Project: DIYPCMODS

[mavericksvt]

Ok, so I am starting to build my new computer. I was thinking of a DIYPCMODS theme but I didn't really want to invest a whole lot of effort into the cosmetics of the case. So I decided that it would only be fitting to go with NZXT's Lexa Case since it is the case used in our logo and all. I have always been a little impressed with the cases that NZXT has delivered and after looking at this case it seems to have everything I need for what I am wanting to do.

Normally I am not a huge fan of water cooling but since my last computer was a touch to loud for my liking I decided to give it a shot and see if I could build a Crossfire platform that is practically silent. (besides a 120mm fan and water pump) So I ordered my case from my favorite online retailer. Here are some pictures that were taken after I received the case.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/lexacase.jpg
Top Front of the case. You will notice that the case looks a little dirty. Which is just some pieces of packaging clinging to the case.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/lexaback.jpg
Back Panel

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/top.jpg
Top

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/lexafrontpanel.jpg
Front Panel

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/lexasidepanelon.jpg
Side Window

All in all this case is pretty nice. Full aluminum construction which makes it sturdy and lite. The front panel has almost a mirror finish to it. My only complaints are that the window is a clear plastic instead of plexi and scratches easily. The hinges on the front panel seem a little weak and are another concern. Other than that this case looks and performs great. All drives mount with clips making installation of hardware much nicer. I have not had a chance to play with the other features on the case like the front panel LCD and other fun stuff but i will post it later.

I mentioned a little before about my plans for my new computer but I never went into detail. So here are a few specifics. I wanted to build a crossfire platform. I am not a hardcore gamer but I do enjoy gaming very much. My major annoyance when it comes to computers is waiting. If it gets choppy or appears to be lagging because of performance (which happens mostly on other people’s computers, work computers, etc) I can’t stand it. So its time to retire my P4 3.0 GHz 1M L2 800 MHz Socket 478 Prescott.

This time I'm going with AMD 64 x2 5200+ Socket AM2 1Mb x 2 and with the recent price drop it’s just about the best performing processor for $229. I know Intel is kicking ass right now with their C2D processors but the 5200+ will out perform an E6400 for the same price. Here are the specs:

AMD
Athlon 64 X2
ADA5200CSBOX
Socket AM2
Windsor
Dual-Core
Athlon 64 X2 5200+
2.6GHz
2000MHz
128KB+128KB
2 x 1MB
90 nm
MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, 3DNOW! Professional
1.30 V/1.35 V


So now that I have a processor I needed to find a good board that has crossfire capabilities. Finding a good board that is equipped with AMD 580x Northbridge (formerly known as ATI 3200). I looked all over the place for a good board but the only companies that seem to be making this board right now is ECS, Asus, and Epox. ECS is out of the question while Asus and Epox seem to have pretty decent boards. Epox seemed to have a little more features going for it and looked a little nicer but I have used Asus boards for years and they have always produced pretty good stuff.

Here are the board specs:

ASUS
M2R32-MVP
Socket AM2
Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64
1000MHz Hyper Transport (2000 MT/s)
AMD 580X CrossFire
ATI SB600
4×240pin
DDR2 800
8GB
Yes
1 x ATA100 up to 2 Devices
4 x Internal SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports / 1 x External SATA 3.0 Gb/s port
0/1/0+1
ADI 1988A
8 Channels
Marvell 88E8001
10/100/1000Mbps
4 x 2.0
1 x IEEE 1394a
1x Coaxial
6 Ports
3 x USB 2.0 connectors support 6 ports
1 x 1394a connector supports 1 port
ATX
12.0" x 9.6"
24 Pin


Next we come to the memory. This was kind of a tough choice for me. At first I was looking at the GeiL ULTRA Memory posted in the news section of the website. The specs are good especially for DDR2 memory. With a CLAS timing of 4-4-4-12. The only issue with the memory itself is the voltage issues and compatibility with motherboards. So after looking into this memory a little more I found that this memory didn't get that good of reviews from its owners. On the other hand Asus advertises on their site to use GeiL memory. That eliminates the compatibility issue. So I decided to give a shot since it seems to be some of the best performing memory for the money. 2 x 1 GB for 199.99.

Here are the specs.

GeIL
GX22GB6400UDCK
240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
2GB (2 x 1GB)
DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
4-4-4-12
1.8V - 2.3V
Blue Special Edition Aluminum Heat Spreader

The only thing left to list out of my major components is my graphics cards. Like I had mentioned above I am not a hardcore gamer. Although when it comes to graphics I have been an ATI fan for some time. So when it finally came to building my new rig I couldn't pass up the opportunity to run crossfire. So I picked out some cards. They just happened to be Sapphire's X1650XT which seems to be a damn good card for $129. So I grabbed 2 of these and some crossfire bridges.

Here are the specs:

SAPPHIRE
100166L
PCI Express x16
ATI
Radeon X1650XT
600MHz
pipelines 24
1400MHz
256MB
128-bit
GDDR3
DirectX 9
OpenGL 2.0
HDTV / S-Video/Composite Out
2560 x 1600
Yes
Yes
Yes
Ultra-Threaded Shader Engine

Now that we have that out of the way it’s time to do some water cooling. I mentioned before that my last computer was loud, and I mean really loud. Let’s put it this way my girlfriend is a very light sleeper. She will wake up at the slightest noise. If I leave my computer on it will make enough ambient noise that she will sleep through just about anything that I want to do. Watch TV, Xbox, pc modding, etc. Since then we have moved and no longer sleep in the same room as the computer so its time to upgrade from 6 80mm fans to 1 x 120mm (for the radiator) and a water pump. So here is what I am looking at for water cooling supplies:


Black Ice Stealth 120
Danger Den Mag II
10' Tygon Tubing
Swiftech Resivior
Swiftech Apogee GT (AM2)
2 x Swiftech MCW60-B


As these items are delivered I will post pictures and more.

[mavericksvt]

I finally received my radiator. Wahoo! I must say I am really impressed with the paint job on this thing. It matches the candy black paint of my case.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/radiator2.jpg

Trying to keep the appearance of my case as stock as possible I decided to mount my radiator on the back panel. In order to do this i would have to drill through the back panel. So put two 7/8 holes in the back panel.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/backpaneldrilled.jpg

Because the case is constructed out of aluminum it is quite soft. Normally not a problem but it had a hard time holding the pilot bit perfectly steady and so my holes were a little sloppy. Nothing a few grommets couldn't fix.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/backgrommets.jpg

So I have my radiator mounted which wasn't to hard even though it couldn't be mounted normally. The cutout for the fan on the back of the cause is raised about a 16th on an inch. So I had to buy spacers to keep the radiator off of the case so that it wouldn't bend or damage the fins. Other than that it was pretty smooth.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/lexaradiatormounted.jpg

The only problem is that the back panel didn't seem to fit. I had measured it earlier and it seemed to have the clearance. Although the top portion of the panel didn't seem to fit perfectly. So I had to cut it. I taped it to make sure that I wouldn't slip and scratch the surface. So I marked out my cutting lines with the dremel and went to work.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/backpaneloff.jpg

After taking a little off the top I tried it on for size and it fit like a glove. It was perfect. The only thing I had to do was file the edges smooth. Dremel's leave some pretty rough edges. Once they are smooth I give it a once over with some of krylon's plastic spray paint. I didn't paint the whole thing just the cut areas.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/backpanelfitted.jpg

After the paint dried I mounted it and marveled at my work.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/lexaradiator2.jpg

Updates will be posted first HERE! (http://forums.diypcmods.com/index.php?topic=20.0)

[mavericksvt]

Well shortly after I received my radiator I have the reservoir. All I have to say wow this thing is thick!
It looks very nice and has very study construction.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/resitself.jpg

Heres a decent picture of the reservoir. It's pretty nice and comes with all size fittings. 1/2, 3/8, and 1/4. It also comes with a pretty nice screw on top and min level indicator (swiftech logo).

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/resmounted.jpg

Picking out a spot was pretty easy. Since I am not a HDD hog I could easily mount it half on the 3.5" bays and half on the HDD bays. If I could I would have mounted it sole on the 3.5" bays which I haven't used in years. On the other hand it puts the reservoir right up against the window.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/lexares.jpg

[DaveW]

Dude, shaping up to be a good worklog. Keep up with this style! Having trouble picturing where the computer's going, have any design sketches for me?

-Dave

[mavericksvt]

I kind of had a plan but never really came up with any sketches. Anyway here is another few updates.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/lexawires.jpg

So I finally installed my cold cathodes. Which are pretty nice even though I have not tested them yet. They did on the other hand add a crap load of extra wires in my case. I will be doing some cutting and soldering later to minimize this.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/buttons.jpg

After doing a little wire clean up I installed some nifty buttons. One for the UV and the other for the Blue cathodes.The picture is horrible and doesn't do a bit of justice for my install job.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/vgawaterblovk.jpg

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/cpuwaterblock.jpg

On a good note I have received my water blocks. These blocks are pretty nice. My only complaint is the plastic construction but it seems very thick and should stand up to pressure very well. These water blocks come with just about everything you need.

[mavericksvt]

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/graphicscards.jpg

So I received my G cards today WOOT! They seem pretty nice but haven't really had a
opportunity to play with them much. My next step is to attach my water blocks.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/graphicscard.jpg

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/graphicsheatsinkremoved.jpg

So as it turns out my VGA water blocks are not compatible with x1650xt cards. Not to mention one
of my cards was defective. So I will be returning one my cards and both water blocks. I know they are going to
charge me a restocking fee for the water blocks (even though this is not my fault) but something back is better than nothing.

As it turns out they no longer carry this G card so now I will have to return both these cards. SWEET!!
so building will be delayed for a few days until I get my new components.

http://diypcmods.com/forums/images/crossfirebridges.jpg

But on a good note I did receive my Crossfire bridges. Most people complain about the price of these bridges and the fact that they don't come with most of the new ATI cards. The Crossfire bridges are only 10$ each shipped. So i spent an extra $20. This cost is very offset by the price cut of cards that don't include the bridges. Cheapest x1650xt without bridges $129.99 / Cheapest x1650xt with 1 bridge $150.

[Drew]

If you're gonna be chopping the wires about for your cold cathodes, be a bit careful.

They seem to be sensitive to the lengths of their wires - I lengthened the wires on my 12" tri-colours (scrap now) and only 1/3rd of the tubes lit up.

When I shortened the wires again they lit up properly.

It would appear that the added resistance in the wire caused a drop in power.

I dont know if it would work the other way (like if shortening the wires would up the power going into the tubes) but it might be worth keeping an eye out for (especially since I've just found the pics of the mess a dying cathode can make).

No doubt a cleverer person than me will comment (I'm probably being a girl over nothing).

BTW, thats a sexy case!

[simon275]

NZXT Lexa so shiny. Good work

[mavericksvt]

I have learned that lesson once before. I'm only chopping the wires that go from the Molex connector to the transformer. I'm not messing with any other wires. Thanks for looking out though.

[Ichbin]

looking good mate!

Whats the theme though? Jet Black?

[mellojoe]

I'm diggin' the stealth radiator install.

[M!ST!CX]

so far very nice and clean,i really like that