- Joined
- Mar 7, 2008
I fancy giving my systems a summer refresh now I'm not running them 24/7 due to ambient heat. I fancy going further than ever at a case mod, so this is a collection of my thoughts.
My gaming time is mostly in FFXIV at the moment, so I wanted to do something with that. In the game are aetheryte crystals, used in part to transport around the world. The crystals are light blue, so, it will be a blue-white theme.
If there are any other fans of Linus Tech Tips here, I'd also take inspiration from Luke's Geodude build. I think the nearest I can get to blue crystals will be blue calcite and could integrate that into the theme. There will be the obligatory vast quantities of LED lighting involved somewhere.
Somewhere in this forum is my only modern attempt at a custom loop, with EK parts in a Corsair Air 540. It was functional but never quite satisfied. I'm wondering about going hard line this time around. I've zero experience in this but I like the look. I'd obviously need the new tubing, tools to suit, and new fittings as needed. The liquid will be dyed either milky white or a pale blue, to be decided.
For a case, I'd like the In Win 301 once it is available, in blue/white theme. I have the 303 already and love the look of the tinted tempered glass panel, but don't want another big case. The 301 is mini-ATX, with room for a 240mm rad in front, and 120mm rad in rear. I'm only thinking of using the front 240 at this time. I still need to check if there is room for my current pump/rad combo. The only space is low in the case and I suspect the GPU will interfere. I might replace it with something smaller, or used horizontally.
Since I don't need or want to buy another system just for this, I think I'd reuse my Broadwell system parts. Asus Z97M-plus with i5-5675C, combined with 980Ti. Is a single 240mm rad enough? The CPU is already mildly overclocked to 3.5 GHz with a large air cooler. I'll have to look up the results again but I think it got close to 4 GHz with a 280mm AIO previously. The GPU I likely wont overclock much beyond whatever it comes at. It was never a good clocker and ran out of steam around 1440 core from memory, without volt mods.
The mobo might be more challenging to integrate as it is black and "gold" coloured. My thinking here is that if I can convert it to a subtle steampunk look, I could get away with it, as there are elements in game that are a bit steampunk-like.
So, new parts needed so far would be:
In Win 301 case
Hard line, tools, fittings, dye
Blue calcite
Steampunk cosmetic detailing
I think the case isn't expected for while yet, so I've time to look into the other parts.
As a stretch goal, I'd like to have a rotating aetheryte crystal as they do in game... so, some kind of motor will be needed as well as other cosmetic parts around it. I haven't thought much about it yet, but may involve either thermoplastics and/or 3D printing.
My gaming time is mostly in FFXIV at the moment, so I wanted to do something with that. In the game are aetheryte crystals, used in part to transport around the world. The crystals are light blue, so, it will be a blue-white theme.
If there are any other fans of Linus Tech Tips here, I'd also take inspiration from Luke's Geodude build. I think the nearest I can get to blue crystals will be blue calcite and could integrate that into the theme. There will be the obligatory vast quantities of LED lighting involved somewhere.
Somewhere in this forum is my only modern attempt at a custom loop, with EK parts in a Corsair Air 540. It was functional but never quite satisfied. I'm wondering about going hard line this time around. I've zero experience in this but I like the look. I'd obviously need the new tubing, tools to suit, and new fittings as needed. The liquid will be dyed either milky white or a pale blue, to be decided.
For a case, I'd like the In Win 301 once it is available, in blue/white theme. I have the 303 already and love the look of the tinted tempered glass panel, but don't want another big case. The 301 is mini-ATX, with room for a 240mm rad in front, and 120mm rad in rear. I'm only thinking of using the front 240 at this time. I still need to check if there is room for my current pump/rad combo. The only space is low in the case and I suspect the GPU will interfere. I might replace it with something smaller, or used horizontally.
Since I don't need or want to buy another system just for this, I think I'd reuse my Broadwell system parts. Asus Z97M-plus with i5-5675C, combined with 980Ti. Is a single 240mm rad enough? The CPU is already mildly overclocked to 3.5 GHz with a large air cooler. I'll have to look up the results again but I think it got close to 4 GHz with a 280mm AIO previously. The GPU I likely wont overclock much beyond whatever it comes at. It was never a good clocker and ran out of steam around 1440 core from memory, without volt mods.
The mobo might be more challenging to integrate as it is black and "gold" coloured. My thinking here is that if I can convert it to a subtle steampunk look, I could get away with it, as there are elements in game that are a bit steampunk-like.
So, new parts needed so far would be:
In Win 301 case
Hard line, tools, fittings, dye
Blue calcite
Steampunk cosmetic detailing
I think the case isn't expected for while yet, so I've time to look into the other parts.
As a stretch goal, I'd like to have a rotating aetheryte crystal as they do in game... so, some kind of motor will be needed as well as other cosmetic parts around it. I haven't thought much about it yet, but may involve either thermoplastics and/or 3D printing.
