My quiet Cosmos - Phase 2

Right. Have now moved house and am ready to get cracking on phase 2.

Have now completed and here is the result. Read on to see just how I arrived at this..

Have also been working which has allowed me to modify my original plans and I now have this lot



So I am now the proud owner of D-Tek FuZion v2 CPU block, GPU block and heatsink. Res, Xsilence fans, Black Ice extreme III rad, 1/2" ID tubing, Lights and other assorted bits and bobs.
Unfortunately I am still waiting for some other bits to arrive which I need before commencing with the watercooling install, so in the meantime I have been doing what I can before ripping everything apart.
Very minor mod but satisfying none-the-less, replacing the top of the pump with something a bit better.




originally I had planned something different for the side panel but as it stands now I have decided to go for a window.
After hunting around for some acrylic that was cheaper than AC Ryans I found a place not to far away and bought 600x600x5mm sheet for a tenner. Next job was masking and cutting the case panel and then fitting the acrylic.
Rather than just lay the sheet against the inside face of the panel I wanted to project the acrylic through the hole and thought using a router would do the job.





I would love to say that their was a good reason for making such a poor job of cutting the hole in the case panel, but alas I can't. The result - a 2 day wait for some c-trim to arrive to hide the poor fit.



Not happy with how that looks, so have had another go and enlarged the window slightly.
Though I hang my head in shame you can also see how far out of square the first window was.



Second attempt is much better. I also changed my mind a third time on the window size and shortened it so as to hide the blue knobs on the quick release drive bays. The hole is also square this time.



Decided to use 6mm acrylic this time to give a bit thicker mounting plate and ditched the router in favour of a circular saw which has given a much better (and squarer) result





Looking good so far.
Because i'd marked the aluminum with a cd marker pen it wouldn't come off with any solvent that I had to hand so i then proceeded to spend an hour in the sunshine with some 400 grit wet and dry paper with the idea of lapping the panel.
After the first horizontal pass i'd got rid of the ink lines and the coolermaster logo but where the mounting is fixed to the rear of the panel the aluminum is very slightly raised.
This has resulted in some rather unsightly patches.



Not sure what i'll do about this yet.

On the positive side at least the acrylic window fits perfectly, and after flame polishing the edge I hope you'll agree that its looks pretty good so far.





Before fixing it in place i've got some transparent uv paint which I shall paint on the protuding edges so that when the lights are turned on it should give a nice highlight.

I have also been getting to grips with the electics - with the help of several people in the case mod and electics forums on TPU.
Here, after a bit of head scratching, is the switch setup for the lights. I shall wait until everything arrives before wiring and installing it but at least I know it works now.



Also I've been trying to figure out what to do with the fans. After reading several reports of the Kama meter not liking having more than one fan per channel and dying i've raided my bits-and-bobs box and found a beefier potentiometer (or whatever it's called).
I'm planning on wiring all the rad fans together and controlling them with this. The plan is to replace the volume knob in the kama meter and put the new fan speed knob in it's place.
I shall keep one of the Kama meters fan channels free so that I can plug the rpm monitor wire in. It appears to work - although looking closer as I write I notice that it is only reading 540 rpm. Shall have to investigate that one.



And finally, beware of catching a falling fan. The OCZ one out of the psu is quite powerfull and at full speed it bites.



So Lots more to do but am still waiting on WaterCooling UK to get parts in before I can do much more.

Well,slightly frustrating news. Heard back from Watercooling UK and my parts won't be dispatched until 22nd June so i'm limited to the smaller aesthetic jobs for now.
First up is the top shroud.
Because I am mounting my rad on the ceiling of the case I need to improve the ventilation. So this is what I have



Have never used mesh before so hopefully it won't be too bad.

After some delicate use of the jigsaw and a pleasant hour sitting in the evening sun trimming the hole with a stanly blade this is what I am left with.



After looking round the net for a helpful tutorial on meshing and failing I decided
to cut out a couple of wooden blocks the size of the holes, mount them in the workmate and then pin the cut mesh panel to the top.
Cutting this stuff is a labour of love which has resulted with more blood being split (twice). The cut edges are razor sharp. Also a case of using the right tools for the job. Unfortunately I don't have a pair of tin snips so had to make do with some bluntish wire cutters before resorting to the jigsaw. Anyway, succeded and then commenced on the satifying job of hammering the edges over the template block



A little while later and this is what I have achieved



I was and am pleased with the result. I haven't fixed them to the shroud yet but shall probably use some black doublesided sticky foam that I have left over from a speaker wiring episode a few years back. Alternatively I might just superglue them in place.

With the shroud fitted it'll certainly allow for enough ventilation and doesn't look to bad.





and a comparison shot of before



I am not sure yet whether I leave the mesh as it is or paint the mesh the same pearlised purple as the case. Or I might even leave the mesh as it is and paint the black shroud purple.
Might be nice to keep the silver theme so as to match with the handles.
Your thoughts ?

Also took the easy route out and have painted the side panels to match the case. An hour using a polishing compound on the paint has made no appreciable difference so I mught just leave them as they are for now.



Its a real sod having to wait for a couple of weeks as most of what else I plan requires disassembling the computer.
Anyways, I am sure i'll find some bits to keep me occupied.

Thanks people.

The silver look is growing on me. Shall have a play in photoshop and get some idea of the different outcomes.

@intel igent

Don't have technical name for the blade but its got pretty big teeth. I am fairly sure that it wasn't specifically designed with cutting acrylic in mind.

Yep, many multiple passes.
re. Flame polishing.
This was the first time i've tried this so by no means am i very knowledgeable on the subject.
Best tip I think is to practice lots on scraps first. initially I tried rapid side to side sweeps with the gas gun but found that a slower and consistent movement in one direction produced better results.
Keeping a careful eye on the sawn edge is important as it is crucial not to linger on the spot as soon as you see the edge shift from translucent (from the sawing) to clear.

Also if you have a very thin piece of acrylic, such as the edges of my window be careful not to apply too much heat to them inadvertently as they will start to sag and crinkle.
Fortunately I caught it just in time and was able to reheat it and flatten it out again.

It is a satisfying process and definitely worth having a go at.

Thanks kenkickr
must admit the mesh job worked out well. and I am ready to admit that it is vain and egotistical but the purple paintjob does look splendid.The inside paint is actually much more purple than the blue in the photos but for some reason it shows up blue. Saying that thou, the gun metal colour on the inside of yours also looks pretty darn good.

Right. Back at it.

Only a little mod but it'll make things neater and easier.
As I don't use the volume control on the kama meter I thought i'd replace it with a fan controller man enough to run the three fans for the rad.
Fortunately the volume control wasn't soldered onto the pcb, just a seperate unit that bolts on and plugs in. This was good news as I really didn't fancy desoldering it.
Removed wires from the new -(read butchered) potentiometer and after filing the side of the casing down so that it fitted squarely and dremmeling off the fitting lug, Plus filing down one of the pins on the pcb so that it didn't touch the potentiometer, it was a simple case of attatching a couple of wires ready for when it's fitted and bolting it on. Brilliant!



And with the face plate refitted you'll never know the difference



Its the top right knob just so you know.
Next up a small paint job on the old fan controller which shall be controlling the auxillary fans for the rad. Having to use this one as when turned down it switches the fan off and I want to have the option of running these two fans underneath the rad as they are both pretty powerful but bloody noisy - to use when/if that extra cooling is required.
Also had to redril the casing so the mounting holes match up with the 5 1/2" mounting adaptor



I've also spent some time with some polishing compound to smooth out the paintwork on the window panel followed by a couple of coats of car wax to give it a bit of a glossy sheen.
The first coat of transparent UV laquer has also been applied around the edge of the window but before I fit that I want to give it a few more coats to hopefully ensure it'll glow as desired.

Now on to the bit that i've been puzzling over for a while - mounting the Rad on the ceiling of the case.
Because the Cosmos RC1000 can accomodate 2*140mm fans it wasn't a simple bolt on and forget about it job. So after a fair bit of pondering I've made a fitting plate out of perspec and i'll cut the case out to maximise air flow.
Set up and ready to cut



Bugger !
Learn from my foolishness and drill a small pilot hole before drilling a larger hole close to an edge.



Thankfully the superglue worked
And finally cut.


Test fitting - It's going to work



The down side of this approach is that the fans are going to have to be turned upside down in order to pull air through the rad. Not a problem but aesthetically less pleasing.

Figuring out how to mount the radiator has also been a pain as the fan holes in the top of the case don't line up with the rads fan holes. Thankfully I still have some spare perspex so another fitting plate made and I now ready to cut the case and mount the rad.
Although not strictly neccessary flame polished the acrylic just to give it a nicer finish. Looks great



Alas I don't have a workshop at the mo and I don't want to annoy the neighbours so I can't cut the case till tomorrow. Thankfully (in the nicest possible way) my girlfriend is laid up in bed with a bad back at the moment.
Just as well really



I've also gone a bit mad and just bought a second 8800 GTX to go SLI

I am not sure whether i'm going to be overloading the capacity of the loop. Hopefully not.
Any thought ?
If I am would it be better to run another loop for the CPU or do you recon I could get away with just putting another .120 rad in the loop?
Would the single DDC ultra pump be man enough for the job?

Onwards and upwards - roll on the 25th and the delivery of the back ordered parts.

LOL. The 4th knob is for the light controller so as manufactured, intentionally different. However I appreciate your point of view and may well rectify the situation.
At the moment i'm getting funky with the dremmel and drill bit fitting a fan under the case to cool the hard drive. Lots of drilling and cutting to do today.
Hope the delivery guy turns up soon - both for you and myself - still waiting for the 2nd 8800GTX to arrive.

edit - that was quick DD

The knob that I modified for the fan controller is for the skyth Kama meter - in the photo the top right knob.

A productive day

Well today has been quite productive

First up it was time to strip the case down to a bare shell ready for cutting.
Before starting on this latest round of improvements the hard drive's were running at about 40-42*c which whilst ok is a little hot for my liking. So lets put a fan in to actively draw air up over the drives and into the case.
I've opted for a 80mm fan as all in all it makes it a lot easier than trying to fit a 120mm and I don't have any 92mm to hand.



Lots of drilling and dremmelling later and the fan fits perfectly. I've also drilled the supporting upstands so that I can screw into the side of the fan casing to get a secure fit. Unfortunately there is only about 12mm from the fan bottom to the hard drive cage so I hope that that isn't going to cause any excessive turbulence noise but seeing as it's a quiet fan anyway and i'm probably going to be running it at 7v anyway I think that it should be ok.