[Featured on Geforce Garage] Scratch Build - Hardwood Walnut Maple Case.

[bmccarthy]

Ok, So I'm missing a bunch of assembly photos. So I'm going to show what I have for now and when I change out the fluid (I used event fluid that shouldn't stay) I'll update this part of the build log. But here is what I have at least. 

 

One thing I love about modular power supplies is that I can make custom connections for the pump. So here I just crimped atx pins and put them in a 6pin female connector. Yellow is 12v so all you need to do to ensure the proper pin out of your PSU is to use a multi meter and test each pin on the PSU. There are some diagrams online, but I've had one bite me in the ass before, so now I always test my own power supplies when making custom cables. If you anyone would like a diagram for the SF600 let me know. 

 

I like to take the pump apart so that I can sleeve all the way to the solder points on the pump. Just makes for a cleaner aesthetic. The two sleeved cables have 2 wires each. One is the common and 12v for power, and the other is for PWM control which goes to the CPU fan header on the motherboard.

 

 

The motherboard has a single 12v RGB header. I have 3 areas of the case that need RGB lighting. The main compartment, the top compartment, and the exterior shell. So I made my own spliter. I probably could have bought one. But I really hate the way RGB strips use those 4pin connectors that are not secure at all and come loose rather easily. So I used 4pin fan connectors which seat more securely. I twisted the colors together and then added a little solder.

 

I'll be using a small length to finish the connection to the motherboard so that it is not to cramped with the large bundle of wires. To make the connection super secure, I used a dupont pin (the same pin used for usb and front panel connectors) and crimped it down on both ends of the wire.

 

Followed that up with some solder. These things are not coming part. 

 

The finished splitter. I used dupont pins in a usb connector that seats really well onto the RGB 4pin on the motherboard. I also used the same connector for the Front I/O, much easier to connect one connector than a bunch of single dupont connectors. 

 

Made custom length fan cables. This really helps keep things nice and clean and it is really easy to do. You can reuse the existing fan connector and just put on new fan pins. 

 

Here is why I had those custom lengths. The radiator fans and the two front fans run to this fan splitter which is PWM. There is a single connection that runs to the only other fan header on the motherboard. 

 

Radiator and front fans installed. As well as the middle lateral support on the other side. I had to leave this sides mid lateral support off because that is where I'll be running most of the system wires. 

 

These parts went in first because it would have been to difficult to do it later with the motherboard tray in place. 

 

One nice thing about a removable motherboard tray is I can fix everything to it before placing it in the case. Here you can also get a good look at the PCIe extension cable I used. This one is from Thermaltake is is super high quality. I think LTT did a video on daisy chaining these together and was able to do like 5 or 6 before they had any performance loss. It was also flexible enough to go behind the motherboard with ease. 

 

 

MB tray and GPU installed. It was at this point I realized I didn't like the way the PCIe cable looked so I made an acrylic cover for it that I attached with some 3M adhesive. You'll see in the finished pics. 

 

When installing the pump, I realized I needed to make a couple of spacers for the pump bracket. I just tagged these in some matte black paint, and because they have the same profile as the mount they are hardly noticeable in the final product. 

 

 

Close up of the 8pin front panel connector I made. I love the final details. Also you'll notice the rails are looking a little beaten up. The paint on them hasn't had enough time to cure  So its lifting in the high friction spots. Luckily you wont see that when its installed into the shell, but I'll end up repainting these later. Also the white specs you see is dust. It'll get a thorough cleaning before is done. 

 

Unfortunately that is all I have for the final assembly. Like I said, I'll go back and take some photos of the rest of the process when I refill the loop. When I get back from the movies I'll post the finish photos!

[Fluffybakon]

20 hours ago, bmccarthy said:

Ok, So I'm missing a bunch of assembly photos. So I'm going to show what I have for now and when I change out the fluid (I used event fluid that shouldn't stay) I'll update this part of the build log. But here is what I have at least. 

 

One thing I love about modular power supplies is that I can make custom connections for the pump. So here I just crimped atx pins and put them in a 6pin female connector. Yellow is 12v so all you need to do to ensure the proper pin out of your PSU is to use a multi meter and test each pin on the PSU. There are some diagrams online, but I've had one bite me in the ass before, so now I always test my own power supplies when making custom cables. If you anyone would like a diagram for the SF600 let me know. 

 

I like to take the pump apart so that I can sleeve all the way to the solder points on the pump. Just makes for a cleaner aesthetic. The two sleeved cables have 2 wires each. One is the common and 12v for power, and the other is for PWM control which goes to the CPU fan header on the motherboard.

 

 

The motherboard has a single 12v RGB header. I have 3 areas of the case that need RGB lighting. The main compartment, the top compartment, and the exterior shell. So I made my own spliter. I probably could have bought one. But I really hate the way RGB strips use those 4pin connectors that are not secure at all and come loose rather easily. So I used 4pin fan connectors which seat more securely. I twisted the colors together and then added a little solder.

 

I'll be using a small length to finish the connection to the motherboard so that it is not to cramped with the large bundle of wires. To make the connection super secure, I used a dupont pin (the same pin used for usb and front panel connectors) and crimped it down on both ends of the wire.

 

Followed that up with some solder. These things are not coming part. 

 

The finished splitter. I used dupont pins in a usb connector that seats really well onto the RGB 4pin on the motherboard. I also used the same connector for the Front I/O, much easier to connect one connector than a bunch of single dupont connectors. 

 

Made custom length fan cables. This really helps keep things nice and clean and it is really easy to do. You can reuse the existing fan connector and just put on new fan pins. 

 

Here is why I had those custom lengths. The radiator fans and the two front fans run to this fan splitter which is PWM. There is a single connection that runs to the only other fan header on the motherboard. 

 

Radiator and front fans installed. As well as the middle lateral support on the other side. I had to leave this sides mid lateral support off because that is where I'll be running most of the system wires. 

 

These parts went in first because it would have been to difficult to do it later with the motherboard tray in place. 

 

One nice thing about a removable motherboard tray is I can fix everything to it before placing it in the case. Here you can also get a good look at the PCIe extension cable I used. This one is from Thermaltake is is super high quality. I think LTT did a video on daisy chaining these together and was able to do like 5 or 6 before they had any performance loss. It was also flexible enough to go behind the motherboard with ease. 

 

 

MB tray and GPU installed. It was at this point I realized I didn't like the way the PCIe cable looked so I made an acrylic cover for it that I attached with some 3M adhesive. You'll see in the finished pics. 

 

When installing the pump, I realized I needed to make a couple of spacers for the pump bracket. I just tagged these in some matte black paint, and because they have the same profile as the mount they are hardly noticeable in the final product. 

 

 

Close up of the 8pin front panel connector I made. I love the final details. Also you'll notice the rails are looking a little beaten up. The paint on them hasn't had enough time to cure  So its lifting in the high friction spots. Luckily you wont see that when its installed into the shell, but I'll end up repainting these later. Also the white specs you see is dust. It'll get a thorough cleaning before is done. 

 

Unfortunately that is all I have for the final assembly. Like I said, I'll go back and take some photos of the rest of the process when I refill the loop. When I get back from the movies I'll post the finish photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking forward to those

[bmccarthy]

Here we are guys. This is the result of all that hard work.

 

First the frame!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly some natural light final shots. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nvidia is going to be releasing an article this month about my build. 

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to take a look at my build. It was a lot of fun and please feel free to reply with questions!

[bmccarthy]

Oh yeah, some low light photos. I apologize for the quality, I absolutely suck at low light photos. And please excuse my messy desk.

 

 

 

 

[Fluffybakon]

On 10/2/2017 at 5:30 PM, bmccarthy said:

Oh yeah, some low light photos. I apologize for the quality, I absolutely suck at low light photos. And please excuse my messy desk.

 

 

 

 

Dude holy crap. That looks incredible.

[bmccarthy]

On 10/18/2017 at 2:45 AM, Fluffybakon said:

Dude holy crap. That looks incredible.

Thanks man I appreciate it!

[bmccarthy]