The Black Box: Case Revolution

[Zyphron]

im a BIG fan of the Deus-Ex so this case will be Built in that theme 

This Log is going to start as a backlog in sorts, Mostly because of the Issues I've run into along the way.  We should catch up fairly quickly 
Parts:  
CASE: Antec ISK600  Cosair 250D
 PSU: Corsair HX650-Refurb
MOBO ASUS Z97 Maximus- Impact VII ITX
CPU Intel 4790K 
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz 8gb  Dominator platinum 16Gb 2400
GPU EVGA GTX 980 SC 
2x SSD Samsung EVO 850-250Gb in raid 0

From the get go I wanted a Small case that would House pretty much top of the line hardware. My requirements were that it be small, powerful and quiet.

Small enough to fit in a square hole in my entertainment system 

 

there was NEVER going to be a build log about this PC. but things have changed and this is where we are. 

this first Post will bring us up to the PSU and install of the hardware in the ISK600

 

I chose this because its small, it can fit a full size GFX card, a full size PSU, and fit a tower cooler inside

Test fitting the Case. Looks good! ( I wanted it to be hidden, this was working out well so far)

There was NO way that I could fit this hardware in here with the Sleeving that came on the PSU. So I stripped it off! 
I had purchased and then sold a Zalman tower cooler since I wanted the system to run nearly silent, I thought an all in one H80I GT would be Perfect!

 more of this Mess....


with the help of Amazon, Lutro customs, and some scorched fingers I began the process of Sleeving.

I bought paracord in Black, (for Ground lines) Midnight blue, (12v,5v,3.3v lines)and Royal blue (spec lines)

getting there! the 6 pins are done and the 24 pin is almost finished!!

 

Done!!!  FYI, that Abit mobo was used for testing just in case I messed up royally and plugged a pin in the wrong socket. Better to fry a AMD64 3200 and DDR mobo then the new shiny stuff

Dropping in the H80IGT this is Such a tight fit that mounting the cooler needs 2 people. The pressure on those thick lines was Horrible! i'm honestly surprised nothing broke

There is ZERO clearance here....

Awww yess this was coming along nicely! 
 

GPU & 6 pin connectors installed! I Learned the lashing from some dude on youtube and from my wife ( I could not figure it out... so she worked on the nice one you see here and helped me out) Ive since redone these and they look better!

 the 6 pins.



pulling the cooler off for testing. its at this point I started realizing that this Case, this AIO water-cooler and the lack of fans were not going to cut it. 
temps for the CPU were around 65-70 and the GPU temps were thermal throttling just shy of 83c

part 2 to follow Thanks! 

[Fictionvl]

I can't wait to have a house of my own to make such a build for the living room! good work man!

[deadaccount69]

Really awesome looking so far.  Excited for part 2.

[Zyphron]

Part 2 

this update will Bring Everything up to speed and the current state of the Build

 

ending with the Antec:

The biggest Flaw of this case was rearing its Ugly head. At no point was it quiet, At no point was it running cool. The CPU and GPU were both overheating so something had to be done. wanting to keep the case I Assumed I did not have enough airflow. So I cut a hole in the shell and dropped in a Noctua PPC 120mm fan. The fan didn't help and temps made only Minor improvements. While on the other hand, taking the shell off the case and letting it get fresh air worked better.  

At some point I installed a custom LED strip in the front with a Remote that breathed blue to green and many more options..... 

I was able to get a good deal on the Corsair light bars and 16 gigs of DDR so I jumped on it

I gave up on the Antec ISK 600, there was no point in trying to keep going with this case. the Airflow was the worst and I had too much hardware in it for a single 120 exhaust to handle (the Memory was even getting close to 70c which is rare...)"

Enter the Corsair 250D... Bigger, yes but it meant I could make a good looking case without much more space! 

 

I should have gone with this Case from the beginning! these pictures are from day one where I stayed up till 6 am fitting it all in.  

 
no more throttling no more Loud PC but its still not enough....

 

its time to build a Custom Loop!

I've done custom loops before and there was just no way I'm going to be happy with this build until I can get it silent.

 

its at this point the Deus Ex theme comes in play I cant really go back on the sleeving and I really regret that. but if another PSU comes along where I can replace my HX I will.  I loved sleeveing it so I may just redo it in Grey, orange and black  

 

Rough sketch up from a Tag at work: 

sorry I don't have an amazing 3d render to show off my idea. but im looking at other builds in the 250 and came across a few I like. I saw this and am going to take Inspiration from it. 

 

here is what im working with for Pump and Rez  its a combo 170 photon and D5 pump but also came with a 2nd topper from XSPC. Any thoughts on how I can fit this "INSIDE" the case would be great


that's pretty much catching you up to speed

Im going to be lookin at water blocks for CPU, GPU, and Rads this weekend.  I will be making a choice next week
any suggestions would be great!

thanks for looking! 

[Zyphron]

Picked out my parts and placed the order: 
 

Rad: Black Ice Nemesis GTS X-flow 

Fittings: 3x 6 packs of Monsoon Econ Hardline 16MM' Chrome-grey (extras for later Memory and or Rez/Rad addons

Bending kit: Monsoon: 1/2 Pipe Bending Kit

GPU EKWB 980 Ref Copper/black acetal

CPU: EKWB EK-FB ASUS M6I Copper/Black Acetal (I'm Surprised they make a custom block for this! Which Cools the SB CPU and VRM in one !!)

 

Still not sure on the Tubing. Id like to do a orange or Yellow Orange Hard-line I've heard good things about primochill but bad things about Monsoon hard-lines
any one have experience  on them? I'm also Leaning towards Copper hard-line but I don't have a bender that will work with it. I can make copper joints but in this small of a PC is going to be too tight to fit a Whole jointed setup. 

[Zyphron]

Hello Hello? this thing on?
 

moving forward ive Made the choice to go with copper. tough but let me show you my reasoning. 

 

 

Choices choices 

 

This is what sold me on the Hard line copper... Pre soldier filled joints.

YES this will make a VERY clean install

Look how tight of a Angle you can get on these using a combo of Pre soldiered joints 

 

Lots of Elbow grease and some polish... this was the first test to see how Shiny I could get this stuff

 

pretty much a Mirror finish. 

 

The 170 Photon and pump needs to be rethought out. it does not fit... pretty darn close though. 

 

parts came in, Ill post pictures but I don't have a lot of time until this weekend.  

[S-L-R]

Looking good man. Keep it up.

[Zyphron]

PARTS PARTS PARTS!!!!!

Ill be doing the install later tonight.. Stay Tuned!

Shown.

2 packs of Monsoon Hardline Dark chrome fittings. (12x)

Hardline Bending Kit with Gloves

EK Impact VII CPU/Chipset/VRM block. 
EK-GTX 980 Reference Block

Hardware labs Nemesis GTS-240 Cross flow

Not Shown
Front XSPC 140MM radiator I just Picked it up. 

[Zyphron]

so I never managed to get back here till this morning, but don't worry. I have pics!

Cpu/GPU/VRM block with hardline fittings.

:

 

Cross flow Radiator 

 

I dont have any GPU pics out of the case. I put it on and tossed it in. 

Mounted CPU block:

 

After I installed the CPU Rad and GPU I took the polished section of pipe and did a quick mock up to see how it will look

 

the bottom section is using the polished 1/2 Copper pipe.

 

Thanks for looking! 

[Mannimedia]

Aww man this makes me want to work on a SFF build, are you almost done?

[Zyphron]

Aww man this makes me want to work on a SFF build, are you almost done?

 

Sadly, not even close. Ive only done the 2 runs of pipe from the CPU to the GPU you see here.

I've still got to run pipe for the 2 radiators, the pump and rez tank. (which will need to be rethought since the photon 170 is too big)

 

That's not including case mods:

a mirror vinyl design along the left side of the case, Led under glow lighting that will Breathe on off, and a top Window Mod to make it larger.

 

Internal mods include: a painted 980 back plate  and a clear shot of etched Plexi with PC Specs in the Deus Ex Font (similar to how the Arguments parts have serial numbers) and Internal RGB lighting so I can adjust it how i like.

 

ill be working on it more this weekend. should be able to knock out most of the Lengths of Pipe.