Switching To STACKER

Ok, here's my current setup:



And I just got some birthday presents.......so all of that^ ^ is going into this:







Note the crude cardboard shroud on the Bonneville core. I may try to get some plexiglass and cut it with the new dremel.....but I am not "arts & crafts" inclined, so I may mess it all up. I might just end up building a better cardboard shroud and slappng it on there.

So far I've removed the top fan and put the Vantec fan vibration dampener kit on it, removed the grill for the rear exhaust. I'm waiting until I order some PAX MATE to line the inside of the case with, until I do any more work on it. Fry's doesn't carry PAX MATE so I've gotta order online and wait for it

Shroud looking a little better:





The paint isn't a dead-on match, but the whole thing is essentially going to be concealed by the drive bays anyway

I'm trying to figure out the best way to mount my CCFL's. Well, I had two that came in a package, but I didn't notice that one was broken, and I LOST the receipt so I'm kinda stuck. I was thinking about on the bottom, like you can sort of see in the pic above.

Any other ideas on CCFL placement??? Also, since I'm down to one, will that be good enough, or will I need two??? The one is pretty thin...

Did you make that window with the Dremel or did it come like that?

Ha! I wish my dremel skills were that good. Nah, my g/f got it for my for my birthday. Used the dremel for the shroud.

Never underestimate the power of a cardboard shroud.

Yeah!!!

I got a blue cold cathode I'm putting into the case too. An ideas on placement?? This will be the first "windowed" rig I have, so I am unsure of optimal placement of the CCFL...

maybe the front bottom under the windowwould look good but try plugging it in and putting it in different spots before you stick it on

Sweet!!! That is exactly what I was thinking of doing. I'm using a CM WM at the moment and don't have enough space for my 2nd HD or CDRW. I was SOOOOO waiting for someone to do what you're doing and post pics. I didn't want to be the guinea pig. The Bonneville core fits perfectly! I think you should place the CCFL just inside the drive bays (it shouldn't obstruct airflow that much at all) and then the blue CC towards the back of the case near the edge of the window.

Post more pics as you go along so I can live vicariously through you!

Where'd you get your CMStacker from?

Wicked dude. My Cavalier 3 with a window should be arriving soon and I'm doing something similar. I'm getting dual 12" UV cathodes and at least one 12" blue UV cathode and one 4" UV cathode for my dual 5.25" bay res.

I think you should get a 12" UV cathode for the top of your case and put the blue one at the bottom. It would look killer.

Alacritan said:

I think you should get a 12" UV cathode for the top of your case and put the blue one at the bottom. It would look killer.

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Huh??? I need to get a UV cathode too?? What I picked up from Fry's was a package with 2 12 inch cold cathodes from a company called "Vastech". One of them was broken and didn't realize till last night. Lost the receipt too, so I can't return it. No big deal.. And it's ticked on the side of the box as "blue".


So I need to get a "UV" one too??? The is my first round with lights, so I'm an illumination noob Anyhow, since one broke, I've still got a place to plug in another light on the inverter. I'll check Fry's this week to see if I can get a single UV tube, if that's what you're saying I need.... (I'm such a noob).

Anyhow, on to the case..... Below is my plan to mount everything. The B'Ville core, while a snug but perfect fit in the drive bays with a cardboard shroud covering it, takes up 7 drive bays (6 1/2 really..) so I've got four left. I need to mount the Stacker contol panel, DVD burner, and fan controller. The 3 to 4 hard drive cage takes three bays, so I'm *** out..... Anyhow, here is my latest brainstorm:

Pax Mate and some other little odds and ends from Newegg should be here tomorrow. Then I can tear down my current rig and start dry-fitting everything before a leak check.
I was thinking about placement of my parts and came up with this idea for where to put the 3 to 4 hard drive bay. I've got three hard drives, so there's no way I can mount the Stacker control panel, DVD burner, fan controller, and 3 hard drives... I've only got four bays available after the rad....



Here's a visualization of how I'm thinking of setting up the loop. Please critique away!



Obviously NOT drawn to scale (or drawn very good for that matter )

shraad said:

Sweet!!! That is exactly what I was thinking of doing. I'm using a CM WM at the moment and don't have enough space for my 2nd HD or CDRW. I was SOOOOO waiting for someone to do what you're doing and post pics. I didn't want to be the guinea pig. The Bonneville core fits perfectly! I think you should place the CCFL just inside the drive bays (it shouldn't obstruct airflow that much at all) and then the blue CC towards the back of the case near the edge of the window.

Post more pics as you go along so I can live vicariously through you!

Where'd you get your CMStacker from?

Click to expand...

Not a problem, man. Your wavemaster is exactly the same as mine, dimension-wise. Some may think it's a sin to abandon the slick looking ATC-201, because it has a great finish on the top and sides. But the reality is, I was AFRAID to cut into that case for fear I'd screw it up. So I adapted...... I got the Black Ice Mirco II rad and stuffed it in the 3 1/2 bays. Then I took my two hard drives and put them in some Zalman heatpipe coolers and mounted them in the 5 1/4 bays, effectively taking up every bay in my case. As you can see from my first pic, everything is jammed in there pretty tight. While it is a good case and cools pretty well, that little rad just can't dissipate enough heat to make me happy with my overclocking.

Enter the Stacker..... Since it was a birthday present, practically forced on me!!! , I have no choice but to switch to the Stacker!!!

Hopefully my posts will help you when you do it. I can tell you this, though, it is TREMENDOUS, and extremely easy to work in. Lot's of space. I can't wait for my PAX MATE to get here so I can tear down this old rig and get started. (Have a backup laptop for internet access).

That's a great b-day present! I wish someone knew to get me one of those for my b-day. I should have bought the CMStacker instead of the Wavemaster to begin with. I look forward to seeing how you end up fitting all your drives in the case. I have a Dtek JR120 rad, but would switch to the 77 Bonny HC if I see that the fitting of your drives jives with what I want to do.

If you do go with the B Ville core, visit 2Fresh's post on [H].

Linkage

That's where I got mine from. Any barb size, any color, fans, etc.... I got just the sides painted, and no fans (went with Panaflo M1a's), with 1/2 in barbs.

Beautiful, thx again Scroatdog. I must subscribe to this thread!

On the edit: I think you should have your res on the same level as the pump. You could build a little stand that's the same height as the drive bay adapter?

just a quick question about that cool case.... will 2 80mm fans fit side by side in the front? and the black mesh covering acts like a fan grill... but is it possible to drill/bolt in cool looking grills instead of the black mesh?

Gongo56 said:

just a quick question about that cool case.... will 2 80mm fans fit side by side in the front? and the black mesh covering acts like a fan grill... but is it possible to drill/bolt in cool looking grills instead of the black mesh?

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I'm sure you could fit two 80's in there if you wanted to... but the ability to fit 120's in there makes it a moot point. When I break down the other system I'll try to remember to slap a couple 80's in the front and take a pic for you.

The front mesh covers also have dust filters in them as well. Most people report they leave the dust filter inside and just wash the whole cover(s) in water and let dry, easier that way.

I suppose you could fashion your own, better looking grill if you wanted to.
Personally, I wish Coolermaster made the case with aluminum drive covers, to give the entire front a uniform aluminum look.... but that's just me.

yeah.. i am hesitant to buy it just because of the black mesh stuff on the front.. maybe an aluminum mod if i get one? thanks for hte pics... has helped me decide to buy one.. only reason i want 2x 80 mm fans in the front is so i can cut custom fan grills and i need 2 in stead of 1x120...

Hmm this might present some problems. I thought that heatercore would take up 6 bays not 7. Might have to change my plan now to either go with a Dtek procore or try to mount the core some where else. I really want to use the coolermaster drive module.

secretweapon said:

Hmm this might present some problems. I thought that heatercore would take up 6 bays not 7. Might have to change my plan now to either go with a Dtek procore or try to mount the core some where else. I really want to use the coolermaster drive module.

Click to expand...

I'm using it.... just not in the drive module. No big deal. I kinda wanted it to be in the bay too, but, oh well.

Why? You looking to mount a floppy or something??

Well here's what I'm thinking to put in orginally:

Control panel - 1 bay
CDROM+ DVD burner - 2 bays
CM Aerogate II - 1 bay (there's enough space behind it to mount one HD)
A HD cooler /fan controller combo - 1 bay + 1 HD,
Radiator 6 bays.

or

Control panel - 1 bay
drive module - 3 bay (hopefully i can put the CM aerogate II in front)
DVD burner - 1 bay
Radiator - 6 bay.

With 7 bays gone this would just not work. What sucks is no one local have this case in stock. So I can not go look at the dimensions.

**update**

Got a few things in from Newgg today....





Spent the last couple hours fitting......




Not perfect, but I never claimed to be an artist!!!



Got one of the side panels covered for the most part too..... And the other is obviously the window, so I left it alone.