Project: GIGABENCH

[jdog 7]

UPDATE: 22/2/13: project is still on track, I am still missing a PSU to get it setup though. Also I got a new camera for my birthday so pictures will be much better..:D

 

hey all, So this is my first build log so please be considerate.

 

also let me state that is a long term project (from 6 months to a year)

 

Anyway lets get on with it..

 

So as you may of seen in the "post your latest purchase" thread i brought a gigabyte case back in November of last year. And just now im starting to get cracking into it.

 

So since getting i pulled it apart and put it back together again (you may remember the thread about how i got a screw stuck) and it was sitting round doing nothing. But now i have time to finally got time to get this off the ground!

 

So here is a picture of what the same case looks like all assembled and with gear in it:

 

 

So as it was a little dusty i started stage 1 of the project: Disassemble and Clean

 

So i started by firstly removing all the top and side panels from the top part of the case:

 

 

Right side and top panel panel off:

 

 

Left side panel off:

 

 

I removed these panel by removing 2 small screws that were attaching the panels to the sides of the case.

 

So after removing the top and sides panels i moved onto to the back panel.

 

the back panel:

 

 

i then proceeded to remove the back panel by removing the 2 little screws holding it in place.

 

 

 

reserved

 

more to come (post keeps merging)

 

Build Log Updates*: (Click most recent date to see my recent post)

 

20/6/13: PSU in the mail!

30/6/13: PSU test install

 

*Currently Broken trying to fix ASAP

Edited June 30, 2013 by jdog

[jdog 7]

So after removing the PCI brackets and the left and rights sides of the top part of the case i then proceeded to move onto the top part: the motherboard tray.

 

 

All sides removed and motherboard tray still on.

 

 

Now removing the motherboard tray would be a easy job you would think but that is not the case i already stuffed up the last time i attempted it and it took a pair of needle nose pliers and a drill to remove the threaded screw.

 

 

 

So this time i was more careful and proceeded to unscrew as much as i could by hand and with the help of a screwdriver when needed.

 

this shot explains the amounts of screw this tray had:

 

 

(the gold things are standoffs incase someone asks)

 

 

After all screws were removed successfully i then removed the motherboard tray to reveal the bottom part of the case:

 

 

So with motherboard tray off i cleaned the front (been careful of the LED wires)

 

 

and the back:

 

 

while taking pictures documenting this i took this funny shot:

 

 

were is the motherboard tray? :D

 

more coming soon.

 

the last part of stage one should be up soon as soon as i am allowed to (atomic doesnt like multi post with heaps of pictures)

 

:(

Edited March 23, 2012 by jdog

[p0is0n 0]

keep em pics coming :) i'd love a test-bench rig like this. Almost bought a dimastech bench recently..

this should let you post again.

[jdog 7]

So with the motherboard tray and sides removed and cleaned i then proceeded to tackle the base of the case.

 

(in case you haven't guessed by the the above photos this case has two parts. One for the motherboard and the stuff that goes with it and the bottom part is for the power supply and harddrives/DVD drives etc.)

 

my first point of attack was the two metal sides of the base which are held in place by screws.

 

So first removed the left side:

 

 

 

and revealed the inside of the case (which had some wires and stuff in it)

 

 

 

keep em pics coming :) i'd love a test-bench rig like this. Almost bought a dimastech bench recently..

this should let you post again.

thanks.

 

So now onto the end of stage one soon.(still cant post the last bit)

 

 

 

 

 

After removing the left side of the case i moved onto the right side of the base. This side housed the slot for the DVD drive/CD drive.

 

 

 

i then removed the screws holding the small panel for were the drive would go:

 

 

after doing that i removed the rest of the screw holding the right panel in place:

 

 

After removing both sides i pulled out something which at first i had no idea what it was then found out it was a harddrive caddy.

 

 

 

this fits normal drives and should fit opitcal drives fine but i have been unable to fine one that fits yet.

Edited March 23, 2012 by jdog

[jdog 7]

After removing the harddrive caddy i moved to the back of the case and removed the back panel were the power supply would go.

 

 

With all sides removed we can see what it looks like inside the bottom of the case:

 

 

i then flipped it round to see what it looked like with everything removed:

 

 

With everything removed i then flipped it over and then cleaned the bottom of the case:

 

 

So with everything cleaned i then started doing mockups of were i would put everything in the bottom part of the case (PSU,harddrives etc).

 

 

 

So this is it for now.

 

Coming Soon: Stage 2: preliminary hardware installation and testing.

Edited March 23, 2012 by jdog

[jdog 7]

Just a small update today:

 

So i am not quite up to starting stage 2 yet (missing a capable power supply) but i did manage to fix my problem of not been able to find a DVD drive that fits! i searched around in the spare computer bits pile of stuff i had and found one from a unused system i had.

 

good times ahead.

 

i hope that i will be able to find a power supply and start stage 2 soon!

 

Will update more tomorrow.

Edited March 2, 2012 by jdog

[dinos22 0]

good luck with the project man. I had to go a bit ghetto with that photo you put up to insert watercooling tubes heheh.

[jdog 7]

good luck with the project man. I had to go a bit ghetto with that photo you put up to insert watercooling tubes heheh.

yeah thanks dino,

 

could show me the picture of water cooling tubes inserted?..or that what you're planning on with yours..

 

the project should be fun,i originally intended it to just be a bench rig (which is what is going to be) but it turned out to be much more that as im learning new skills while doing the project.

 

Also i apologize to everyone for the crappyness of some of the pictures (especially the mockup one,its a bit blurry) but im just using a little point and shoot cheapo. (really want to get a better one)

 

tomorrow i should have some more stuff up showing mockups of how the base is going to go with harddrives/DVD drives as well as a PSU etc installed.

Edited March 2, 2012 by jdog

[jdog 7]

Update:

 

Stage 2 has started!

 

So yesterday i worked on trying different configurations for the bottom part of the case (where to put harddrive/DVD drives,PSU etc) and i have finally found one which may be the go.

 

i will hopefully get pictures up later today.

Edited March 5, 2012 by jdog

[jdog 7]

Update:

 

So now pictures are up!

 

I originally couldnt find a DVD drive that could fit but from some searching i did and started trying different configuration options with it installed to see which is the best option.

 

I first started by putting the DVD drive in the drive bay to see what it would look like:

 

 

 

after doing that i moved it to the top of the drive bay:

 

 

i tryed different configurations on both sides of the case to see which suited best.

 

i then decided on the right side of the case to be the best spot.

 

So after deciding that the right side is the best spot i tryed more configurations.

 

on Bottom:

 

 

on top:

 

 

 

cant post any more in this post so i need to wait a bit.

Edited March 23, 2012 by jdog

[jdog 7]

After doing this i then wanted to see what i looked like with the side panel on and see if it could fit correctly.

 

On Bottom

 

 

With the the drive bay cover on:

 

on DVD drive:

 

 

Drive at bottom with drive cover:

 

 

More images soon

Edited March 23, 2012 by jdog

[NukeJockey 4]

So what are your actual plans for this? I wouldn't build in something like this purely for the fact that it would be a pain in the ass to move (or does it have some kind of lid?) around.

 

Should be interesting to see what you do with it anyway and you probably also don't need to post pics of each and every part of the case, or if you do plan on doing it, could you please post them as thumbnails (photobucket and such can do thumbnails) so its not as hard to navigate through the thread?

[jdog 7]

So with the DVD position decided i then moved on where the harddrives would go.

 

i could but the harddrive under the DVD drive or on top of the DVD drive

 

 

or another option was to remove the DVD entirely and just have harddrives installed.

 

 

or i could have about 6 install sideways:

 

 

As i want to have a DVD drive installed i have decided to install the DVD drive up top and put about 3 hardddrives (or SSD's with 3.5 mounts) in the harddrive caddy.

 

So after doing this i wanted to see if PSU postion could impact the installation of CPU heatsinks

 

 

So that is all for today.

 

next update coming soon.

 

here is a teaser..

 

 

preliminary hardware installation..

 

So what are your actual plans for this? I wouldn't build in something like this purely for the fact that it would be a pain in the ass to move (or does it have some kind of lid?) around.

 

Should be interesting to see what you do with it anyway and you probably also don't need to post pics of each and every part of the case, or if you do plan on doing it, could you please post them as thumbnails (photobucket and such can do thumbnails) so its not as hard to navigate through the thread?

yeah sorry about that, ill post thumbnails from now on. ( i was just dropping the IMG code from photobucket into the thread for each picture)

 

and as for my plans i building it what i am doing now i just install hardware to see if everything works 100% after that i am going remove the hardware installed on the top part and install something better so i can get it setup for benching.

 

and yes it does have a lid so it can be easily moved round. (i dont have a picture becuase i forgot to take one before i removed it. you will see it in full once i have finished the preliminary hardware install)

Edited March 23, 2012 by jdog

[NukeJockey 4]

What I mean is, are you just going to build a system into it and thats it? Whats the point of it all? It wouldn't make a better benching rig than your HAF X because its really only there for ease of swapping parts, which you won't be doing I would assume.

 

I wonder if you could do something really cool and unique with it, especially since you have given yourself such a big time frame.

[jdog 7]

What I mean is, are you just going to build a system into it and thats it? Whats the point of it all? It wouldn't make a better benching rig than your HAF X because its really only there for ease of swapping parts, which you won't be doing I would assume.

 

I wonder if you could do something really cool and unique with it, especially since you have given yourself such a big time frame.

yeah, im thinking of doing something unique and orginal (thinking of maybe getting the whole top side panels and lid redone(as in a new piece cut) to tidy it up a bit) with it but im not sure what at this stage though. As for swapping out parts well im not 100% if i wont or will be doing that though.

Edited March 6, 2012 by jdog

[p0is0n 0]

could we get some more pics of the DVD drive please :P

 

Im keen to know more about what sort of benching you're thinking of doing, did you have any plans for this in mind yet?

[jdog 7]

could we get some more pics of the DVD drive please :P

 

Im keen to know more about what sort of benching you're thinking of doing, did you have any plans for this in mind yet?

Just air for starters but i do know it can be set up for more advanced forms of cooling (DICE etc) As i get better i may save up and buy a kayl phase unit (if i can find the space to fit it). i set this up so i can tweak and fiddle and learn instead of using my main rig for benching.

 

and you can check my photobucket if you want more DVD drive pictures :D :P

Edited March 6, 2012 by jdog

[tunksy 0]

are the fan spacings 80mm?

 

could get that section recut (or even better cut it yaself!) to fit three 120/140mm fans if you could fit them. you could then look at a basic water setup if a 360 or simialr rad could fit there.

 

personally id forgoe the dvd drive and get a usb one, and use all that space for hardrives (or a fan controller) thats just me though beacuse i have some many Vraptors still :P

[NukeJockey 4]

You should get some plexi or something cut in either clear or some form of colour (if you want to go for a theme) in the shape of essentially a case on the top of it, then rice it up a bit and try to make it unique with a bit of a theme, just have it as a kick ass show off computer.

[nobody813 17]

I can't visit this thread on my Dell, so many photo's!!!!!

 

Completely overwhelms the old girl :-P

[mattstandingup 0]

I'm shaped at the moment, so I'm having a hard time with all the photos.

This case has tones of potential to be something really cool though. Looking forward to see what you do with it.

 

P.S. Does your camera have a focus function?

[Greaver 0]

Mods please rename thread with "Warning 3G users - jdog wants to eat all your data with pictures of the same thing"

 

Or if were to be slightly less of a c***

 

+1 for thumbnails

[jdog 7]

I will now redo all the pictures as thumbnails...

 

Sorry about that.

 

You should get some plexi or something cut in either clear or some form of colour (if you want to go for a theme) in the shape of essentially a case on the top of it, then rice it up a bit and try to make it unique with a bit of a theme, just have it as a kick ass show off computer.

yes i want to get all the sides redone a bit longer (same width so it will fit) so i can add a heap of fans for maybe a rad like tunsky suggested or something like that. Im not sure if i will get it redone in plexi yet. Ill have to look into that. Also im thinking of adding some lights as well to bling it up a bit.

 

 

 

are the fan spacings 80mm?

 

could get that section recut (or even better cut it yaself!) to fit three 120/140mm fans if you could fit them. you could then look at a basic water setup if a 360 or simialr rad could fit there.

 

personally id forgoe the dvd drive and get a usb one, and use all that space for hardrives (or a fan controller) thats just me though beacuse i have some many Vraptors still :P

I am thinking about getting all the sides redone and make them longer with bigger fan holes so i can fit a 120mm/140mm fans in there for maybe a rad. I dont know how big the current fan holes are i think they be 80mm (i could be wrong).

 

also the main reason im keeping the DVD drive (for the time been) is just for simpilcy so i can install stuff from disk and then once everything is setup maybe remove it and replace that space with a few SSD's or raptors,

 

@nobody and others: So about the all the big pictures i am sorry im killing your bandwith/laptop.

 

I am unsure yet to do as i dont have a spare PSU yet so i cant install my preliminary hardware and do some temp testing.

 

I'm shaped at the moment, so I'm having a hard time with all the photos.

This case has tones of potential to be something really cool though. Looking forward to see what you do with it.

 

P.S. Does your camera have a focus function?

yeah thanks im hoping to make it look cool and something different but still look similar to what it look like in the first pic,just a big more stuff.. As for you question if my camera as auto focus i think it does but it isnt the best also i dont have really good lighting as well. I really want to get a better camera though.

 

EDIT: All picture redone to thumbnails!

Edited March 23, 2012 by jdog

[NukeJockey 4]

You should see if you can install fans under the motherboard tray ^.^

[jdog 7]

So Just a update.

 

the case is still in pieces because I haven't found the time yet to work on it. I plan to finish the project in the xmas break from uni.

 

I am slowly getting the hardware for it including some 775,X58 and Z77 gear.

 

the plan so far is to recut all the side panels to be the same width but taller to add 4x120mm or 140mm (undecided) high CFM fans to both sides and have on the back a pair of high flow 120mm fans at the back too cool the VRMs.

 

@Nuke: a should be able to fit maybe 1 or 2 fans under the mobo tray.

 

I am unsure about the lid but I might have it recut that and do something so I can have a way of positioning a fan over the CPU when I go subzero with DICE.

 

I could do a 3D model but dont have much experience with sketchup so it wouldnt look anything useful if I did it in max.

Edited October 6, 2012 by jdog