This project served a few purposes for me:

- Maintenance on my main rig... It had not been opened up since it was built in 2015.
- Gain some new skills. Notably my first custom loop, first compound bend and the first time I have made PSU cables.
- Expand my archival storage to RAID 1. Total of 5 storage devices now.
- Cat-proof the system. The old tower has been knocked off the desk by a hasty cat wall-jumping off its side. Not cool.
- Fix those cables everywhere, man.

I don't really have any finished pictures of it since most of the system is hidden when closed up. So this is more of just a build log. I really fell in love with water cooling after this build. Doing my first custom loop has been a very rewarding experience. While I didn't have any leaks, I did have to redesign my original drain/fill system. I learned a lot from this process.

The cables were super time consuming, especially at first. I think they turned out really well, though my color choice could have been more complementary to rest of the build. I wasn't overly concerned with aesthetics for this build. I could not find a schematic for this PSU so I manually mapped the modular cables by using an ohm-meter. Not all cables had the same pin layout on both sides so this was essential. All the connectors on the PSU side are proprietary so I also had to de-pin all of these connectors and reuse them. A lot of organization, attention to detail and fore-thought are needed for doing custom cables. I've always thought custom sleeved PSU cables or extensions were crazy expensive, but now I have a much greater appreciation for their price.

The first series of pics show the old system. Pretty embarrassing, frankly. BUT, if I did one thing right, it was maintained a positive pressure inside the case. There is some dust, but I think it's pretty solid considering that is 4 years of accumulation. I posted the pics of the dustiest spots. This old system was such a mess. Fans installed on the outside of the case because they wouldn't fit with that AIO. No cable management. I apparently wanted to flaunt my abundance of cables. After cleaning it all out it still looks pretty great for what it is.

That's about it. Thanks for checking it out!