Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 When I first saw the posting for the Gigabyte 30th Anniversary Liquid Cooling Mod Challenge I didn't know if I would have the requisite skills to compete effectively. After careful consideration and hours of thinking through many possible themes, I have decided to throw my hat into the arena and give this a shot. After looking throughout the Gigabyte site for theme inspiration, I saw the 30th anniversary logo and an idea was born. My project will be called "ÁPEIRO", which is Greek for 'Infinity'. The sponsors of this contest manufacture hardware that allows anyone to build an infinite array of PC designs. The designs are limited only by the imagination of the builder. So what better way to express this concept than one with a theme of 'Infinity'. I used Google Translate to look at all the possible translations for this word and the Greek version sounded simple and yet elegant. The case I will be using for this build will be the Corsair Obsidian 900D Super Tower. I did a previous mod build with this case and absolutely loved the versatility and craftsmanship provided. Unlike the previous mod, this one will be quite different. The interior will be gutted with the drive and 5.25" bays removed. I will fabricate a custom backplate with an integrated liquid reservoir and a custom midplate with RGB lighting. The video cards will be mounted vertically. The whole front panel assembly will be removed and replaced with a custom infinity mirror assembly to match the theme. The top panel assembly and lower side panels will also be replaced with custom vent covers with the 30th Anniversary logo. The color scheme is looking to be Blue and Black. All wiring will be sleeved to match the theme colors. Many of the concepts in this build will be a first for me and I look forward to the challenges that they will present. Here is a parts list of all the components in this build: Main Components: Case: Corsair Obsidian 900D Super Tower CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.3 GHz LGA 2011-v3 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X99P-SLI X99 Memory: 64GB Corsair Vengeance Blue LED DDR4 3000MHz (8 x 8GB) GPU: Gigabyte GV-N960XTREME-4GD GeForce GTX 960 SSD1: Samsung 950 Pro M.2 2280 512GB PCI-Express 3.0 SSD2: HyperX Savage 2.5" 480GB SATA III SSD3: HyperX Savage 2.5" 480GB SATA III PSU: Corsair RM1000i Modular Watercooling Components: CPU Block: EKWB EK-Supremacy EVO X99 Motherboard Block: EKWB EK-FB Kit GA X99 LE Pump: EKWB EK-XTOP Revo D5 PWM Radiators: 2 x EKWB EK Coolstream 480 PE Quad 120mm Reservoir: Custom Fabricated Tubing: EKWB EK-ZMT 3/8" ID x 5/8" OD Tubing: Mayhems Ultra Clear 3/8" ID x 5/8" OD Fittings: Assorted Bitspower G1/4 Compression, 3/8" ID x 5/8" OD Miscellaneous Components: Fan - Radiator: 12 x Corsair ML120 Pro Blue LED 120mm PWM Magnetic Levitation Fans Fan - Front: 2 x Corsair ML120 Pro Blue LED 120mm PWM Magnetic Levitation Fans Fan - Rear: Corsair ML140 Pro Blue LED 140mm PWM Magnetic Levitation Fans PWM Splitter: Swiftech 8-Way PWM Splitter PWM Splitter: Silverstone 8-Way PWM Fan Hub Sleeving: Blue and Black Paracord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 On Monday I received my build kit from Gigabyte. The build kit consists of the following hardware: Gigabyte X99P-SLI motherboard Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 video card EKWB EK-FB Kit GA X99 LE motherboard water block EKWB EK-Thermosphere universal GPU water block EKWB EK-Supremacy EVO X99 CPU water block Here are shots of the hardware still in their packaging. I will be receiving more hardware from Corsair soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Received some exciting new items from Corsair this Friday. Several weeks ago I participated in a live modding event, 24hrs of LE Mods at QuakeCon 2016, and had the pleasure of using some of the new Corsair Magnetic Levitation fans. These were some of the quietest fans I have ever had a chance to use! Virtually silent and with a high static pressure/air flow. The light distribution was even and emanates from the center hub, so you don't get that pinwheel effect when lit. These fans come in three colors (white, blue and red). Here are 16 of the Corsair ML120 PRO LED Blue 120mm Premium Magnetic Levitation Fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Received the case and some fans from Corsair yesterday. Here is the stock Corsair Obsidian 900D fresh from the factory. Here are two of the new Corsair ML140 PRO LED Blue 140mm Premium Magnetic Levitation Fans. I also received an RM1000i PSU from Corsair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 One phase of building a new case is the tear-down aspect. It feels so good to disassemble a case by removing the components into their respective pieces. It is amazing to see how far it will go with just a screwdriver and a drill. After about 30 minutes, most of the exterior and interior pieces of the Corsair 900D have been stripped out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Completed design of the two side fan grills and the top fan grill. Side fan grill Top fan grill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 When I was notified that I will be getting one of the Gigabyte build kits, a Mr. Jonathan Lin from Gigabyte stated in his email that he challenged me to remove the PCH heatsink from the VRM heatpipe so as to keep the Gigabyte branding that comes on the PCH heatsink. Although it sounded challenging, the process was rather easy. Here is the stock motherboard fresh out of the packaging. You can see the large PCH heatsink in the lower left and the VRM heatsink to the right of the CPU socket. Only about 5 minutes later you can see that the heatsink pipe has been removed from the PCH with no damage at all. Here is a closeup of the underside of the PCH heatsink. When flipped over, there is actually another removable fixture that is holding the pipe in place. Simply unscrewing that fixture allows the pipe to be easily removed without damaging it at all. Here is the bottom of the PCH heatsink fully put back together. Here is a shot of the heatsink pipe opening in the bottom of the PCH heatsink. Now a shot showing the PCH back in place on the motherboard. Don't worry, the fingerprints will be removed before placing into the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Received the CPU and M.2 memory from Newegg yesterday. Finally able to complete the installation of the motherboard waterblocks and M.2 memory. I selected the Samsung 950 Pro 512GB M.2 memory unit for the speed and capabilities since this will be used as the boot drive. These compact M.2 units are amazing. So small and yet so powerful! The unit fits perfectly into the M.2 slot located between PCIE-2 and PCIE-4 slots, and does not interfere with the PCIE-5 slot. The CPU selected is the Intel i7-5820K processor. This LGA2011v3 unit has a stock speed of 3.3 Ghz with a 15MB cache. The processor is locked and loaded on the motherboard. Last up is to apply the EKWB Waterblocks to the VRM modules and CPU. These are truly some beautiful blocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Spent the day working on the motherboard tray cover. In order to create a template that would cover the entire motherboard tray, I had to first get rid of an angled piece left over from the hard drive cage mounts. No problem. A dremel and some time outside got rid of that annoying piece in short order. The cover is matte black acrylic and covers the entire back area except where the motherboard mounts. The blue painters tape is where the custom reservoir will be cut in. Once more components are mounted, I can figure out the best size for this item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Murphy Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Got the two radiators for this build (EK-CoolStream PE 480 Quad). One will be mounted in the top of the case and the other on the bottom. Now for some of the acrylic work... Created a cardboard template for the midplate so that the cutting process would be easier and more accurate. Since this midplate will be lit from within by RGB lights it will be composed of several layers. Here is the topmost piece. Now the clear piece to help diffuse the light more evenly. Here is the bottom assembly with the RGB lights ready to go. The clear pieces fits perfectly inside the frame. Now for the custom reservoir... this is my first attempt at anything of this nature so I hope I got it right. Here are the top (clear), bottom (white) and side (frosted) pieces. I found a G1/4" tap on Amazon and it helped to create the inlet and outlet ports. Time for assembly. The square helped to ensure the corners were even. Purchased some Weld-On #4 to ensure that this has no leaks and is held firmly. Found these little clamps at Microcenter and am finding them very handy. Here is a shot of the bottom and side pieces assembled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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