Okay, folks, here we go - quasi- build log time. For anyone that wants to see the starting build, check out
my first post.
Parts List:
Intel Core i7 8700k
NVIDIA RTX 2080 Founder's Edition
ASRock Fatal1ty Z370-Gaming mini-ITX
Silverstone SX-700
Samsung 960 Evo 500GB M.2
WD Red 4TB x2
WD Red 2TB
Cooling Parts:
Heatkiller IV Pro CPU block
HardwareLabs Black Ice Nemesis 240GTS radiator
EK X-RES100 Revo D5 pump/res
EK 45-Degree Adapter x3
EK 90-Degree Adapter
EK Compression Fittings x6
Primochill Advanced LRT Tubing
Mayhems Pastel Green Concentrate
Noctua Chromax NF-F12 Fans x2
Okay. Use case is pretty much a do-everything build. Primary use is for a Plex server and gaming rig. It's kept in the living room, so ultimate goals are appearance, low noise, small foot print. Definitely think I succeeded on all fronts, and I could
not have done it in a different case (I don't think). I think I'm pretty much at maximum capacity in terms of volume and I do not think I could get a smaller footprint with all of the same gear.
On to the good stuff.
Here's the build, pre-filling and sans-PSU.
Definitely trying to keep it as clean as possible. Two things to note here - I needed to adjust the cable routing and change the orientation of the PSU. Originally, I wanted to keep the PSU with the intake fan faced outwards, but I was not going to be able to get it to fit on account of the 24-pin cable. Flipping it to have the intake fan facing the CPU let me get everything in -
just barely.
Test fitting the PSU:
Had to run the cables under the tubes and then pretty much just mash everything down. It was a close call, for sure. While I'm not psyched on changing the PSU orientation, I guess it can act as an exhaust should the fan ever spin up. An unexpected upside is that the new orientation hides the molex cable, which is pretty great because I hate that it's not a flat cable like everything else. Also, the Bitspower Universal Mounting Bracket was absolutely
essential. The EK pump/res would have been too tall with every other mount I looked at. Even with the Bitspower bracket, I had to mount the pump to the absolute very bottom to get it to fit. With the standard configuration, it would have been just a hair too tall. I think the top panel would still have closed, but it would have had to bend a bit (which, to me, means it doesn't fit). I didn't really get any photos of it, sorry, but can if someone is super interested.
A few overhead shots:
The cable stash. It's pretty hidden from the side on account of the pump, but a couple cables poke out at the right angle.
Here's some detail shots on the fittings (forgive all the paper towel dust
![:\](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 "Unsure :\")
). Like I said, that one in particular that rubs against the PSU
barely fits.
And here's some completed photos, post-leak testing. Once the sun goes down, the lighting sucks, so sorry for the shabby quality. I may take it out again today after work to snap a few glamor shots.
That's the best I can do on that damn sata power cable. It's just a little too short to get neatly tucked away. A casualty of having to rotate the PSU.
All closed up and ready to roll.
A few things worth mentioning. At the absolute very last minute, I decided to go with soft tubing instead of PETG and I honestly couldn't be happier. I was very grateful for having just a bit of give on the run that brushes up against the PSU. Plus, I'm not sure that I wanted to fight getting the bends just so due to the small amount of space. I've seen some pretty mediocre looking soft tube loops, which put me off at first, but I really, really like how this came together. I think I ended up with some nice symmetry between the runs (semi-accidental, if I'm being honest) and the black tubes look really clean. Marc asked about the colored liquid with the black tubes, but I dig how the green looks in the reservoir, which is really the only reason I chose it. I think the pop of the pastel with the black/silver of everything else allows for some fun while still being a bit understated.
With the previous CPU cooler, I was hitting ~85C under load. After stress testing with Prime95 for a little over 30 minutes, the water loop reached a max temperature of 66.5C - and was near silent. I couldn't really hear it at all until I shut off Prime95 and noticed the difference. A very slight hum. This is with a modest curve of about 60% for both pump and fans. Keep in mind too, that I am sitting about 7 feet (2m for you folks across the pond
) or so away, so YMMV.
The RTX 2080 is probably a little hot and a little loud for my liking, though I do generally game with headphones on, so the noise isn't
that big of a deal. Under load (Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Ultra @1080p) temperatures peaked at ~83C. This is fine, except that it warms up my HDDs kind of a lot (one in particular hitting 50C) since they sit right underneath it. Once everything chills out, they go back to ~30C. I'm not psyched about it, but I'm also not
super worried. Still, it's a good incentive to figure out how to put the RTX card in the loop somehow (plus, I'm waiting to see what the Heatkiller blocks look like). So I guess we'll see.
So yeah, all-in-all, I'm very, very happy with the case. I don't think there's anything else on the market that I could have achieved this with, at least in this size. When I first got it, I wasn't entirely sure it was worth the cost, but I certainly don't need any more convincing. I'm also very grateful for this thread and all the good information within it - I wouldn't have been able to do it without it. Hopefully someone else can get something out of this post too, aside from just peeping some photos (you know, which is always rad too).
And yeah - I totally forgot to take the foil off the EK badge.
