Passiv-Agressiv

[ATiLoyalist]

So, here is my entry, just a compiliation of Work Log entries, over the past 7 months or so. This case is finished as of Aug 04, 2005. It will appear at PDXLAN Aug 11-14 in Portland Oregon.

//Begin Log




So, I have begun another project, you may remember my first works, ATi:Ressurected, and Old Skool Silence, also, the Motherboard Cube, and other assorted projects found here, my next case, which is entitled Projekt Passiv, for the reason that it will incorporate 2 passive radiators, custom built waterblocks/resivor, plus some other surprises.

i dislike the usual case mod. ill try to stay away from the vanilla mods i see alot of, so here is some of my work so far, there will be more to come as the project progresses. As always, Im open to suggestions or comments. so fire away!! I appreciate comunity feedback and ideas.



These are the 2 radiators which will be mounted to the machined aluminum blocks, they were $5 each on ebay. 4.5" by 7 3/8", fairly large...

Overview of the aluminum base, attached to the heatsink


This is a corner, of the aluminum radiator block, milling is being done with a 1/2" carbide tipped router bit and a 25 year old, brand new, practically unused sears/roebuck router. nice piece of machinery. almunim cuts very nicely as well.


Overview of the base, the channels are 1/2" wide, and will be 1/4" deep. the holes will be tapped with a 1/4"PT tap, for 1/2"ID tubing, i might use fuel hose, or sink connectors, since they come in a variety of sizes, and everyone uses tygon, so its kinda bland these days.


My shop:
9" Delta Band saw
10" Delta Drill Press
Both were christmas gifts from my father, thanks Dad.


of course, cant have a worklog without adriana lima


Some copper bar, which will be used for the bases of all the waterblocks:



1/2" thick aluminum plate, cut with a bandsaw, used for the radiator bases, and a 1/4" thick aluminum plate, which will be cut for the retention plates on the waterblocks.


Plans for the base, i was bored in history..

[ATiLoyalist]

Hello again,
I recieved the case today, and it is amazing, this is my second lian li, and I must say, they make great cases, I like the upside down motherboard idea of some newer cases, but i like the look of the old PC65s, so I think Im going to drill out the rivets and flip over the tray and backpanel. I also ordered some sleeving and heatshrink and got that all put together.

Here are Pictures of the case, and some progress of the radiators.

I ordered the case without the window, but they sent me the windowed version. oh well, i have a spare PC60 sidepanel i can use anyways. it worked out nicely.


Here is the spare panel I stuck on. I had originally planned to do some crazy flames but never finished it. Now I have a reason to finish :dremel:


And the design for the panel.


The fans and cathodes, sleeved with red sleeving, and white heatshrink. The overall scheme will end up with white lighting and accents and mainly black with red metal flake. maybe some red bits here and there. i.e. sleeving. But be aware everything will not be sleeved. Im going to use fuel hose or sink lines for the molexes. but thats not until later on.


Rear exhaust fan. Yes friends this is a 120mm fan in a Lian-Li, i had an old junker case I was going to use, but when I saw this I had to get one. Plus Lian-Lis are absolutely a dream to work on. My last case was an old dumpster mutt and its a ***** to open and work on.


Theres one in the front too:



Front panel




Ok, moving on to the water portion, these are rough ideas, and since I took this picture, there have already been heavy modifications to this design. So thats an idea of where the blocks are going.


Updated radiator progress. Its slow, but I have this week off and I hope to finish both rads and start cutting on the case.

[ATiLoyalist]

Well, after much thought and pondering, i have decided to add a heatercore in the intake, and as much of a passive project this started out as, it will still remain passive, but the heatercore, will just serve as a fail-safe for during the hot summer months. the case will have some airflow, so it is simply not practical to make waterblocks for the mosfets and northbridge, as a.) the passive system cannot handle the extra heat, and b.) the blocks will only restrict flow in the system. So, I still have some other tricks to add, I found a cool-looking 3 neck flask on ebay I might purchase for a resivior, but I am asking for some INPUT AND SUGGESTIONS as to a res. The res will not be the highest point in the system, and since the water will not be moving very fast, I understand there is a high potential for air bubbles to get caught up in the radiators. Any thoughts on this concept or how to get around it?



Ok on to the real update:
I got some work done yesterday on mounting the radiators, but I do not like how the screws look just, "out there", so Im going to rig up a plexi/aluminum(or steel since I have some lying around) mounting plate to fit around the edge of the radiators and dress it up a bit. they will be lighted by LEDs, most likely white, or maybe white with a touch of red.

Getting ready to cut, after measuring and remeasuring 3 times...ugh:


All cut out, ignore the little bit in the middle, that will be covered up anyways.


Im not liking the look of these screws just sitting there in the open.



Test fit of how the top panel will look:


Now, since the case will be glossy black with red metal flake, what goes best with everything else? Any opinions?
Black:


Chrome:



Got to Ace hardware today, picked up some screws etc for the fans, i found some rubber bushings as opposed to actual grommets, bushings have only one side of the grommet, with a smaller portion to fit inside the hole, that way the fan is still isolated but there is no rubber thing sitcking out around the screws on the exterior of the case.

[ATiLoyalist]

Hello again, another update.

Today I messed around with some copper and aluminum and I must say it was a delight. :hip: So, I worked up a prototype of the VGA waterblock, which is ugly on the inside, but its JUST A PROTOTYPE not the real thing. So, I will use the top, but remake the base now that I have more experience with copper. The pieces were cut on a band saw, which was absolutely amazing to watch a blade cut through 1/2" aluminum like BUTTER!!! and the hole were 10-32 for the 4 bolts and 1/4"NPT for the barbs. So, thats about it, the waterblock design isnt final, infact its disgusting and I am ashamed at my work. So it will be remade, and it was just a test since I do not have sufficient experience in copper machining. Anyways, the doodlings on the case will be cut out, with red powdercoated mesh for the backing on the front panel, and milk plexi with red/white LEDs on the chassis cutouts. Nothing fantastic, just reinventing the wheel. :thumb:

Picture:

Base after drilling retention holes:


1/2" aluminum plate for the top. fresh cut!


This was jsut a cool shot, I used the base as a template to drill the aluminum holes and there was aluminum shavings coming up out of the copper. looked out of place


Base after some preliminary drilling. I dont like it so I will make another tomorow.


Tapping the top plate 1/4" NPT, this was a bitch to tap...quarter turn in, half turn out, oil, repeat, ugh.


More tapping action:


Nothing like perfect ridges in a hole.


Halfway assembled waterblock.


Front panel of case, with some srubbishrubbishrubbishrubbish added. :eeek:


Front panel funk.


Cutout above the motherboard tray on the opposite side of the "service side"


Cutout between the drive holes, will probably be covered with some sort of panel, I hate those little slots for the screws that just sit empty.


An example bay cover.


Well, thats all I have today, but I will have more tomorow, I have been on break all week, I'm normally not this productive!! :hehe: :hehe:

Later

[ATiLoyalist]

Ok, mini update, got the pyrex glass resivoir, and it is perfect for the project. one line will run to the "to be decided on" filling apparatus at the top of the case, and the other two will be connections to the system, one leading directly to the pump.


Next, these feet which were cut on my bandsaw out of the 1/2" leftover aluminum from the radiators. They will also have some plexi lit with white LEDs or something mounted on the top of the foot between the case, there are also some rubber grommets not seen in the pictures, that will insulate some vibrations. I like how they look like modern industrial server feet...sortof..


Here is 2 feet, one before sanding, and one after. The feet were sanded with a random orbital sander, and 220 grit paper, to create tiny circle-like patterns. The effect under the right light is really awesome. Better than I had expected by a long shot, this was actually a mistake, and I didnt plan for the effect produced!!!


Front feet:


Rear feet:

[ATiLoyalist]

Ok, Update time finally!

I have been busy and I didnt feel like taking pictures until now, so here goes,

First off, I redid the waterblock, both the top and the base, due to problems with mounting solutions. so here is the base, I used a hexagonal fin-pin design, with a bunch of tiny hols drilled in a grid pattern, then connected.


Here is the whole block, minus the mounting screws, notice the countersunken cap screws





Here is the finished radiator base, one more to go....




Heres the good part, the flange for the dual passive radiators, its 1/16" aluminum panels, free from capitol metals. Note the plexiglass spacer, which will be lit with white LEDs.




Here is the blank PSU plate, which will have an IEC power jack, switch, and relay mounted on it, which will power the PSU(Mounted in the front of the case, probably passive) and the pump, I havent decided where that will go yet.



Here are the feet, with plexi squares, which will be cut down to the edge of the case, I dont like them like this, but they will be lit white as well.



Some progress on the front panel.





Here are the dual washers with bonded neoprene washers, with an acorn nut, for the mounting solution for the case feet.



Thats all I have today, but stay tuned for custom powdercoating, custom auto paint, and more custom machining, all done IN HOUSE! Thanks for reading!

[ATiLoyalist]

Ok, so long time to see, well Im not dead, and I certainly havent put this on hold, I have just been very busy juggling modding/school/life. So, I have a TON of updates and new pics, etc etc.

Here goes.

First, I finished the front bezel with all the craziness, about 2-3 months ago




With mesh insert



Next, I made this fancy HDD enclosure, 100% custom from aluminum stock.



and added mounting rails




Finally finished the flame cutout after over 2 years i think?




I needed a design for the motherboard side, this too just under 1 hour with a jigsaw.




Finished the GPU waterblock





PSU hard mounted to a jumbo heatsink, with the ATX and P4 lines all pretty




PSU assembly, side view:




PSU intake vents




also finished the chassis cutout, DONT WORRY about the scrathes, everything is getting powdercoating.




this is the flow indicator/resivoir that consists of an aluminum block and a fan, the block was bored out on a lathe, by dan the man over on [H] forums. Unfortuantely I had to scrap the 3 neck glass flask, it just wasnt going to work out. this fits the theme better anyways.



This is the fan after painting it:



And as for right now, everything is at the powdercoater, and I should get it all back next friday, Ill update then, but it.will still take another 2-3 weeks before the final build and all.




by the way, heres a couple pics of the shifter I made for my buddy this week.



Thanks for reading! Comments/suggestions/criticism welcomed !

[ATiLoyalist]

Ok, so. Here goes, it has taken a longggg longgg time to get everything together, much longer than i had planned, the powdercoater was late with parts, and there were several complications with certain parts of the system.

I finally got the parts back though, and here are some pics over the last couple of weeks, as the case progressed:

These are the rear PCI covers done in a beautiful kandy red, the little etched markings show through very well.




This is the chassis, done in a crisp white powder, also came out very nicely.



Here is the top panel, with the super gloss black and red flake clear:



Shot of the edge of the front bezel, the flake turned out really sick.



This is the front bezel, after installing the red mesh, and the silver power button.



Next, the PCI covers installed with M3 Socket head hex screws




The new resivior/flow indicator with the outer piece also done in the black+red flake.



In the process of installing all the new parts:




Interior/wires, finished with some brass fittings and clear tubing



The first of the final pictures of the finished product, this is a preview of the new PSU plate, with only a IEC jack, since the PSU is in the front area of the case now.







More Pictures to come, Currently I am finished with the case, all that remains is to take some quality pictures. Thats a whole new challenge. Check back in a couple of days. Thanks for reading!!!

[ATiLoyalist]

Ok, So I took some more pictures to the best of my ability. Not the best conditions today, but good enough. Here goes.


Here is an overall shot of the case, Notice the tinted red Plexi. Also visible is the Lian Li badge, heh, had to keep it.






Opposite side, and back panel, all accents done in red,




Moving on to the front panel, Red mesh, and the black carbon filters were added. DVD drive stealthed, i know, rather unoriginal, but it fit for this case.





Close up of the power button, and mesh inserts.





Interior, white chassis.






Interior again, notice wires with brass fittings and tubing.





ATX wire, in tubing.





Supply to the GPU, notice the etched details on the waterblock.





Another overall shot.





Flow indicator, detail of an acorn nut on the mounting plate, plate was just sanded with a 120 grit radial wheel.






Very cool/random shot, the plexi is in fact red. If you would like to see how it looks, follow these easy steps:

Get a pin
Poke yourself
Let it bleeeed
Shine a white LED through the puddle. thats the color of the plexi.





Rear overall shot.





Overall shot, Lights off




opposite side, lights off





Front intakes for PSU, lit by the fan controller LEDs, interesting effect.





Flow indicator/Resivior, lights off.





Interior, Lights off





The top panel, with 24 LEDs, lit up in ALL ITS ****ING GLORY. That thing took at least 6 hours to make the LED chain.






Lastly, a Shot of the flames plus some interior detail, just eye candy.






So, thats about it for this case. Im done with modding for at least a year or so, Im planning on another hiatus, which will most likely be cut short, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading, I always appreciate community feedback and support. tell your friends!!

[Jonny]

That is looking ace! What case is it?
Fantastic stuff, mate!
EDIT: When I posted this only half of the log had gone up. Just seen the rest and..... wow! That is amazing.
This kid for teh win!

[ATiLoyalist]

The passive radiator works extremely well, heres some numbers for you:

When I first assembled the system. things went fine, but the radiator has a tiny leake where it had not sealed properly, so i removed it to fix, and in the meantime i tested the system with just the heatercore in the front. Radeon 9700pro was clocked at 385, with a 1.85 vcore, and the P4 2.66 was at 2.960. Temps after an hour of graphics intensive gaming proved to push the temp of the processor to 49C and the GPU to approximately 45C, Now, with the passive radiator as well, the temps have dropped to 34C CPU, and appx 31C GPU, with load temps hovering around 39-40C. I have no doubt my blocks could compete with a Maze4 or RBX, if I had the same radiator setup as most watercooling setups(at least 2-3 120mm size heatercores worth of surface area.)

Ambient temp was 24C for all tests.

Overall, the cooling system was highly effective, and I am very pleased with the result, as it is silent!!!

Heres some overall Specs:
PSU: Seasonic 400w
HD: 120Gb WD, 160GB Maxtor
Graphics: Radeon 9700Pro, 435/340
512Mb DDR
Asus P4PE
P4 2.66 at 3.2ish




Oh, and Jonny, the original case was a Lian-Li PC-7Plus, basically a PC65 with 120mm fans

[Dougal]

Holy Crap Batman!

Thats amazing mod!

Going through your webby now.

Beauty

[ATiLoyalist]

Thanks.

I am currently starting a job as a laser machinist at Honeywell Engines & Systems division, so maybe if I have some spare time Ill cut a few windows when no one is looking

[tiggerai]

Wow... is all I can say...

I hope you're proud of it all, that is some amazing work you've done there. I wish I was that creative!

[Jonny]

When you powder coated, did you plug the screw holes in the chassis, or do the threads survive?

[ATiLoyalist]

i had most of the holes plugged with silicone plugs, but the threads are fine, it may help to re-tap them for larger holes, but I didnt have a problem with the small ones.