Some more metalwork:
Next thing I need is temporary chipset cooling solution. My ultimate plan is to use heat pipes to connect chipset and VRMs to the case and make it work as a giant heat sink. This will require some CNC machined parts which I'll get made in China and require several weeks lead-in, so the first iteration of the build will need to make do with something more conventional.
Using a $2 northbridge heat sink I found on ebay...
...I get a near-enough match with the space reservation on the board.
There's some work to be done on the mounting holes though: The board has a 54mm spacing, so the plan is to move one of the fasteners 5mm inwards which should be doable with a bit of drilling and and grinding.
This should do the trick!
Not pretty (the heatsink mounting holes in the board do not line up at 45 degrees, hence the rotation), but the heat sink makes firm contact with the chip and stays clear of all other components so technically that's a box ticked.
Of course this still requires a fan from all we know about x570- and transplanting the one that comes with the board's factory cooling solution is rather straight forward as the screws just find their way into the grooves of the heat sink and provide for a tight fit.
WIth that done, I start to mark-up major cuts to the case in preparation for another workshop session. These big cuts will certainly benefit from using proper milling equipment - there is only so-and-so much precision I can get out of a Dremel with a flex disc...
First markup is a cut to the main board tray to resolve a clash with the mother board's i/o cover (resulting from lowering it into the case by 3.5mm - see earlier posts):
These two notches cut into the front frame will allow me to align the radiator flush to the case's bottom panel by making room for the folded metal brackets on the radiator's edge:
And finally I'll need a 20x28mm cut to fit in the Supermicro's C14 plug - it's made for clipping into metal cases so this should be a straighforward transplant.
As the plug will cover the cuts, I can hand-dremel this one without exposing any messy edges...
...looks about right...
...and makes for a tight fit.
In the plastic bag next to it you see a black 12mm momentary button with white status LED (lesson learned from my last build)...
...that should go nicely with the black rear panel...
...and makes for a clean fit in the case's original DC power connector perforation.
From the inside I get a compact fit of the Supermicro's EMI filter, and can use an existing threaded hole in the case to connect a ground wire.
Next up: Preparing that GPU water block for machining...
