Project Three Mile Island - Revision D2

[Sneaky]

http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/revd2_logo.jpg


After a somewhat flunked Rev. D1 writeup, a 955XE that mysteriously died on me and a straight out fun build (Rev D1.5), I present you with Revision D2 - with more goods than ever, thanks to a few extra hookups (you know who you all are), plus a pay increase at work :).


Planned Specifications


Case/Components:
Enclosure: Custom Black Wrinkle Powdercoated Mountain Mods U2-UFO w/ Original Top - HAVE

Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 2.93GHz Conroe - NEED

Motherboard: ATi RD600 Xpress3200 Intel Edition
or Asus P5WD2-E Premium 975X (Conroe Supporting) - NEED

Memory: 2GB (2x1GB) G.Skill F2-8000PHU1-1GBHZ DDR2-1000/PC2-8000 (4-4-4-5)
or 2GB (2x1GB) OCZ Platinum XTC DDR2-1000/PC2-8000 Extreme Edition (4-5-4-15) - NEED

Graphics: Sapphire ATI Radeon x1900XTX 512MB PCI-Express x16 - HAVE
Sapphire ATI Radeon x1900 Crossfire Edition 512MB PCI-Express x16 - NEED

Audio: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 7.1 PCI Sound Card - NEED

Storage: 2x Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000RPM 16MB Cache SATA (RAID 0) - HAVE 2
2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA II (Backup Drives) - NEED

5.25 Devices: 2x Black Samsung CD-RW/DL DVD burner combo drive - NEED

Power: PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 1KW 1000 Watt Crossfire Edition - NEED

Display: Dell UltraSharp 2407FPW 24.0-inch Wide Flat Panel LCD - NEED



CPU Water Cooling (1/2" ID Loop):

CPU Block: Little River Waterblocks Storm G5 - HAVE

Radiator: Thermochill PA120.3 Radiator - NEED

Radiator Shrouds: 2x Thermochill PS120.3 Shrouds + neoprene gaskets - HAVE

Pumps: 2x Laing DDC-2TP Rev. 2 "Plus" w/ Alphacool Acrylic Tops - NEED

Fillport/Reservoir: Alphacool Cape AGB2 Polished Copper Circular Reservoir - HAVE

Tubing: 100 feet Masterkleer 1/2" ID, 13/16" OD (5/32" Wall) Tubing - HAVE

Hose Clamps: 10x 316 Stainless Steel Worm Drive Hose Clamps 9/16" band 1" max. ID - HAVE



GPU Water Cooling (3/8" ID Loop):

GPU Blocks: 2x Swiftech MCW-60 - NEED

Radiator: HW Labs Black GT Stealth 240 - NEED

Pumps: Laing DDC-2TP Rev. 2 "Plus" w/ Alphacool Acrylic Top - NEED

Fillport/Reservoir: Alphacool Cape AGB2 Polished Copper Circular Reservoir - NEED

Tubing: 25 feet Masterkleer 3/8" ID, 5/8" OD (1/8" Wall) Tubing - NEED

Hose Clamps: 10x 316 Stainless Steel Worm Drive Hose Clamps 9/16" band 7/8" max. ID - NEED


Misc. Cooling:

CPU Radiator Fans: 6x Delta WFB1212ME 120x38mm Fans- HAVE

GPU Radiator Fans: 2x Delta WFB1212M 120x25mm Fans - HAVE

Case Fans: 4x Delta WFB1212M 120x25mm Fans - HAVE

RAM Sinks: 16x OCZ Copper BGA RAM Sinks - NEED



Miscellaneous Parts:

Matched Black Wrinkle Powdercoated Sunbeam 5.25" 4-Channel Rheobus - HAVE

Matched Black Wrinkle Powdercoated Aluminum Lian Li 3.5 to 5.25 Bay Converter - HAVE

Matched Black Wrinkle Powdercoated Aluminum Lian Li Floppy Drive Bezel - HAVE

9x Black 120mm Wire Fan Grills - HAVE

2x Lian Li V-series Stainless Steel Power Buttons + Blue & Red LEDs - HAVE

6x Silver Braided ACryan SATAII 300Mb/s Cables - NEED 4

2x Cardkeeper CK03-1225 w/ SLI Slot & Liquid Cooling Support - HAVE

Cardkeeper CK99-1224 - NEED

3x Logisys White 12" Dual CCFL Kits - NEED




I bet you’ve asked yourself one question at this point. “Does this kid ever stop!?”

Well he is for once after this rig is done – I need to save up for a car once I turn 18 in January, and this rig will have to last me a while without being upgrades (not like it needs any!)

Anyways… Welcome to Project Three Mile Island - Revision D2 :sn:


-Justin

[Flip-Mode]

As always I'm subscribed.

[greenmaji]

Do you know wich X1000 card your going to use for physics yet?

[Sneaky]

i know nothing about the physics yet... wanna fill me in?

[traldan]

That is a disgustingly sweet build, can't wait to see how it turns out. :p

[Sneaky]

spec list modified with physics card and another option for motherboard + video cards


friend out in cali just got a set of 7950GX2's from eVGA to test out... so I might have to stay green after the 6600GT's in SLI and go with 7950GX2 quad SLI :drool:

[SolidxSnake]

:drool: :drool: :drool:

WOW, subscribed. Can't wait to see this.

[traldan]

friend out in cali just got a set of 7950GX2's from eVGA to test out... so I might have to stay green after the 6600GT's in SLI and go with 7950GX2 quad SLI :drool:

I need 'friends' like THAT! :p

[Sneaky]

I've been in the right place at the right time, and met/know the right people - its simply amazing how many connections I have in the PC community at age 17 :eek:

[inkfx]

I know you've looked into phase change, why not try it for this build? To much money?

This build is gonna be sick, can't wait to see the final product and the insane benchmarks.

[Sneaky]

meh at phase, i don't need that fast of a rig for a daily basis running, though this is already stupid fast


i have my custom solid "AK-47" DI/LN2 container coming from Canada soon... mmmmmm solid C110 copper milled to my specifications

i also have two copper tubes that will probably end up as brazed GPU containers eventually


so when i get the tubes done, i'll have temporary cooling that PWNS phase change ;) can you say liquid nitrogen? :attn:

[inkfx]

i should've known.... haha

oh and are you really going for that 1KW? You already spent those big bucks on that insane Zippy unit.

[Sneaky]

i don't think that even a zippy 700w will be big enough for a quad SLI setup :eek:

[Albaholic]

damn sneaky. at it again Subscribed

[wa77ss]

Can I ask what it is you do to make so much money at only 17 ? You are slightly older than me, yet you can pour a few k into a new computer every three months. How ? LoL

You dont have to answer that if it bothers you, but I just figured Id ask anyhow :p

[inkfx]

I think I can answer that with 3 words.

He is magic!

[gvblake22]

I think I can answer that with 3 words.

He is magic!
More like "He is Sneaky!":beer:

[Sneaky]

1. i've had a solid job at a local grocery store since 14 (legal working age in wisconsin)

2. I have a lot of connections that allow me to get deals on items before they are released to the public as well as connections that allow me to pay less than retail or at times even wholesale for some items (no I really can't get other people deals on it, the main guy I go through is a very good friend of mine, and it operates on a "do a deed for others, and others will repay that deed" system between us"

3. sometimes even I question how I'm able to do these things or how I've gotten so many connections at such a young age

4. and don't even think that my parents pay for it - they don't. "mommy" hasn't given me ONE CENT (minus food, clothing, and housing) since I got my job at age 14

[Sneaky]

copying some stuff out of my previous threads so that we have a full project log with pics of everything from start to finish in this one:



the case:


http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/u2ufo_zippo_1.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/u2ufo_zippo_2.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/u2ufo_zippo_3.jpg


http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/u2ufo_2.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/u2ufo_3.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/u2ufo_4.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/u2ufo_5.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/u2ufo_6.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/u2ufo_1.jpg

[Sneaky]

the parts:


http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/llparts.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/hardware.jpg

[Sneaky]

flat LL V-series switches replace stock MM switches:


BEFORE:
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/sw_1.jpg




AFTER:
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid1/sw_2.jpg

[Sneaky]

Little River Waterblocks Storm G5 CPU Block:

http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/storm_g5.jpg

[traldan]

Damn man, even 3 years working in a grocery store, jeez. I'm a bit younger than you, with a steady job I've had for over a year paying VERY well for my age, and I'm lucky to afford a nice upgrade or rebuild every year-year and a half.

[Sneaky]

thats where #2 comes in handy... :sn:

[hainer36]

i love that case....and i need your address for some money to go to ya :D

[Sneaky]

after hearing from my friend of the troubles with 7950GX2's overheating and whatnot and just the fact that I don't want to drop so much cash on a set of cards when x2800XTX's are going to be coming out within a short while, I'm just gonna go with the original plan of x1900XTX Crossfire :thup:

[Albaholic]

even that zippo looks sexy

[Sneaky]

thats where i got the idea for doing the case in a black crackle powdercoat in the first place :)

[Sneaky]

alright, updates:


ordered a pair of PS 120.3 shrouds and neoprene gaskets for them from danger den - they finally got them back in stock and I jumped at the chance to get them


I also changed my res plans because I found a US retailer (voyeurmods) that carried the vertical Alphacool reservoir that I wanted (solid copper version), and ordered that as well


and to feed you the pics that you all must have... if you've never seen 100ft of tubing before, here's 100ft of Masterkleer 1/2" ID, 13/16" OD (5/32" Wall) tubing (on top of my case for size comparison of just how much tubing it is :beer: )

as far as I'm concerned, its the best tubing that I've ever used, and I've used 3 different types of tygon, clearflex 60, primoflex, you name it, I've tried it at one point, but this is definitely the best!

it has a bend radius better than that of anything else I've tried, it DOESN'T STAIN like other tubing, and ITS CHEAP!!! (w00tsauce for 100ft or larger quantity discount @ mcmaster-carr :))

http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/tubing.jpg

[KyleB]

that res is actually aluminium polished copper not solid copper. not sure if you noticed that...

k.

[Sneaky]

no, its solid copper, otherwise it wouldnt cost so much more


and they just copied the description wrong AFAIK


here's the description directly from alphacool's site

The Cape Corp AGB2 reservoir serves for easy filling and ventilating a water cooling system. It can be mounted inside or outside the case and provides a water reservoir, by means of which the pump can absorb absolutely free of bubbles. The water cooling system can be filled after the installation via the filling opening at the upper side (oil-inspection glass cover). Through the 1/4" screw thread it is populated with different other connections and thus it can be variably combined with diverse hose diameters. The AGB3 has a M4-drill, in order to fit the bottom to the case.
Technical data:
Weight: 1250g
Material: copper polished (start-up protection), cover oil-inspection glass
Dimensions (without pump): (LxBxH) 50 x 116 mm
Connections: 2x G1/4"
The reservoir is delivered without connections! Please order your wished connections under Hoses&Connections!

[KyleB]

yea, found that after i posted :/

[Flip-Mode]

Damn it Sneaky! You are making me all jealous!
Even if I get a job working a man ***** I can't make enough money to buy the cool stuff you got there! Not to mention no Mountain mods cases here...

*rubs his chin....* How to evade taxes....humm.....

[Sneaky]

got the alphacool res in today, and indeed it is solid copper - the damn thing weighs atleast 5 pounds!!!


http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/agb_1.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/agb_2.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/agb_3.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/agb_4.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/agb_5.jpg

[Sneaky]

got the PS 120.3 shrouds in today along with a pair of neoprene gaskets

I got my Delta WFB1212ME 120x38mm fans installed on them which I previously tapped for 10-32 screw threads

so I drilled out the holes on the shrouds to 3/16" and attached the fans with 3/4" 10-32 button head machine screws with a neoprene cushioning washer on them :thup:


http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/shrouds_1.jpg
http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/shrouds_2.jpg


I will be ordering the radiator tonight (PA 120.3), and possibly the pumps for the CPU loop (DDC Rev.2's w/ Alphacool acrylic top) so that I can atleast have watercooling running on the CPU for now

[hainer36]

love the fans, are they any better than the WFB1212M's (25mm)?

[Sneaky]

no thoes are the WFB1212ME 120x38mm fans - I use the WFB1212M 120x25mm fans for the case though

[BWR]

Are you planning to wear ear muffs during PC use?

[Captain Slug]

My wallet hates you...

Excellent fan choices btw.

[Sneaky]

Are you planning to wear ear muffs during PC use?
ear muffs? my room usually isn't that cold that I need to keep my ears warm... LOL

but if you mean ear plugs/whatever, I don't need to - the machine really isn't that loud, especially when I'm running most of the fans at 7v to 9v on a sunbeam fan controller... plus I'm used to the sound... I lived with two 80mm tornado fans at a full 12v for almost 3 months, that basically eliminates any sort of virginity that your ears have to fan noise

My wallet hates you...

Excellent fan choices btw.
heh... my wallet hates me too, but I know its going somewhere good ;)

and I absolutely LOVE the Delta WFB series - they're cheap as all hell, they're deltas so the quality is amazing as always, the bearings are so so so smooth, and the CFM to DBA ratio that they have is awesome, not to mention that they don't have any motor noise when being undervolted :attn: (its too bad that delta discontinued the WFB series a while ago :()

[KyleB]

Do you use a fan controller? If so which one? Do you (or the fan controller) just under-volt or use PWM? I've got one of the delta WFB1212M's and it whines like a baby using a PWM fan controller. Have you or anyone else found decent CFM fans for rads that can shut up when on a PWM controller? It seems like every fan I've tried makes some kind of noise that happens to be more annoying than the noise at full speed.
...
hmmm...
...
/rant on
Why does every new fan controller use PWM? They say its more efficient but where's the efficiency in spining the fans at lower speeds with more noise... Smack me upside the head and call me Sue but that just seems dumb to me. Yes thats right, anonymous person that makes fan controllers I think you are dumb. Did you bother to turn that damn thing on? Did you evey take those blasted ipod (don't get me going on ipod) ear buds out before running your test suite?!!? BTW running the test then going for lunch doesn't count.
/rant off

ok time to sleep it off..

k.

[Sneaky]

PWM controller = hunk of crap

get a sunbeam rheobus, yes they're under $10, but they used to cost over $20... best controller out, period (not to mention the only one thats not PWM)

[Captain Slug]

Agreed. The WFBs are all I've been using for the past 3 years for all the reasons you listed. They also can take quite a bit of abuse.
And for everyone else: The whole WFB series is comparatively quiet at pretty much any speed due to the sound output being entirely low frequency due to the complete lack of motor noise and the perfectly contoured blades.

[BWR]

Dont PWM controllers (like the NXP-201) become more efficient compared to variable resistant controllers (Im assuming that the Sunbeam Rheobus is based on VR circuitry)? As I understand it, PWM controllers send an inconstant flow of energy to the fan or electrical component to reduce the amount of energy being used by the fan. The variable resistance controllers use resistors to regulate the amount of energy coming to the fan/ec constantly. The fact that energy is being burned off by the resistor constantly makes the PWM more efficient, no?

[KyleB]

Here's a cut-n-paste from a conversation I had with Brad over at Tailored PC. It came up in some conversations over some electronic mods that I didn't feel comfortable doing. Check them out at http://www.tailoredpc.com.


In the case of voltage regulator fan controllers, the pros and cons are:
PROS: Because the torque applied to the fans is steady, the life of the fan is not reduced. There are no noisy side effects, like the groaning. Also, the tachometer signal functions normally, so you can still monitor RPMs or fan failure.

CONS: Because fans have a minimum torque required to spin, you can't get extremely low speeds -- i.e., you need usually about 6V to get the fan going. In addition, since a fan pulls more current at lower voltages and the excess voltage (i.e., the difference between 12V and the voltage going to the fan) has to go somewhere and it is usually dissipated as heat through the voltage regulator (our fan controllers use good heat sinks to help this and allow for more powerful fans to be used).

In the case of PWM fan controllers, the pros and cons are:

PROS: Since the fan always gets 12V to spin, you can run it very slowly by having the pulses between 0V and 12V far apart. Also, the fan always uses constant current depending on the fan's current rating, so the heat dissipation issue is not there although there is still an overall wattage limitation to each channel.

CONS: The switching between 0V and 12V is hard on the fan's coils, so the fan's lifespan can be slightly shortened. As mentioned, at low speeds, fans can groan or whine. Finally, since there's no constant power going to the fan (it's switching on and off), the RPM signal can't be read or will be very erratic


Brad if you read this hope you don't mind the copy!

k.

[KyleB]

Hey Sneaky side note on your hard drive selection. Why not 2 raptor 74's for main/boot and 3 raptor 150s raid 5 for backup/storage. This is the setup I'm considering. I have the 2 74's already and i'm looking into doing the 150's piecemeal . Trying to talk myself into the cost of the 10k 150. The angel is saying that my server's 4x200gb raid 5 isn't full and the devils saying thats not the point :).

[scott d]

hey, i may have posted this before in one of your other logs, but i just can't remember. Why not buy rubber grommets rather than neoprene washers? I picked up a bunch from mcmaster for pretty cheap. http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?partnum=9307K11&pagenum=3542

[Sneaky]

because i already have a bag full of the neoprene washers, so i'm gonna use what i have for now :shrug:

[Sneaky]

specs changed for 4 of the new 74gb 16mb cache raptors instead of 2x 150gb's :)

still gonna use 2x WD caviars out of RAID for storage though

[Sneaky]

so... this morning when i go to turn on my computer, on the intel ICH7R RAID boot screen... it says volume disk #2 has failed :(

i am so tired of these hitachis - they worked fine for a number of months, and all of my friends have been having problems with them after 2-3 months themselves... i guess it was my turn to get skullf***ed by my hard drives

RIP 500gb of data from the past year... atleast i have a 120gb with some of the stuff backed up... but the last backup i did was in may... so poop. :bang head

[tomoracle290]

that realy sucks, i won't be getting any hitachis then

[Sneaky]

ordered a pair of WD 74gb 16mb cache Raptors with cash I had in my savings acct. from tax refunds

should be here monday... or saturday if the UPS driver is feeling generous

[traldan]

That's no fun - I've had two Hitachi Deskstar 160's for a while now (one over a year, one since Black Friday, however long ago that was), and neither have given me any issue. I should, however, backup my data - I have a lot of it.

[Sneaky]

yeah, i'd definitely suggest you backup your data - recently these hitachi SATA II drives have been living up to their old "deathstar" nickname :bang head


so while my rig is down, today I'm finishing up sleeving my zippy 700w PSU, and it should be up and running on monday when my two 74gb 16mb cache raptors come *rubs hands together*

I'm leaving the hitachis as-is right now without reformatting them to see if i can possibly salvage any data from the array

[Sneaky]

alright, well over the weekend since my rig was down and because I finally got more black sleeving and heatshrink, I finished up sleeving my Zippy 700w PSU - I left the SATA power cables unsleeved for now because I plan to add snap-on SATA connectors when I have all 6 HDD's I plan to use and use one line to power all the drives, the connectors all evenly spaced between drives :)


but here's the final product after sleeving:

http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/zippy_1.jpg



and today I got my two 74gb 16mb cache raptors in:

http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/raptors_1.jpg



and did a minor wire management job compared to what it was before, and now have my rig running on the Intel D975XBX BadAxe I've had for a while but never used (rev. 302 board):

http://www.fragtek.com/sneaky/p3mid2/badaxe_1.jpg

[gvblake22]

Hey Sneaky, how do you like that Ultra-120?

[Sneaky]

ultra-120 = love <3 :attn:

[wa77ss]

What SATA cables are you using ? Can you provide a linky please ?

TY :)

[Sneaky]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=312&products_id=4173


i then sleeved them with black 3/8" PET sleeving from www.svcompucycle.com :)

[wa77ss]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=312&products_id=4173


i then sleeved them with black 3/8" PET sleeving from www.svcompucycle.com :)

Thank you :)

[Sneaky]

today I stumbled back across petrastechshop and was staring at the Silverprop Fusion HL there for a while

It got me thinking - this IS the best GPU block in the world... now only if 4 hole mounting support was better...

I'm extremely tempted to order a pair of these blocks instead of MCW-60's and then have some custom mounting brackets laser cut from 1/16" or 3/32" stainless steel to greatly improve their 4-hole mounting system :):thup:

[Sneaky]

alright... it may disappoint some that this name is disappearing, but its been old, and it's lived up to its name too many times - there wasa three mile island disaster with my old 6800GT being killed, my 660 ES not OCing worth a crap, an 955XE ES dying without warning, and most lately, a x1900XTX dying without reason


the name is changing, the project will be more involved than ever, and you will soon see a new thread once modding goods arrive - no waiting for that damn kid to get more money and then do little by little, no more "lets just throw our components in and be done" garbage

with revision D2 the plan was to go all out and do whatever was fit to make this one badass, super clean looking cube, that had an insane cooling system, with components that dominate anything else out there... and it deserves a new name, and to start from a new beginning

I will now proudly announce the unveiling of Project: Illuminati Unleashed

[Albaholic]

Nice, can't wait to see that one sneaky. I'll be subscribed to that one as well...Sorry to hear that all that gear died.

[wa77ss]

Project: Illuminati Unleashed

Are you a secret member ? LoL

Cant wait to see the new project, and sorry to hear about all those dead components :(

[Sneaky]

you'll see the new thread up as soon as the case comes... voyeurmods is dicking around with me and not responding to my messages in a timely matter, so I might have to order directly from the european company and swallow the estimated $160-180 shipping fee to get it over to the states *gulp*... but *drool*

[hainer36]

if your talking about the Lian Li cube case, xoxide has them too, if you cant get it from voyuer and dont wanna go to europe

wait nvm, thats the PC-300 (m-atx) not the 343, my bad