Advice on getting into sff

Drm8626

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Jul 2, 2017
6
1
Hey fellas,

I've got a pc id like to convert to sff. It's a 2696 v3, and an 1080ti founders edition. I am looking to get the smallest case possible without making concessions on cooling. I have a lot of money out into my pc, and would like to keep it cool for longevity purposes.

I would like to convert to sff mostly for aesthetics, as well to clear up some space on my desk. Also, I want to start traveling to attend lan parties, and would like the portability of a small form factor.

The cpu is a xeon, however I do the Haswell microcode hack on it, so it runs a little hotter than stock. So id prefer an enthusiast grade cooling for it. As well as id like to convert the 1080ti to watercooled as well. However, if i can get great cooling for gpu and gpu in am extremely small case some other way, id appreciate some advice.

Looking for ideas, suggestions, brainstorms. Haven't decided what I'm going to do yet.
 
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EndlessWaves

Chassis Packer
May 23, 2017
17
16
I'm not sure you can call it SFF unless you are making compromises, that's the interesting bit.

How do you feel about increased noise levels? Would they be an acceptable compromise for something that met all your requirements.
 

Drm8626

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Jul 2, 2017
6
1
I'm not sure you can call it SFF unless you are making compromises, that's the interesting bit.

How do you feel about increased noise levels? Would they be an acceptable compromise for something that met all your requirements.
It wouldn't be the end of the world. No. As long as I can keep things cool.
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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Drm8626

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Jul 2, 2017
6
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This is my favorite example of a dual rad M1 build: http://www.overclock.net/t/1537967/build-log-nctekm1-ncase-m1-dual-radiator-watercooling

It'd be much easier if you kept the card. If you can find a Noctua C14 (not the newer C14S) or C12 they can easily quietly cool that CPU with custom mounting brackets. I have the NH-L12 on a E5-2683 v3 and it does well.
Only thing I'm worried about is when I do the microcode hack it locks all 18 cores to 3.8 ghz, but difference in heat. You can even do the microcode hack on the 2683 v3 and maximize your turbo clocks. If I can put two 240mm rads in the m1, I will probably end up doing a custom loop for the cpu and gpu. I was considering getting the new EK gaming cpu gpu aio to save time, but that is 280mm. I have confirmation by email that they will be offering custom loop options with their full aluminum lineup soon could do a custom loop for real cheap. Only issue in having is that the m1 is hard to find, not seeing it anywhere .
 

Necere

Shrink Ray Wielder
NCASE
Feb 22, 2015
1,719
3,281
Hmm. It doesn't look like it supports dual 240mm rads. I see it says it supports one slim 240 mm rad.
Right, a 240mm rad isn't "officially" supported on the bottom, and I didn't design the case for it, but that hasn't stopped people from doing it anyway. There's some caveats to it (e.g., slim rad+fans only, must single-slot water block the GPU, front I/O can get in the way, few pump options, mounting holes may not line up, etc.), so it's one of those "you're on your own, do your research" kind of things.

It's not easy to do a dual 240 rad build in the M1, but any case that supports it out of the box is going to be 2-3 times the size.

If you want a lesser amount of fuss, you could run dual 120mm AIOs in the M1. Won't get you the same performance, obviously, but it's still hard to beat for the size.
 
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jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
Silver Supporter
Feb 22, 2015
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Only thing I'm worried about is when I do the microcode hack it locks all 18 cores to 3.8 ghz, but difference in heat.

A C14 should still handle that just fine. Quietly too if you become of the true believers in TJ Max, where if it's not thermal throttling it's good enough :)

You can even do the microcode hack on the 2683 v3 and maximize your turbo clocks.

I thought about it, but I'll be upgrading to X299 before long and don't want to risk borking the system.
 
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Drm8626

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Jul 2, 2017
6
1
Right, a 240mm rad isn't "officially" supported on the bottom, and I didn't design the case for it, but that hasn't stopped people from doing it anyway. There's some caveats to it (e.g., slim rad+fans only, must single-slot water block the GPU, front I/O can get in the way, few pump options, mounting holes may not line up, etc.), so it's one of those "you're on your own, do your research" kind of things.

It's not easy to do a dual 240 rad build in the M1, but any case that supports it out of the box is going to be 2-3 times the size.

If you want a lesser amount of fuss, you could run dual 120mm AIOs in the M1. Won't get you the same performance, obviously, but it's still hard to beat for the size.

That's definitely worth a look. Maybe do a custom loop with 2 or 3 120mm rads. I know I had gpus with 120mm rads on them that stayed cool just fine, and I've read about a 120mm aio cpu cooler that is comparable to a h100i, so a custom loop with 120 mm rads could be feasible.
 

Jonny727272

Airflow Optimizer
Feb 26, 2017
275
218
So I would take a look at this video from BitWit

He uses EK's new custom water cooling kit with the GPU block and it performs really well for only have one 240mm rad.