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Schwarzgerät III

From dankwiki

My 2020 rebuild, Schwarzgerät II, was a beast of a machine. Like the Hubble or LHC, however, I had to give it more powah. The 2022 upgrade, Schwarzgerät III, does just that despite scrotumtightening supply chain madness. This rebuild focused on cooling, power, and aesthetics.

“But out here, down here among the people, the truer currencies come into being.”―Gravity's Rainbow (1973)

I hesitated to call this the third iteration of Schwarzgerät, as there was no real compute upgrade (I did go from 128GB of DDR4-2400 to 256GB of DDR4-3000, but that hardly counts). The CPU, motherboard, and GPU are unchanged from 2020's upgrade. Nonetheless, the complete rebuild of the cooling system (and attendant costs, both in parts and labor) and radically changed appearance seemed to justify it.

This is my first machine with internal lighting, and also my first to use custom-designed parts (both mechanical and electric). I learned OpenSCAD and improved my 3d printing techniques during this build, and also extended my knowledge of electronics, cooling, and fluids. I also developed a better understanding of power distribution. In that regard―and also with regards to the final product―I consider the build a complete success.

I'm not sure where else I can go with this machine. There doesn't appear to be much useful work I can do beyond what I've aleady done. Some thoughts:

  • Case modding. I could add a window to the PSU door, and improve on the piping in the back. I'm very hesitant to go cutting apart the irreplaceable CaseLabs Magnum T10, though; it's not like I can go buy another one.
  • Grow down. If I could find (or more likely fabricate) a pedestal for the machine, I could add extensive radiator support, or a second motherboard. I don't really need either, though.
  • Mobility. Work towards the Rolling War Machine by augmenting the existing accelerometer with sensing and movement capabilities. Kind of a big (and expensive) box (and small condo) to be tearing around on its own initiative.
  • Hard tubing. Regarded a superior look by many in the watercooling community, but I don't really think so<—in a big case like this, I dig the more organic look of soft tubing. It's also infinitely less annoying to work with.

Bill of Materials

Chassis

As always, my trusty CaseLabs Magnum T10 rode into battle with me. CaseLabs went ignominiously out of business in August 2018, and spare parts a la carte are now effectively unavailable. Nonetheless, it remains a truly legendary artifact, perhaps the single greatest case ever built. This build makes more complete use of it than I ever have before.

  • Caselabs Magnum T10 chassis with 78mm ventilated top plus...
  • StarTech HSB4SATSASBA 4-bay 3U HDD cage
  • Icy Dock MB324SP-B 4-bay 1U SSD cage
  • Self-designed and -printed case for Arduino MEGA 2560
  • Self-designed and -printed case for RHElectronics Geiger counter
  • Self-designed and -printed covering case for EKWB Quantum Kinetic FLT 240 mounting kit
  • Self-designed and -printed cable shroud for bottom of Gigabyte Aorus Master TRX40
  • Self-designed and -printed false floor for bottom of Caselabs Magnum T10 PSU side

Cooling

An entirely custom water loop with redundant D5 pumps (either can drive the entire loop, though of course with less flow). I can partially drain and fill the loop without touching anything through the externally-mounted Kinetic FLT. Full draining and optimal filling proceed via the 5.25"-mounted Monsoon, sitting at the bottom of the case; this requires removing the USB bay installed above it.

  • EKWB Quantum Kinetic FLT 240 D5 pump + reservoir with mounting brackets. Installed halfway up the case's back, outside.
  • Monsoon MMRS Series II D5 pump + reservoir with 2x Silver Bullet biocide G1/4 plugs. Installed at the front bottom of the case, in the lowest two 5.25" bays.
  • Bitspower BP-MBWP-CT G1/4-10K temperature sensor. Installed in Quantum FLT's central front plug, running to motherboard's first external temp sensor.
  • XS-PC G1/4-10K temperature sensor. Installed in Monsoon's upper left plug, running to Corsair iCUE Commander Core XT's first external temp sensor.
  • DiyHZ aluminum shell flowmeter and temperature sensor. LCD screen displays both values, and a 3-pin connector carries away flow information.
  • EKWB Aorus Master TRX40 monoblock.
  • EKWB EK Vector 20x0 waterblock.
  • Hardware Labs GTR340 radiator.
  • Hardware Labs GTS340 radiator.
  • 2x Hardware Labs 240 radiators.

Compute

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