#002 - Project Orange

[simook]

 

 

Progress

 

1. Case Painting
2. Killing Time
3. EK Water Block & Back Plate
4. Custom Loop & Pump Mounting
5. Sleeving & Custom Mobo Mods

 

 

Introduction

 

About Me

 

Welcome everyone and thank you for viewing. Grab a fresh cup of coffee (or tea) and join me in my adventures of learning the art of custom modding. I'm a 28 year old software engineer and user interface designer in Portland, Oregon. I work in the video delivery industry for a software company that is the pioneer behind software defined video that allows people like you to watch movies or live events on any device anytime (Imagine a 2U rack server with quad Nvidia Teslas). I love my job and the company I work for.

 

But back to reality. I have several hobbies and skill sets that I plan to leverage for my custom builds. These skills include TIG welding, carpentry, hardware engineering, and CAD design. While I may be new here and to the current trends and techniques of custom builds, I have always been a modder since the time I discovered how to hold a screwdriver in my hand. Because of this early age my victims usually included my Mom's vacuum or my Dad's drill. I always had the intention to "improve" those artifacts but was always interrupted by a screaming Mother. Eventually my parents bought me a broken vacuum and drill that I was tasked to fix. I don't really remember If I every fixed them, but I'm sure my parents have some great stories I could share one day.

 

Eventually I graduated to having hand-me-down computers from churches or friends that had no need for them until around Middle School when I was able to explain the benefits of a modern processor. My first custom build was in 9th grade and consisted of several old computers being frankensteind for the best parts.  I've long forgotten the models of my first computers, the tweaks and mods performed that sometimes resulted in blowing a fuse or two. But these are all in the past now and now it's time to take advantage of what is available now from companies like Case Labs and Ekwb.

 

Up until recently I've been out of the custom computer scene and let me tell you, it's awesome to see so many new options for those of us who want to create something from scratch. My goal here is to showcase my progress and receive constructive criticism from those better then me to improve.

 

I hope you enjoy this build.

 

 

About this Build

 

"Project Orange" is my 2nd build this year. My first build is not public but is the catalyst that helped me to rediscover my passion for custom building. The goal of this build is simple:

 

• Stable work and gaming machine.
• Dual boot operating systems.
• Incorporate and learn new techniques.
• Custom sleeved cables.
• Custom liquid cooling.
• Minor case mods.

 

I do a lot of video production on the side and write my own software, so having a reliable machine is crucial. But I'm also an avid gamer and enjoy playing BF4 and EVE Online (If any of you have played EVE Online, you may understand the need and desire to have a reliable machine that won't crash in the middle of a fight). 

 

I primarily use OSX for my work but for gaming I want to use Windows 7. This not only gives me more game options but isolates my environments from each other. Because of this my hardware selection is limited to certain chipsets, the most stable being the Intel H87 and LGA 1150 socket. While I would certainly enjoy being able to use the X99 chipset, it currently isn't very stable with OSX, but hopefully that changes in the next couple months (Already planning a new build).

 

Before this build, I have never done a water cooling system or sleeved my cables. So these became my two goals to achieve for this build. I spent countless hours researching and learning how to sleeve cables and build a custom water cooling system, the tools required, and the best place to buy the parts.

 

 

The Inspiration

 

I'm a regular lurker on Linus Tech Tips and enjoy many of the builds that you guys have. But I didn't have any particular build in mind for Project Orange. Mostly, I looked to how others planned out their cable management and loop designs.

 

However, I wanted a minimalistic case and a very clean setup. 

 

 

The Hardware - PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/99QdvK

 

• CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard 
• Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
• Storage: 2x Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
• Storage: 2x Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
• Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card
• Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case
• Power Supply: Corsair RM 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
• Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter

 

 

Liquid Cooling

• Video Card: EK GeForce 680 GTX+ VGA Liquid Cooling Block - Acetal + Nickel
• CPU: EK Supreme LTX Intel CPU Liquid Cooling Block - Acrylic CSQ (EK-Supreme LTX CSQ)
• Pump/Res: EK D5 X-RES Top 100 w/ D5 Vario Pump (EK-D5 Vario X-RES 100 (incl. pump))
• Radiator: Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper Slim Profile Dual 140mm Radiator
• Fittings: EK G1/4 12mm Solid Tube Compression Fitting - Black ( EK-HDC Fitting 12mm G1/4 - Black)
• Fans: BitFenix Spectre LED 140mm Fan - White (BFF-BLF-14025W-RP)
• Tubing: Bitspower Crystal Link Tube 12mm OD - 1000mm / 39.37" (BP-NCCLT12AC-L1000)
• Coolant: EK Ekoolant Pastel Concentrate 250mL - Pastel Orange

[simook]

I will post the first batch of pictures later this week. But feel free to ask questions and poke holes. 

[Guest]

FYI you have a 680 block and a gtx 770 gpu. Unless you know something i done that wont work.

[Camcognito]

yay, S340

[Aniallation]

I will post the first batch of pictures later this week. But feel free to ask questions and poke holes. 

Oh god, Corsair RM

 

 

FYI you have a 680 block and a gtx 770 gpu. Unless you know something i done that wont work.

It does work.

 

http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/waterblock/3831109856994

[mightytech]

Followed. Sounds incredible!

[AlwaysFSX]

FYI you have a 680 block and a gtx 770 gpu. Unless you know something i done that wont work.

Most 770's are just a 680 to the dot.

[Norman_the_Owl]

Most 770's are just a 680 to the dot.

MSI even re-released the Lightning 680 as the Lightning 770

 

 

Edit: spelling

[AlwaysFSX]

@simook Any general sketches you can post so we know what we're going to be seeing soon?

[simook]

 

 

Case Painting

 

First I would like to apologize for the quality of these pictures. Sadly I do not have a decent DSLR to take photos with, so everything you will see during the build process will be from my iPhone 5C. However I do plan to have a photographer friend of mine take pictures of the final case and all the little details.

 

Initially I had planned to buy the white NZXT S340 case, but they were all on backorder. Either way it's not that hard to paint the case. Currently I'm trying to keep it simple with a 2 tone scheme with  black and orange. 

 

After some planning, I decided to paint the following orange and keep everything else stock on the case.

• Tray.
• Vertical Cable Cover.
• Case Feet.
• Front cover back plate.

I have an idea of painting the outside either gunmetal grey or white would create a nice contrast. 

 

 

 

 

 

[simook]

@simook Any general sketches you can post so we know what we're going to be seeing soon?

 

I do have some quick sketches, but mostly everything so far has been thought and planned in my head (This sounds a bit weird...). On second thought, I should probably do a sketchup of the final paint scheme and I'll make sure to include what I can.

[AlwaysFSX]

I do have some quick sketches, but mostly everything so far has been thought and planned in my head (This sounds a bit weird...). On second thought, I should probably do a sketchup of the final paint scheme and I'll make sure to include what I can.

It'd be pretty cool to see what you have on paper compared to what the final product is. Let's you see some design changes that could have been for the better.

[Antibull]

That Orange looks gorgeous

[simook]

 

Killing Time

 

Gotta love cardboard test benches  .

So before diving in too far I wanted to ensure all the components worked and ran my usual memory and cpu load tests. After that I wanted to kill some time by painting the GPU shield. Eventually the shield will be replaced with the EK water block and back plate.

 

 

 

 

\

 

Is anyone in the market for a GTX 770 shield (is this the right term)? 

 

[Kaijday]

Following this with interest and I was hoping to do a S340 watercool when I get some money!

[simook]

 

EK Water Block & Back Plate

 

Well I just brewed myself a fresh cup of coffee and figured a little update would be good. Today I wanted to share the progress the EK 860+ waterblock for the GTX 770 (Yes, the 680 block is suggested by EK for the 770). Already I'm a bit frustrated by not taking enough pictures that have good lighting and focus (I'm building a controlled light booth in my basement and looking at some used DSLRs). 

 

Installing the water block was fairly straight forward. EK provides great documentation with pictures to follow. The only issue I saw was from overtightening the back plate, it started to warp the pcb so I just loosened the screws until the pcb was flat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More pictures and updates coming soon! In the meantime i'm working on a to spec NZXT S340 sketchup.

[mournfulbarrel]

definite sub... looks great so far!

[Magic Puffin]

Nice

[Monty007]

looks awesome!  Love that color!

[simook]

I just held a super overclocked EVGA GTX 980 and it was glorious.... may have to get me a couple of them for another build i'm planning.

[simook]

 

Custom Loop & Pump Mounting

 

The EK pump is a bit of overkill for this build, but I bought it with the intention of using in my next build (2x gpu & caselab's case). I spent a good hour trying various mount locations and possible solutions. If I didn't have the two 1TB hard drives, a perfect location for the pump would be under the shelf with the reservoir mounted on the cable cover plate. But in my situation I need the drives for video production.

 

Lastly, in the pictures you will notice that the pump looks like it would block a 2nd gpu. Depending on the pump rotation it will interfere, but if you rotate it so the pump in/out is facing towards the case cover then a gtx 770 fits perfectly.  

 

Option A (I sketched these on the bus ride home)

 

Option B

 

Option C (I chose this one)

Res > Pump > Rad > Cpu > Cpu > Res

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

I love how the pump is almost as big as the reservoir

[simook]

I love how the pump is almost as big as the reservoir

 

Heh, yeah the res is tiny.

[HellaflushMcSwaggins]

Heh, yeah the res is tiny.

But it's so small and kawaii :3

[simook]

 

Sleeving & Custom Mobo Mods

 

This was my first time sleeving, and in my opinion it went pretty well. I had a hard time coming up with a color scheme and also made the mistake of not sticking with my plan during the sleeving process, so I may have to redo some cables here soon. Mostly I used Lutr0's heat shrink-less method but had to use some heat shrinks for the PCI cables (corsair like's to double the wires). 

 

During all the mocking I realized the Mini-Atx board had a lot of free space in the case and this exposed many of the cable management holes (I noticed this after using a colored cable tie). So a quick trip to the hardware store yielded a Tin "For Sale" sign that strong enough to work with but very light weight and cost effective. To strengthen the material I bent the edges back 90 degrees.