just asking
im still considering whether buy separately or buy xspc kit
can list down the price of each component?

well it depends if you care about aesthetics or not. Getting kit is way cheaper than buying separately. Only reason why I didnt go for kit is I want tube reservoir & wanted shiny compression fittings. Wanted to hide my pump next to my psu also...so yeah...but if you dont mind bay reservoir then get a kit lor...cost you less.

price depends on seller lor...buy more stuff 1 shot & they can quote you cheaper price...anyways raystorm is rm1xx, reservoir i bought for rm100 (used) & radiator is rm3xx. check garage sales...someone selling used for rm250

im targeting xspc rs240 kit. bay res not very good looking. but start with a kit first then upgrade slowly afterward

rs series ar...limited space ah?...well that is a good choice...you can use it straight away & upgrade slowly later...if like me need to wait for weeks & months coz not enough money to buy more parts lmfao...

This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Feb 3 2013, 02:25 PM

Just an update on how it currently looks like. The lights are actually more white than in the picture, but there is still a little "blue" to it. Not sure if I will stick with nzxt hue or get a pure white led strip. Once I get everything setup, only then I can tell if the lights are sufficient or not.





The red here in the picture looks very dim but in real life its actually brighter than the picture below but still not bright enough for me. But most probably I am sticking with white due to the fact white gives a better view to the components IMO. If its red, its kinda hard to see the components details.



It looks more like this in real life (adjusted the camera ISO settings )



This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 12:58 AM

So I went to the local hardware shop just to browse around & found some clear tubing? They were selling it for RM1.50/feet so I was like dafuq! That is so cheap, what if I can use this as my rig tubing? So I wondered how will it perform because i doubt it was designed for watercooling rigs, so I bought 1 feet just to do some testing on it.

First testing I did was on kink testing and it failed miserably. I wouldn't even post any testing details about how flexible it is, all I can say is if your loop needs some bend, this wouldn't work. Period!

Next I tested it for plasticizer. First of all I would like to say the test I did was just for fun & by right its not a perfect testing condition as I do not own the proper equipment for testing. The testing data is more like for my personal use but I am sharing out for those who are curious like me.

The first test was to cut the tubing in small pieces and dump it in a hot water. I do not have a thermometer that can measure high temps but its pretty hot, water used to make tea. I am guessing its around 80-90'C. The middle tubing is the result of it after 1 day in that water temp compare to the above tubing which is brand new. Also take note that the water & tubing was thrown in a flask (coffee flask) which keeps water warm for long period, so I am assuming the temps falls with a slow gradient through time.

The next test was testing it with a warm temp that was excatly 40'C. Yes I am sure of this because I used a thermometer that measures fever lol, it can go up to 40'C only sadly therefore couldn't get reading for higher temps. As shown in the picture (the last tubing at the bottom) it still leaches. So if the tubing can't even perform at 40'C without plasticizer then there is no point in using it as your temps confirm will go above 40'C because malaysia temps are now freaking 35-40'C outside!



This is what plasticizer is if those who are wondering. White stuff that are like powder when dried, can easily scrap it off from the tubing if you can reach it.



I got my MDPC sleevings already & the pins for custom cables but guess what? I am having a hard time finding awg cables from my local electrical shops...Dang it! Went to jalan pasar & no luck at there either, now I am planning to order it from china although it will take me around 2weeks to get it. Been getting bad luck since last week. I could do sleeving last week but pins got delay & now couldn't find cables which I thought should be the easiest thing lol.





Turns out that the NZXT hue plastic cover can fit at the top but I need to grind the plastic edge so that the 25mm fan can fit in there as well. But then I realized that I still need to wait to RMA the led strip so better not modify the nzxt hue first otherwise the shop can reject the RMA anytime if they require to see the nzxt hue even if its just cutting the plastic a little bit. Better not take the risk till RMA is done I guess



So I had nothing to do but to take pictures on my fittings! Hehehe, total cost of that fittings are more than RM600 yo! There is a few rotary in the rig & I am lazy to remove it for photo session...



This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:02 AM

More stuff have arrived for my build. I am waiting for pump to arrive...maybe in 2weeks time? 1 month time? ETA is unknown but I hope its as soon as possible. In the meanwhile, I will wait for the lamptron cw611 fan controller







This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:04 AM

Got my custom cables, leds, led strips etc...



Hohoho, my made in china dremel is here & all its accessories. Not sure how long this is going to last but quality seems decent. Accessories feels cheap though but cant judge it before using



Special thread & needles. Guess why I need this for my build?



My long waited D5 pump is here! Although this is not MCP655, I can't wait for swiftech anymore, been waiting since January & still no stock, so decided to get xspc the moment my local supplier restocked it so that I can push some progress with my rig & start playing bioshock.






Bitspower pump top! I immediately fell in love with it. Bitspower seriously makes high quality stuff & their packaging is top notch!




More white led strips for testing, this is the 600 bulb version



Finally got my nzxt hue led strip replacement, previous strip came with problems...had to RMA it. Still waiting for my top panel though lol

This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:05 AM

My new RX240 radiator hohohoho....






This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:06 AM

I decided to start making my custom cables & start sleeving it but had a few setbacks. First of all I ordered the wrong housing, I need 2 male atx housing but I got female & male lol. Then the 2nd problem was the pins, I bought 18awg cables but the pins are for 16awg meaning their crimping wings are longer thus giving a very bad crimping result.



On top of that, the crimping tool that I am using is crap. Hard to crimp it properly as the biting is not aligned properly and the pins are not so malleable, thus not following the crimping bite properly.



This is very bad, although it might work but sleeving will be a big problem then, so cable sleeving will be put on hold till I get all my pins & the crimping tool. Gonna cost me a lot now, I still need to get sp120 fans, fan controller, acrylic panels & now this lol.




My plan was to mount the RX240 radiator on the front of the casing but the mounting holes are not designed for mounting a 240 radiator so I had to drill some extra holes. Not a surprised to me though since I stumble upon someone worklog before regarding this problem and I am aware of it.







This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:08 AM

Flushing radiator time!



Btw just so you know, both radiator are RX series but both are different in terms of the build quality & paint. My RX360 has a bulge to it at the end tank, not so serious but you cant make it stand straight though. On top of that the paint texture is very rough, where as the RX240 has a smoother finish to it & in perfect condition. Bought both radiators new (RX360 from A.P.E.S & RX240 from cyntrix). I am guessing the RX360 are the old batch radiators? Not sure if the bulge will cause any performance impact or not, lets hope everything works out great.




Gunk from RX240 with warm water. Then I started flushing with vinegar, lots of dirt came out from RX240 though. I did flush the RX360 with warm water few weeks before but didn't do it with vinegar, so I did it today together with RX240.



Effect from flushing with vinegar.



Installed the pump top...pretty simple.




Another problem is the pump thread are so close to each other that prevents me from adding a compression fittings directly to it as the cap for other port it blocking. No idea why the hell bitspower design like this, will need to get extra rotary & male to male adapters now...



This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:23 AM

Gentle typhoon is mounted temporary till I get my hands on corsair sp120.



As you can see, the casing dosen't seems to be long enough. It reaches till the radiator water tank so I have no choice but to leave this.



I cut a thin piece of wood with my dremel just to test it.



And more problems, the top radiator cannot be secured to the fans with the provided screws. They are too short as the switch 810 has a curve to the holes. Solution to this is to grind it to smoother and reduce the space but I decided to get custom length screws instead, since I will be using gasket on top of that and this will not work with the given 3cm screws.



This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:25 AM

Playing around with leds & acrylic panels. Still can't recreate a proper luminous panel. Will get few types of sandpaper & play around with it again to get an even light distribution on it.











This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:26 AM

I am back


Tested the acrylic panel this time with 5mm sanded + super bright led strip, still getting uneven brightness...



Went back to the drawing board & made changes, manage to mount the led at the side & cover with wire tape. I am not sure how long these china leds are going to last before failing plus its covered directly to the acrylic with no gap & wire tape so the heat is going to be trapped. Lets just hope it does not get too hot & burn the leds otherwise I need to rethink how to do it...



Luminous panel in action, replaced the led strip with a dimmer one. Looks much better now but still uneven brightness. Its not very noticeable in real life though. I think laser engraved acrylic will give a better result. Will try making one with laser engraved instead of sanded...






Lego for adults...



This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:27 AM

Doing some tests to find the prefect fans for my needs. This is the ambient sound noise at night...



Gentle typhoon at full speed:



Ambient sound noise during corsair sp120 tests (done in the daytime):




SP120 Quiet Edition at full speed (12v):



SP120 Quiet Edition (7v - using the included adapter):




SP120 High Performance at full speed (12v):



SP120 High Performance (7v - using the included adapter):



All this tests are not accurate & do not serve as a guide or comparison on which fans are noisy/silent. Its purely for my own usage, to finding the fans that will suit me well. I decided to use the corsair SP120 quiet edition in my build since I am going with a push + pull setup. Gentle typhoon is a good fan no doubt but its not pleasant to my eyes

Oh and I also got my top panel replacement from nzxt already



This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:28 AM

Tiny update:
So I just finished installing the gaskets in my rig, I am the very paranoid type of person when it comes to sound. I am planning to go for the ultra silent rig yet performs well in cooling which explains why I keep changing fans from SGT to SP120 high performance to quiet editions and its pretty obvious why I am installing gaskets all over the places haha. Anywhere there is fans contacts, there will be gasket! Also my supplier only had the 360mm size so I had to cut it to fit at the front radiator.



Flowsensor is here! I had to make a special order for this since cant get it locally!



And some 'rare' fitting sizes & g1/4 rotary's since local retailer only carry 1 size



Best part of unpacking is to find suprised goodies! Its not that it very expensive or what but its just the surprise that you get free stuff makes the whole experience happier. The packaging is superb too, wrapped in bitspower own bubble wrap!



This post has been edited by infernoaswen: Dec 31 2013, 01:32 AM

A large update
Btw how much the modding toolkit cost?

actually I did a few update last week also but didnt had the time to upload the pictures haha today only a bit free even when building I dont really feel like taking so much pictures coz very concentrated in building

modding tool kit I bought RM6x from niclasteoh. If you are interested better grab it fast before out of stock. I was searching for this item since last year october if I am not mistaken. No stock, waited so long till last month only got new stocks. But honestly if want to do cable sleeving without the toolkit also can, in fact my previous sleeving was done with pure homemade stuff its just easier to use the tools la, no need to search for the right stuff in the house haha.

My next update I will try to post some info on how I did my cable sleeving & what house tools I used for cable sleeving. If got time la

Definitely will stay tune for your cable sleeving by using house tools
As far that I seen in youtube video they use something like a needle pin to pull out the cable from the connector.

I use hairpin way more effective than pins or stapler bullets

will post pictures & some info once I got time