I got to finish up my own computer after building out my girlfriend's computer. Instead of a wood back I used steel pipe and 3D printed mounts of my own design. I got a new 4080 Super to replace my ole reliable 1080ti. I changed to EPDM tubing from vinyl (tired of dealing with the yellowing) but most everything from my old case was reused.
Before:
After:
build pics and notes in no particular order :
I'm using pipe from lowes as well as some T and L tubes that were built with set screws for clamping. I was hoping for a hammered black look but every spray paint I found ended up being more grey than black but it's close enough if you're not in direct sunlight. I chopped up a dowel rod at angles and drilled a screw into the end of each one so I could stand each pipe up in the yard for painting.
The top of the pipes with the L brackets have a hole cut and chamfered for the bracket set screw to fit into so it's not being held in place by only friction. I also cut a solid pin and glued it into each hole as an added safety.
The clamp mounts I designed in solidworks and printed with a mix of CF PETG, GF PETG, CF PA, and CF ABS. I wanted the fibers for rigidity and creep protection. The ABS also has good creep protection so it got used for the heavy stuff. The others were just because I had it laying around. They slide onto the pipe and clamp down with an M5 bolt and nut. They're all the same and have a longer mount area so I could have some leeway with the final build. This helped me slide stuff around as needed before tightening everything down. I had to make mounts for the PCI slots to clamp onto so the weight of the GPU could be supported a bit better and a PCI mount extension to keep it from tilting out. The radiators got some fancy mounts that use the fan holes to hold them. I had to make standoffs for the motherboard so the pins didn't touch the mounts as well as new spacers for the GPU bracket so it could use the thicker M4 screws. The PSU and Rad brackets are held to the mounts with M4 screws and brass heat set inserts
The volt gauges are hooked up to the 3.3v, 5v, and 12v rails from the PSU SATA connector, the amp guage is in series with the PSU
The new GPU is absolutely massive since it's using the same cooler as a 4090. I ran it with the air cooler first to check for coil whine before I voided the warranty. There was a little but not enough to care about. The water block shaved off a whole lb. 1080ti and PS90 for scale
(20 image limit, more in next reply)
Before:
After:
build pics and notes in no particular order :
I'm using pipe from lowes as well as some T and L tubes that were built with set screws for clamping. I was hoping for a hammered black look but every spray paint I found ended up being more grey than black but it's close enough if you're not in direct sunlight. I chopped up a dowel rod at angles and drilled a screw into the end of each one so I could stand each pipe up in the yard for painting.
The top of the pipes with the L brackets have a hole cut and chamfered for the bracket set screw to fit into so it's not being held in place by only friction. I also cut a solid pin and glued it into each hole as an added safety.
The clamp mounts I designed in solidworks and printed with a mix of CF PETG, GF PETG, CF PA, and CF ABS. I wanted the fibers for rigidity and creep protection. The ABS also has good creep protection so it got used for the heavy stuff. The others were just because I had it laying around. They slide onto the pipe and clamp down with an M5 bolt and nut. They're all the same and have a longer mount area so I could have some leeway with the final build. This helped me slide stuff around as needed before tightening everything down. I had to make mounts for the PCI slots to clamp onto so the weight of the GPU could be supported a bit better and a PCI mount extension to keep it from tilting out. The radiators got some fancy mounts that use the fan holes to hold them. I had to make standoffs for the motherboard so the pins didn't touch the mounts as well as new spacers for the GPU bracket so it could use the thicker M4 screws. The PSU and Rad brackets are held to the mounts with M4 screws and brass heat set inserts
The volt gauges are hooked up to the 3.3v, 5v, and 12v rails from the PSU SATA connector, the amp guage is in series with the PSU
The new GPU is absolutely massive since it's using the same cooler as a 4090. I ran it with the air cooler first to check for coil whine before I voided the warranty. There was a little but not enough to care about. The water block shaved off a whole lb. 1080ti and PS90 for scale
(20 image limit, more in next reply)
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