is a (crappy) video of a demo program running on the arduino nano, which controlls the RGB LEDs (hopefully I can make a new video with my new camera soon)

 

Those LEDs are then backlighting the psu cover and some other stuff. The led lighting on the Asus motherboard inspired me to carry that circuit design theme on throughout the project (hence the name). The PSU cover will be made from satiniced plexiglas. I'll mask off a circuit design with masking tape and then paint it from the backside with black spray paint and when backlit from beneath it will hopefully create some cool efects.

 

Cardboard prototype of the psu cover.

Here you can see the painted slot covers in place.

A new EK PE 240 radiator is going in the front area.

Also got some pre-sleeved cables from nanoxia. (Will be adding cable combs later)

 

For making the psu cover (and maybe other stuff) I built my self an acrylic bending table to make the bends as smooth as possible. It is powered from the 12V rail of an old ATX psu I had lying around. A DC boost converter is then used to regulate the voltage between the supply voltage (12V) and a maximum of 32V.

 

Between those two wood panels is an aluminium channel, where a resistance wire is tightened by two springs on each end. When you power it on the resistance wire gets hot and makes the plexiglass soft enough to bend. Then simply hinge up the top wood panel to the desired angle and hold it in place until it's cold.

 

A quick sketch I made, not gonna reveal what it's exactly gonna be

 

Today the first pieces of plexiglass arrived and I was able to test my bending table the first time. Went with a simple 90° bend.

The bend is really smooth and turned out better than I thought.

 

After that I masked off two circuit lines for testing the painting process. (Pictures tomorrow, paint is currently drying)

 

As for the hardware and parts in general I'm going to use Primochills PETG tubing together with their revolver fittings. For the gpu I'll use the Alphacool GPX 390 M01. Other than that there will be an additional EK PE 240 in the front, which I already mentioned.

 

 

 

[MadPolygon]

Got delayed a bit, because I had to coat the plexi a few more time so the LED light doesn't bleed through.

 

 

I gonna try to make some better pictures and video/gif tomorrow.

 

Unfortunately I'm not 100% happy with the result. Because the plexi is satiniced on both sides, the edges of the paint aren't that clean, especially at the 45° angles it was easy for the paint to get under the tape. So maybe getting some plexi that is only satiniced on one side will be better. I'm also thinking that maybe a thinner line would look better (3,1mm wide tape was used here, found some 1,6mm wide), like here: http://i.imgur.com/wuyG7es.jpg. For the dots/circles I still need some idea, some sticky dots could be one possibility, but I think circles would look better.

[The Cool n00B]

How did you make the cover for the audio chipset?

[pagani123]

 

looks good 

[MadPolygon]

How did you make the cover for the audio chipset?

It's actually photoshopped  . I really would like to mod that thing too, but currently I have no idea how...

 

looks good 

Thank you 

[The Cool n00B]

It's actually photoshopped  . I really would like to mod that thing too, but currently I have no idea how...

I would use tin foil or something like that. How did you photoshop that?

EDIT: Nice job, it doesn't look very photoshopped given the light reflections

[MadPolygon]

I would use tin foil or something like that. How did you photoshop that?

Yeah I thought about using black vinyl wrap with the letters cut out, but you can't just put that over it, since the lighting would look crappy. I have to see if I can remove the current black thingy with the "SupremeFX" text.

Just put a black rectangle over the text, rotate it accordingly, smudge the edges a bit so it blends well together with the background of the original picture, create a new text layer with the text and font you wish, adjust the size and angle, add a bit of a glow. That's it 

 

//Edit: Here is the original picture for comparison: 

 

[The Cool n00B]

Yeah I thought about using black vinyl wrap with the letters cut out, but you can't just put that over it, since the lighting would look crappy. I have to see if I can remove the current black thingy with the "SupremeFX" text.

Just put a black rectangle over the text, rotate it accordingly, smudge the edges a bit so it blends well together with the background of the original picture, create a new text layer with the text and font you wish, adjust the size and angle, add a bit of a glow. That's it 

 

//Edit: Here is the original picture for comparison: 

Ohhh I didn't know you used an original I thought that was your own pic that you photoshopped. I saw and was like "damn those photography skillz"

[MadPolygon]

Ohhh I didn't know you used an original I thought that was your own pic that you photoshopped. I saw and was like "damn those photography skillz"

Well the original picture was taken by me  . It was more of an accident, because the lighting was some what weird

[The Cool n00B]

Well the original picture was taken by me  . It was more of an accident, because the lighting was some what weird

I just got super confused but ok

[MadPolygon]

I just got super confused but ok

I took the photo you can see in post #47. The image with the "Project Circuit" text on the audio chipset is exactly the same image but photoshopped.

 

Tl;dr: I took the picture, I photoshopped it 

[The Cool n00B]

Well the original picture was taken by me  . It was more of an accident, because the lighting was some what weird

Couldn't help but notice the camera you used in the metadata of the pic. Would you say that the camera is worth the money or should I go for something else? I'm looking for a DSLR or mirrorless camera for relatively cheap (max ~$600) and Amazon has them for $250 used.