[Build Log] Project: Cosmos Sv2 my dream build

[DazMode]

This is massive update. Great work!

[Bartacus]

Nice job on that top mod!

[NotSoEpicMods]

Update #12.5

Now to my big but little mod. This took me pretty much all Sunday and well I think it turned out alright. This is what my front panel looked like when I removed the I/O pcb and well it's pretty empty. I need to resolve this and make use of this space on the case.

Well let's take it apart:

It really pained me to do this but I don't think this case would be around much longer anyways so I had to do this.

Well the last pic looked pretty dirty and I cleaned it up a bit plus cus some space in part that I need to hold the power button.

The power button:

While I was at it I marked the spot on the case that i will eventually need to cut as well.

The HDD light is something I still wanted to keep as well so I needed to keep the plastic part for the LED but get rid of the others for the front I/O.

More cuts and installed the LED holder.

Now to fill in that rectangle I cut out of my case.


Yup that'll work and now it's painted and waiting to dry on top of my running PC.

So while I waited for that part to dry I needed to do some more work on other things. This took me about an hour -.- but I think in the end it will be worth it. I bought 2 white LED plugs and well they don't fit into the bottom of the EK res because EK thought it would be a great idea to recess the ports on the bottom but not make the recessed part big enough for even some normal plugs. So what I had to do is file down the sides of the LED plugs I got because they wouldn't fit into the res to seal with the O-ring. This is what I ended up with which is pretty much perfect for what I need. The plug still sticks out a little bit so that I can grip onto it with pliers and tighten it properly. Also it provides something i can someone use to make sure the bottom of the res doesn't slide around. Reason I'm doing this is that I want light coming up from the bottom of the res to light up the EK plexi baffle. Not sure how this will actually look but we'll see. Worse come to worse I'll just not run LEDs to the plugs.



After I delt with the res plugs I started to reassemble the front panel and this is what the underside looks like. But really it doesn't look like that touch sensitive button should even work it's almost like magic.

And here it is I did make a bit of a mistake which I'll have to fix later with some plasti-dip. As you can see on the power button that's lit up it seems that I've scratched some of the black plastic off on the inside and you can see the marks lit up now so I'll do that when I cut the spot open in the metal part of the case.


So that's it for now I tried it out and it seems I'll have to get a T fitting and another red LED plug for the fill port because it actually looks really nice to have a light coming through that fill port since I have a crystal stopper in it. I'll get a red one to match the power button. Hopefully I'll be able to get the water cooling set up next time I do an update so we'll see how it goes and I'll also post an update when I receive word about the pump which if I can I'll probably keep the Strong and not bother getting it swapped and just get the $6-$7 difference refunded as store credit. I could use that to get my T fitting and maybe LEDs for the inside of the case.

P.S. yes I will clean off all those horrible fingerprints on the front panel.

[NotSoEpicMods]

Update #12

Alright managed to get some work done this weekend. I also got all my parts in order mostly so time to share some pictures and progress. I did make a couple mistakes and stuff which I'll be fixing soon. Also I'm changing the format a bit and not posting high res in progress shots, it makes it easier for me. Last note is that this will be split in 2 due to number of pictures.
Here's all the parts of my latest order and well it's my largest single purchase of computer parts yet:

My 8 pin extension:


I like this Darkside extension however it does look very plasticy and while it does look nice it's too shiny and doesn't match my current BitFenix extensions which has a more fabric looking sleeving which I find looks nicer imo.
This DazMode coolant is pretty much straight glycol making it clear and perfect to add dyes like food coloring but I'll be keeping mine clear.
Ok so the pump I ordered was the D5 Vario which has speed settings 1-5 and well I got the D5 Strong which is the standard non-variable speed D5 pump so I have to sort this out DazMode(be fair stuff happens) and will update you via a review on how it goes. Regardless I don't really mind having the D5 Strong which is basically the eact same as the Vario at setting 4.5ish which is probably what I would have had the Vario set at anyways will just be a little harder bleading out air not being able to change the rpm on the pump easily.



These rads though they look very nice and the 360 slim one is actually very slim just slightly thicker than a 25mm fan which is perfect for the space I have which is minimal in the front of my case. Also you can see in the pictures the holes are offset from the channels of the rad meaning if your screws are a little bit too long they won't puncture the channels of your rad making it leak. The screws would simply damage a few fins, still not ideal, but better than having your rad leak.


This thick rad on the other hand isn't as ease of use as the 360 slim. If you use screws that are too long here there is a small possibility of puncturing the channels of it but there are small metal stoppers to help prevent this. I'm gonna use this rad in the top of the case, I think it will fill it in nicely.


Ok here's the CPU block and yes I do now have the backplates it's supposed to come with so I got that resolved with DazMode. Not to mention this will match the pump top and the res nicely.


Fittings, wonderful wonderful fittings.

I think I bought everything I needed and yes they don't match but I don't have the money to get all matching ones but I would love to get proper fittings someday to make the build look really nice but that will come at a later date.

[NotSoEpicMods]

Thanks everyone and xmanrigger I'll consider your suggestion I just have to find a way to do it since a mobo screw is a little in the way.

I also got my parts last night and it turns out my CPU block is missing the backplate and backplate gasket not sure how that happened but it'll delay my progress a bit if I can't get one for this weekend which I probably can't because of processing times and shipping(I'm at work when they deliver mail it would be so much easier if I could just pick it up but oh well) so I'll spend this weekend experimenting with my point and shoot camera to try and take better pics of what I do have so keep an eye out for that update. I'll probably do leak testing tonight to make sure nothing is leaking like my rads, res, or pump top, or my cpu block. Wouldn't be too good going through the process of trying to get a replacement backplate only to have the cpu block be leaky too.

Edit: Daz is going to find the missing parts tomorrow so there's a small possibility of some work done this weekend we'll see.

Edit 2: Got a tracking number so I guess Daz managed to find my missing parts which Canada Post says I should get today.

[Bartacus]

TERRIFIC work so far man!!! I have fond memories of the old Cosmos 1000. That was my first big money epic case too.

[xmanrigger]

Wow, a lot cleaner than the rat's nest you started with.

Just my opinion, but I would route the VGA power from under the card or along the end, to the behind the mobo as you did with the 24 pin. Would clean it up and look much better. That wiring run looks out of place and takes away from the 'cleanliness'. Maybe even run it behind the rez once you get it mounted. Again, just my opinion, which dont matter a whole bunch around here.

[Grinder]

I enjoyed this, reminded me of my old Thermaltake Armor case inside.

I think of these as MacGyver builds, and actually prefer them to the cutting edge, money is no object variety.

Nice job of refreshing and cleaning up that case!

[Hooded]

Wow that's some major progress.
Really great work so far.

[NotSoEpicMods]

Ok so this update contains updates 9 and 10 that I have on my website and now we're all caught up!

All my parts have been ordered. I know I could've made better choices but oh well water cooling is a learning process I guess too bad it costs a bit.

Here's the list:

• EK-Supremacy – Acetal Nickel (Model 2012) x1 (shipped)
• DazMode STORM D5 VARIO 8-24V Pump w/TACH cable x1 (shipped)
• Triple DarkSide Radiator – DS360-P x1 (shipped)
• Triple LP360 Extra Slim Radiator x1 (shipped)
• DazMode Protector x2 (shipped)
• 3/8″ID – 5/8″OD Straight Low Compression Fitting – Black Chrome x6 (shipped)
• 90-degree Swivel Angled for 10mm x 16mm (3/8in x 5/8in) Black x7 (shipped)
• Clear G1/4″ Crystal Stop Fitting III V2 x1 (shipped)
• 1/2″ (12mm) DarkSide High Density Cable Sleeving – Jet Black 1Ft x10 (shipped)
• 4+4 EPS 12″ (30cm) HSL DarkSide Single Braid Cable – Red UV x1 (shipped)
• Compact Fill Port / Drain Port Valve – Nickel x1 (shipped)
• G1/4″ Crystal Lighting Stop Fitting Module W/ 3PIN Wired LED -WHITE x2 (shipped)
• G1/4″ 90 Degree G1/4″ Adapter – Black x2 (shipped)
• Fill/Drain Port Sealing Plug w/ 3/8″ID Tubing Barb – Black Spark x1 (shipped)
• 8mm Spacer Extender Adapter – G1/4 Male/Female – Matt Black x2 (shipped)
• 8mm Spacer Extender Adapter – G1/4 Female/Female – Matt Black x1 (shipped)
• 3/8″ ID Tubing – 90 Degree, Rotary Barb w/ Clamp – BLACK x1 (shipped)
• Feser Tube UV Hose – 3/8″ ID – 1/2″ OD – BLACK / UV Blue (1′) x1 (shipped)
• 3/8″” ID Tubing – Barb – Black Chrome x1 (shipped)
• Replacement O-ring for Standard G1/4. Fittings – BLACK x10 (shipped)
• PrimoChill PRIMOFLEX™ Advanced LRT™ Onyx Black 3/8 ID 5/8 OD Tubing (10FT) x2 (shipped)
• Ek Water Blocks EK-RES x3 400 820ML Water Cooling Tube Reservoir X2 G1/4 Extenders X4 G1/4 Plugs x1 (Arrived)
• EK D5 X-Top Acetal Pump Top CSQ – Laing D5 & Swiftech MCP-650/655 (EK-D5 X-TOP CSQ – Acetal) x1 (Arrived)

Current total for parts including shipping and taxes is $838.39cad

I'll probably post the pump top I got today later tonight or tomorrow. Also the ETA on the rest of my parts is for Monday So I would probably expect them Tuesday.


Update 10

As promised an update with the pump top. I also made a quick build vlog which is currently still uploading and you will have to do some searching for it.



Full res: http://i.imgur.com/iGZqG0M.jpg

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/W5Stbuj.jpg

This is one super pink internal box which oddly I really like the look of.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/A6PH7zf.jpg

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Gah! Already got a fingerprint on it.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/s3eTjaH.jpg

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Full res: http://i.imgur.com/pI3Ydyd.jpg

I originally planned to put the pump in the 5.25" bays by moving my bottom 2 hard drives up but I think it looks great right here. Also I was planning on painting a piece of plexi to replace the thin bristol board but after placing a clear piece under the pump and res I think it would look great if I kept the part I will eventually cut out clear and just plasti-dipped the bristol board under the plexi. I would love opinions on doing this vs just painting the plexi itself.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/QMXntD7.jpg

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/bCpzQX2.jpg

I'll update whenever I get more parts and work done. I'm just glad I'm finally caught up on here

[NotSoEpicMods]

Update 6

Ok so I got some good and bad news then some more bad news then a little more bad news and then some good news.*

Good news is I received my parts from CMstore today(not sure why USPS and Canada Post decided to keep it at one of the furthest postal offices from me, I live closer to work than the post office it was at) got my trusty knife out and everything to get it opened.


Full res:http://i.imgur.com/NA5g4cr.jpg

Well I was kind of expecting my products to be somewhere in the middle of the box well apparently that's not the case and this is how I opened it.

Full res:http://i.imgur.com/q0KOG57.jpg

Well ok I thought they should be pretty sturdy products it's not like they're some delicate HDD or anything. Then here's teh bad news I realized that one of the case drive bay covers I ordered isn't a solid cover but an adapter instead *facepalm* that's what I was trying to get rid of. Not to mention CMstore's site shows the picture of a solid cover not an adapter.

Full res:http://i.imgur.com/fVvhTLN.jpg

It doesn't end there if you notice and pay attention really close you''s see that the tabs on solid cover doesn't look right. Well you'd be right they're actually all broken. For those of you who don't know the Cosmos S case these tabs on the cover help hold it straight against the case.


Full res:http://i.imgur.com/fFlvNId.jpg

Full res:http://i.imgur.com/LEr0kHl.jpg

Full res:http://i.imgur.com/NzS7b25.jpg


So yea that sucks I'll have to wait until Monday to contact CMstore and see what they can do. I would basically need them to send me another cover that isn't broken since I can make one proper cover out of the two I got. That one cover looks like it was kicked through a case breaking the tabs off so i don't know how it got past quality control.

Alright the next amount of bad news remember that rear front I/O port I made? Well I don't think anyone noticed but it was actually AC'97 but I knew that and my motherboard supports both AC'97 and HD Audio. Well it worked, the only problem is with AC'97 the ground goes to the case and well I guess I'm picking up some interference through mine which sucks. So when I ordered those covers I got a front I/O for another case that is HD audio. So that's what you see in the 2nd and 3rd pics in this post.

Good news is that this product so far seems to work perfectly no more interference. I will have to desolder the USb ports off the pcb so I can mount my brackets to the same spots. Well I will update when I hear more from CMstore or if I take pictures of my current whole setup if you guys would like that let me know.

Update 7

It's... Just... So... Beautiful...

Hey guys what's up so I got a bit of an update, of course I'm now posting these updates first on my website. Anyways I have started ordering my water cooling parts! First to arrive is the res and wow is it one beauty. Oddly enough it's actually a little short even at 400mm I wish EK made a 450 res but a man can dream I'll probably get a thicker rad for the top anyways so 400mm will do. Gallery for that below.


Full res: http://i.imgur.com/3T3EaeD.jpg


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Mmm so nice. I absolutely can't wait to get this upgrade started. Here it is in the case.


Full res: http://i.imgur.com/ppIlTAY.jpg


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Ok and I finally got my new bay cover and well it's damaged too so I guess that's what I get for trying to get parts for a case so old.


Full res: http://i.imgur.com/hcFt18cl.jpg

Well I should be ordering more stuff soon so I'll post an update then.

[NotSoEpicMods]

Update 5 Part 2!

So nothing to do now other than throw everything together!

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/QbIDqOy.jpg
Yea my cable management but hey this time I didn't have to almost stand on my sidepanel to get the thing to close.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/kKy75Hu.jpg

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/RkiCxpO.jpg

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Yea yea I need to clean that plexi on my side panel.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/by97dgP.jpg

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/Qdfi2rZ.jpg



Darn is it getting sexier and sexier or what lol. Please please tell me what you guys think even if it's bad or suggestions.


5: Alright I'm planning for water cooling(CPU only, GPU block not available) and have come up with a parts list. I'm hoping to be able to afford these items by the end of the year. I'm am new to custom water cooling so I would love suggestions on what you think of my parts selection but please remember I'm planning ahead so I'm wanting this WC loop ready to be able to have 1 maybe 2 GPUs pluged in when I upgrade my cpu, mobo, and gpu someday. Also are there any good places in Canada that sells these parts or something equivalent?

There was a list from another store here when I originally posted this but then remembered Daz is in Canada. So guess it's not relevant to post links to a competitor here plus I will have a full WC part list in a later update.

I've already test fit the part sizes in my case and they will fit with some kajigering. Mainly moving my bottom 2 hard drives up so my pump can fit underneath(I'm not going to have a fitting on top of the pump like my model shows). I also have about 1" of space between the top rad and the top of the res if frozencpu's installation height measurement of 400mm is correct.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/K7PPHWH.jpg

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Phew that was a long one thanks for checking out my build log. There's some things I need to fix like that black motherboard tray cover Flat looks horrible and is super super easy to mark. Maybe I'll go with a satin finish when I paint the whole internals of the case.

[NotSoEpicMods]

Well that's looking a whole lot better than when you got started. Cleaned up very nicely.
Cool drive mounting and SSD mount

Oh there's still work to be done, I'm glad you like it. My OCD wouldn't let me mount the drives normally and have that horrid mess of cables sticking into the visible part of the case.

SSD mount is really nice!

Ooo cool, Daz replies to my build! I feel all special inside Thanks I really like the look of these SSDs and how they match my case so I'm really glad you and others like how I've mounted them this next update shows how they look behind my side panel which I think looks even better since the wires are hidden. Edit: just learned that the Cosmos S was your favorite case in 2009 I'll try and make you proud Daz.

welcome, and I second the cool way ya did the ssd mounting...

Thanks for the warm welcome, glad you like my SSD mounting.

Ok next update. I'm really trying to get caught up in this forum so I can share the water cooling part of the build when I'm doing it since I bought the majority of the parts from DazMode. This update was actually done the weekend before Sept 9th. Oh and I have to split this one into 2 since it's a long one.


Update 5 Part 1
My b-day is coming up on Tuesday(tues sept 9th) and I decided to give myself a present this weekend which was spending 16 hours tearing apart my computer and rebuilding it again. Best b-day present ever.......I think. I literally just finished putting it together 20 mins ago and I'm currently writing this while on it and I hope it doesn't mysteriously crash. Though the curing paint smell makes me wary.

So the challenges to overcome this time around:

1: I plan on watercooling and I plan on mounting items on the bottom of the case I run into this issue:

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/JAKiMp6.jpg
As you can see the PSU filter is accessed from the inside of the case. While this is pretty convenient I wouldn't be able to access it once the bottom of the case has something which makes me wonder why there was a fan mount there.

2: This is a kill 2 birds with one stone dealio. I almost never use my front panel I/O other than the power button and my headphone jack for splitting the game audio away from my music audio when I record game footage. So many of the cables from the I/O are unused and take up a ton of my cable management space. So I found this from an old comp I had:

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/CG3oWyH.jpg
It's a separate front I/O of just the audio ports I truly lucked out that I had this and you can see what else I was planning by the aluminum angle stock I had cut that's in the pic.

3: The terrible green on the motherboard heatsinks. You can see pictures of this in my previous post and yes they def don't match the system and while I do plan on upgrading my cpu/mobo it's not going to be until I get a custom water loop going.

4: Another 2 for 1! Tidy up the cables going to the motherboard even more and fix the terrible reinforcement bends in the mobo tray. As you may have seen in my previous pics my cables have to travel faaaaaaar from the cable management holes to reach my standard ATX motherboard.

5: Start planning for custom watercooling loop to replace 3yr old H100.

The Solutions:

1: So somehow I still have to make my PSU filter accessible when I install watercooling items. Why not copy what current cases do and make is accessible from under the case!

First stop Canadian Tire, ahh the store you love to hate or at least I love to hate. I picked up 4ft of U channel aluminum stock for about $6 so not too bad and I'm gonna have a ton extra for other stuff. I also bought a $4 can of flat black spray paint for things.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/lxwQ59t.jpg

The PSU filter had some thin risers on it which I trimmed down with a box cutter knife so it would nicely fit in the U channel.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/9gfIrEk.jpg

Sweet it fits nicely now to cut the aluminum to length.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/YsBEEoe.jpg

With some double sided tape magic I got those rails stuck to the bottom of the case.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/0R2ZZw9.jpg

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/ZhwtJLG.jpg
You'll notice that it's not coming out the back of the case and you're probably thinking "You idiot! You're just as bad as the guy who put it inside the case!" Well unfortunately the feet attachments are in the way of me being able to slide out the filter from the back which is probably why they put the filter inside the case in the first place. But I'll take tipping over the case every once in a while to slide out that filter rather than no filter.


2: Oh those front panel cables I took it off which was easy only 2 screws. Turns out there's 4 other screws underneath to access everything.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/mMsodfW.jpg

After popping that open I was pleasantly surprised turns out all those thick cables I wanted to get rid of are just extension cables and the PCB of the I/O is separate from the power button PCB. I promptly took those items out and was left with only 3 thin wires coming from the front panel, awesome more cable management room!

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/OX4rJYa.jpg

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/M4hOjAq.jpg

I will have to find something to fill this area with though >

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/dWOL2BE.jpg

Now for moving my headphone jack I used JB Kwik weld to stick those brackets I made to the small unit and cut a spot in the rear of the case. You can see I had a bit of an issue with drilling the holes to mount it. I blame my lack of a drill and drill bits.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/9qdVw1a.jpg

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Full res: http://i.imgur.com/bjYkKI1.jpg
That should work.

3: So before I got too far into the case I thought I should deal with the mobo heatsinks first since they will need time to dry.
The ugly:

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/hi49fdW.jpg

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/EyetUzC.jpg

The less ugly(unfortunately you can still see some green on the MOSFET heatsink since I didn't want to apply too many coats and missed it):

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/qBgXCeT.jpg

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/RQpagiP.jpg

But wait that rear I/O still looks kinda ugly.

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/zGvbHVn.jpg
Glad I had the scotch tape there from the other pics. I guess that'll do.

4: Yup obviously had to cut some holes so i marked up my case and started cutting.


Full res: http://i.imgur.com/DHtAkTV.jpg

Full res: http://i.imgur.com/fhuf76S.jpg

Woah what the heck happened in that last pic? Well I went out and spent a whole $1 on a giant 22"x28" bristol board sheet what was dark dark grey. Staples calls it black but it isn't as you can see by the bottom piece which isn't painted that I cut for a template to make a plexi insert. Anyways I measured my case internals and cut out a mobo tray cover spray painted it and put it in. I like it what do you guys think?

Part 2 incoming below!

[nass]

welcome, and I second the cool way ya did the ssd mounting...

[DazMode]

SSD mount is really nice!