[Case Mod] Powertosh i5 / PowermacG5 H2O-cooled Hackintosh

Looking good.

Yesterday i got some presents again, this time from DIYINHK.com.

I've ordered PWM Control 18W PCB for DDC pump ( http://www.diyinhk.com/shop/ddc-pump/41-laing-ddc-pump-18w-repair-pcb-wled-smd-soldered-mcp355.html ) because there is no need for the pump to run on max rpm 0/24, and i wanted to use benefits of Sabertooth 4-pin headers and ASUS's Thermal radar control.

So, here it is:

Upgrade PCB kit with blue LEDs.








System was flushed out and disassembled and pump is ready for her upgrade






New PCB is slightly smaller than original one




Old PCB dissasembled




Stator coil




Old VS New PCB





We can clearly see how far technology went in just 10 years, that single IC and a few diodes on new PCB are replacing bunch of ICs and semiconductors from the old PCB.

Also new PCB is made out of 4 layers, vs 2 layer on old one. This is a huge benefit in form of power delivery to the coils itself and it is more prone to pcb burnout due copper current limitation old boards had ( copper lines on the board were too small and too resistant, aka they were limiting max current that can flow into the coils, and when users placed those pumps into restrictive loops, stator demanded more and more current to maintain desired RPMs )

In that upgrade kit i've also received 4 blue LEDs and 2 SMD resistors, but as i don't own transparent top + i hate blue LEDs inside of a computer ( they are too much redneck-ish ) i won't use them.



R2 and R3 are locations for those 2 resistors, and D1,D2,D3 & D4 are places where you should solder LEDs if you wish.




PCB contacts treated with solder for easier soldering of stator and power / control wires.






Stator pulled out from pump's casing, i did this for easier wire preparation.




Total of 6 coils with 2 wires, so i had to cut 6 exact wire pairs.




Preparation is the key of everything ( 85% preparation + 15% work = 100% of wanted result at the end ), so i stripped wire ends and treated them with tin.




Extension wires connected with the stator wires.







Those tiny white blobs on wire junctions are small amounts of nail polish, i used it to isolate bare connections from shorting together once the stator is placed inside of his casing and connected with PCB.

* Unfortunately i was really excited to test out the pump, so i forgot to take pictures of wires soldered on pcb, but i will take them later before final steps and project completition. *

Cables are sleeved and connected, white one is for RPM signal and PWM control that is connecting to the MBO 4-pin header, and inside the black one are 12+ and GND wires that are connected to the PSU.










So... you guys are probably asking yourself why on earth would someone do all this job if he had perfectly ok and 100% working device ?

Well, i like to do diy stuff and enhance electronic devices whenever i can, someone is playing soccer, someone is riding his bike, and to me this is my satisfaction and a way of relaxation

Ok ok, but if we put that aside, are there really benefits of this PCB ?

YES !

Pump is now under Sabertooth's control



Normally pump is working @ 850RPM



I've conected 4-pin header that is controling pump's RPMs with CPU thermal sensor, so whenever CPUs temp rises a bit, pump will also speed up, to keep more of the water flowing thru cpu block.



Temp difference between 850 and 3900 RPM is cca 2 degrees of Celsius in idle and 4 in full load, BUT noise difference between min and max RPMs that is hell of a improvement and it was worth of extra 20 GBP + 2 hours of "work" ( I say "work" because i do this for fun :3 )

I think you could actually solder on the wires on the outer edge and not have to extend the wires.

I did the same mod (I bet you got the link from me <nudge nudge>) and am very pleased with the result.
It's really a very nice upgrade. Congrats on it

I'll Wager the temperature difference is much more though. I have a metallic housing and if I have my pump running at max rpm for a while (say if my fan-controller misbehaves) it gets too hot to touch!

dintid said:

I think you could actually solder on the wires on the outer edge and not have to extend the wires.

I did the same mod (I bet you got the link from me <nudge nudge>) and am very pleased with the result.
It's really a very nice upgrade. Congrats on it

I'll Wager the temperature difference is much more though. I have a metallic housing and if I have my pump running at max rpm for a while (say if my fan-controller misbehaves) it gets too hot to touch!

Click to expand...

Well some of them got broken in de-soldering process and some of them snapped few moments later, so i went with full extension on all of them, i wanted a clean work look

perestrojka said:

Well some of them got broken in de-soldering process and some of them snapped few moments later, so i went with full extension on all of them, i wanted a clean work look

Click to expand...

I can totally understand that. Looks very nice.
Very nicely done sleeving as well. Not much room for it

Ill just be here following this.. since i have a case sitting out in the garage

Small update / tease


GTX 980 Phantom



I5 4690K



GPU is already installed for benching / testing on air




Currently i had GTX 760 Phantom from my mate who borrowed it to me, since HD7850 died because of VRM shorting ( too much vgpu / +50% power limit is bad for cheap vrm ), and considering the fact that they advertise Phantom line as colder / quieter solution is absolute lie, they get hot as hell and noisy also, but i don't know, noise tolerance varies from person to person... So.. i can't wait for vrm watercooling parts, so i can put this Maxwell beast under H20 and do some proper bios tweaking / overclocking

So, I've finally catched some spare time and i can continue working on this case.

I/O bracket fixed in place with epoxy resin.






Original fan holes section removed.




I decided to use original CPU cover plate because i can easily drill thru it, also i will drill holes around G5 logo, so letters will remain unpainted / original.



Drill testing



Okay, here we go






Steps remaining in this project:

* G5 plate drilling
* fixing imperfections on handmade cuts / drillouts / connections
* psu cable sleeving
* case sanding / primer coating / painting

ETA remaining: 2 weeks max. ( i hope )

Snippet for impatient ones


Cover perforation






24pin cable sleeving

You Sir, have some patience.

I'm anxious to see more.

Soulcatcher668 said:

You Sir, have some patience.

I'm anxious to see more.

Click to expand...

Thanks for support, i will post some updates in a few hours.



Edit:

Just got CLU delivered few secs ago

So, morning was perfect for de-lid process

Instead of razor blade method or vice and hammer method i used new method, my own

Procedure is the same as razor blade method procedure, but instead of razor blade i used very thin plastic sheet i had from usb drive package. This plastic is perfect for this kind of work, thin, sharp and smooth.



Liquid Ultra on die



Liquid Ultra on IHS



With this i got more event temps across all cores




Before de-lid, min / max core difference was 14 degrees Celsisus.


Note: Currently CPU is cooled with box cooler / i did quick and poor Phobya Nano grease application, so we won't see the real results before i mount watercooling loop and put everything in case. But as far i'am satisfied with lower ΔT across all cores

Small update:

Front mesh( port holes are covered / perforated )



Rear mesh ( fixed in place and perforated )

Your patience is admirable! Very cool seeing that CPU air shroud being re-used like that, don't think I've ever seen that.

Even seeing that makes me anxious haha. Admirable work sir

Ben333 said:

Your patience is admirable! Very cool seeing that CPU air shroud being re-used like that, don't think I've ever seen that.

Click to expand...

Thanks

I love to re-purpose everything as much as possible

bob4933 said:

Even seeing that makes me anxious haha. Admirable work sir

Click to expand...

Thank you

Hello Mr. Ive









Moar picturezzz in day or two

okay me likey even more.. love you kept he g5 logo

TransformedBG said:

okay me likey even more.. love you kept he g5 logo

Click to expand...

Yeah i love it too I wanted to keep something else, beside case frame, from original G5 design

Black cage







Side panel was sanded down after 1st primer layer, ( wet sanding - soapy water with P800 grit sanding paper )





"Mirror" finish



Primer coating, 2nd layer







Musical motivation used during this work:




Edit:

Few hours later, sidepanel was coated with black spray paint, and wet-sanded with P2000 paper.

Paint is in 60% mirror finish stage.