Project :: Hitman

[Pusherman]

Hello everyone,
after much deliberation i am pleased to say i'm starting my own project.

I liked the idea of hitman as a name as the computer is going to be dark and understated but it will pack a punch from inside.

Its going to be based in the Thermaltake Soprano Black case with the window on the side.

The hardware spec is;

3.0GHz Pentium 4 (hopefully at around somewhere like 4Ghz when complete)
ABIT AW8 motherboard (Intel 955 chipset)
Point of veiw Geforce 7600GT
160 GB EIDE Hdd
80GB SATA2 Hdd
1 GB Geil DDR2 RAM (667MHZ)
Antec Neo HE 430w modular power supply

watercooling gubbins are to be

XSPC 120.2 Rad mounted in the roof.
XSPC 120.1 Rad mounted at the back of the case
Alphacool Nexxos cpu waterblock
Danger Den Acetel GPU waterblock
XSPC Pump (the best one they do)
1/2" Tubing.
Cape Coolplex resivour
AC RYAN radgrill (black striped one)

Here are some pictures of a few presents i came home from work to find;

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34748%3C337%7Ffp342%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D323387%3B56%3B664nu0mrj
Quite alot of bits and bobs

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34748%3C337%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D323387%3B56%3B665nu0mrj
I couldnt wait to get stuck in so i fitted the 7600GT with the waterblock.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34748%3C337%7Ffp344%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D323387%3B57%3A57%3Bnu0mrj
This motherboard looks the dogs bollox, i'm very pleased with it. Here is all the hardware mounted.
Its got 6x 3pin fan connectors. That would be a loud system lol

Here is the case i'm using;

http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/files/detail/thermaltake-soprano-VB1000B.jpg
I'm probably going to tint the window dark smoke so it doesn't look so obvious.

I'll get some more updates on sunday.
Cheers,
Tom

[Bubbles]

Cant wait to see more pictures

[sunnyg]

ye, did you have to do the ironing before you could play with them?

[Pusherman]

lol sunny,
i've taken over the spare bedroom with all my boxes. the other half isn't too happy with it.

[Pusherman]

just a query really, i've done one watercooled computer before but the dye in the tubes kept fading really quickly.
i used about 1/4 of a pot of dark blue and its gone to a girly turquoise in a week. any ideas on how to prevent this happening in the hitman?

[koola]

Looking good there Push :cool:

Why would you wanna use dye? All it does is degrade the your cooling performance. Just use distilied water ;)

[tkh]

Just warning you, you may not be able to fit the XSPC in the roof as I tried with a tsunami dream and the PSU stopped it from fitting in.

[sunnyg]

your tubing may be due to you using to much watter wetter (hence the pic)!!.

this happened to me, but it wouldn fade in 5 mins.

[Pusherman]

Just warning you, you may not be able to fit the XSPC in the roof as I tried with a tsunami dream and the PSU stopped it from fitting in.

thanks for the advice, I got all the bits ready to fit and then realised it wouldnt...
i got the jigsaw out and cut the back of the case so i'm going to mount the psu with its arse sticking out about 4cm... it gives just enough clearance for the rad and modular cables.

Its a very small case though, i was expecting it to be bigger inside, however everything seems to fit nicely inside.
I'll post some pictures of my busy weekend tomorrow.

[Pusherman]

Looking good there Push :cool:

Why would you wanna use dye? All it does is degrade the your cooling performance. Just use distilied water ;)

it just looks cool though doesn't it :P

i tested my new loop on monday. it goes as follows;

pump > cpu > top 120.2 rad > gpu > resivour > pump.

and guess what, my XSPC 1000lph pump died. it just wouldn't pump. all i could hear was an electrical crackling noise from inside. its only 1 1/2 months old.

I emailed the nice guy at rigbits (fab) *sorry coolercases* and he is doing a cheeky exchange so hopefully by the end of the week i can crack on with some healthy overclocking and gaming.

I bought a copy of HITMAN - blood money on the weekend.

[Pusherman]

right, sorry for the slow progress... i've been waiting for my free orange broadband to arrive. after a month it finally has so we are back up and running.

its update time!!!

following on from where i left off;

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C4%3B7%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4% 3EWSNRCG%3D32339776%3C93%3B%3Bnu0mrj
gettin the soprano safely wrapped was the first step. dont want any of the paint scratched do we.

I'm going to use two radiators, a 120.1 and a 120.2

As some of you will know the soprano is not the biggest of cases so i took up the challenge of fitting the most water cooling gear inside as i could.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C4%3B7%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B 4%3EWSNRCG%3D32339776%3C%3A434nu0mrj
i went for the xspc radiators because i love the chrome sides and they have pretty good performance reviews.

The plan was to top mount the radiator, one slight problem... my new antec neo he 430w psu was in the way :(

:idea: lets get the jigsaw out.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C4%3B7%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4% 3EWSNRCG%3D32339776%3C%3A438nu0mrj
marked up,
http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C4%3B7%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B 4%3EWSNRCG%3D32339776%3C9423nu0mrj
and cut!

I've got to work out a way of covering the psu. i'm still shopping around for ideas, possibly making an extension box that the psu can bolt to is at the top of my list at the moment.

[coolmiester]

I'm going to use two radiators, a 120.1 and a 120.2

As some of you will know the soprano is not the biggest of cases so i took up the challenge of fitting the most water cooling gear inside as i could.

Enough said already :D

Seriously though - good job so far :cool:

[Pusherman]

Next update; i know its straight after the other one but i've got a month to catch up on here people.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C866%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D32339776%3C93%3B%3Cnu0mrj
you have got to love the piano black finish of the soprano case door. really gives it a classy look.

As the radiator is going to be top mounted i wanted a decent grill to cover it up.
I thought about two standard 120mm fan grills but thought that would look a bit 'unfinished'...
instead i went for an AC RYAN radgrill in the black striped style;

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C866%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D32339776%3C%3A436nu0mrj
all masked up ready for marking.

Right i got the 120.2 mounted today. I'm using the thermaltake 120mm fans on the radiator as i think they contrast really nicely with the black paint.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C866%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4% 3EWSNRCG%3D32339776%3C%3A43%3Bnu0mrj

I know the fans are blowing the air in over the rad but i realyl wanted them at the top with the blades showing up... the antec neo psu sucks air out from under them so extraction from under the rad will not be a problem.

Right we are out of the garage and into the kitchen for some component fitting.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C866%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D32339776%3C%3A43%3Cnu0mrj

The 120.1 xspc rad will be mounted at the front of the case. i thought about mounting it at the back and decided against it because i didnt want to slow extraction down.

I have thought about possibly getting another 120.1 radiator for the back if i need even more cooling power with possible tec cooling on the horizon.

[Pusherman]

Another update;

following on from where we left off in the kitchen.

I've trial fitted some more of the components.
to fit the 120.1 rad in the front I had to give the hard drive cage a cheeky trim.

This has limited it to fitting one Hard disk and my floppy/media card reader.
I've got 2 hard drives to go in so I got some of those cd bay adapters for it.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C866%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D32339776%3C9424nu0mrj

there we go. both radiators fitted, resivour fitted and the trial fitted.
i know its a bit ugly with its ass hanging out of the case but i'm still deciding on how to tidy that up.

as you can see i'm using the akasa amber series 120mm fans for the case. they look good under UV light and are really quiet too.
I didnt want to use these for the 120.2 rad at the top because i didnt want any light glowing through. got to save all that for the side window. :smile:

I put the base components in so i could run the loop for the first time.
I'm using xspc 1/2" I/D hosing which is said to be an equivilent of the danger den stuff.
Its really soft and doesn't kink so I'm not complaining.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C866%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D32339776%3C%3A444nu0mrj

I used jubilee clips to seal the hose on the barbs. i know they are slightly industrial looking but you can beat them for security.
I started filling her up with de-ionised water and ran all of the bubbles out of the loop.

I'm using the XSPC 1000lph pump. good compromise between price and performance. the flow in the loop is very good.

my loop goes as follows;

res > pump > cpu > 120.2 rad > gpu > 120.1 rad > back to res

I thought running the loop in this order would mean a good supply of cool water to each major component.

I thought about watercooling the northbridge but this Abit AW8 max mobo has a pretty nice looking Q-OTES heatpipe setup.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C866%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D32339776%3C9425nu0mrj

nearly finished bleeding the bubbles out of the loop so i started fitted the other hardware;

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C866%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4%3E WSNRCG%3D32339776%3C%3A446nu0mrj

Its a pretty tight fit but airflow is good and it looks nice too.

After talking to coolermeister about my previous troubles with water dye I decided to change my original colour scheme from blue dye to yellow/green uv dye.

Also thanks to coolermeister I descovered Zerex to help keep everythin corosion free and my colour bright!

(i'm sounding like an advert for hair shampoo now :eek: )

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C866%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4% 3EWSNRCG%3D32339776%3C9426nu0mrj

Project::hitman is now up and running in my study. I'm really pleased with the look of the case with all the cooling equiptment up and running.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C%3A43%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B 4%3EWSNRCG%3D32339776%3C9427nu0mrj

I filled it up with uv yellow water dye and added some zerex...
but something was not right....:exclaim:

I didnt really like the dull look from the resivour. The most visual part of the cooling system is the resivour and it wasnt looking special at all.
I junked the cape coolplex resivoir in favour of something a bit bigger :D

http://images.gruntville.com/images/hardware/tank-o-matic/manf1.jpg
out came the plastic and a shiny tank-o-matic was ordered.

I wasnt happy with it fitted outside the case so i decided to try and cram even more stuff inside.

After some good shoehorning action i managed to get the tank-o-matic in the back of the case and move the exhaust fan the exterior of the case.

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C%3A43%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4% 3EWSNRCG%3D323397775372%3Anu0mrj

This is the final loop assembly in the case, water dye added, zerex added and everything running sweet as a nut.

I used the acrylic moutings from teh cape-coolplex resivoir on the tank-o-matic because they look so much nicer than the big black straps that it comes with.

A question on everyone's lips is; "what temps are you getting"

well this will reveal all!

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C%3A43%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B 4%3EWSNRCG%3D32339776%3C%3A448nu0mrj

I've not seen anything near 30degrees even after some image editing and some full on cpu usage.

my 7600gt has not seen the higher side of 45degrees even after playing hitman for an hour.

I'm very pleased with these temps. Good scope for overclocking now! :twisted:

This is the final pic i will leave you with; project hitman up and running on my desk.
I love it, its still light and the coolant glows like crazy :D

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/34767%3C%3A43%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B4% 3EWSNRCG%3D323397774484%3Anu0mrj

I have some minor plans still for project::hitman.
I want to smoke tint or possibly uv green the window in the side of the case.
and i need to do something to hide the ass of the psu.

Hope you enjoyed reading,
thanks alot
tom

[Daffy4895]

you've done a bloody good job there, nice and tidy, and those temps are really low. I remember looking at that case a while back and thinking i'd never get water cooling in it, but you've proved me wrong ;)

[Bubbles]

well done indeed looks really nice mate i just can't wait till i get started on mine

[Pusherman]

thanks for the replys peeps. i'm very chuffed with it.

I looked at the chieftech dragon but its been used in modding projects so much.
I was very tempted with the lian-li Lian Li PC-V1000B plus and the silverstone temjin but they are very expensive.

I've drawn up the plans for a covering piece for the back of the case so the psu doesn't look out of place. i just need a sheet metal bender now.

And i'm off down to a perspex/acrylic supplier on monday to see if i can source some smoke tinted or green uv for my window. And if i'm feeling a bit sassy i might try and nock up blanking pieces to cover the ugly drive bays and case cross bar.

I'll post pics when i make some more progress

[Daffy4895]

I think it would look best with a tinted window:cool: , a uv green one would be too over powering

[koola]

Great job Pusherman, have 5 stars on me :cool:

[Pusherman]

Great job Pusherman, have 5 stars on me :cool:

cheers for the stars my man!

I think it would look best with a tinted window:cool: , a uv green one would be too over powering

I think your right Daffy, I've also got a cheeky 5" LCD screen planned for the side window. watch this space! :lol:

[Pusherman]

Hi everyone, just another update.
Did some overclocking today;

http://images.snapfish.co.uk/3476%3B5%3A%3C7%7Ffp348%3Enu%3D3278%3E69%3B%3E6%3B 4%3EWSNRCG%3D323398%3B958833nu0mrj

Not bad for the temps. the graphics card is still on 40degrees.

I'm going to try and push for 4Ghz when i get some spare time.

the lcd mod shouldn't be too far away...