Danger Den Torture Rack LAN Party Rebuild & PDXLAN

I figured I’d post a quick little blog of what I’ve been doing the last week or so rebuilding my test bench and gaming.  I was invited  to PDXLAN this weekend and figure it was a good reason to do some remodeling on the torture rack I use regularly for my block testing.  The LAN space was technically 24″x30″ per seat, and my horizontally mounted 480 rad and pump setup was in need of reorganizing to be more LAN friendly.  With the “Compact/Clean/More Portable” idea in mind, I mounted two of my triple radiators vertically, and switched to the Monsoon D5 pump/reservoir.  I also spent some time cleaning up the various bits and installing new tubing/fluid.

I do have a few sponsors  including:

A very special thanks to Dennis and Jeremy from Danger Den for the M6 block, Monsoon Reservoir, and seat at PDXlan:

Paul from XSPC for the RX and EX 360:

Eddy, Niko, and Gregory from EK for the UV blue EKoolant:

And BoxGods & Performance PCs for the Monsoon Free Center Compression Fittings

I bought the torture rack and hardware myself.  While I’d never consider myself a case modder/builder of any sort, I was pretty happy with the result.   The rebuild went pretty smooth.  The M6 block mounted nicely, Monsoon fittings cleaned up the clamp look, the Monsoon reservoir green blended in nicely, and the EKoolant added some much needed color to the tubing.  The EKoolant is one of the newer less toxic food grade antifreeze coolants with both algae and corrosion blockers built in.  I thought the blue went well with the MSI motherboard.

The two triple XSPC radiators are way overkill, but I couldn’t help myself…I’ve always enjoyed seeking those single digit water/air deltas..:)

Here are a few quick snaps:

Yeah I know the 570 needs water…:)

Got a chance to try out the new Monsoon free center compression fittings which look really nice.  They held the tubing in place nice and solid when done and made for a really clean look.

After braving Friday 5:00pm Portland, OR rush hour traffic on the interstate, I found my way to the gaming Mecca..PDXLAN event #19.

Sorry for the quick snaps, I was focused on gaming and only broke the camera out for a brief intermission before my battery went south.

The LAN event was a blast! I had never been to one before, so it was a whole new experience.  What’s better than gaming online?  how about organized tournaments, prizes, give aways, and gaming with 500 other gaming enthusiasts that share the same passion.  While my system doesn’t even come close to some of the builds at the event and I’m average at best in gaming, I had an awesome time!

Finally had a chance to meet the great folks at Danger Den as well as a few people from the west coast that frequent the forums.  Everyone there was really welcoming and there was generally a very strong “Have fun and play” atmosphere.  The event also offered some sneak peaks at Gearbox’s new Borderlands 2 game trailer that was never seen before.  Lots of new technology demos of several products scattered around the many booths to drool over and play with.

It was the perfect testing vacation and I managed to get several days worth of much needed medicinal frag time…:)