VOGONS


Reply 100 of 170, by x0zm_

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Just when I think my wallet is safe.

Cut acrylic is on its way. Awesome new SATA sleeving from MDPC is here. Even more storage for the PC will be installed shortly. What more could you want?

I was doing research for my 2005-2006 PC build that I was going to build in honour of World of Warcraft: Classic announcement. A nice AMD FX-55, 7950Gx2, all that sweet stuff I wish I had when I was playing 12 years ago. I was researching what blocks are still available for the Gx2 aside from the Koolance one from performance PCs. I remembered Aquacomputer made one so I went to their site. What do I find?

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A forward port GPU block, full copper and acrylic, still in production and in stock, Made In Germany block that will not only fit the Voodoo5 5500, but specifically mentions the GeForce2 as well!?

30 Euros each. That's 90 Euros for three, plus shipping (and likely minus 19% VAT tax), plus another pump and reservoir, plus fittings.

The downside? They are G1/8 threaded instead of G1/4. That means soft tubing only, since those are the fittings they sell. They also sell G1/8 threaded male to G1/4 female, but that starts getting ridiculous by the time you go G1/8 to G1/4, to 90 degree fitting, to compression fitting.

I could run soft tubing for it. It would look stupid as hell with all the rigid tubing right above it. Or is it a nice contrast between that new and oldschool? I don't even know anymore. 😢

The mind says no but the heart says yes. I've come this far already. I'm so close to being done. It's turning out better (and more expensive) than I ever dreamed of. At least it's something I can add after the fact. I don't have to do it now, I can do it later. I'm relieved to know something does exist, and it will do exactly what I want without resorting to dodgy mounting (CPU) or questionable quality blocks (Thermaltake) or basically guaranteed awful blocks (no-brand Chinese chipset blocks).

Sigh

Here's three pictures I took today when I was sharing something on Discord, that shows my front panel under UV light, and my new MDPC SATA sleeving.

cSQHaE4l.jpg (Imgur really hates compressing this image)

gNTsQfUl.jpg 1VAXiucl.jpg

Reply 101 of 170, by deleted_Rc

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Jade Falcon wrote:

You may be able to have the tops re tapped to g 1/4

if thats possible I am buying those right away 😲

A forward port GPU block, full copper and acrylic, still in production and in stock, Made In Germany block that will not only fit the Voodoo5 5500, but specifically mentions the GeForce2 as well!?

could you post a link?

Reply 102 of 170, by x0zm_

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Jade Falcon wrote:

You may be able to have the tops re tapped to g 1/4

Maybe, but don't want to risk damaging it because that's $50 down the drain otherwise... but they do appear to sell spare acrylic top covers for 9 EUR each. Hm

Richo wrote:

A forward port GPU block, full copper and acrylic, still in production and in stock, Made In Germany block that will not only fit the Voodoo5 5500, but specifically mentions the GeForce2 as well!?

could you post a link?

Sure mate. Right here:

https://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php … roducts_id=2097
https://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php … roducts_id=2071

https://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php … roducts_id=2591 (top cover)

Reply 104 of 170, by x0zm_

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Got some updates going on:

Acrylic is done but not assembled - will hopefully get that done on the weekend. Just need the time to go shopping to pick up the paint colours I need, sit down, paint things, line everything up and bond it.

mXad7Nel.jpg M5zSowXl.jpg F9JafNKl.jpg nrUoAYLl.jpg tHvjcZhl.jpg JonOM5Wl.jpg

In order of what's here: GeForce2 Backplate, V5 5500 backplate (now with BGA vent holes, thanks voodoo5_6k way back when for the idea, will still be raised as well), PSU Shroud bottom plate, PSU shroud top plates.

There are other things I didn't take pictures of like the audio backplate, case backplate, all the support pieces and more. It's really cool.

I am likely going ahead with the 3dfx waterblocks now. I just can't justify not doing it after all the other work I've put into it. Here is my diagram for how I'll achieve it without using too much soft tubing.

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It will be in a separate loop most likely, so as not to interfere with the work I've already done and allowing me to install it completely independently of all prior work - with the added bonus of dual coloured liquids! UV green for the CPU/RAM, UV blue for the 3dfx. I will not cool the Canopus Spectra 8800 simply because it is too valuable and rare to me to remove the stock heatsink and surrounding RAM copper plates. The V5 is collectible but not overly rare (yet) and I've removed enough of those heatsinks to be confident in what I'm doing. I've measured out enough room at the back fan area to fit a small pump and reservoir combo, while putting a radiator at the top of the case.

Either way, that will be coming AFTER the initial build is complete, so stay tuned for the painting, assembly and installation of all this acrylic!

Reply 105 of 170, by x0zm_

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Jade Falcon wrote:

As always nice work. I would still have the tops taped to G1/4 thread if possible.

They sell spare heads, so I'll buy one of those to test on. If it works I'll do it, if not then I'll stick with the plan. Can't lose either way 😁

I might be ordering it earlier than expected due to a new work contract. Hopefully as early as late next week.

So got some painting updates:

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Looks great once the last remaining bits of protective paper are removed to show the back underneath. There's just one small problem.

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Pigments are a bitch, and it looks dark blue, almost purple under UV light. That's fine though. It still looks cool. If I really end up hating it I'll do a clear UV blue coat so it looks blue in daylight, in UV light and in any other situation.

I need to assemble the shroud now, and then do the GPU plates and motherboard IO cover.

Reply 107 of 170, by x0zm_

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So true on the colours.

Anyway, got some pics!

MZ7jYXBl.jpg F4hI9ZAl.jpg

IO Shroud fits nicely.

Then I took everything out of the case. I decided to use the spare 570X I had to do the work on, in case everything goes wrong I can always go back to the original case.

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Drilled out the rivets and removed the stock PSU Shroud. I kicked it so it's a bit bent. Doesn't matter.

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This is the case afterwards. Super dirty because it is still filled with shattered glass pieces, along with all the metal shards.

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Part of the case wasn't even painted properly. Corsair quality. 🤣

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All parts of the case taken off, since they will be replaced with the good, non glass filled/scratched ones from the main case.

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And now the case is nice and clean, and ready for the custom PSU shroud to be made and installed.

And here's some pictures of the card backplates that are prepared for painting for when I hopefully pick up the paint tomorrow.

pw9PWQql.jpg JXDZKeMl.jpg va1Mpkpl.jpg

Reply 108 of 170, by x0zm_

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Was a bit bummed out that it was pouring down rain all day today. Apparently it's raining whenever I need to paint something.

Regardless, I went ahead with other parts of the build, or preparing rather. Since it was the first time I had the original PSU shroud fully removed, it was the first time I could properly test fit my custom one. I haven't glued it together yet since I need to find the best way it fits together within the case and tape it up nice and tight so I can get it right. That seems to be coming together nicely.

Excuse the poor quality photos, it was dark and raining outside so the photos are pretty crap without natural light. The top plates are black, the back plates are UV green.

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So the GPU/Audio backplates will go onto those cards once they are painted. The PSU shroud will be finished and the loop re-installed over the coming week I hope. 😎

Still raining today. Just fitted more stuff.

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Reply 109 of 170, by x0zm_

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Since it was still raining, I did the PSU shroud. I haven't fully attached the top and bottom halves and they are held together with tape, but this should give you a decent idea. Not much to say other than I glued it all together. It turned out super well, in my opinion. I've just put pics in order of things happening.

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bi6W6H8l.jpg OMpCaorl.jpg
G7XrVINl.jpg zPOamWRl.jpg

Yeah, it's dirty. I'll have to clean it.

Anyway, I was fairly happy with this test assembly, so I brought it to UV light, and then it just got cooler. I am so happy with how it looks. Photos don't do it justice.

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uDI9afOl.jpg mIIrAypl.jpg
mIIrAypl.jpg CyW2Ybzl.jpg

Reply 110 of 170, by x0zm_

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PSU Shroud installed into the case. It's not fully level, but it will be once the PSU is installed since it was designed to rest on it partially with some supports I made.

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Still on track to get that loop re-installed this week/weekend. 😎

Reply 112 of 170, by x0zm_

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Been on a roll with my free time lately it seems!

Today:

Found the right SATA cables and ordered them. Should be here early next week, it's also from Sydney. Did some GPU backplate painting (which I messed up because a bird walked on one), and test SATA cable sleeving.

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That 80mm fan grill is from the original "ToXiC" build and I'll find somewhere to put it in here, likely on the CPU fan on the back. Gotta keep some original stuff 😉

That said, I'm sort of digging the look without the backplates. I might leave them out after the build is finished at first and see how I like it.

Anyway - this is the build as it stands right now. The top cover is dusty though, need to clean it. XP

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And here's my test sleeved SATA cable:

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I'll use less heat shrink on the real ones now that I've got a feeling for it again, since it's been awhile since I've done one of those. The pattern will be blue green green blue.

I still need to pick out which HDDs I want for the last two slots. It's no big deal since I can pick up anything from 20GB to 120GB 2.5 or 3.5" drives locally for a few dollars each. I've got my ~80GB of tracker music for one of the drives, and the fourth will be miscellaneous. So Drive 1 (SSD) is OS/Most common games. Drive 2 (80GB 3.5" 7200RPM) are other less commonly played games. Drive 3 (likely 120GB 2.5") for tracker/other small file collections. Drive 4 (totally unsure) might be a Linux OS, Windows 2K or just more misc. files. Whatever. Not really that important.

Reply 113 of 170, by slivercr

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Build's loking good! (But of course you know that)

Suggestion for 4th drive: iso archive to use with daemon tools.

Since you're considering Linux, I have a similar Sata controller, the Sata300 TX4, and I usually keep Linux in port1 just to use grub to load any other os I load. Cool thing about grub is it updates with a single command. Beats updating the windows boot file or going into Bios and changing the boot up sequence, imo.

Outrigger: an ongoing adventure with the OR840
QuForce FX 5800: turn your Quadro into a GeForce

Reply 114 of 170, by x0zm_

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slivercr wrote:

Build's loking good! (But of course you know that)

Suggestion for 4th drive: iso archive to use with daemon tools.

Since you're considering Linux, I have a similar Sata controller, the Sata300 TX4, and I usually keep Linux in port1 just to use grub to load any other os I load. Cool thing about grub is it updates with a single command. Beats updating the windows boot file or going into Bios and changing the boot up sequence, imo.

Love the ISO archive idea, don't know why I didn't think of that, since I've always either used the original game CDs or just brought ISOs via USB onto my PCs.

Looks like I might go dual 120GB drives. I'll have a play around with grub too before I re-install the loop and after I get the drives. I'll try pick drives up this weekend since I'll be out around the store that sells them.

That said, not much I could do until I get the cables and drives now since I need to set all that up and confirm it is working before filling the loop.

I tried the GPU power passthroughs with the proper sized cabling today (I think I showed it with 3mm cables here, or maybe it was on a discord channel? I don't remember).

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I'm also going to have to clean all this acrylic and start wearing gloves when touching it in the future after it is cleaned. 🤣

-------

Pics with lighting and stuff installed. Also made the IO shield today, which is shown in pics:

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The IO shield covers up the yellow/purple audio/parallel/serial, but shows the PCB below because I like it.

Cables have been dispatched, located which stores have stock for the HDDs. The hype is real.

Reply 117 of 170, by slivercr

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x0zm_ wrote:

Love the ISO archive idea, don't know why I didn't think of that, since I've always either used the original game CDs or just brought ISOs via USB onto my PCs.

...

It's actually pretty handy, and grows as time goes by! Mine started with maybe 10 or so images, it's well into the hundreds these days.

To keep things tidy (and only a single file per image) I use a Linux tool called iat. It can convert different image formats quickly and accurately. Any mdf, nrg, or ccd that comes my way gets converted into iso and renamed appropriately (give this some thought, really speeds up finding the image when you have a lot of them).

In my HDD with isos I also keep a Linux-made image of a clean windows installation, just in case things go south. May also be useful to you since you are running without ODD.

Outrigger: an ongoing adventure with the OR840
QuForce FX 5800: turn your Quadro into a GeForce

Reply 118 of 170, by x0zm_

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slivercr wrote:
It's actually pretty handy, and grows as time goes by! Mine started with maybe 10 or so images, it's well into the hundreds thes […]
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x0zm_ wrote:

Love the ISO archive idea, don't know why I didn't think of that, since I've always either used the original game CDs or just brought ISOs via USB onto my PCs.

...

It's actually pretty handy, and grows as time goes by! Mine started with maybe 10 or so images, it's well into the hundreds these days.

To keep things tidy (and only a single file per image) I use a Linux tool called iat. It can convert different image formats quickly and accurately. Any mdf, nrg, or ccd that comes my way gets converted into iso and renamed appropriately (give this some thought, really speeds up finding the image when you have a lot of them).

In my HDD with isos I also keep a Linux-made image of a clean windows installation, just in case things go south. May also be useful to you since you are running without ODD.

Awesome.

HDDs arrived yesterday. I'll get them formatted and tested over the weekend. If either are faulty, they have more so I can get a replacement easily. 😎

Reply 119 of 170, by x0zm_

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The two new hard drives are all good! Formatted to FAT32, copying files onto them as I post this.

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After files are copied, the next step is the final hardware check before doing the final PC assembly and water cooling loop installation. I don't anticipate pulling it apart again after putting it together next time.

I will still have to paint that case backplate as well, but that's fine.

When I do the GPU loop later on, I shouldn't have to remove anything other than the card to install the blocks.