Towers of power

Posted at: Thursday 24th January 2008

Daniel Costin's massive Project Gemini mod includes two water-cooling loops, separate thermal zones for hot-running components and uses geometry's golden ratio to keep everything balanced.

Daniel: I was aiming for a unique case design that was also functional. As the PC was going to feature two water-cooling loops, it made sense to design it around the radiators' positioning on opposite sides of the case. Positioning the motherboard horizontally was a must too, as it facilitates my compulsive tinkering habit - I like to swap parts on my systems on a regular basis, and having the board mounted horizontally makes this much easier. The case's size was also dictated by the fact that I wanted a large enough home for a quad-core CPU and SLI graphics, but I went overboard - this thing is huge!

In terms of its looks, I wanted it to appear balanced. I have a fascination with mathematics and geometry. I'm no genius - in fact my maths skills are somewhat lacklustre - but I find Pi and other constants inherently appealing. The 'golden mean' was important to the design. Visually speaking, the golden mean displays an ineffable balance. I wanted to use this ratio in the composition of the modules in the hope that the sense of balance would transfer to the finished case.

CPC: Your previous mods were all large cases, and as you mention, Gemini is sizable too. Why are you so interested in building big cases?

Daniel: I spend a fair amount of time tinkering inside the cases that I build and mod, so I need them to be roomy. Also, my hands are rather large, so having plenty of space to get my mitts into tight spots saves a lot of cursing and frustration. The trade-off is well worth the lower blood pressure. Additionally, I like to build for the future. The extra space in the various chambers leaves room for me to add optical drives, hard drives or other bay devices - flexibility and durability are the objectives. For instance, all the components can be removed and swapped out without breaking any of the bonds that hold the acrylic panes together. Additionally, the two towers can be unbolted, so the unit can be broken down into three pieces; this means that I can easily move the case to another location. Practicality was at the top of the list. I didn't want a case in which the components were locked in their compartments.

CPC: How long did it take to complete and how long did you spend designing it before you started actually making the case?

Daniel: This case took about three to four months to complete, from original inception to final completion. I spent a good portion of that time designing in my head.

CPC: Gemini seems to have a few elements in common with your previous mods; in what ways do you think it improves on your previous work?

Daniel: This project opened up many avenues in terms of what I was able to achieve regarding the cooling method I used. The large size of the case and its design allowed me to add a second internal water-cooling loop, while grouping the components into thermal zones that are kept separate from each other.