Project: Dopefish Lives

[StratocasterMaster]

Well my last case from back in the days of 2001 no longer really fits me and has become more of a burden being a cheap case to begin with. So I decided I needed a really good case, a fresh start, something with potential... the Lian-Li PC60 will suit me well. I know this case has been modded many times, and is dated in its own regaurds but I've always liked it and what I have in mind most certianly make the PC60 my best choice.

I want a contemporary design with some more 'radical' aspects, so as for the various designs those will just have to be secrets until I've got them cut. I dont want to comprimise the cases rigity or loose any ease of travel, I also want the system to be quiet. With these elements in mind I will be watercooling with a sealed system, I will also try and make every mod serve the purpose of form as well as function.

Lets start with the Lian-Li PC60 after I swapped the guts from my old system (nasty SuperPower case)

:::Specifications:::
Lian-Li PC60 /w Antec TruPower 430w
Abit IS7-E
P4 2.8c HT/800fsb + Thermaltake Volcano 10 cu+
512mb Geil 'Golden Dragon' DDR400
ATi Radeon 9600XT 128mb AGP
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy2
WD 120GB 'SE' + WD 160GB 'SE' ATA133
LG 48x24x48x16 CD-RW/DVD
LG 52x32x52x CD-RW (Removed, dead )

I had already placed orders with several differant online vendors, including SharkaComputing, Newegg and Cooltechnica... so until they arrived I just tried to bide my time and plan. Well today everything came in and I began installing the 'bolt ons'. None of the major stuff, like watercooling gear got fitted at all, there will be some EXTENSIVE modification to get that setup to fit like I want. Let me say this now the Lian-Li built in fan controller sucks, it doesn supply 12v to the fans even in 'HI', I didnt find this out until I had installed the Nexus and cranked it up to full. When I first setup the case I was thinking it was just the fans that came with the case... well needless to say I performed some weight reduction on that POS.

[PARTS!!!!]

~Akasa sound absorbtion padding
~(2x) Innvotek HDD silencer
~Nexus Rheostat bus (Will not remain in its stock form long)

~Eheim 1048 pump (1/2" fittings)
~BlackIce eXtreme heatercore (1/2" fittings)
~DangerDen Maze4 (1/2" fittings)
~(2x) 120mm Sunon fan, 92cfm
~(4x) 80mm Translucent orange fan
~Pump relay kit
~(10ft) Clearflex60/Tygon tube
~Various clamps, hardware, etc...

 

[StratocasterMaster]

[After installing some of the components]

One of the 3.5" covers broke... The little bastard...

The rounded cables still werent in but I think I did a deacent job of tucking away the regular flat cables... In later pics the round cables will make their appearance, however to be honest I am disappointed in their appearance, they arent as easy to work with or 'hide' as flat cables and they 'advertise' themselves more as well unlike their low profile counterparts.I will work with the cables more, things will become infanantly easier to 'tidy up' once the PSU is revamped, more stuff to order for that bad boy too...

I dont really have much else to post for now, this worklog will most likely take some time being I work full-time and have other responsibilities to attend to as well. I will however try to keep it interesting... Here is my ghetto-station for which I am working right now... I just moved and do not have a lot of my stuff out of storage yet.

You can see my old case tucked under the desk with the sides off and placed against it.. my old shuttle is also hanging out down there. I am using my old, old, old 15" monitor until Dell's 20.1" goes on sale again

~Kris

 

[rogue_jedi]

hmm... this looks interesting. i'll have to follow it

keep them pics coming!

 

[TekieB]

I dig the rotary keys!

 

[StratocasterMaster]

Just some half-assed test fitting... the bracket in the bottom is in my way, unfortunately I wont be recovering my tools from storage until this weekend... Oh yea, you can see those rounded cables peeking out too, lol.

Close-up of the Maze-4, it is a really nice block. I would of opted for the much more preferred WhiteWater WB but I wanted to stay with a single channel.

Until then I need to locate some 1mm thick alu. sheet and some plexi-tube for my resevoir.

~Kris

 

[StratocasterMaster]

TekieB, hehe, yea they were on my bed and I was like, 'what the hell...' so I snapped the pics with them conveniently positioned.

I may be swapping the Sunon's out for Panaflo L1A's... I will hold my judgements for when I have the loop constructed and running... I have a rheobus for a reason.

~Kris

 

[StratocasterMaster]

Hey guys, I've been busy moving into my room still so not much with the case... I will kick it into high gear once my tools come out of storage though I assure ya'!

I need some help though, I want to resleeve my entire PSU and all my fans and other various wires.... but I dont know what all the differant tools I will need to remove and reinstall the various connectors with. If anyone has a good link with the tools I need I would greatly appreciate it. TIA!

Here is what the room is looking like, atleast I have my desk in so I can start putting stuff where it belongs.
http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/mess1.jpg
http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/mess2.jpg
http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/mess3.jpg
http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/mess4.jpg
http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v204/DopefishLives/mess5.jpg

I did crack the PSU open and snip off a few wires, I still have more to do so I will post better images of it once I've finalized it. I am considering de-juicing the caps so I can toil with it more without fear and maybe do a better job on my clean-up work. Just gotta touch my tongue to the bottom of the PCB right? :-?

Good news for the watercooling!!!

I now have my resevoir and thanks goto my brother for it! He is also moving to another apartment and in doing so offloaded some bathroom 'decoratchuns!!' This little gem was meant to hold cotton swabs, now it will nicely hold water. So now I have , 'The Well of Wishes' The Eheim is absolutely drwarfing my MX500.

I am trying to make the most of my 'non-progress', cant ya tell? LOL

I snapped this pic through the 3.5" bays with the case all closed up. For some reason it just looked neat to me.

Hopefully this weekend I will have my tool cart back and can begin the cutting

Alrighty, until next time,
~Kris

 

[StratocasterMaster]

Here is a couple sketches I worked out for the various cuts I will be making. I think the left side is finalized but I'm still working on the top and right(mobo) sides... The larger portion is the watercooling assembly with an aluminum bracket I came up with. It will attach to the bottom of the pump and to the sides of the fan shrouds around the radiator. The fan holes will be simplistic 'tri-wing' style... atleast that is the idea for now. It looks modern and offers supurb airflow so I'm liking it.... I may add in a mesh just for the sake of filtering though. (No one likes a dusty case) ...Excuse my poor artistry. :\

I need to find a good source for aluminum sheet that is cheap, I found a 4'x8'x1mm peice for 51$ but I really only need like 1/2 that if even... I cant justify the cost for something like that so I'll just have to keep looking. Any ideas?

Once I have my dremel back I will start on the res... I need to make a top for it out of some excess 1/4" lexan I have laying about.

'Night modders!
~Kris