Nighttime pictures
Sorry about the poor quality of these pictures, but until Ansel Adams
shows up at my door to do this for me, this is as good as it gets. On a
side note, these pictures hardly do my computer any justice. To get
the full effect, you really have to see it in person. Enjoy:
I would apologize again for the fuzziness, but I'm really not that sorry. I get to enjoy my pooter, and that's all that matters!!!
Here's some more pics with the door off. I must say, do those fans kick ass or WHAT?!
more new pics....nothing new to say........
....and finally, here's a broader view of my entire setup. To the left is my Viewsonic G90f 19" flat CRT monitor (sniper on top is a must-have
in case you're not paying attention to what's going on behind you.......not a standard feature with this model, although kick-ass refresh rates are!)
I'm using the Logitech Cordless Freedom Pro mouse and keyboard. In the middle of my desk is my stereo setup (which my computer runs through. Honestly, what college student
doesn't blast their mp3's through a giant stereo?) Last, but certainly not least is the brains of the entire operation. I guess I could give you the
specs of my machine in case you really cared. Well here you go:
Antec SX830 server tower w/ 300W SmartPower Supply
AMD AthlonXP 1800+ (no oc.....yet)
MSI K7T Turbo2 (KT133a chipset)
512mb PC133 Crucial RAM
Creative Labs Annihilator 2 (GeForce II GTS chipset w/ 32mb DDR)
Soundblaster Live! Value
Linksys 10/100 Ethernet Card
Lite-On 8x4x32x CD-RW
Pioneer 16x Slot-Load DVD-ROM
New-Q Platinum in-bay Equalizer w/ remote (these are pimp, you NEED to get one!)
100mb Iomega Zip Drive
Mitsumi FDD
40Gb Western Digital HDD @ 7200rpm (filling up fast!)
500gph Pump/Reservoir from Overclocker's Hideout
Radiator/Fan from BECooling
Waterblock from Gemini Cool
2 Ultra-violet Cold Cathode kits from PC Mods
The original motivation for this project was when I told my buddy, Anthony, that I was getting anxious about the temperature that my computer
was running at. At that time I was using an Athlon 1.4Ghz T-bird (renown for their painfully high temps) and was running around 48C at idle. It
was then that he introduced me to a couple of websites that he had stumbled upon where people had watercooled their cpu's. I was shocked,
amazed, but more importantly, inspired to follow in their brave footsteps. From that point on, I became a religious stalker of cooling-related forums
and was constantly searching for more products and ideas. From cooling, I moved onto case modding ideas (honestly, if I was going to sink a
bunch of money into a kick-ass cooling system, I might as well show it off!!!) To make a long story short, about 9 months ago, I had a grandiose
plan to make my computer as "Mexican" as possible. I could've gone on planning forever......but then disaster struck. One day, I went to turn on
my computer .........and it........it............(I'm sorry, I get emotional just thinking about it)...................it stopped working. I had put off watercooling
too long, my temps were steadily on the rise, and my computer had had enough of it. My computer had only been on for 5 seconds, and I had totally
fried my processor........and to make things worse, my processor's ungodly temperature took my motherboard out with it. Pissed off at myself, but
determined not to be beaten by a processor, that night I ordered a brand new AthlonXP 1800+. Within a week I had a new motherboard and
was up and running again. I was now driven like Tom is to Wendy's to put together a cooling system that would knock people on their asses. Some
would say that I lost my mind at this point and started spending money like a maniac.........I tend to agree. More formal designs were drawn up and
a strategic battle plan was formed. I was a man on a mission! It wasn't until just recently that my dreams became a reality. There were several hard
decisions to make along the way.....which pump to get? which water jacket to get? what shape of window? color of lights?...and these are only a few.
In the end, I had to make more than a few compromises between what I wanted and what I could afford. Despite these compromises, I think
my little project turned out quite successfully! Was it worth it? You damn right it was! If for no practical reason, at least I'm proud of what I was
able to create...both creatively and physically.
The End.............or is it?!?!?!
If you have any questions or comments on this project.....or my level of sanity......or the fact
that one of my roommates only has 1 nut.......just e-mail me.