. . . the Mark
 
     [ it's going to be an ADVENTURE ! ]
 

 . . . the FOUNDATION
 
 

 . . . the ESSENTIALS
 
 

 . . . the SWAG
 
 

 . . . the Concept !   .  .  .  something new [?]   . . . borosilicate  . . . hand made  . . . just for ICE
(can it happen ???)
 
 

 . . . indeed ... it CAN   
 

 . . . the REALITY

Glass Dragon Tubes custom made by renowned Glass Artist
Garrett Brebes of PISMO BEACH, CA
 
and NOW . . . 
 
designing the CASE


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 . . . so ... what do we have - so far ...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Excellent ideas going on with this mod. Thanks for all the pics.

 . . . puttin' the spin ... on some FANs
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 ... time to hide the rainbow colors with some pearlized white acrylic
 

 ... follow up with some cable sleeving
 

 ... using some ss cap nuts for that 'finished' look !!!   (fastener length is ALWAYS a challenge)
 

 . . . here's the 'creative angle shot' !!!   . . . actually quite happy with this - white blades ... clear frame ... black bolts ... on the translucent Red surface ... solid grills & cap nuts   . . . and - of course - it all lights up with white LEDs     [good god ! ... they're just little fans !!!   ...   get a life !]
 



... So, Great ! ... got the rear fans (2 X 80mm) mounted on the outside of the case (I'm OK with the look) ... what to do with cable management for those guys ???   . . .  fabrication time ...

...  to the drawing board - then cutting - then drilling - then, more drilling (step drill bit required) - then acquire the perfect fasteners - then thread it all together - then cross your fingers ...





... so - it all fits (amazing !) . . . and now . . . no cables showing AND the perfect little (solid) handle to grab for moving this thing around !


 
 

  . . . so, the pearlized white acrylic worked well on the small fans in the rear . . . let's give it a try for the white 120s going up front   (no more wacky colored wires shouting out load ... perfect !)
 

 
 

 
 

I'm really curious to see how this build turns out. I really want to see those dragon tails in the loop when this build is done, they look awesome.

 
So far so good.

. . . so let's get some power going into this project   

I am using a BitsPower X-Station (female edition) for power distribution to several areas of the build.  It has capacity for 5v, 7v, and 12v support.  To run power to the X-Station directly from the EVGA G2 I have built two specially terminated cables to make this short direct run.

In order to hide as much cable as possible - introducing cable channeling where reasonable ... 2 sizes of the standard type behind the MoB, as well as, some triangular in the front section (since the white case panels reveal All !!!)




... the X-Station also includes two rheostat controls for some of the 3PIN connectors- these needed to be sleeved ... then mounted in a rear PCI-e slot



... all wired up !


All of the Fan groups are powered via extensions from each (5) of the available Fan Headers on the MoB . . . each individual Fan header is then configured (via the bios) to one of the several temperature sensor locations in the board and custom fan curves have been set accordingly   ...  this includes the radiator Fan for the Hybrid - this was disconnected from the default power cable directly from the card in order to have complete control over that Fan's speed and to enable fairly aggressive curves
 

   . . . OK - now that everything works ... time to introduce the XSPC Reservoir and the Borosilicate glass Dragon Tubes

From the start of this project - the vision of having custom made glass Dragon Tubes as a feature was Key ... so it is time to get this done ...
 ... again, a huge Thank you goes out to  Glass Artist Garrett Brebes of PISMO BEACH, CA . . . it was way more difficult then first expected to find someone who would be  interested in this first time challenge . . . but finally I was just super fortunate to be able to connect with Garrett (an amazing talent and half way around the world from here in Denmark).  Garrett was great to work with - and I was really excited when those pieces finally arrived in my hands !!!

But now the work has just begun . . . got to figure out a way to get get this Res setup and fit into this mATX case - and then ... get it hooked up into the AIO . . . and, get it looking good in the end . . . 


First step - need to fabricate a mount for the Res that will position it exactly where I need it ...


 ... so, back to the drawing board  . . .  this time- some drilling - some sawing - some filing - some more drilling (and a little painting) - then, Alum tube cutting (and filing) . . . and ... measure, measure, measure !


 ... looks, OK - and quite solid


 ... now, the critical part - positioning in the case . . . are you sure ???  you got one shot at this with the drill !!!


 ... Yup !   seems to do the trick  . . .  kinda' gives that 'floating' effect ... perfect !!!

... OK - now time to assemble the glass Dragon Tubes with the Res

This was the original concept



This is the reality





 . . . Monsoons for these babies  . . . the most flexibility for various tube sizes ... and holds on like a Bull Dog !
[ notice ... the fire polished ends of the glass tubes  . . .  Bully !!!  ]


 . . . ah!   the magic of making a vision come to life . . . no better feeling  


 . . . best config of fittings after several attempts  . . .  hum- starting to see a repeating pattern of - 'circles inside of squares'
BTW - LEDs going into both ends of the Dragon Tube fittings for some interesting effects !




 . . . and, then ... 

   . . .  getting close to the finish line

So, went ahead with setting up the Hybrid AIO  . . .  did some more tube bending (including some re-bends for a few of the CPU tubes)


Ran distilled in both systems in order to clean them out ... then,
filled both loops with Acid Green UV coolant












. . . needing to do some more leak testing - and start to put the final touches on this 1st full version of the Parvum ICE Dragon project
 

 

notfordman
A wonderfully beautiful build!! I really like those Dragon tubes. You did a nice job on the hard line bends. +1  
Did you use the Dragon tubes on a different build? I could have sworn I commented on a build using those. 
I do see my previous comment on your MR. 

Thanks so much notfordman  

 ... I remember your earlier comments, as well . . . the project has had a very long life and bounced around this forum a bit . . . started out in another stream - something like "All Dressed up ..." focused on the work done on the Hybrid ... but I really just wanted to share the whole project experience !  (wait til you see this thing all lighted up ... it has a few different personalities !)
 
Cheers

  spoiler alert . . . 
 
     this thing goes nuclear at night !!!  (check back at post #14 ... that's before all the acid green UV loop install & the backside hookup)  -  Yikes! 

These small mods can look fantastic. Looking forward to final pics soon.

 . . . quick fix-r-up while testing the Ship-shape

needed to address my OCD issue with the LED leads for the top Dragon tube fittings
... installed (another) short piece of triangle cable channel in the roof -and- over-sleeved the cables in white





 . . . this cleaned things up ... even though you won't see any of this anyway once the windowed side panel is installed  (just makes me happy !!!)


 . . . if you take a close look - upper left ... then, back behind the top fans ... and, just to the right again (two vertical short pieces) ... you will see the original triangle cable channel that was initially installed to hide (mostly black) cable