Log A journey from the tower to something SFF

[mikejmcfarlane]

The Quest​

A couple of years ago, after a decade of devotion, I fell out of love with Macs! So it was time to return to the PC world, a world I used to know very well but was now completely out of touch with. I needed a computer that was good for photo editing and software development (including some basic deep learning).


My first adventure was through ebay where I stumbled upon the Lenovo Tiny workstations. At 1L in size, plus decent performance, they can often be picked up cheap. Graphical performance is not optimal though, and the maker in me was desperate to build something although it couldn't be too custom as I don't have the skills or tools.


And so I found revoccases ThinkStation P350 Tiny - 1L Pocket Rocket Lake with RTX A2000 wonderful Tiny build with an RTX A2000 with custom cooler which lead to my own very very rough imitation Hello, and my first tiny mod.


Needing more performance than i7-11700T, and the RTX A2000 is ok for inference and some smaller transfer learning jobs but it's a bit slow for a lot of deep learning jobs that are in my technical range, and lacking the skills or facilities to make anything better I decided to buy a workstation and ended up with a workstation from Scan that was about as far from SFF as you can get!

So much wasted space! That quickly lead to me doing a case downsize which was pretty scary as I hadn't built a PC in 15 years and literally everything had changed. What are all these cables and connectors? There was a lot of masking tape labelling going on!

A much nicer build, loads of CPU and GPU, and a little smaller. Here's my partpicker if you are interested. Scan 3XS system in a Fractal Designs Meshify Compact re-case


But I couldn't get that build my own SFF thing out my head!


And then I found Optimum Techs Endgame ITX - Dan A4-H2O Liquid PC build! Love at first site. A challenging SFF build that is perhaps something I could aspire to build, a chance to learn about putting together a custom loop, and a blisteringly fast SFF workstation!


This will be my build log for my first proper SFF build in a Dan A4-H20 case. I won't be going straight to custom loop, that is going to take a while. I'm going to try to reuse a few components from the Scan workstation, but most of it will need to be new. Let's see where this goes.

It's waiting!

 

[Dampfbox]

challenging SFF build that is perhaps something I could aspire to build, a chance to learn about putting together a custom loop, and a blisteringly fast SFF workstation!

I don't get the appeal of going full custom loop because this case only offers space for a single 240mm rad - which is by far not sufficient if you put any decent GPU in there. You might get away with a single A4500 and the 12900K, but then again you could also leave your A4500 air-cooled...

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

I don't get the appeal of going full custom loop because this case only offers space for a single 240mm rad - which is by far not sufficient if you put any decent GPU in there. You might get away with a single A4500 and the 12900K, but then again you could also leave your A4500 air-cooled...

Thanks for your reply. For sure, tbh the main appeal of full custom loop was mostly a learning experience for me as I've never done a custom loop before. I know it's possible as Optimum Tech has done one (i7-12700K and 3070Ti) and that felt like something to aspire too as I build my skills.
I've been doing some thermal testing on the above system, and also started thermal testing the components that will go in this build, will post the results soon, but that will def inform the final cooling solution. Leaving the A4500 air cooled is def a strong option (and I am sticking with the A4500 for now as it works for my needs), it cools very well as is, and I could just water cool the CPU for the fun.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

The Treasure​

When I first started planning this build I wanted to start with the i7-11700T that I could borrow from the Lenovo Tiny, buy a used z590i motherboard on ebay (something like the Asus ROG Strix z590i), and go from there. Upgrade the CPU to an i7-11700K from ebay at a later date once I had a working build and understood the thermals more. There weren't a lot of used z590i motherboards on ebay, and those I did find were coming from China or the US and I didn't fancy the shipping. Also from the forums I soon learned there is limited space for pump blocks on z590i/z690i motherboards which limited options for cooling.


After a lot of online reading and procrastinating I decided to buy new, and go with a Raptor Lake CPU and downsize a bit from the i9-12900K to tame the thermals. And use a z790i motherboard as I did find some online posts, now lost, that suggested the z790i motherboards tend to have more space for coolers without interference with cooler pipes and motherboard parts or RAM.


Here is my SFF build list https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/6rTfqm The Corsair H100i AIO and RTX A4500 are from the above build.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Its getting hot in here​

I wanted to understand a little more about the thermals and performance in the Fractal Meshify system, and to understand where the limits of the 240mm AIO are and how this might affect the cooling and performance in a SFF build. The i9-12900K is a chip with a hot reputation, the the 240mm AIO is not enough to support overclocking, but starting with a known cooling setup and no overclocking seemed like a reasonable way to baseline the cooler performance.

My approach is relatively simple and I'm going to use only two of the myriad of testing tools out there. I'm not doing multiple runs for averages at this stage. aida64 for thermal stress testing, and geekbench6 for a single and multicore score that will give me a relative performance score for different setups. For aida64 the test is to run with OS only load for 10 mins, then to stress test (CPU, GPU, memory but not storage) for 15mins (the system hit steady state after less than 5 mins so wasn't much point running for longer) then 10 min cooling down time with OS only load. HWiNFO gives some system data inc thermal throttling status.

As expected with the i9 and a 240mm radiator it throttled, the CPU max was 97degC, although not as bad as I expected as not all cores. The single core/multi core scores of 2530/16630 are about in line with expected geekbench values. It's always interesting to me that the Linux geekbench scores are a little higher. Anyway, I now have a thermal baseline for the cooler, and a relative performance benchmark.

Next up, time to test the Raptor Lake i7-13700K in this setup to see how it compares before moving the CPU into the SFF hardware.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Out of the frying pan​

I thought it would be useful to test the new CPU, the i7-13700K, in the existing setup to give a comparison to the i9 and to see how the Corsair H100i AIO responded to this CPU. I was hoping that the i7 CPU would be more appropriate to a 240mm radiator, and that turned out to be the case with max temps not going above 90degC and no thermal throttling. So that was a win already. How this will perform in the Dan SFF case will be interesting, but at least the AIO and CPU are now a better match. As a bonus the geekbench scores increased by approx 6% to approx 2680/17712 :-) Overall the CPU upgrade is looking good.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

And into the fire​

Just for fun, and I don't expect to be able to do this in the Dan SFF case, I then enabled AI Overclock for the i7 in the ASUS bios and left all the settings for CPU and memory overclock in auto. Also switched to XMP II tbh hadnt realised it was only on XMP I. Finally set the H100i settings to extreme cooling from balanced. geekbench scores rose to approx 2907/18422. Whoa, that is fast. but at the expense of a CPU max temp of 100degC and about 4% thermal throttling.

Not sure why HWiNFO and aida64 are reporting different temps!

Next, it's finally time to build up the new components (https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/6rTfqm) for the SFF build on the bench and see if everything works. First time I've built a PC from scratch for a while, so going to be keeping those manuals and google handy. Exciting.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Inside information​

I'm really excited to be putting these parts together (https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/6rTfqm). I love building things and whilst it's not up there with some of the super cool projects and custom part builds on this site and the SFF reddit, I'm really ready to build and see how it all works together. Or even if it will work!


I know it's customary to post a pile of boxes pic, but I like seeing all the parts and the beautiful engineering that goes into those parts, so here they all are in their naked glory.

Getting an AIO that fits ITX motherboards, and then one that is less than 55mm high at the pump to fit in the A4-H20 case, seemed pretty tricky. Luckily I already had a H100i which is on the safe list (https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/lian-li-dan-a4-h2o.16201/) and from the forums seems to be a very safe bet for a fit. I had intended to originally buy a z690i motherboard, but the z590i and z690i ITX boards all have a bad reputation for AIO compatability. There were some posts indicating z790i boards were better hence the z790i choice.


I thought it might be useful to show the pump laid in the board in different positions. I'll do some better images soon now I have the motherboard standoffs in.

Overall seems you could go with any pump orientation.

And here in the final (?) orientation. Plenty clearance with the ram.

Nearly done and I'm liking the inside looks. But will it make POST?

No! Bit of debug and re-read the manual. I've got the power switch on the wrong header. And also the AIO pump on the wrong USB header! OK, now it POSTs.

Quick Ubuntu install as I find it's easy to get installed on most hardware and get some basic tools installed. I really like liquidctl (https://github.com/liquidctl/liquidctl) for controlling the AIO, very lightweight and easy to configure custom profiles. NVIDIA card found and ready :-)

A quick linux geekbench6 run for the CPU and GPU, to get a rough idea of performance and also a basic test of the overall system. Looking quick. Results in a following post with the main testbench stress testing. Linux noticeably quicker than Windows 11 for this benchmark!

Next up is install Windows 11, get a minimal configuration and run some benchmarks and stress tests. Very happy so far.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Unexpected party​

I hoped the Windows install would be easy as the Linux install went without issues. First flash the BIOS to the latest and greatest, then onto the Windows 11 Pro install. Hmmm, stuck in the installer with no wifi and no ethernet! Huh? I'm pretty new to Windows and this had me stuck for a while. The Windows 11 Pro install on the Asus i9/z690 system in the Fractal Designs was trouble free. Ok, I need the Intel LAN driver to be installed into the Windows installer. Perhaps the Asus z790i motherboard is too new for Windows installer compatibility? I was using a slightly older Windows 11 Pro installer image, so might have been that?


The rest of the install and configuration went without issues. Just need to remove some of the MS bloat! I'd like to try ATLAS OS (a stripped down Windows OS) and see how that performs, looks like a good project, but updates dependent on the project team puts me off a bit. Cool idea.


With Windows installed and stripped down it's time for some performance and thermal testing. How will the i9-12900K/z690/DDR5-5200/PCIe4.0 system compare to the i7-13700K/z790i/DDR5-5600/PCIe5.0 system? (The GPU is PCIe 4.0 so not expecting any change in GPU performance.)

Thermals are good so far on the test bench with plenty air around the setup. RAM temps took a long time to reach steady state, over 20 mins. Pump speed was also still increasing. Maybe I needed a longer run to reach steady state. They might be an issue once in the case unless the AIO fans are pulling some air over them.

Something wrong with the CPU power readout in aida64 which is all over the place. HWiNFO showing reasonable power readings, and the CPU was tested in the z690 system. Maybe something to do with the z790i sensors (I did get a warning about an Asus sensor module when starting HWiNFO), or a bug in aida64? Any ideas?

Performance wise it not only compares, but it goes quite a bit faster! Approx 2531/16622 on the i9 in the none overclocked mode that was my daily driver setup, compared to the new i7 with approx 2761/18271 none overclocked, and a single core score over 3000 if overclocked! The GPU is also faster! I did a few runs on the GPU testing as the geekbench GPU testing results can be variable (I got one run at 126k). Overall there is a CPU uplift of approx 9% and a GPU uplift of approx 14%.

I was expecting to take a small performance hit on the new system, although the older system often had more power than I needed for many daily tasks, but looks like the new build might be bit quicker. My testing methodology is not exhaustive or with a high degree of statistical rigor, it was only meant to be indicative, and that indication is positive so far. How will it work once in the SFF case? It's a pretty lightweight GPU compared to some of the GPUs you guys are running, and it exhausts heat outside the case, so maybe the overall system thermals will be ok.


Next, and before it all goes in the case, let's see if I can help the thermals with a CPU frame. I'll take all the cooling help I can get, and even a couple degrees cooling might be useful. Maybe even open up the potential for overclocking in the case.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Warm welcome​

It's Saturday, time to play! This next step felt a little intimidating, removing part of the new motherboard which might invalidate my warranty, to install a CPU contact frame. I wanted to use the Thermal Grizzly Contact Frame as I wanted to support the company, but their seems to be mixed views if it works on 13th Gen motherboards due to the screws being a little short. It was a toss up between ordering some slightly longer screws, or also order the Thermalright contact frame. I decided to order the Thermalright frame also, one can go in the SFF build, and the other will be useful in the older tower i9 build.


I watched the excellent Gamers Nexus and Thermal Grizzly install videos, and ended up using a technique that was a combination of the two as following the Thermal Grizzy video ended up with the frame seeming like it was at a bit of an angle. Tried it a few more times but each time when I went to install the cooler, the positioning just felt a little off. The Gamers Nexus technique got me there on the second try.


There are now longer screws (allen head) included with the Thermal Grizzly, but when I tried them they seemed a little too long with the thread exposed by 1-2mm on the back frame. The screws supplied with the motherboard frame are approx 0.5mm short, but they had plenty rotations and given the low bolt torque required, and the fact the whole assembly is then locked into place with the CPU cooler, this seemed the better solution. Using the allen key (2mm?) which is a smaller diameter tool than the Torx also made it hard to gauge when the bolts were starting to nip up.


fwiw I'm a five dots of Arctic MX-4 or MX-6 person, then apply the cooler and slide it around a little to both evenly distribute the thermal paste and to create a little suction between the two parts to pull them together. Bit like when gluing two bits of wood.

Thermal testing was using aida64 stress test, 10mins with no load, then 20mins stress test on CPU/FPU only, then a 10min cool off period. HWiNFO was used to check max thermals and any thermal throttling.

Thermal testing with the Intel Integrated Loading Mechanism:

Thermal testing with the Thermal Grizzly Contact Frame:

The thermals are improved by approx 3degC (reading the graph), and also once a steady state was achieved the Thermal Grizzly seems to keep the max temperature range smaller and centered around 80degC. Seems like a win!


Next up, time to get some parts in the Dan A4-H20. I'm liking this Saturday.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Over hill and under hill​

With a basic understanding of the thermals of my new SFF build on the bench it's time to continue the weekend fun and gets some parts in the Dan A4-H20 case. Looking at the volume and connectivity of the parts all scattered on my workbench, it's a big question .... how am I going to get all of that in there?!

It turned into a calm zen afternoon. Fit a part, get a feel for how it goes into the case, remove it, and think about the next part and how that will go in. The motherboard with CPU and RAM went straight in, then the AIO radiator loosely screwed in. First job, how to route the cooler to radiator pipes. Seems to fit under (as per the Dan AIO compatability guide) and behind the the PSU. OK, that's quite a nice routing, no nasty bends that could kink, and seems to be some space left around them for all the power cables. The cables were the really fun bit for me, carefully move one into place, gently close everything up, check how it fits and routes, then disassemble and try the next cable. Weaving cables over and under. It makes me happy work like this, part engineering, part creative, problem solving - ultimately trying to find where the cable itself wants to go rather than force it somewhere if that makes sense!

I made the decision at this point to mount the RTX A4500 GPU on the maximum length of standoffs, partly to allow some space behind the GPU for routing cables and pipes whilst leaving some airflow between the GPU and motherboard compartments, partly to bring the GPU fan closer to the case side panel so closer to cooler air from outside the case.

I decided to route the ATX power cable under the PSU, it could have also perhaps gone over the top of the PSU. I was a bit concerned about the pipes and the cables pushing on the Asus FPS II daughter board but all seemed fine. Are there advantages to either routing?

Eventually everything is in, and looks like all is connected. Does it boot? Yep, minor BIOS warning, which seems to have been triggered by the use of the PCIe riser cable, and off we go.

Time to install Win 11 Pro, and do some basic config and testing. Seems everything is ok at this stage.

Finally do some minimal cable management with velcro straps. I didn't want to bind the cables too closely together as in this size of case with a lot of heat, it felt like I might be better with some airflow between cables. Not sure if that is useful or not? Tighten up the PSU and AIO radiator screws now I am sure of the positions for everything. Cable tie up the unused HD Audio cable, grrr! Ugh, boot error, CPU fan not connected! When I was tidying the cables I had disconnected the CPU fan header!

On with the sides, wow that pump RGB with the anodised black side panel looks amazing, gently pulsing and diffusing the light. That really is a classy piece of design in the Dan case.

I went to put it under my desk, but there was a nasty case wobble on my old floor boards, so a simple mod to the case rubber feet made it all much more stable.

And finally, at my desk.

I think this looks great. My first proper SFF build, and what a great case to build in. Everything in the Dan A4-H20 just worked as I expected, with removeable case parts and holes for cables where needed. Everything is great quality, no nasty screws or threads that crap out after a few uses. Just as well given how many times I had the case in bits during the build! There was no stress building in this, just the opposite it was a real pleasure to work with such a well engineered and aesthetic case.

How well does it perform, and what are my thermals like? That's my next post. I'm also going to put the i9-12900K Fractal Meshify build back together and do a more exhaustive performance and thermal comparison as based on the above test bench results, both performance and thermals are looking surprisingly good for the SFF build and it feels like those 120mm Noctua fans are pulling good air flow through the case.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

The last stage​

I've been running the new build for a few days now. It's very different to the Fractal Meshify Compact build, much more unobstrusive and understated. Visually at least!

Performance is far from understated! Testing in both the tower and SFF case showed that the 240mm radiator AIO is not up to overclocking without some thermal throttling, so for now I'm running at standard CPU clock speeds. There is room for some improvement here, particularly later if I move to a custom loop.


In my chosen synthetic benchmark, Geekbench 6, the Dan A4-H20 running an i7-13700K with z790i chipset, relative to the i9-12900K with z690 chipset, is 8% faster for single core and multicore! Both feel noticeably snappier moving about the OS compared to my Surface Pro 9, but it does feel like the SFF build is a little quicker than the tower build. Boot times are also faster, not sure if that is the SSD, the chipset, or just something to do with the BIOS POST which has always felt a little slow on the Asus Pro Art z690. Maybe it is doing more POST.

Where I am really surprised is the thermals and the acoustics. Using the aida64 stress test, the Fractal Meshify is subjectively louder, possibly as it has more fans. Fan profiles were the same where possible in both builds. I might have expected the SFF build to have hotter temps for the CPU and GPU, but this is not actually the case! The SFF build is 10 degC cooler at the CPU and similar at the GPU. The GPU i didn't expect to be noticeably different as it pulls in cool air from the outside and vents to the outside of the case. I'm slightly confused by the drop in CPU temps, but suspect must be differences in the CPUs and the use of the CPU contact frame. The use of a newer model AIO and cpu contact frame in the Fractal Meshify i9 build is much better than the older AIO and no contact frame.


Fractal Meshify (i9-12900K) temps with Corsair H100i RGB Pro AIO, no cpu contact frame:

Dan A4-H20 (i7-13700K) temps with Corsair H100i RGB Pro AIO, Thermal Grizzly CPU contact frame:

Fractal Meshify (i9-12900K) temps with Corsair H100i Elite AIO, Thermalright cpu contact frame:

Those 120mm Noctua fans on the AIO are definetely doing their job, and holding a piece of paper to the side of the Dan A4-H20 case, there is a strong vacuum that sucks the paper to the side of the case. Good, that must be pulling plenty cool air in, and over the motherboard also. I thought it might be interesting to use a thermal camera on the SFF build, for both the case and the internals once they had reach a steady state during the aida64 stress test.


Case closed:

Case open:

There is is my first proper SFF build finished. What a pleasure! Thanks for your comments, likes and all your posts that helped me with my build research :-)


Any thoughts on my build? Suggestions for improvements would be welcome.

 

[Arelius]

Oh man what a read this was!
Thank you for sharing and I'll have (hope not for your sake) a gazillion questions for you since I'm going down the path of a Dan case myself.

Just posted my first questions on the forums here regarding parts and then the fun begins!

Since you asked for thoughts on the build, it’s nice and inspiring(!) - however I can’t stand cables so my question is; what’s your plan regarding that (and that is also my suggestion).


Thank you for these informative posts and share again!

 

[ignsvn]

The last stage​

I've been running the new build for a few days now. It's very different to the Fractal Meshify Compact build, much more unobstrusive and understated. Visually at least!

This is one of the most satisfying part of moving to SFF: a picture showing the size comparison between the old (bigger) and the new (smaller) case

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

This is one of the most satisfying part of moving to SFF: a picture showing the size comparison between the old (bigger) and the new (smaller) case

Agreed :-) I'm just finishing doing some thermal and performance tweaking and testing, and finding it will run either much faster, or much lower power, than my i9 tower as I was running it, is very happiness inducing too.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Oh man what a read this was!
Thank you for sharing and I'll have (hope not for your sake) a gazillion questions for you since I'm going down the path of a Dan case myself.

Just posted my first questions on the forums here regarding parts and then the fun begins!

Since you asked for thoughts on the build, it’s nice and inspiring(!) - however I can’t stand cables so my question is; what’s your plan regarding that (and that is also my suggestion).


Thank you for these informative posts and share again!

Thanks for your comments. Glad you like the build.

I'm still thinking about what to do about the cables. Initially I was happy just to have got everything together, but I've since had the PC apart a few times for testing another AIO, and I'm getting more comfortable with cabling, and would like to tidy them. I think in SFF, it will always be a little untidy compared to some larger builds. Custom cables might help, both aesthetically and for length. I could prob shorten the existing ones, and cable tie them. Any other ideas?

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

Thanks for your comments. Glad you like the build.

I'm still thinking about what to do about the cables. Initially I was happy just to have got everything together, but I've since had the PC apart a few times for testing another AIO, and I'm getting more comfortable with cabling, and would like to tidy them. I think in SFF, it will always be a little untidy compared to some larger builds. Custom cables might help, both aesthetically and for length. I could prob shorten the existing ones, and cable tie them. Any other ideas?

The only thing that comes to mind is doing your own custom cables, which would allow you to eg. shorten them or achieve better routing options. And there also is cable combs that might (or might not) help to get everything more compact.

But yeah, cable management within SFF, and to some extend, also (smaller) MFF is quite the challenge. Eg. I've done extensive routing within my SAMA build, and tried keeping everything tidy AF, but its still such a hassle - and then you also dont want to redo everything all over again ..

cu, w0lf.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

The only thing that comes to mind is doing your own custom cables, which would allow you to eg. shorten them or achieve better routing options. And there also is cable combs that might (or might not) help to get everything more compact.

But yeah, cable management within SFF, and to some extend, also (smaller) MFF is quite the challenge. Eg. I've done extensive routing within my SAMA build, and tried keeping everything tidy AF, but its still such a hassle - and then you also dont want to redo everything all over again ..

cu, w0lf.

Thanks for ideas. Going to give it a go. I can shorten the cables. PCIe to GPU only needs one of the two PCIe connectors, and SATA only needs two of the three SATA connectors, one for AIO and a spare. So that is shorter cables and less unused connectors flopping about. And I've a box of shrink wrap, mesh cable wrap and zip ties. I'm sure I can achieve something neater.

The routing in the Fractal Meshify tower case is easy to get right as they have put good effort into the cable management part of the design, and there are little tabs to hold cables. I do prefer velcro wraps to cable ties as they are easier to work with if need to swap components. Seems like a different approach required in SFF.

And I'm not in any rush, it's a fun project to work on and get right :-)

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Dan A4-H20 performance improvements​

I'm heading towards finalising the build now and migrating this to be my main workstation.

Objectives​

This will be my daily driver workstation so my goals are:

• maximise performance within thermal envelope of case and cooling system (ie no thermal throttling) for my workloads
• do not compromise system stability or reliability
• be mindful of the tradeoff between power consumption and performance (heat, energy costs, environmental concerns) ie i don't need every GHz I can squeeze out of this system

Experiment 1:


Maximise performance within thermal envelope of case and cooling system.


Experiment 2:


Maximise efficiency, or minimise power usage, against my workloads without compromising previous performance levels. Quiet operation also good, although generally I have music on so less concern on this.

Areas to explore​

• Extra case fans
• SSD - drive upgrades, RAID 1 or RAID 0
• AIO - Corsair H100i Pro RGB XT or Corsair H100i Elite
• Overclocking/undervolting

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Extra case fans​

The airflow through the case, in particular past the motherboard, from the two Noctua A12x25 fans on the AIO is quite impressive. But due to the stacked nature of the motherboard and the compact build with restricted airflow in some places, I wondered if the motherboard might benefit from a dedicated fan.


Measuring up there is room for a Noctua A12x15 when using the Corsair H100i RGB Pro XT AIO.

The fan handily mounts to the case side panel using a couple of bolts. I painted the bolt heads black to blend in a little. A Noctua cable extender means the case side panel can be removed easily and put down without disconnecting the fan, but disconnecting the fan is easy when needed.

I wasn't sure what to expect here, perhaps slightly lower temps for the VRMs and the RAM. Comparing aida64 stress tests from before the fan during the main build, to with the fan, showed RAM temps dropped from mid 50degC to mid 40degC. VRM temps with the fan also look good, although I have no numerical comparison. I had been concerned by fitting the case fan so close to the motherboard built in fans I might cause issues. With VRM temps in mid 40s that seems ok. See the stress tests below, and previously in the build stage if you want to see the graphs.


That was an easy win.

AIO​

I was relatively happy with the Corsair H100i RGB Pro XT when it was fitted, but when I fitted the replacement AIO (a Corsair H100i Elite) to my old tower workstation, the cooling performance was close to 10degC better. Naturally I wanted that in the Dan build, so a quick AIO swap, and I was all set for better cooling.


Except, the H100i Elite was giving temps higher than the H100i RGB Pro XT in the Dan case! Check iCue software. Fan profiles look the same. Redo the pump mounting. Same. Redo the thermal paste. Same. That's perplexing. I coudn't find a solution. I did notice the the H100i Elite pump speed was very variable even under load, and that was the case in both builds. Perhaps there was some iCue driver software issue? Perhaps a z790 chipset incompatability? Maybe some other control/sensor variable I'm not aware off?


I swapped the H100i RGB Pro XT back into the Dan, and the H100i Elite back into the Fractal Meshify, and both AIOs performed as they had before the swap!


Note on fitting the H100i Elite in the Dan A4-H20. This pump isn't on the official list of approved AIOs but a relative measurement between the two AIs indicated it should fit fine. After fitting there was approximately 3mm clearance between top of pump and side panel. The Corsair site doesn't list the pump height but according to this site the pump height is 56mm. So there is a little latitude on the 55mm recommended pump height.

Why would the H100i Elite give cooler temps than the H100i RGB Pro XT in the tower, but worse in the SFF build? Anyone any ideas?

Useful reviews​

• https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-h100i-elite-review/2