Mac Pro 1.1 Custom Waterloop

[Kajhack]

Hi guys!

First of all, many thanks to you for all your share about case mod. Without you, my mod wouldn't have been possible. Also many thanks to David Chugg from TheLaserHive for the mATX kit, the ATX PSU trim, and the pressed mesh fan grill. Check out his website, he is really doing a nice job. And thanks to my brother who offered me the case.

Build description :
- i7 4790K
- Asus Maximus VI Gene
- 16Gb DDR3 Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz
- SSDs and 1 HDD
- GTX 1070

Alright, let's get into shall we? I need to precise that I wanted my case to look as stock as possible, means I wanted to use the drive bay, the front fan mount, and all the "shields" inside as well as the front panel.
First of all, I've cut the back side of the case for the mATX kit to fit. A file with explanation is provided by David so you know where to cut. For this job, I used a Dremel and it works just fine. I also cut pieces inside the case for cable management.

Then I cut the front shroud just like NuclearLemons did, cut the top of it to slide the radiator in, then cut the bottom as the radiator was too long.

Here is where I am for now, still have to finish the waterloop, create SSD holders, fill the loop and do a leak test and then do the final touch.
For what I've tried, the front panel works fine except the FireWire that I haven't tried to wire it up.

 

[Natnatfr]

Very nice build !

I am currently planning to do mine on a 3,1 Mac Pro case, with a ATX mb and ATX psu with the less cutting (I know, not easy !)
Do you have problems with how your PSU is placed ? (fans and temps)
I planned to put mine in the original Apple PSU cage with the fan on the front (next to drive bay) cooling it

 

[Kajhack]

Very nice build !

I am currently planning to do mine on a 3,1 Mac Pro case, with a ATX mb and ATX psu with the less cutting (I know, not easy !)
Do you have problems with how your PSU is placed ? (fans and temps)
I planned to put mine in the original Apple PSU cage with the fan on the front (next to drive bay) cooling it

Thanks mate!
Yea defenitely not easy to cut less than you need. At first, I didn't want to cut the bottom of the front fans shroud 'cause I can't reuse it and slide it in the black speaker unit anymore.
Well the PSU fits nice, the only "problem" is the space between it and the "fan grill" that separates the optical bay to the PSU bay. There not enough clearance for the cables. I wanted to take it out but I can't reach 2 rivets so I decided to leave it where it is. I will probable add a fan to cool the PSU down if necessary. I can't tell about temps as the built isn't running for now because my cpu block is leaking due to an error of the manufacturer.

 

[Natnatfr]

Great for you, I feared that it would overheat due to the fan position

To save more space for cables my first thought was to place a fan in front of the first grill below, leaving just enough to fit the cables from a modular psu
View attachment ORG_DSC09032.JPG



Any fan should fit in that space and it wouldn't disturb when wanting to remove the drive bay
View attachment ORG_DSC09035.JPG

 

[Kajhack]

Hi guys !

I’ve received my new acrylic top for the cpu block. The build is finished now, everything purrs like a kitten. I’m really happy it’s over now.

 

[LiveSorcerer]

It was very beautiful.
One question, I am between putting a Watercooler or AirCooler, but I value a lot the silence, in the case of airCooler the most indicated would be the Noctua NH-D15 or Be Quiet Dark Black Pro 4, but the problem that would not give to cover the memories due to the size.
Watercooler would like indications, but they say that the radar cooler makes a lot of noise at full power or it may have a problem in the CPU heatsink.

 

[Kajhack]

It was very beautiful.
One question, I am between putting a Watercooler or AirCooler, but I value a lot the silence, in the case of airCooler the most indicated would be the Noctua NH-D15 or Be Quiet Dark Black Pro 4, but the problem that would not give to cover the memories due to the size.
Watercooler would like indications, but they say that the radar cooler makes a lot of noise at full power or it may have a problem in the CPU heatsink.

Thanks mate. Well I love to have a silent case next to me too. To be honest, the most noisy hardware is the GPU when it's full load (game). At idle I can still hear a little fan noise or maybe its the pump. Anyway it's not quiter than expected. I'm pretty sure normal people can handle the noise level but not us haha. I will probable change my gpu to a 1080ti because I can't put a full cover waterblock on mine

Edit : the fan noise I'm hearing is actually the fan from the PSU (Be Quiet).

 

[LiveSorcerer]

For me the noise really bothers me, but they also say that these latest aircoolers are surprising, so I have to hold on either for aesthetics or for reliability.

 

[Kajhack]

I should have tried it with my BeQuiet Dark Rock 3. It wasn't loud in my previous Fractal Define R5 even with the cpu overclocked. Try to find tests between aircoolers, they are plenty of them and find the one you like the most.

 

[LiveSorcerer]

Thanks, I will check.