Project: Animus

Nice gear, get cracking.

Good news:
Since the case will be done once I get the parts in from PerformancePCS.com (other fans, fans for the Sytrin Coolers, and the switches and temp gauge) I made another order from NewEgg, so I can get started setting things up on the motherboard tray. This ram btw, has a $40 mail in rebate for anyone looking. So, I'm probably going to get a second kit, but later after I get the machine up and running. I'm going with an 8800GT, a modular PSU (I'm leaning toward the 620w from Corsair) And a WD Raptor and Toshiba 1TB drive for copious amounts of storage. So, in all the computer should be running pretty soon, another week or two. Oh, and I need to find a controller for the fans lighting. Suggestions?

MB ABIT AW9D-MAX 975X 775 RETAIL - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$189.99)
CPU INTEL|C2Q Q6600 2.40G 775 8M R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$254.99)
FAN CORSAIR XMS|CMXAF1 RTL - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$19.99)
MEM 1Gx2|COR TWIN2X2048-6400C4D R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$94.00)

So, UPS guy didn't show today so I'm still waiting on parts and other parts to dry before I continue work on the project. Meanwhile, I got some decent frames for the posters and got them hung.

Did some work on the optical drives today, primer is drying on those parts now but here's some of the work in progress. I'm changing out the bolts on the Sytrin to some bigger meaner looking ones I had laying around, and adding a few kit bashed bits to the panels, along with the same dry brushing treatment I gave the Li statue pieces on the bezel. These pieces should be painted and clear coated tomorrow, hopefully UPS will finally get here with pieces I need to actually get this crap installed, then I can get the case finished and ready for components.

Right now I'm waiting on the camera to recharge, but I've made a bit of progress, all of the optical drive pieces are painted and clear coated. And they fit the theme pretty nicely. There's only one 5.25 bay that still needs work, and it's arguably the most important. I'm modding a standard Lian Li bezel to include the red lcd temp gauge, and a pair of black/red vandal proof switches (red circle for power, red dot for reset). I've got the LCD fitted, it's tight but that's what I was going for. I don't think it needs any glue, but I'll probably add a little once the bezel is painted and ready for fitting. I've got my buttons marked and pilot holes drilled ... then I realized I forgot the new drill bit when I was at the store ... shoot me please.

Recent Progress List:
* temp power/reset panel - 1/2 finished
* DVD Burner - Complete (need to get a new copy of Nero though)
* Thermaltake iBox done.
* Sytrin Masscool - Complete (Just need a new hard drive to put in it)

To Do List:
* Order Remaining Parts
* Mount case panels and bezel pieces permanently
* Wiring
* Fan Placement!

Need a bit of advice on that last part, I noticed when I looked at the other Lian Li case that I'll be giving the same treatment after this one ... the stock fans are set up a little odd. The rear fan which I would've expected to be an exhaust is actually sucking air in. The blowhole fan up top is infact the only exhaust. I'm wondering if I should stick to this configuration or not. Any thoughts?

Now that's interesting. I just checked mine, and my single fan is blowing inwards too. It should be blowing outwards, because the heat is generated over the CPU. Then again mine does have a duct from the cpu to the outside. (Has a slot in the side)


I think i'm gonna check my temps then spin the fan around, and check them again later, see if it's changing anything.

Logic says cool air comes in from the front, and hot air gets pushed out the back.

Parts for the next phase of the project (2 bulgin switches and a red lcd temp monitor)

There's the donor bezel, I <3 Lian Li cases

A quick gander at the case with a couple of drive bays set in, there will be better pics up with higher detail on the front of the case, as soon as the project's done.

Made a run to Lowe's for a new drill and 3/4 inch hole saw, worked beautifully for the switches. Drilled out some holes for accent bolts and cut out the hole for the lcd and did a little filing with the dremel. Waiting on primer to dry now so I can hit it with some acrylic (tonight) and clear coat (tomorrow).

Also tomorrow, I should be getting atleast the major guts of this beast from newegg. Motherboard, processor, ram. I'm having some parts overnighted this week (ran out of accent bolts) and a new ruby orb cooler for the processor. Now just have to decide on the psu (I'm leaning toward a corsair) and vid card(s) I'm thinking dual 8800 GTs.

Panel looks good, can't wait for more.

Well, I got a surprise this morning ... I go to work at 5 AM, and we had a flood. So I ended up staying home. Thankfully the UPS guy didn't have any problems, and I got some goodies:

I tried hooking everything up with a hard drive and video card I had layin around, but didn't do much good. I also goofed and bought a crossfire board instead of an sli board (newegg had it listed as sli on all but the last page of the description, where it finally says it's ATI Crossfire compatible) but the board is great, and this is a chance to get out of my comfort zone and try Intel and ATI. I'll be grabbing the new HD and GPU Thursday, after that I'll post some high res pics along with some 3d Mark, Super Pi Mod scores, etc. Basically, the mod is done. Just have to make the second one now :D

I was considering getting that abit board a while back before I got my DFI board. How is it?

The board is pretty nice, good layout plenty of connectors for fans, and the 7.1 surround sound card is a nice bonus. Today hopefully I'll be able to get the thing running and mess around with the BIOS, overall though I really like the motherboard.