Towers of power

Posted at: Thursday 24th January 2008

Daniel Costin's massive Project Gemini mod includes two water-cooling loops, separate thermal zones for hot-running components and uses geometry's golden ratio to keep everything balanced.

The practice and experience I gained from the previous builds also allowed me to make the case more refined in terms of construction, particularly when it came to the fit and finish. During this build, I honed my 'capillary bonding' skills in particular. I progressed from making joins that were a horrible mess to creating clean, and sometimes virtually seamless, bonds. I think that's the beauty of making mistakes: you can learn from them.

CPC: How much research did you do on materials for the case? What is the main case made from?

Daniel: Gemini's case is made entirely of acrylic. As I'd already experienced several successes with acrylic in the past, I decided to stick with it. I considered constructing the case from carbon fibre panels, but decided to leave that project for another day. I really enjoy working with acrylic, as it doesn't need painting, and the techniques you use with it are very similar to carpentry, a trade in which I have some experience.

CPC: Was the case difficult to put together once all the acrylic panels had been made?

Daniel: Assembly wasn't too difficult, although the sheer size of the case made manipulating it as I assembled the parts something of a chore. In some instances, I needed to break some seams and rebond them. Having three or four hands would have been very helpful.

CPC: Take us through the cooling system. Are all the internal components water-cooled?

Daniel: The CPU and the GPUs are liquid-cooled. The hard disks, the motherboard and the memory are air-cooled. On the CPU, I'm using a D-Tek Fuzion block that's lapped to improve the finish. The GPUs are cooled by Danger Den Full Coverage blocks, and both of the water-cooling loops are driven by Laing pumps and fed by Swiftech Micro Reservoirs. The liquid in the loops is cooled by Swiftech MCR220 radiators, which are dual 120mm-fan models.

Finally, I used PrimoFlex tubing, also from Danger Den, for the veins and arteries, and Fluid XP for the blood. The pumps were chosen for their flow rate, and the CPU and GPU blocks for their cooling ability and reputation. With the reservoirs, it was their size and configuration that interested me, and I selected the tubing for its size and flexibility. The components were all chosen with overclocking in mind.

CPC: Water cooling can be a challenge. Did you run into any trouble?

Daniel: Not really. One of the benefits of a fully removable loop is that the bleeding process is much easier and quicker.

CPC: An impressive aspect of this mod is the sheer amount of detail, and the precision involved in reworking several components - is this important to a good mod?

Daniel: Yes. Perfection is out of the question, but attention to detail will win the day. A case mod - or any building project for that matter - is the sum of its parts. If each element is completed with attention and care, then the project as a whole will be a success.