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  • Down and Out : Build Log

    In June of 2018, after decommissioning The Node 804 build, I started looking around for a new case to house these old parts.

    Wanted: (1) mATX case that would hold a dual loop system.

    (2) Room above motherboard and memory blocks for a top mounted rad.

    (3) Room in the front of the case for my EK 280XTC rad with 2 Bitspower 150 mm reservoirs mounted to the fans in a pull configuration.

    OK, so that was not going to happen.Ended up going with a Corsair Carbide 275R midtower ATX case. Not because it could natively house this configuration but because there was enough room inside to be able to move the motherboard around. That is where the name of the build comes in. The motherboard will be mounted two expansion slots "Down" and because of the secondary plate behind the board, "Out" towards the window about 1/2".

    The case is fairly basic. It has one tempered glass side panel, a full length PSU shroud, big feet, and........that's about it.











    The area on the right side of the midplate is for mounting SSDs but if you install a rad in the front of the case, the SSD mounting screws will not be accessible.
    The HDD cage has to go because the pumps are going to be mounted in that area








    Picked up a Darkside 240LPX rad and another Bitspower 150mm reservoir. The 240LPX is a nice little rad. The paint and the fins are perfect and the G1/4 ports are both straight





    Started test fitting the components. This is where you can see the issue with the front rad and the SSD mounting screws











    There is not very much room behind the midplate. 15mm in the motherboard area that increases to 25mm at the front of the case.





    Laid the case on it's side and placed the motherboard inside to see where it wanted to sit Lots of room in there.





    Made a new motherboard mounting plate out of .062" aluminum and laid it on top of the original standoffs. There are 6-32 x 1/2" standoffs attached to the motherboard. This shows approximately how far down the board has to go.





    Cut the rear panel out of the case and laid out a new one using .062" aluminum. The side panel covers the rivet holes that are used to attach the midplate to the rear of the case. I wanted to use these to attach the new plate so the side panel was cut to fit around the top hole and the new panel was shaped to fit over all three holes

















    After the new rear panel was attached to the case, the original standoffs were removed and the new motherboard plate was screwed to the midplate with 6-32 screws. There are 1/8" nylon spacers on the screws between the plates. Robbed the rear I/O bracket from the Node 804 and held it in place with the motherboard in order to get some measurements.








    The new rear I/O bracket is temporarily attached with 3mm screws and nuts Put the board and the video card back in to check for fit








    Here is the rear panel laid out for the I/O bracket, two 80mm fans, and a hole for a bulkhead fitting which will be used for draining that part the GPU loop








    Used a couple of old 80mm fans for measuring and fitting











    The SLOB : A 3570K Build
    Down & Out : A 2600K Build
    V-353 : A 4770K Build

  • #2
    The big feet have got to go. These are Lian-Li feet. The pieces of EK ZMT are for stabilizind them.











    So this is the case with the rear panel removed, new feet, and a mounting plate for the pumps in the lower front





    Laid out the holes for the pass throughs in the PSU shroud





    I was sitting here looking at the cover of this ROG manual and thought it might be a good colour for the aluminum plates.This can of paint looks pretty close to it, and it went on really nice but I couldn't get a nice finish to save my life (free of dust and whatever happened to be flying by at the time). I ended up dusting on alternating coats of the Raspberry and low sheen black. In real life it looks more red than in the photos











    Made a fan cover with an integrated cover for the I/O stuff on the motherboard. Picked up two 80mm fans from Arctic Cooling on Amazon.ca for $5.99 each.








    This is the Motherboard backplate with the mounting hardware attached. Relieved the right side of the plate in case the ATX and sata cables needed room to pass behind the board. Tapered the ends of the standoffs because they are very large in diameter and did not want them touching anything


















    That is where I am as of today. Next comes mounting the pumps and tops.














    The SLOB : A 3570K Build
    Down & Out : A 2600K Build
    V-353 : A 4770K Build

    Comment


    • #3
      Great project. Coming along nicely.
      __________________________________________________
      Retro Build: Build Log,
      Baby Blue Build: Build Log,
      Green Lanten Build: Build Log,
      Sentinel Build: Build Log,
      Venom Build: Build Log,
      Silent Sniper Build: Final Video,
      Orange Build: Final Video
      HTPC Build: Final Video
      __________________________________________________

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks Daz, I've been enjoying the more relaxed pace of this build. Nice to have a build sitting there, that you can take a run at whenever you want
        The SLOB : A 3570K Build
        Down & Out : A 2600K Build
        V-353 : A 4770K Build

        Comment


        • #5
          Very nice metal work going on.
          Looking forward to more.
          Blue Dragon CM690 II an i7 - 960 x58 build
          OverKill HTPC - Red Team Build an AMD FX6100 with dual HD 5870's in crossfire.
          Canadian Amateur Modding Competition

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Hooded View Post
            Very nice metal work going on.
            Looking forward to more.
            Thanks Hooded, Probably going to end up putting a top plate on it to cover up all of the extra holes and slots. Actually I didn't show it but it comes with a big filter that covers all of that , although I think a new plate sitting up there would look better
            The SLOB : A 3570K Build
            Down & Out : A 2600K Build
            V-353 : A 4770K Build

            Comment


            • #7
              Very nice build indeed! I wish I could have a build like that where I can take my time with it but unfortunately I need to do it all over holidays booked off or a long weekend. Anyway fantastic build and photos! this is one of very few where I read every step and look at every photo carefully. What did you use by the way to cut the aluminum so nice on the rear IO plate?
              -dave

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks for the comments dknourek! Sorry in advance if I got carried away with the answer but I thought some of this might be of interest. When working with aluminum I just use some basic hand tools and if I have to, a jigsaw. I found that using a jigsaw with an aluminum blade usually creates a giant mess with cuttings flying everywhere, so I use one of these saw handles that takes a reciprocating saw blade. It cuts straight and very fast.





                When using either type of saw, I clamp the work to the edge of the worktable with a rafter square as a guide. Then cut the work about 1mm from the edge of the square, After the work is cut, file it back to the square, and then sand it with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Been using Gator brand wet/dry paper that Lowes carries. It holds up very well even when wet, unlike some 3M stuff I've used. Running the saw across the top of the square keeps the aluminum from getting scored and damaged





                When cutting holes for fans that are so close together, I use two pieces of plywood. Drill a 1/4" pilot hole in one and saw an appropriate sized hole in the other.





                Drill a hole in the work piece and place it over the hole in the backing board.





                Use a 1/4" pencil rod or just turn the bit around in the holesaw so that it doesn't chew away at the hole in the backing board.





                Push the pilot bit through the hole in the work and into the backing board.





                Slide the other board over top and clamp it all together.





                The top board keeps most of the cuttings contained and keeps the saw blade from wandering. Spray some water in there and you get kind of a slurry around the blade to keep it lubricated. Everything else is just file and sand, file and sand.

                Last edited by wattermain; 01-11-2019, 06:05 PM.
                The SLOB : A 3570K Build
                Down & Out : A 2600K Build
                V-353 : A 4770K Build

                Comment


                • #9
                  It's so clean. I'm taking notes of the metal working parts... I really like your work. Keep it up.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Thanks very much Seboo. Congratulations on your Win in the competition and I hope we see more of your creations soon
                    The SLOB : A 3570K Build
                    Down & Out : A 2600K Build
                    V-353 : A 4770K Build

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by wattermain View Post
                      Thanks very much Seboo. Congratulations on your Win in the competition and I hope we see more of your creations soon
                      For sure, I'm planning 2 builds this year... 2 custom scratch builds. Can't wait to draw my ideas and show them in the forum!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The SLOB : A 3570K Build
                        Down & Out : A 2600K Build
                        V-353 : A 4770K Build

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Had a bit of an incident. Seems my tape measure let me down.....again. All of the pass thru fittings in the PSU shroud were about 3mm out. They will all have to move so I figured that this would be a good time to address another issue that came up. There is not enough room between the motherboard and the reservoir for the ATX cable to pass through. Decided to move the fans around to the front of the rad and have them push air in. This would allow the reservoirs to be mounted to the rad and give me an extra inch of room for the ATX cable. Made the holes larger and knocked out another hole for the cable to the video card.





                          This was going to be the original configuration of the pumps with the feed from the reservoirs going to the front of the pump top.





                          Moved the feed from the reservoir to the top inlet.





                          Made a new cover plate for the PSU shroud.





                          This will also hide the HDD cage mounting slots, the grill over the PSU, and the large cable management slot. Because of the extra height of the new plate, a couple of washers were added to each of the isolation feet. The adjustable M/M extension fitting from the rotary 90 to the pass thru was already maxed out.


                          .


                          Inslalled the pumps in their new configuration. The Aquacomputer tops just manage to squeeze in there.











                          Kind of glad that my tape measure screwed up. Looks a bit cleaner now.





                          The SLOB : A 3570K Build
                          Down & Out : A 2600K Build
                          V-353 : A 4770K Build

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Very nice progress.
                            I know the pain very well, little mistake and things do not line up, nicely.
                            __________________________________________________
                            Retro Build: Build Log,
                            Baby Blue Build: Build Log,
                            Green Lanten Build: Build Log,
                            Sentinel Build: Build Log,
                            Venom Build: Build Log,
                            Silent Sniper Build: Final Video,
                            Orange Build: Final Video
                            HTPC Build: Final Video
                            __________________________________________________

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Thanks Daz. I was lucky to be able to use plan B. Had more than enough times when stuff had to go straight to the curb.
                              The SLOB : A 3570K Build
                              Down & Out : A 2600K Build
                              V-353 : A 4770K Build

                              Comment

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