x86: Blue Water

[SystemTech]

Wow looking great. Keep on modding and get her done

[Kaidis86]

Thanks K! Long way to go yet! Maybe next year I should OC and watercool an abacus

Hahaha yesssss!!!!!! Water cool all the things!

[Grinder]

Wow looking great. Keep on modding and get her done

Thanks! My donor case (Fractal Design Define Mini C) and Z370-G mATX mobo should be here soon. I am kinda held up until I see exactly what I have to work with. Again, I had hoped to find a used case to recycle but no joy. And by the time I got a back panel, control panel, and feet, I was better off getting a (relatively) inexpensive case.

I had also hoped to get the feet on the right from Father Fuzzy, but haven't been able to get hold of him for months. I also checked MNPCTECH but they are out of stock for feet similar to this. If anyone has anything like these, let me know before I start cutting on the case! If I can't find tall feet that I like, I'll have to use the ones from the Mini C. And to do that, I'll have to install a support that drops below the bottom of the IBM PC (vs simply putting a fan underneath) as the rad + fan + PSU thickness exceeds the vertical space available in the PC.



Kaidis86 Do you know where I can find a delid kit for an abacus bead?

[Grinder]

A couple of new parts added to the build. Thanks to vieuxchnock for the riser cable. I had one but it was too short!



I have been contemplating my options with respect to lighting. I do have RGB fans and a light strip here for that heatkiller block, along with some RGB RAM. But for this build, you wouldn't see the RAM under the GPU. Plus I want this to be tasteful and clean, and RGB can sometimes feel trendy - and this build is as retro as it gets. I've decided to go with white LEDs in the GPU and CPU blocks, and in the reservoir. Plus more scattered around the case as backlighting as needed. For fans, I can use some high static pressure analog Corsair SP120's that I have, which feels appropriate for the build and scratches my recycling itch lol.

That cleared the way for me to pick up two 8GB sticks of Crucial Ballistix DDR4-3000 C15. It is low profile, not RGB or pricey, and reportedly overclocks reasonably well:

[Grinder]

Too bad Kevin( Tpbmods ) couldn't come by and take some action shots like he did for MistressPipebomb , as my assistant finds it difficult to hold the camera, point it, and press the button all at the same time!





A tech friend of mine at Canada Computers recently did a build in a quadstellar case, very cool. Derived from Bill Owen's Tristellar, I assume he had a hand in it but not sure. I was looking at the Tristellar again the other day, love that mod and loved seeing Bill's furry friend!

[vieuxchnock]

A couple of new parts added to the build. Thanks to vieuxchnock for the riser cable. I had one but it was too short!



I have been contemplating my options with respect to lighting. I do have RGB fans and a light strip here for that heatkiller block, along with some RGB RAM. But for this build, you wouldn't see the RAM under the GPU. Plus I want this to be tasteful and clean, and RGB can sometimes feel trendy - and this build is as retro as it gets. I've decided to go with white LEDs in the GPU and CPU blocks, and in the reservoir. Plus more scattered around the case as backlighting as needed. For fans, I can use some high static pressure analog Corsair SP120's that I have, which feels appropriate for the build and scratches my recycling itch lol.

That cleared the way for me to pick up two 8GB sticks of Crucial Ballistix DDR4-3000 C15. It is low profile, not RGB or pricey, and reportedly overclocks reasonably well:

You're welcome!

[Grinder]

I love Fractal Design cases, and have built in 4 or 5 different models. I still own an XL R2 that I plan to refresh in a future build. Since I couldn't find a donor case to recycle this time around, I ordered a mini C as the price was decent and it has a bunch of parts that I can use.



I'll remove this section of the case, and trim off the parts below the expansion slots and to the right of the expansion slots. It should then fit into the back of the PC, and I can mount some small fans in the rear above the mobo i/o.



I'll reuse the tray IF I have enough height to fit it in.



And I will likely swap these feet for the larger ones on my XL R2 to get the case to sit a little higher.

[Kaidis86]

Most recent Photos not showing up for me. Not sure if I'm the only one!

[Grinder]

Hmm, they are there for me... Anyone else?

Meanwhile I'll try removing and adding them back in.

*EDIT* Removed the pics and added them again. The first time, I had tried to preview the entries and it hung. I backed out, came in again and it said that it had restored the content (and it looked like it did). But the second time I skipped preview, and it said max 5 attachments. So I removed a couple and will post them below.

[Grinder]

I also had a couple of pieces of hardware arrive

[Grinder]

I've been trying to decide what to do with the top of the case. For a while I thought a set of these from another 80's icon would look nice -



But then I decided that they would be difficult to pull off, and potentially gimmicky looking.

After committing to this build, I found that someone (https://www.scpsunlimited.com/case-s...ntel-dream-pcs) had done something a bit similar: an 8086k tribute build in a PC case, but no custom water. Their approach of a clear panel (acrylic?) on standoffs on the top would be easy to do. But it would allow noise to escape and dust to enter. Plus it would be cool to be able to still set a monitor on top, and I'm not sure that would be strong/scratch resistant enough.



Then there is the flip top case, I actually owned one.



But I think I will go for a flush mount window. Custom ordering tempered glass is too pricey, so I will likely go for setting a piece of glass in the top. The idea will be to do a cutout and bend the metal to create a ledge that will support the glass. It will be an SOB to bend, so plan B will be to do a cutout and then attach a ledge with nuts/bolts/adhesive/bubble gum.

[Kaidis86]

Working now and looking spiffy!! The delorean aesthetic would be much bueno!!

[Grinder]

Thanks K, glad it is showing up now. I don't think the DeLorean will work for me unless Doc Brown fabs the parts out of some futuristic material and brings them back in time!

I am trying to keep it tasteful, and that is bordering on gimmicky if I didn't do it exactly right. Plus I would sacrifice a lot of strength/rigidity, and the hinges and supports would block the view of the interior that I would like to maintain. It is tempting to try it though...

[Kaidis86]

After the comp is over if you wanna play with the idea I'd be happy to help with the shapeoko

[Grinder]

Thanks, much appreciated! But if I do it, I am more likely to attempt it old school style for the comp. Unless I could get you to do it now, setting aside your own work, so you don't finish on time

Seriously though, I am really torn. It would add a lot of cool factor to add gull wing doors (not going full on Delorean though), but would it fit my "Blue Water" theme and not look tacky I could live with not setting a monitor on top, I mean why obscure the interior even if you had just a window that could support the weight...

I'll give it some more thought. If anyone else wants to chime in with an opinion, feel free!