Animus

[Vertigo]

Just ordered the following for the computer: (Hopefully my replacement processor will be back shortly)
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
2x EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Thermaltake Toughpower W0128RU ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply

This little baby should scream, if I can ever make it function

Pics are forthcoming of the progress on the other parts. Dominator cooler is being cleaned right now (lots of glue from the Corsair stickers to be removed) mouse has a coat of primer on it drying now. And a few other surprises are in store very shortly.

[Vertigo]

Actually, I've already got a pair of Antec Cyclone Blowers, they fit in the expansion slot next to the card and and have a vent that goes out the back of the case. I'm not sure if I'm going to eventually add a 3rd GT or not. Right now though, my main concern is getting this beast up and running. I picked up some NetGear Wireless Cards and ordered some more goodies, putting collapsable case handles up top, and a mesh window on the side. Here's some shots of what I've been doing with my time.

The mouse turned out sweeter than I'd expected. The texture on the new G5 is almost like leather when you give it a good coat of paint clear.

I gave the chassis 3 coats of black cherry over the milano red and black primer, then 3 coats of clear. I'm also going to hit the inside of the right panel with the same treatment, but I'm going to leave the motherboard tray silver, infact I might polish it. ALL of the wiring inside will be black sleeved when I'm finished.

I'll be taking the FANG apart today and doing a little kit bashing on it, I'll likewise be reassembling the dominator fan assembly. After that it's all waiting till UPS starts showing up again.

[Vertigo]

UPDATE
Things are a little sporadic between school and work.

Here's the newly painted Corsair Dominator Cooler:

The shot doesn't do this black cherry justice, the interior of the case and the smaller parts that I've started painting are really beginning to look sick.

And I got my case handles in, Spring Break next week. So I've got a date with the metal shop, going to cut the holes for the handles and the new window (maybe even mounting the mesh) in the next few days. So expect some updates SOON.

P.S. Newegg received my motherboard and processor yesterday, so hopefully I'll get my stuff back sometime over break.

[Vertigo]

I managed to get a little bit of work done before the great deluge, Arkansas weather has been really kindly disposed to this project.

First, I did a little touch up work on the Ideazon FANG and the custom power/reset temp gauge panel I made. Here are the results:

Here's my tip for the day, all those little plastic boxes that you get nuts and bolts in make excellent temporary holders for parts while you work.

I was greeted with a simultaneously awesome and annoying surprise today. UPS showed up with 3 packages, and my RMA from NewEgg should be here any day now. (Which means I'm only missing a processor now to fire this baby up). The annoyance was a result of the UPS guy who knocked once lightly put my beloved electronics down in the rain water and walked away. I could have strangled him.

According to my tracking number, the RMA should've been delivered today, so I'm hoping to have my processor tomorrow. More as it develops.

[Vertigo]

A quick update before the big finale:
I got the rest of my parts in today, the system booted up beautifully on the first try. I'm running 3DMark on it right now, and I'll also be running Aquamark and finishing my installation of a few other programs. I'll be testing it with a single 8800 GT first, and later testing it with SLI. The thing is a BEAST, I'm pretty sure it weighs somewhere around 50 lbs now. I've still got to add the case handles to the top, but I'll just be using another lian li case top for that then swapping them when I'm done. Pics and the final update on the performance should be forthcoming.

[Vertigo]

So here's some pics of the beast at work. I'll have benchmark stats up soon.

So, I was told the Ruby Orb is huge, and I was not lied to. I can't even fit this thing inside until everything else is already put in, it's too big to go in on the motherboard tray.

Temps are staying good, and a few games are installing now: Unreal Tournament 3, Supreme Commander, and Crysis.

And here's the test results:

And that wraps it up for Animus, expect some more projects soon. Thanks for checking it out.

[Vertigo]

And Animus is complete, finished the case handles today with a quick trip to the shop. The handles are sturdy, infact I can hold the whole case up with just 1 (though I don't recomend doing it for long if you value your shoulder). Overall, I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. Here's the final pics:

Link To Original Worklog