Project: Frozen Sun

[CerealKlr]

Call me Ishmael... or Josh, which is a bit more accurate. I'll be keeping this log. My father and I have just finished our A+ Certification classes (computer hardware technician courses), and decided it was time that we put our new skills to the test. At first we were only planning to build our own computer instead of buying one, but when my father happened across ModWalk, we decided to see what we could do!
To clarify, this is first and foremost a performance PC, we're just making it look as good as it runs. Unfortunately, neither of our schedules permit the beautiful metal and acryllic work i've seen on so many other cases, but we plan to make up for it in light show and paint job.
We're planning to run Frozen Sun so cold you can make icecubes in it (for overclocking) and the light show is going to be stellar! (pun not intended)

Parts List

Case: Thermaltake Kandalf LCS. With HARLEQUIN PPG Green to Purple interior, and gloss black exterior

MoBo: MSI P35 Platinum (w/ Amusement Park attached).

CPU: Undecided (Q6600 quad or E6850 Duo).

Memory: Crucial Ballistics Tracer 2-4GB (George Washington screams every time I stretch him a little more).

Hard Drive: Undecided (500-750GB single drive).

Video Card: Geforce 8800GTX (not sure which model).

Audio Card: Creative XFi (not sure which model) Can't let sound be the weak link!

Power Supply: Kingwin ABT-800MA1S ATX/BTX 800W Power Supply. Try saying that 10 times fast!

Its a shame to have to cover the beautiful sleeving they've given us, but we're looking for something that will stand out in the Blue/Green Light AND the UV light.

Wiring:
--UV Ogre (Black & Green) Sleeving
--UV Green HeatShrinkz
--UV Green EasyGrip Molex housings
--assorted other connectors

Cooling: Out the wazoo. (Water & Fan Cooling)
--Thermaltake Aqua-Bay M5 #CL-W0103
--Flow Meter Pro Rev 3.6
--Thermaltake Silent Wheel 130cm Fan w/ 120cm Fan fitting
--Evercool Personal Computer Air Conditioner
--(plus the built in blowhole, rear exhaust, and radiator fans)
--Video Card Cooling Block

can you say 'oooh shiny'? (the rest of the pictures are grouped with the lights below).

Lighting: UV Set & Blue/Green Set
--Logisys CFL UV Cathodes
--UV Lazer Light
--Molex LED mods
--assorted others
--blue Cathodes
--green spot lights

Due to our schedule, were probably only going to be able to work on the mod during the weekends, but be sure to check in often, and thanks for the interest!

[p0Pe]

well.. you certanly got som nice hardware

just a note: buy 2 harddrives... if you have a single drive you will have to split it into 2 particions to avoid loss of all data dou to a format c: and i think this will be a shame, so buy a 10.000 rpm drive, and a 750 gigs for storage

its a nice case, mod it proud:p

[CerealKlr]

Thanks for the advice Pope! The reason we're shying away from RAID though, is that it actually doubles the chance of loss (assuming your using Disk Striping), or if your using it only as backup, we put our heads together and decided that anything on the HD that we dont have on a seperate backup disk probably isnt worth the money necessary to back up. Really, its an issue of cash, we're already over budget! My father and I were joking the other day, and he said we'd better buy a "Card Board Box, Family Size". When I asked why, he said, "To live in after I sell the house to pay off are computer!"

[p0Pe]

who said anything about raid.. just buy 2 hdd´s a small and a FRIGGIN big one i have 1.7 tb myself.... you can never get enough
dont know how many times i have lost importent stuff due to a format have a small 40 gigs for OS, and a 500/700 for the rest you arent gonna regret it

and btw - you hardware makes me drewel especially love the psu!

[CerealKlr]

Yep, we picked through everything to choose are pieces parts. In related news, I have recieved confirmation that are piece de resistance is en route! Thats right folks, we have aquired our very own Sunbeam Lightbus! Straight out of New Zealand actually, its one of the last of its kind on the market since it was removed from production. Its going to be the main controller for all of our light schemes! By the way, if anyone knows a mod for the lightbus to make it software driven, i'd love a link. The patterns it comes with are pretty tricked, but I wouldnt mind trying my hand at my own patterns!

[p0Pe]

sounds good... gonna be nice to see some progress still going for 1 drive:p?

[Darth Dad]

Ishmael...er Josh I am your father...
No really... I am Josh's father.
I am going to be the technical support and banker on this project. Josh is going to be "MY SLAVE!" (insert evil laugh here.)

I case he didn't make it clear we are going to paint the interior of the case with PPG's Green to Purple color changing Harlequinn paint. I can't find any record of someone else using it on a case. ( Lots of pictures of it used on hot rods and bikes!)

Gotta get back to work now as this project is eating me out of house and home..

[Darth Dad]

Question? does anyone have any experience with Matrix Orbital LCDs? (Or one of the other styles). Josh and I where thinking of using one to display the flow meter readings and everything else. I think a screen showing "Coolant Flow - X.X lpm" Would be cool. Iwas also thinking that if we measured the temps going into and out of the radiator we could display waste heat removed in BTUs or watts.
Any suggestions?

[Luke122]

Welcome aboard Darth Dad!

As far as I know, that paint has not been used in a mod before, so you would be the first. I saw that paint in person on a Mustang GT a few years ago (dealership show car), and was absolutely blown away by the range (and saturation) of colors.

Using it on the inside of the case is almost a waste, since the internal lighting will overpower the color shift in the paint. Using it on the outside of the case would be muuuuuch cooler... just my $0.02

[CerealKlr]

Do you really think so Luke? We were figuring on the change being enhanced by the lighting! On another note, following up what Dad said, does anyone know if the Matrix Orbital LCDs control code is proprietary/opensource? I've got plenty of coding experience, but i'd still like to know what i'm getting into!