Going to start recording my progress on hopefully a very dense, no GPU riser, brickless build in the LLW V36pro case.
12700k
Asrock z690 ITX
32gb ddr4 3600, no heatspreaders
Noctua L12s ghost edition with 120mm fan swap
Gigabyte 4060 low profile gpu, due sept 20th from Amazon.
HDPlex 250W GaN psu
I saw the potential for this combination a while back and have seen lots of possibilities to make it work. Without having all the parts together yet it's still a gamble on getting it all to fit inside the 3.8L case.
I started by picking up this case along with its smaller counterparts (v26, v21) for other APU builds eventually.
The V36pro case measures 223x182x82mm inside and the panels are all 3mm aluminum.
The case quality is very good, well thought out and clean. Only the milled blocks at the corners are obstructing the inside of the case. The case feels very solid and negate if it's design, is very friendly to panel modification or embellishment. I plan to put together some hardwood front panels eventually.
The CPU has proven to be very cool under load and responds well to a power limit, I rarely reach above mid 50s under normal use in its current home (ghost S1). I run CAD mostly on this unit. Trying to find my kill a watt meter to double check the wattage.
The cooler fits perfectly in this case with no modifications, even has 1mm clearance compared to the ghost case
Cooler is oriented vertically to give more space near the front/RAM side of the case as that is my preferred spot for the PSU.
120mm fan fits perfectly above ram and IO blocks. Orientation of the cooler will need to change if I cannot get the PSU to fit at the front of the case.
I bought the case and planned this build with an A2000 or eventually an A4000 SFF GPU in mind. Then the gigabyte 4060 Low profile was announced and I figured it would likely fit both the case and my needs even if I needed to trim the shroud a bit. At 182mm officially it fits. The orientation of the power connector should not be a problem. The only issue I see at this point is that the PCB may interfere with the PSU housing if it extends too far. This is the primary concern I have with this card. Gonna have to wait and see. Scaling a top-view of the card, assuming the length is 182mm to the end of the shroud, the PCB looks to extend to within ~17mm of the end of the shroud. this would possibly interfere with the end of the PSU as the housing is a few mm into the PCI-Ex slot zone. Gonna risk it and see how it turns out.
I may need to figure a different solution for the case screw-block at the upper corner to get the PSU as far as possible away from the GPU
The HDplex PSU up against the front panel is going to be the biggest challenge. Placing it in this location gives only about 6.5mm of space above the 24pin ATX header on the motherboard. I have a plan in place for that, waiting on parts. Other than the possible GPU interference that may require me to rebuild the case screw-block in that corner, I think this is all going to work out fine.
8/30
GPU is longer than 182mm. There is no way to get the stock card into the case without deshrouding it. So I will go in that direction for now. After deshrouding and placing the gpu in the case without a motherboard, looks like I have just about 24mm clearance between the case and the heatsink. The heatsink is flush after the shroud and fans are removed (4 screws+fan header).
Looks like I should be able to get the GPU in next to the PSU without too much trouble. I will need to recess one of the case screws that holds the top panel to the corner block so that the PSU can sit flush to the corner block, but with that it looks as though I will only have to reroute the AC line as it exits the PSU housing to make it all fit together. I may even get away with turning the end-cap 180 degrees to relocate the wire exit location...
Fan header looks to be a proprietary 4pin, i'm new to this so this (NEEDS WORK)
PRO: GPU fits with just enough clearance to make the argument for deshrouding with (2)80x25mm fans tight to the heatsink... a compelling argument.
GPU location should allow PSU to remain along the front panel with minimal effort/modification to make it work, very excited about this.
Case power button and USB header look to be able to clear the end of the GPU without trouble.
CON: Was not looking to deshroud the GPU right away, but it definitely is not going to fit unless I cut the shroud or remove it and replace fans.
9/9
Finally finished adjusting the mounting of the fan shroud on the gpu to reduce the overall length by ~2mm. I ended up drilling 4 new smaller holes after I taped off the pcb to avoid and shavings contamination. I also needed to clip the excess metal at the ends of the heatsink bracket near the screw holes to slide the shroud to the rear ~2mm. I also needed to remove a little material for the heatpipe and brackets to get closer to the end of the shroud. Now the gpu fits in the case with zero clearance. Very satisfying.
Bad news is the front panel button conflicts slightly with the shroud. I may be able to trim the stock power button pcb to allow the shroud to fit... or I may need to use a vandal switch instead of the supplied button as this conflict may not matter the next time a gpu comes up that will fit
To do:
-Seal fan housing to fin stack on CPU to improve pressure through the fins.
-Investigate how to cleanly replicate the hole pattern on the whole of the side panel and the back side along the GPU
Feedback:
k0n suggested that adding ventilation above and below the GPU area would help with thermals given the fin orientation on the GPU, I couldn't agree more, going to look into it.
12700k
Asrock z690 ITX
32gb ddr4 3600, no heatspreaders
Noctua L12s ghost edition with 120mm fan swap
Gigabyte 4060 low profile gpu, due sept 20th from Amazon.
HDPlex 250W GaN psu
I saw the potential for this combination a while back and have seen lots of possibilities to make it work. Without having all the parts together yet it's still a gamble on getting it all to fit inside the 3.8L case.
I started by picking up this case along with its smaller counterparts (v26, v21) for other APU builds eventually.
The V36pro case measures 223x182x82mm inside and the panels are all 3mm aluminum.
The case quality is very good, well thought out and clean. Only the milled blocks at the corners are obstructing the inside of the case. The case feels very solid and negate if it's design, is very friendly to panel modification or embellishment. I plan to put together some hardwood front panels eventually.
The CPU has proven to be very cool under load and responds well to a power limit, I rarely reach above mid 50s under normal use in its current home (ghost S1). I run CAD mostly on this unit. Trying to find my kill a watt meter to double check the wattage.
The cooler fits perfectly in this case with no modifications, even has 1mm clearance compared to the ghost case
Cooler is oriented vertically to give more space near the front/RAM side of the case as that is my preferred spot for the PSU.
120mm fan fits perfectly above ram and IO blocks. Orientation of the cooler will need to change if I cannot get the PSU to fit at the front of the case.
I bought the case and planned this build with an A2000 or eventually an A4000 SFF GPU in mind. Then the gigabyte 4060 Low profile was announced and I figured it would likely fit both the case and my needs even if I needed to trim the shroud a bit. At 182mm officially it fits. The orientation of the power connector should not be a problem. The only issue I see at this point is that the PCB may interfere with the PSU housing if it extends too far. This is the primary concern I have with this card. Gonna have to wait and see. Scaling a top-view of the card, assuming the length is 182mm to the end of the shroud, the PCB looks to extend to within ~17mm of the end of the shroud. this would possibly interfere with the end of the PSU as the housing is a few mm into the PCI-Ex slot zone. Gonna risk it and see how it turns out.
I may need to figure a different solution for the case screw-block at the upper corner to get the PSU as far as possible away from the GPU
The HDplex PSU up against the front panel is going to be the biggest challenge. Placing it in this location gives only about 6.5mm of space above the 24pin ATX header on the motherboard. I have a plan in place for that, waiting on parts. Other than the possible GPU interference that may require me to rebuild the case screw-block in that corner, I think this is all going to work out fine.
8/30
GPU is longer than 182mm. There is no way to get the stock card into the case without deshrouding it. So I will go in that direction for now. After deshrouding and placing the gpu in the case without a motherboard, looks like I have just about 24mm clearance between the case and the heatsink. The heatsink is flush after the shroud and fans are removed (4 screws+fan header).
Looks like I should be able to get the GPU in next to the PSU without too much trouble. I will need to recess one of the case screws that holds the top panel to the corner block so that the PSU can sit flush to the corner block, but with that it looks as though I will only have to reroute the AC line as it exits the PSU housing to make it all fit together. I may even get away with turning the end-cap 180 degrees to relocate the wire exit location...
Fan header looks to be a proprietary 4pin, i'm new to this so this (NEEDS WORK)
PRO: GPU fits with just enough clearance to make the argument for deshrouding with (2)80x25mm fans tight to the heatsink... a compelling argument.
GPU location should allow PSU to remain along the front panel with minimal effort/modification to make it work, very excited about this.
Case power button and USB header look to be able to clear the end of the GPU without trouble.
CON: Was not looking to deshroud the GPU right away, but it definitely is not going to fit unless I cut the shroud or remove it and replace fans.
9/9
Finally finished adjusting the mounting of the fan shroud on the gpu to reduce the overall length by ~2mm. I ended up drilling 4 new smaller holes after I taped off the pcb to avoid and shavings contamination. I also needed to clip the excess metal at the ends of the heatsink bracket near the screw holes to slide the shroud to the rear ~2mm. I also needed to remove a little material for the heatpipe and brackets to get closer to the end of the shroud. Now the gpu fits in the case with zero clearance. Very satisfying.
Bad news is the front panel button conflicts slightly with the shroud. I may be able to trim the stock power button pcb to allow the shroud to fit... or I may need to use a vandal switch instead of the supplied button as this conflict may not matter the next time a gpu comes up that will fit
To do:
-Seal fan housing to fin stack on CPU to improve pressure through the fins.
-Investigate how to cleanly replicate the hole pattern on the whole of the side panel and the back side along the GPU
Feedback:
k0n suggested that adding ventilation above and below the GPU area would help with thermals given the fin orientation on the GPU, I couldn't agree more, going to look into it.
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