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not affiliated with the companies or products covered in Maximum PC. PRODUCED
AND PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.CHRIS COOK’S
Phase III
T
he third time truly is the
charm, at least for Chris
Cook. The Phase III is the fi nal
iteration of a hybrid cage and
test bench that he calls “the per-
fect cage design.”
Chris used his skills as a 3D
design engineer to create this
rig, using Lightwave 3D for the
design, cutting the case ele-
ments with a waterjet CNC sys-
tem, and then assembling the
components in his workshop.
Four months after starting
the project (including time spent
replacing the original steel case
with a lighter aluminum one),
Chris has created one of the fi n-
est test beds we’ve ever seen.ririgg of th e month ADVENTURES IN PC MODIFICATION Sponsored by
96 MAXIMUMPC | MAR 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
For his winning entry, Chris wins a $500 gift certifi cate for eWiz.com to fund his
modding madness! See all the hardware deals at http://www.ewiz.com, and turn to
page 92 for contest rules.The front panel includes a Thermaltake
reservoir and fl ow meter, as well as a fan
and temperature monitor LCD that tracks
the temps of both the coolant and the area
directly below the motherboard.The top side hosts
the motherboard;
below deck are
the optical drive,
hard drive, cool-
ing system, power
supply, and system
monitors.A transparent cover, made from a
single piece of Plexiglas that was bent
using heat and pressure, makes it easy
to view the motherboard layer of the
rig while the system is in action.CHRIS COOK’S
Phase III
he third time truly is the
charm, at least for Chris
Cook. The Phase III is the fi nal
iteration of a hybrid cage and
test bench that he calls “the per-
fect cage design.”
Chris used his skills as a 3D
design engineer to create this
rig, using Lightwave 3D for the
design, cutting the case ele-
ments with a waterjet CNC sys-
tem, and then assembling the
components in his workshop.
Four months after starting
the project (including time spent
replacing the original steel case
with a lighter aluminum one),
Chris has created one of the fi n-
est test beds we’ve ever seen.The front panel includes a Thermaltake
reservoir and fl ow meter, as well as a fan
and temperature monitor LCD that tracksThe top side hosts
the motherboard;
below deck are
the optical drive,
hard drive, cool-
ing system, power
supply, and system
monitors.A transparent cover, made from a
single piece of Plexiglas that was bent single piece of Plexiglas that was bent