Why don't more people do this...?

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[OmkarN]

Looking at everything, I actually understand why people don't do this.

[brettfichtner]

As a woodworker who recently got into PC building, I've always thought "why don't I just build my own case?" Your channel is so cool! Perfect blend of tech and woodworking, and the production is next level. Very well done!!

[mbacker]

"I don't know why more people don't do this?" $3, 000 on hardline fittings and parts later... I kid Zac. This looks great! If I had the means and money, I'd do something like this myself.

[Power]

Builds a custom watercooled $3000 PC inside a custom desk built with $50k worth of tools and asks why dont more people do it.

[smd]

1. do not use a saw on the plastic tubes, it can cause micro cracks all the way down the tubes. Use a pipe/tubing cutter
2. if you run a tube and use an Apex Fillport you can have a high side fill port right above the res (Alphacool makes them)
3. if you want to spend the time you can build a custom wire harness

[jackielinde]

1. The recessed "tray" for the mother might cause you some issues. Not because of electrical fires, as wood acts as a resistor and not a conductor at very low voltages. Computers work at very low voltages. The issue is getting airflow to any metal and components on the back side of the motherboard. IMHO, I would have bought a metal "open air" bench case and built the drawer around it.

2. Your Max Z height wasn't as limiting as you think. There are PCIe risers that let you rotate the card 90 degrees from the motherboard, so you're looking at the fancy side with the fans (or your RGB water block) instead of the top of the card. This means your computer can be much thinner than if you plugged the card directly into the motherboard. So the "recessed tray" is more an aesthetics choice over a technical limitation. Also, this takes care of "GPU sag" (It's the card that sags, not the processor on the card.), as the center of mass goes through the center of gravity, so parts don't flex like when they're laid out flat. A lot of newer cases have this feature. (And the graphics card can be placed in a way to hide some of the cable routing.

3. NEVER USE THE MOTHERBOARD AS A DRILLING TEMPLATE!!! Why? The short answer is you can and will create a fire hazard if you damage the board around the screw holes. Short answer is the standard uses some of those screw holes as grounding points, and you could chip away at protective features and the substrate of the motherboard exposing traces for other systems to short out to ground. If you don't believe me, just ask Steve of GamersNexus about the NZXT H1 PCIe Riser card fires. This guy's research was used by the FTC to force NZXT to issue a recall for the cases. The reason was poorly designed traces around the screw holes that created grounding points and fire.

The really idiotic thing is, The ATX, Mini-ITX, and Micro-ATX motherboard standards are just that, STANDARDS. You were already using your CNC machine to route out a cavity for the motherboard. You could have just as easily downloaded the standards template for the motherboard and have the screw holes in the right position and orientation for you. Likewise, you could have printed off a paper template of the standard and have the screw holes exactly where you needed to place them. You could have even placed the motherboard on a piece of paper and drew up a paper template. There was no reason or need to put the motherboard at risk of damage for your custom case. Oh, and using your motherboard itself as a drilling template will 100 PERCENT void the warranty, even if the issue isn't directly associated to drill damage. There's wiggle room for the water-cooling mods.

4. Zip ties? Really? They make hook and loop straps called "cable ties" for this exact use case. Why cable ties over zip ties? They look better and they're reusable. Need to change out a wire? You're good to go with cable ties. Need to tie cables to soft tube without the possibility of crushing the tube? Cable ties. Cabling an entire data center? Oh, you bet your sweet bippity you're using hook and loop cable ties or you're getting fired. Save those zip ties until you need to cuff a bad guy.

[kablink]

You've probably thought of this, but when benchmarking, try flipping your fans around to pull cool air in the front of the case, and all of the radiator fans blow out the back, and see if it helps with thermals. This way you don't get radiator-heated air inside the drawer, and bonus: you don't have hot air blowing at you out the front of the PC this summer! You have more than enough fans at the back to keep up with (slightly) warmer air coming from inside the drawer over the big radiator. I'm jealous of the woodworking shop! haha

[welcometoronsworld]

your system and setup is one of a kind to see you design your desk, speakers, and everything that is craft made I am a big fan of.

[Relyfew]

4:14: "I don't understand why more people don't do this"
Me: $$$$

[galaxygur]

I've been looking at my new motherboard and looking at an empty box in my desk with such a temptation, while waiting for an actual case to arrive, but now thankfully to your video, my adventurous spirit has been satisfied, and I will patiently wait for a case to arrive.

[MaxskiSynths]

Great job. Glad you chose to use frosted hard line tubes, they look beautiful!

[James_Mansbridge]

Just some advice: orientate your fans so they're pulling air through the radiator, rather than pushing, as they currently are. Having your fans pull air makes maintanance much easier, as you don't have to take the fans off to clean the radiator. Either that, or get a dust filter.

[trminallychi]

Great video. Watercooling your components does not void your hardware warranty unless you break it during the disassembly or reassembly process though 👍

[erickhenry]

I'm a woodworker and I build a custom wood case for my 32 core Threadripper with a complete hard line custom loop! I never had a problem with overheating. Runs like a dream!

[StopperJJ]

Great build. Really love the clean aesthetic and look of the system as a whole. I would caution bending the 12vhp connector to the graphics card. If not fully seated the connector can be a major issue whether its the Nvidia adapter variant or a direct line to the PSU like yours. They have melted and burned up routinely when first released and people weren't aware of the cable limitations. Cable mod makes a 90 degree adapter that solves the problem though and looks way cleaner. Being so close to the edge of the sled, it wouldn't be a bad 40 dollar investment to keep that cable from getting pinched and possibly causing a very bad, 450 watt fire hazard.

[Nienormalny]

18:50 AMEN! They also place the PC case on the desk, so it may glow more than the display next to it.

[Xizax]

As someone that has done both hard and soft tubing, I prefer soft. That's simply because I'm often getting into the pc to swap out parts and perform maintenance. I find it's a hell of a lot easier to work around soft tubing, being able to move it around, to get to things and apply new paste.

Also the first time I tried to do hard tubing I made it way too overly complex with the angles and bends. Ended up wasting huge swathes of the stuff.

[HORNOMINATOR]

so cool when carpenter guy and computer nerd come together

[ZeFoxii]

You need a grounding wire to connect to one of the standoffs for esd. Cases normally do this automatically by connecting to the screw of the power supply.

[Mare]

Hey Zac, cool build. I also like the fact, that you're talking about problems that you have after finishing the job and also brainstorm possible solutions. Keep on going.