New comp visual upgrades: Case, lights, and more lol

[chconline Veteran]

And of course the power supply.

It's quite a sweet change from my original setup. It's the same computer (Well, basically with same core hardware) -- the changes are four new LED lights, a new case, and a new power supply.

So the original case I owned, the Thermaltake Aguila, was getting a bit old, so I swapped for a Silverstone KL-02. Yes I have a thing for midtowers, because full towers occupy too much room in my opinion otherwise I would have gotten a Silverstone TJ-10 ESA or something. Silverstone makes excellent high quality cases, so it's partially for the brand :p Another new thing is a change from the Seasonic M12 to a Seasonic M12II power supply. The M12II incorporates a 120mm ADDA fan, which is very quiet at all times.

All these upgrades requires significant wiring changes inside, so I can't be bothered to modify an existing system therefore changed all three at once -- it retains the same motherboard, CPU, etc, in which I changed dozens of times in the past year anyway so they're pretty update (Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650, Asus P5E3-Deluxe/WiFi-AP@n, OCZ ReaperX HPC PC3-10666, Asus 8800GTS TOP G92, Auzentech X-Fi Prelude).

The first thing changed was to throw out all the original Silverstone stock fans, which were too loud in my opinion. To remedy this problem I already have two Noctua fans, where a NF-S12-1200 fan is installed at the back for rear exhaust. It is motherboard controlled via the 3 pin connector for a good reason -- first is the motherboard can variably control the fan speed (Nominal revs per min is 800rpm, otherwise 1200rpm is kind of loud even with SSO bearings), and that a nearby fan header is available on the motherboard so I don't have to pull a 4-pin Molex connector to the back. The front fan is a Noctua NF-P12 for high pressure applications over the front hard disk drive cage. Again, it is motherboard controlled and nominal revs are the same as the rear fan for ultimate silence. The rest of the components are done pretty well, with the Noctua NH-U12P over the quad core CPU using Arctic Cooling MX-2 paste with a Noctua NF-P12 fan using a constant resistor cable to cap the RPM at 1100RPM (Regular speed is around 1000rpm). It's very effective, and the new Silverstone KL-02 case offers much better heatsink-rear fan clearing gap to maximize cooling room and reduce congested heat. In terms of the graphics card, I couldn't be bothered to modify it, as the stock cooler is pretty good when it's not under load (I don't even game) at a rotational speed of around 400rpm.

Four LED light sets are used in this application:

- Lamptron FlexLight LED strip - Purple

- Lamptron 5-Spread LED block - Red

- Lamptron 7-Spread LED block - Blue

- Lamptron RingPuk LED unit - Multidirection - Blue

Since they have Molex passthroughts, I managed to use a single line from the M12II modular power supply to power all the hardware that requires Molex connectors -- which are the four light units, the DVD writer at the top, and the hard drive at the bottom. The Seagate hard drive is a SATA2 unit, but the KL-02's hot swap mechanism takes Molex (It changes to SATA power later on) so it's very convenient in terms of cabling. The graphics card takes a 6-pin PCIe connector, so that's a separate line but some zip ties and cabling skills didn't make it a problem at all. As far as the internal USB, firewire, audio (The case connectors runs to my Auzentech X-Fi Prelude board) and the case connectors can run behind the motherboard tray, with appropriate holes to reach the bottom of the motherboard for connections. This makes cabling fairly convenient overall. Heck, I ran the EPS 8-pin connector behind the power supply down to the motherboard lol! :D

The finished product:

I don't normally close my blinds, but for the purpose of photography, it makes things nicer.

From another angle:

Both LED blocks are mounted near the 5.25" drive bays so they shoot in one direction, reducing light leaking -- the mesh is pretty much see through, but the light is shone the other direction so it's fine.

A closer look -- purple glow strip at the bottom to make the bottom retain a distinct purple glow, while blue is made in the middle to make a smooth transition with the more prominent, bright red at the top that's pionted at the heatsink and rear of the case.

A blue multidirectional light is placed at the top, so it appears lit but does not override the orange/red light in the middle. The cabling is also really nice too, you can't really see them running through the middle :p

How it looks at night.

Another proud chconline project with a cabling obsession. :p

[iZoom]

Very clean. I'm actually looking to cut down on the light on my Themaltake Tsunami case. I've been wanting to leave it on overnight for various reasons, but I can't stand the light from the LED fan it came with. Any recommendations on a good quiet 92mm fan? Sorry, not trying to get off topic, just look for some friendly advice. Again, great job on the very clean look. Nice camera too!

[chconline Veteran]

92mm... get these: http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=product...d=16&lng=en

I am a big fan of Noctua for quiet fans, I use them exclusively in my quiet computing solutions :p (And there's a good reason... everyone I know who owns them loves them)

But I figured that the cabling at the top was kinda ugly, so I fit the EPS 8pin completely behind my PSU with the CPU fan wired a little better. Updated pic:

:yes:

[RUSH33]

Wow. Looks really nice. Nice job.

[+shift. MVC]

How much does this case retail for? Thinking about getting a Thermaltake Soprano (or any relatively inexpensive case with a side window).

[chconline Veteran]

Thanks :D

I think the retail is around 130. Here's a complete setup shot at night: