[ Case Mod ] Powertosh i5 / Powermac G5 watercooled Hackintosh

[z3kron]

So much pornography

 

Will you paint the Mark 1 ,lets say , a metalic silver/white/grey to match the case colour?

[perestrojka]

Nono I will paint the case in matte black ( and use matte white for some of the smaller stuff ).

Connectors and sleeving will be also in combination of white / black.

I wanted to buy Mark S and use white paint job scheme, but they were out of stock, so i went with Mark 1 and black scheme.

[Ostwind]

More pics of the PSU please, some pics of the cables would be nice too.

[perestrojka]

More pics of the PSU please, some pics of the cables would be nice too.

I've got pretty much the same pack as here: 

I'll post some pictures of the cables when i sleeve them

Because posting pictures that are all over the net, is useless in this worklog ( IMO ). I hate when people take pictures of their boxes, and then put million of pictures of the same part from thousand of different angles. I'am focused mostly on work, and less on taking pictures of hardware i bought

[perestrojka]

I finally finished front cover perforation, i still need to smooth / sand it before primer spraying  

 

Today i had a little bit of time to cut mbo tray mount and to create screws from original Apple's mbo mounts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation for mbo tray holders epoxy treatment.

 

 

 

[perestrojka]

Small update

MBO tray holders are placed / epoxied to their spots

 

 

 

 

 

MBO tray and component placement test

 

This is upper part of the case measured for radiator holder mount placement.

 

 

Nuts got roughening treatment for better grip.

Case spots got it as well.

 

 

 

 

Improvised mount spots

[ungreedy]

nice work!

 

subbed

[perestrojka]

Teaser: 

[itsmyjobtoknow]

Teaser: 

-snip-

 

Your such a teaase

[perestrojka]

GPU Idle

 

 

CPU + GPU load / GPU temps

 

CPU Idle

 

CPU + GPU load / CPU temps
 

I had to connect everything to see the temps. Also pump is a bit noisy, so i ordered PWM PCB from DIYINHK so i can connect it to the MBO 4pin header and arrange some settings in Thermal Radar for auto regulation

[perestrojka]

I had to push my GPU to see where the limits are

Default 

GPU 860 / MEM 1200 / Vgpu 1.138V

Overclocked

GPU 1235 / MEM 1490 / Vgpu 1.225V / Power limit +50%

 

 

[perestrojka]

Today I've got sponsorship packet from Icemodz ( www.icemodz.com ). 

 

Ty Icemodz !

28 meters of white sleeving
8 meters of black sleeving
MBO 24wire cable holder
ATX pin removal tools set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sleeving color scheme for 24/8/6 pin cables

 

 

Planned sata and molex color scheme

 

Sata: 3-1-1 ( white-black-white )

 

Molex: 2-1-1 ( white-black-white )

[Ostwind]

Thats a solid OC on the GPU grats on that.

[perestrojka]

Thats a solid OC on the GPU grats on that.

Ty mate! I plan to volt mod that 7850 card and go for 1.3V, maybe even 1.35V 

[perestrojka]

Yesterday i got some presents again, this time from DIYINHK.com.

I've ordered PWM Control 18W PCB for DDC pump ( http://www.diyinhk.com/shop/ddc-pump/41-laing-ddc-pump-18w-repair-pcb-wled-smd-soldered-mcp355.html )because there is no need for the pump to run on max rpm 0/24, and i wanted to use benefits of Sabertooth 4-pin headers and ASUS's Thermal radar control. 

So, here it is:

Upgrade PCB kit with blue LEDs.

 






System was flushed out and disassembled and pump is ready for her upgrade






New PCB is slightly smaller than original one




Old PCB dissasembled




Stator coil 




Old VS New PCB





We can clearly see how far technology went in just 10 years, that single IC and a few diodes on new PCB are replacing bunch of ICs and semiconductors from the old PCB.

Also new PCB is made out of 4 layers, vs 2 layer on old one. This is a huge benefit in form of power delivery to the coils itself and it is more prone to pcb burnout due copper current limitation old boards had ( copper lines on the board were too small and too resistant, aka they were limiting max current that can flow into the coils, and when users placed those pumps into restrictive loops, stator demanded more and more current to maintain desired RPMs )

In that upgrade kit i've also received 4 blue LEDs and 2 SMD resistors, but as i don't own transparent top + i hate blue LEDs inside of a computer ( they are too much redneck-ish   ) i won't use them.



R2 and R3 are locations for those 2 resistors, and D1,D2,D3 & D4 are places where you should solder LEDs if you wish. 




PCB contacts treated with solder for easier soldering of stator and power / control wires.






Stator pulled out from pump's casing, i did this for easier wire preparation.




Total of 6 coils with 2 wires, so i had to cut 6 exact wire pairs.




Preparation is the key of everything ( 85% preparation + 15% work = 100% of wanted result at the end ), so i stripped wire ends and treated them with tin.




Extension wires connected with the stator wires.







Those tiny white blobs on wire junctions are small amounts of nail polish, i used it to isolate bare connections from shorting together once the stator is placed inside of his casing and connected with PCB.

* Unfortunately i was really excited to test out the pump, so i forgot to take pictures of wires soldered on pcb, but i will take them later before final steps and project completition. *

Cables are sleeved and connected, white one is for RPM signal and PWM control that is connecting to the MBO 4-pin header, and inside the black one are 12+ and GND wires that are connected to the PSU.










So... you guys are probably asking yourself why on earth would someone do all this job if he had perfectly ok and 100% working device  ? 

Well, i like to do diy stuff and enhance electronic devices whenever i can, someone is playing soccer, someone is riding his bike, and to me this is my satisfaction and a way of relaxation

Ok ok, but if we put that aside, are there really benefits of this PCB ?

YES ! :)

Pump is now under Sabertooth's control



Normally pump is working @ 850RPM



I've conected 4-pin header that is controling pump's RPMs with CPU thermal sensor, so whenever CPUs temp rises a bit, pump will also speed up, to keep more of the water flowing thru cpu block.



Temp difference between 850 and 3900 RPM is cca 2 degrees of Celsius in idle and 4 in full load, BUT noise difference between min and max RPMs   that is hell of a improvement and it was worth of extra 20 GBP + 2 hours of "work" ( I say "work" because i do this for fun :3 )

[Frankie]

We can clearly see how far technology went in just 10 years, that single IC and a few diodes on new PCB are replacing bunch of ICs and semiconductors from the old PCB.

 

Yeah, no kidding, that new PCB looks so bare. Nice soldering btw

[Norman_the_Owl]

I have a question,

would you be willing to share with me (or i suppose the rest of us) the digital pattern for the holes?

I've been prepping for drilling the pattern into my case, but i don't have a good pattern to use.

[flibberdipper]

I'm way late to this, but I love how AT sent you a stress ball.

[ungreedy]

I have a question,

would you be willing to share with me (or i suppose the rest of us) the digital pattern for the holes?

I've been prepping for drilling the pattern into my case, but i don't have a good pattern to use.

I would just use a piece you have cut off of the back for a drill bit guides, just line up the holes and bolt it in drill and repeat.

[Norman_the_Owl]

I would just use a piece you have cut off of the back for a drill bit guides, just line up the holes and bolt it in drill and repeat.

I used a jig-saw to cut out my back, i have only (relatively) small pieces, and they're all warped

[Frankie]

I used a jig-saw to cut out my back, i have only (relatively) small pieces, and they're all warped

 

And what if you hold a paper on the case and use pencil to make a stencil ? It should transfer the holes on the paper and there you go. Then tape the stencil to the case and mark the holes for drilling.

[Norman_the_Owl]

And what if you hold a paper on the case and use pencil to make a stencil ? It should transfer the holes on the paper and there you go. Then tape the stencil to the case and mark the holes for drilling.

I considered that, but it would be far to easy to make a mistake i fear. I'd still like a pattern if possible

[ungreedy]

I considered that, but it would be far to easy to make a mistake i fear. I'd still like a pattern if possible

get a piece of 1/8 to 1/4 inch material(plexi glass/aluminum) bolt to the case and drill out your pattern.

That is what I might try if I don't have a piece big enough that I remove.

[JarJarBanksy]

I didn't know this was possible, to mod the pumps. You've just made my goal of a near silent computer with passive radiators closer to becoming a reality.

[perestrojka]

Small update / tease


GTX 980 Phantom



I5 4690K



GPU is already installed for benching / testing on air




Currently i had GTX 760 Phantom from my mate who borrowed it to me, since HD7850 died because of VRM shorting ( too much vgpu / +50% power limit is bad for cheap vrm   ), and considering the fact that they advertise Phantom line as colder / quieter solution is absolute lie, they get hot as hell and noisy also, but i don't know, noise tolerance varies from person to person...   So.. i can't wait for vrm watercooling parts, so i can put this Maxwell beast under H20 and do some proper bios tweaking / overclocking