[phil178821]

Just got the Pinnacle Case from Mountain Mods in yesterday. So far, I have installed everything, but I havent had a chance to fill and leak test my loop yet.

so here's what I have:

E6600
Gigabyte Ga-965p-S3
2x160gb WD in raid 0
1x120gb Maxtor
Xtreme Gamer sound card
4x1gb OCZ Platinum Revision 2
8800GTS 640mb

COOLING:
TC 120.3pa Rad
Swiftech MCW30 on NB, MCW60 on 8800GTS, MCRES 2
D5 Vario
7/16" Tygon R3603
All Yate Loons Mediums
Sunbeam Controller
DD MC-TDX on cpu

All hardware is from a prior build, the only upgrade here is the case.

So first, MM took 11 days to ship, however, I do not completely blame them for it.
1) the weather was absurd over there.
2) stock was replenished right as I ordered so everyone already waiting jumped ahead of me in the list.
In the end, MM offered to pay 50% of my upgrade from 5 to 3 day shipping ($10).

So now.... the case. We all read the dimensions when we order, but we can never really imagine how big these things are until we have them. The pictures will speak for themselves.

The edges on the front of my 5.25" do not look smooth. I may try to detail it in a picture later. Its really not that big of an issue and it doesn't stand out that much.

Although I knew it when i purchased, I do miss front USB ports. I am currently considering adding them.

Nice finish (Anodized for the extra $70, ridiculous, I know)

Some edges are sharp, but hey, we aren't 6 years old, right?

I love the hyper modularity

So what I went with:
Solid Side panels. TC spacing (obviously) in front. And a 3x120mm with Thermochill spacing up top as well. And, as stated above, an anodized finished.

So you will see in the photos below:
- the TC rad does have a Shroud on it.. absurd how much space there still is.
-I mounted the hard drives where they are because I am scared they may fall from above and smash my bored.

All in All, I really like the case. Total cost: $415.. Worth it? Can't put a price on happiness, right?

Oh an also, you will see it side by side below with my Lian Li PC61, which is a midtower. This will give you an idea of its size.

You can see I also sleeved, cut, and changed the connectors on the case fans. So there will be 6 on the rad, 3 up top, and 2 in the back.

I also just noticed these pictures really suck. I will upload better ones either tomorrow or Monday.


Also, Photobucket keeps rotating 2 of the pictures where the case is laid out. sorry.

[phil178821]

also, I just remembered.. the back mobo panel (one with pci slots) I wasnt able to line up with all the screw holes on the back panel. I havent had much time to look at it so it is highly likely its my fault.

[Albaholic]

Nice work! Subscribed

[IOS&M]

looks promising ! waiting for more updates !

[Masska]

thanks for the thread.I've been looking at this case as well

[phil178821]

thanks guys. i will have some updates probably tomorrow night.

also, another thought, the damn pwr switch cable doesnt reach my board pins.. annoying since i already sleeved the damn cable.

[Albaholic]

That does sound pretty irritating, redoing it would definitely be worth it since you already did a great job with the rest of your sleeving. I'm sure you wanna keep everything nice and tidy

[phil178821]

Originally Posted by Albaholic

That does sound pretty irritating, redoing it would definitely be worth it since you already did a great job with the rest of your sleeving. I'm sure you wanna keep everything nice and tidy

thanks a lot.. yeah. one will reach. the other side seems like it will reach if its stretched, but then it looks like garbage. either way, my fault for already sleeve-ing the cable. thanks again guys.

[phil178821]

Originally Posted by phil178821

thanks a lot.. yeah. one will reach. the other side seems like it will reach if its stretched, but then it looks like garbage. either way, my fault for already sleeve-ing the cable. thanks again guys.

lol i am going to try to make more sense... the side closest to the mobo reaches. the opposite side will reach if i stretch it across the center of the case... which we all know is unacceptable.... lol

[chadrh]

Awesome looking case. I'm jealous.

[wav3form]

Can you extend that cable somehow?

[Albaholic]

Originally Posted by wav3form

Can you extend that cable somehow?

ti the forums. Yeah, he can, it should be pretty simple (cut the end off & solder more wire on & resleeve), the only thing that sucks is he already sleeved it.

[wav3form]

Originally Posted by Albaholic

ti the forums. Yeah, he can, it should be pretty simple (cut the end off & solder more wire on & resleeve), the only thing that sucks is he already sleeved it.

Thanks, new member here. It'd be great if they had extension cables he could use - do they even make those? If he were to solder extensions, I hope he uses a no-clean style flux solder because you don't want a corrosive flux wicking under the wire insulation. I'm IPC certified in soldering and have been doing it for a number of years. Case looks great, i'm looking into getting a Bob Slay model for my new build.

[phil178821]

thanks guys.. its pretty easy to extend the cable. since i don't have the pins for that type of cable, i will cut off the end and simply splice some more in. i just twist the wire ends together and then finish it with a piece of shrink wrap tubing to cover the exposed wire. that should work fine, right guys? no fire issues? as for where the cables were joined, i simply shoved all 3 (or 2) fan wires into the pin and crimped it. I then use heat shrink up to the edge.

i am also considering buying a second shroud for the other side of my rad. i clearly have the space, lol.

more updates tonight/tomorrow morning

[chadrh]

How many built in spaces are there for rads? What size rads is it designed to hold?

[phil178821]

Originally Posted by chadrh

How many built in spaces are there for rads? What size rads is it designed to hold?

they give you plenty of options. on top of that, for an extra $40 (i may be off on the cost) you can have them do some custom cutting.

so some of the options i remember. you can choose rad spacing for the top fans as well as front. either Thermochill or BIX/Swiftech (which is like the same spacing every rad has).

on top of that, you can opt for the top panel to be 4x120 for the large rads. you just have to watch the clearance with your 5.25" bay.. i only went with 3x120 so i could have the Thermochill spacing in case i wanted to mount my rad up there.

you can also mount another rad on the 2x120mm in the back of the case.


so just to recap:
2x120mm rad in the rear.

3x120mm rad in the front of the case

up to 4x120mm rad in the top.

pretty awesome and spacious..

now I am not certain, but (i know) you can have fan openings cuti n the side panels, which gives your more rad placement options, as well as have them custom (or d-i-y) in the bottom for more rads..

[chadrh]

Outstanding. I'm seriously envious. I do think I've identified my next case though.

[phil178821]

filling and bleeding was painless and quick..

problem now though.. no video. i haven't had a chance to check everything but, after resetting the cmos, still no video.

will post some more pictures tonight..

[wav3form]

Originally Posted by phil178821

filling and bleeding was painless and quick..

problem now though.. no video. i haven't had a chance to check everything but, after resetting the cmos, still no video.

will post some more pictures tonight..

You have another vid card you can try out to see if that's the issue?

[phil178821]

Originally Posted by wav3form

You have another vid card you can try out to see if that's the issue?

yup, going to later tonight. I just didn;t have the chance to before I had to run out.

[noobert]

boy this is the only mountain mods case that looks good

[phil178821]

Originally Posted by noobert

boy this is the only mountain mods case that looks good

agreed.. i hate those cubes.

[phil178821]

so some finals thoughts (reiterations)...

awesomely huge case...
nice finish
sturdy as can be

some gripes:

power/reset leads aren't long enough. well at least the one on the far side of the motherboard.

edges can be sharp

perimeter edge of 5.25" cage doesn't look like a clean cut, however, it is not really noticeable.

pci-slot plate does not perfectly line up with back panel. About 3 screw holes are off. I will be contacting MM shortly.


now some issues. I am not getting any video. I think something went with my board. neither of my video cards are working. This is after leaving the battery out of the board for about 12 hrs. Any other ideas guys? also, this is not a new board, I have been using it for a 2 or so yrs now.

[trickson]

WOW that is sweet !
Great JOB !

[phil178821]

Originally Posted by trickson

WOW that is sweet !
Great JOB !

thanks. still trying to figure out the video issue...

[phil178821]

finally, got some non fuzzy pictures. setting was off on the camera. stupid me.

[phil178821]

like the beer bat that sneaked into the first picture .. lol

[trickson]

Sounds like maybe the mobo is gone not sure but if you tryed 2 cards and both failed to work then that is all I can think of .
It still looks sweet !

[alpha male]

great looking rig! , nice job on the loops , but 1 question ? -- could you have mounted your .3 rad at the top so the heat is blowing out the top and not out the front. just curious oh any luck with the vid??

[wav3form]

I'd definitely try a new mobo if possible. Sounds like that's what the problem is if you already tried two vid cards. PITA but you gotta do what you gotta do. I think that's why i'm leaning towards a tech station for my next build... easier to swap parts when I need to. (i'm going to build a cage around it to cat proof it though)