Project: MiniMe - Miniature Watercooling!

[oliverw92]

[CENTER][SIZE="5"]Components[/SIZE][/CENTER]



[CENTER][SIZE="5"]Sponsors[/SIZE][/CENTER]

I am delighted to introduct my first sponsor, AquaTuning.co.uk! They will be sponsoring me with my watercooling equipment.



Their website can be found [url="http://www.aquatuning.co.uk"]here[/url]




Ebuyer are also sponsoring me with a motherboard, processor and graphics card!

Their website can be found here: [url="http://www.ebuyer.com"]http://www.ebuyer.com[/url]


I would like to introduce my 3rd sponsor for this project, MNPCTech!



They will be sponsoring me with 1 of these:


http://www.mnpctech.com/Computer_Billet_Fan_Grills.html

and a set of these:


http://www.mnpctech.com/Aluminum_Computer_Case_Feet.html

Thanks very much to Bill



I would like to introduce AC Ryan! They will be sponsoring me with some materials like Aluminium sheet and CCFL's and such things. Thanks Guys!




Enermax will be sponsoring me with 2 fans and a keyboard! Thankyou!

[CENTER][SIZE="5"]Case Plans[/SIZE][/CENTER]

The case will measure 20x20x20cm with everything inside, including radiator, fans etc. The case will be made out of a powdercoated steel frame with smoked acrylic filling the holes for the sides and top, and the front and back will be made out of powdercoated mesh. I am going for a blue and purple colour scheme inside (wiring, coolant, tubing etc). The metal will be cut on the CNC router at my school (it's tiny, about 30x30cm cutting area!). The plastic will be laser cut also at my school, and sponsor logos will be laser etched on during this process. All the cables will be sleeved in black and white sleeving.

[CENTER][SIZE="5"]Final Photos[/SIZE][/CENTER]









Thanks for reading.

[oliverw92]

Update #1

Did a sketchup of the case. This was my first time using sketchup. Quite a few of the components I got off the database of models but i made several. The whole thing is precisely to scale (to the millimeter) so i can take measurements etc off it.



Front



Back



Front



Side



Empty Case



WC'ing loop



Components




Hope this gives you a good idea of what it is going to look like!

[oliverw92]

Update #2

This is what it would look like with the rad inside. I could do it like that, or make the box 3cm taller and have the fan inside too. I'm a bit worried about getting my tubing in at those angle though. Hmm....

[oliverw92]

Update #3


Redesigned again. Managed to get the whole thing down to 20cm x 20cm x18cm - that is including radiator and, well, everything!














Getting the Apogee Drive will mean i can make the bottom compartment smaller and ALSO means i can have 2 2.5" drives! So potentially 1tb of storage at this point in time (maybe more if larger 2.5" drives are made). Anybody got any advice on those tight bends there? Does it matter how i have T joint being used (L joint in the main loop)

[oliverw92]

Update #4

I've changed the processor to an E8400. Cheaper and offers the same, if not better performance. I've now done a complete price list for everything i will need. Just realised i am missing electrical wire off the list. Oh well



(Everything from Watercooled-PCs is now being changed to AquaTuning, cheaper here + more choice!)

I have just got news that Ebuyer.com are now joining the project! They will be sponsoring me with motherboard + cpu and maybe GPU. Good stuff!

[oliverw92]

I am pleased to announce that Ebuyer have agreed to officially sponsor me!



Here is a link: [url="http://www.ebuyer.com"]http://www.ebuyer.com[/url]

They will be sponsoring me with a motherboard, processor and graphics card!

They have also agreed to sponsor with me with a Q9550 instead of what i was previously planning, an E8400! So this project really will be dam powerful! I may need to underclock the cpu a little, but now i have the 200w psu it should be fine.

The mobo won't be in stock until september, so not much will happen until then. I will continue to do some CAD designing though.

Thanks to my contact, Charlie, at Ebuyer for putting up with me. She is great

[oliverw92]

Update #5 - 20/8/09



A box arrives! I wasn't even expecting it...



Ebuyer sponsorship arrives



This motherboard is ridiculously small... i couldn't believe it when i first saw it



PCI-E x16 slot



Wireless module for it. Plugs into a USB header



GPU test fit



Fits the board perfectly!



My friend



So glad i chose this card, the blue is perfect for my colour scheme.



I never thought i would get to hold one of these...


So yeah not much of an update. But progress! I can now confirm all the measurements for the motherboard. I didn't expect to have the mobo so soon because eBuyer were out of stock. Somehow they managed to get me one though!

I would like to thank eBuyer again for their generous contribution, and especially thank my contact there, Charlie. She has been brilliant!

[oliverw92]

Update #6 - 30/08/09

The final sketchup model is finished! I spent ages on this. It is EXACTLY how it will be, everything is perfectly to scale. By doing it like this i have actually solved loads of problems i would have come across later when i had got items laser cut etc.



Front



Right side



Top with 120mm rad and fillport



Without the outer shell and cubes



Back view without shell



Back



Left hand side with GPU. Will actually be nVidia but never mind...



Profile shot of the right hand side.



The loop! Yes i am now cooling the 9300 chipset. One of the problems i discovered by doing the accurate sketchup is that the apogee drive would hit the heatsink on the chipset. So duniek at OCN is making be a custom block that looks very similar to the one above (i.e. barb positioning is the same). Yes there is some VERY tight tubing to be done. But hey! I'm up for a challenge!



The back of the loop. 45 degree fittings will save this project! Most of the models in the sketchup are downloaded, however i made the apogee drive and several other parts. It is precisely to scale from the swiftech site. Very pleased with it!



Bottom compartment. The cd drive rests on an acrylic plate that is glued to the HDD bay. There is a 60mm fan at the back blowing across the hdds. This will be mounted to the base using a bracket, rather than mounted to the grill.



HDD Bay



Empty shell. The whole thign is held together with 10mm acrylic cubes. There will be purple LEDs mounted in them which will shine out of the corners displayed by the rounded corners of the aluminium frame.



Moneyshot



So what do you think guys? I managed to get the 250W psu in, which i am very pleased about. I need to order things like the PSU, switch, CD drive and hdd before i can start milling out the aluminium.

[xpdualcore]

Looking awesome.... how did you manage to get sponsorship?

If I could then I might just have to have a go......

[oliverw92]

Secret Nah you just have to be careful how you do it. Go to people who you think will even look at your request. Don't go to anyone who holds the market, like Intel. They will not even look at your request. Why should they? They have a monopoly on processors, they don't need any advertising. Make sure you show the people everything to do with your project. Make sure you have some plans. They are not going to sponsor you for a concept, you need to be able to show that it will work. Also show that you know what you are doing. Tell them and show them you have done stuff like it before and that you have the equipment and skills necessary to do the whole thing. Show them what they will get in return for sponsoring you. It is a 2-way situation. They want something back. Also make sure they don't have to do too much. They are really doing you a favour in the long run. Don't bug them! Good luck with getting some sponsorship!


Update #7

So i have been talking to radodrill at OCN about fan controllers. He showed me what he did for his Rad GT. So i have designed my own fan controller. It will only be 2 channel, unlike his insane 8 channel one. His was done on a soldering board (one with loads of pre drilled holes). I'm lucky enough to have access to PCB printing facilities at school so i will be making the PCB myself :wheee:



PCB design (to scale). On the right of the big electrolytic capacitors you can see 3 pads. This is where the potentiometers will be attached. Middle-left you can see 2 pads where +12v and negative connects. At the top right of each section you can see a box with 2 pads in, this is where the fans connect.



Real-world drawing of it



The circuit design (this was NOT done by me! This was made by radodrill!)

My layout was done in PCB Wizard 3.50. Great little program!