Completed Circle Pro - Solid Alu CNCed mini-itx case - 240mm liquid cooling

[Nanook]

So how can we fit a PSU into the available space? Any ideas? SF PSU fed at the top and a 120mm AIO?

btw, the FE RTX aesthetics really look at home in the Circle Pro.

Yes, it looks so nice in there!
I’m using a 500w G-Uniq power supply for now. I might keep the 2080 FE, and move the SFX in place of the AIO. Switch to an air cooler, and run things a little warmer. Or a 120 AIO

 

[Flyingpepper]

Issue not just with the radiator. There is a separate problem with video card height, illustrated below:

So what? This case isn’t even designed for anything more than a mini 1080ti so the fact even an FE card can be squeezed in is amazing.

 

[Skarum]

I apologize for offending you, I had no intention of doing so. I'm not very good at writing and i can understand how my tone can be misunderstood. I much prefer conversation so people can read my emotions.

No problem at all. I might have worked myself up a bit, and I'm sorry if I came across as overly sensitive. Catching the tone of voice on text is nearly impossible and I might have been just as wrong in misunderstanding your intent.

My intention was not to compare a computer case to a legendary piece of art, it was to use an analogy to explain that a process is as important to some people such as myself as the end result. I would rather have a hand dipped candle than one made in a mold. I was assuming from your writing, and now have been told implicitly by your clarification, that you do not value the process by how this chassis is made enough to spend more money on it. While I may have come off arrogant and with very poor analogies and writing (which I did not intend and apologize for)I meant the same thing you typed. Please clarify further if you think I am wrong. You would purchase this case if it were made out of sheet metal, and was $200, but you would not purchase this case being it is cnced from aluminum stock and thus 200 more expensive. This I interpret to mean you do not value the process--value meaning you are unwilling to assign a dollar amount to it.

You're completely right, and this is more well put in to words than I could have done. To me, the end result (or the process leading up to it), doesn't justify a doubling of the price, but I can appreciate enthusiasts such as yourself who really "gets" this, in a way that I honestly can't. While it's a really lovely case, I just don't find it worth the added expensive, and to me it comes across as overengineering, for the engineerings sake, instead of the result. Which is what I think we both tried to say.

I also was not making the claim that any case on here is above criticism. I was trying to explain why I appreciated there was a chassis on here that used a process that is not wildely implemented, and I personally have not seen one (intended for end users) use this process and come out this well.

I myself have criticism for the case in terms of design, layout, and functionality. I tend to keep that to myself because it doesn't help the OP at this point in the process, if it ever would. But I do think the execution of the manufacturing is top notch and the price is fine. It would cost over a thousand dollars for me to get this made as a one off.

You're right again, and to be frank your expertise on this matter far outweighs mine as a casual consumer. Thanks for taking your time, and having the patience to allow me to learn something and reach a greater understanding and apprciation of the process. It's a really cool way of thinking, and I'll definitly be more observing of this mindset in the future. It's really applicable to a lot of things in life.

Peace to you and I hope you can see how I intended my comments now.

Fully, and frankly I feel like I'm the one who should apologize to you. I came across as playing the victim, overreacting and putting words in your mouth. I'm sorry and again, thanks.

 

[ElectroShock]

Here are a couple of pictures of the case when it arrived. Waiting on some more parts before I start putting it together. Case that it is next to is a Micro ATX Phanteks Enthoo Evolv.

 

[Nanook]

Temporary build until I get the a different AIO and FlexATX in...

I7-6700K
Cryorig C7 Cu with TY100
GeForce RTX 2080 FE
Silverstone SX650
A12x15 two bottom intakes, one top exhaust

I will follow up with temperatures.

 

[Nanook]

Temperatures are warm, as expected but I am comfortable with these numbers:
CPU 6700K delid, no OC - 60-70c gaming
GPU RTX2080 FE, no OC - 70-80c gaming
All fans at 100%, the A12x15 don’t really bother me at full speed.
GPU fans at 90%, loudest component is in setup. I couldn’t stand 100%. Still better than previous reference / FE blowers though.

 

[ElectroShock]

Okay, my machine is together, I went against their recommendation and used a tight fitting radiator. I will need to rotate the CPU block and get creative with zip ties to get the panel to close. The pictures are too compressed for my liking. I will work on getting some higher quality ones up.

 

[Nanook]

Okay, my machine is together, I went against their recommendation and used a tight fitting radiator. I will need to rotate the CPU block and get creative with zip ties to get the panel to close. The pictures are too compressed for my liking. I will work on getting some higher quality ones up.

Looks great! The QDC is massive in there, really helps with scale. Which Eisber did you use? The ones I was looking at had a very tall cpu block.

 

[ElectroShock]

Looks great! The QDC is massive in there, really helps with scale. Which Eisber did you use? The ones I was looking at had a very tall cpu block.

The Eisbaer I used was: Alphacool Eisbaer LT240

The fitment on the radiator up top is not for for the faint of heart. It is a very tight fit and the power cable coming out of the PSU is pushed up against the water line fitting on the radiator. Circle had noted this in their compatibility sheet that it was a very tight fit and was not recommended. I went with it for the reason that I wanted something with metal fittings over the plastic fittings that are on most of the AIO solutions.

 

[Nanook]

The Eisbaer I used was: Alphacool Eisbaer LT240

The fitment on the radiator up top is not for for the faint of heart. It is a very tight fit and the power cable coming out of the PSU is pushed up against the water line fitting on the radiator. Circle had noted this in their compatibility sheet that it was a very tight fit and was not recommended. I went with it for the reason that I wanted something with metal fittings over the plastic fittings that are on most of the AIO solutions.

We could really use a radiator with 90 degree fittings.

 

[ElectroShock]

We could really use a radiator with 90 degree fittings.

Agreed. I was contemplating replacing the line with the quick disconnect just to make it fit better. But if a 90 degree was added at the radiator that would likely help a lot too.

More pictures here. The post above isn't loading the album for whatever reason.

 

[ElectroShock]

Sorry for spamming this thread... I did some cable arrangement and got the panels to close.

 

[Nanook]

Sorry for spamming this thread... I did some cable arrangement and got the panels to close.

Thank you for sharing! Love seeing your progress.

 

[mxsoundtube]

@Nanook

Just curious but how did you fit that SFX in there ? just duck tape or did you make a custom screw hole? Also, how much space do you have left for the GPU ? I'm planing to use RTX 2080 blower style but its about 2mm longer than the 2080 FE.

Thanks !

 

[Nanook]

@Nanook

Just curious but how did you fit that SFX in there ? just duck tape or did you make a custom screw hole? Also, how much space do you have left for the GPU ? I'm planing to use RTX 2080 blower style but its about 2mm longer than the 2080 FE.

Thanks !

Hi, I use 3M VHB tape to adhere the SFX and A12x15 can to the inside of the top cover. There’s enough room below the SFX for the two power connectors to the GPU. I already took my pc apart to tinker this evening, so I can only estimate 15-20mm maybe?

 

[tienlp]

Okay, my machine is together, I went against their recommendation and used a tight fitting radiator. I will need to rotate the CPU block and get creative with zip ties to get the panel to close. The pictures are too compressed for my liking. I will work on getting some higher quality ones up.

I'm still a little bit confused, did you place your SF600 in the block in front of the motherboard?

 

[EdZ]

This does rather remind me of the situation with the HG Osmi.
In both cases (pardon the pun), a company created a custom case for their boutique PC business, with the case being designed only to be part of a premium integrated setup, with manufacturing cost secondary to achieving the desired design (as a comparative handful would be made so almost any production method would be expensive due to labour, so why not go all out?). There was then a demand for "I don't care about part compatibility or price, I just want to buy that beutiful case without the rest of the PC!", to which the company capitulated and sold as-is cases at or near their (high) manufacture price. This was then followed by a wave of people complaining about the high price and lack of compatibility, comparing the case to those designed with an eye towards compatibility and minimising short-run manufacturing cost.

 

[mxsoundtube]

Hi, I use 3M VHB tape to adhere the SFX and A12x15 can to the inside of the top cover. There’s enough room below the SFX for the two power connectors to the GPU. I already took my pc apart to tinker this evening, so I can only estimate 15-20mm maybe?

Awesome ! I would love to see more of your build when you're done, btw !

 

[CircleTect]

Pretty jaw dropping effort getting a 2080FE in there @Nanook. Props for the ingenuity! It might be worth looking into developing a frame kit to support this kind of layout. You could keep the existing outer panels and swap out a couple of the internal parts for better FE card compatibility. Would sure beat using tape.

For those going with a more 'standard' build, by popular demand here are some thermal tests:

The procedure

1. From cold boot waited till GPU temp stabilised to ambient.
2. Ran Furmark and waited for stable max GPU temps.
3. To determine the effect of the side panels on the GPU, I kept the test running and removed the panels and waited till the GPU temps settled.
4. With Furmark still running, I turned on the AIDA CPU stress test and ran it at 100% till temps stabilised (still with the panels off to get a baseline).
5. Then I put the panels back on with both GPU and CPU maxed out and let the heat from the system saturate the radiator until temps stabilised.

The build

Case: Circle Pro
GPU: Zotac GTX1070
CPU: i7 - 7700
Mobo: Asus z270 Strix
RAM: 32GB 2400 DDR4
SATA Drive: WD Green 250GB SSD
NVME Drive: Samsung 969 EVO 1TB SSD
CPU fans: 1250RPM
Case fans: 1700RPM

The results

1. Ambient temps

GTX1070 - 32*
i7 7700- 31*

Spoiler

2. GPU temps with panels on

GTX1070 - 77*

Spoiler

3. GPU temps with panels off

GTX1070 - 72*

Spoiler

4. CPU + GPU temps with panels off

i7 7700 - 50*
GTX1070 - 72*

Spoiler

5. CPU + GPU temps with panels back on

i7 7700 - 57*
GTX1070 - 77*

Spoiler

It's difficult to test a large variety of setups and components, but hopefully this gives you an idea of how the case affects temps. I'm sure it will scale with hotter parts.

 

[SashaLag]

are noise in this test constant or did fan speed increase?