Log DAN A4-SFX Full Custom Loop

[nascentparadigm]

Ok, water loop is "complete", as in all of the tubes have been cut and bent and the system holds pressure for 24hrs, which means when the time comes it should be ready to hold water!

One of those bends took eight tries to get right - was a doozy of a route to run, as it had to go around the power connector for the GPU and effectively bend 90 degrees across three different axis. All of the other tubes came out pretty much how I thought they would when mocking them up in 3D.





Next step is shortening all the PSU cables - the system currently looks like its suffering from multiple hernias.

 

[CTFGaming]

Really nice build!

So I am getting my parts together to do something similar and wanted to ask if you had any issues with that water block and card? I have just purchased a MSI 4070 super ventus 2x and about to put an order in for the same card but the compatibility list on Alphacools website is limited. From the research I have done it seems all the PCB's across the Ventus range are the same. How did you feel comfortable taking the risk?

 

[nascentparadigm]

Really nice build!

So I am getting my parts together to do something similar and wanted to ask if you had any issues with that water block and card? I have just purchased a MSI 4070 super ventus 2x and about to put an order in for the same card but the compatibility list on Alphacools website is limited. From the research I have done it seems all the PCB's across the Ventus range are the same. How did you feel comfortable taking the risk?

I came across a post on Alphacool's official forums where someone confirmed that it was compatible with the non-Ti iterations.

To be fair, I've only installed the block and it seems to fit nicely, I'm still not at the point where I can power the system on to make sure all the contacts are good.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

I came across a post on Alphacool's official forums where someone confirmed that it was compatible with the non-Ti iterations.

To be fair, I've only installed the block and it seems to fit nicely, I'm still not at the point where I can power the system on to make sure all the contacts are good.

The one by Corsair would be another option, apparently its compatible with all MSI 4070 (non-super) variants, both Ti and non-Ti, including the 2X variants.
There also is a list on reddit (I think I saw it in r/watercooling, post date is from approx 8 months ago) about compatible Bykski blocks.

cu, w0lf.

 

[immolationepoch]

How is the wire trimming coming along? Looking forward to some test results!

 

[nascentparadigm]

Hello all, it took an age and a half but I finally found some time to wrap this thing up. Haven't done any temperature tests (any recommendations on how to do that?) but I downloaded a decibel app on my phone and am disappointed to say that at idle, it's about 5db louder than my air cooled setup (fans are basically all off at idle in the old setup, and the pump is pretty audible, but not the worst). Here's hoping that at full throttle it ends up being quieter (which is where the old setup got real bad when the GPU fans spun up).

After trimming the power cables and filling with fluid I had one terrifying day of DRAM error lights on the motherboard, but after plugging and unplugging everything a couple times, it has been starting up without issue. Also took about a week with it on its side, with a tube hooked into the fill port of the LOBO just to bleed all (read: most) of the bubbles out - now I understand the importance of having a reservoir in the loop if you can fit one.

Anyway here's some photos of the naked build:

 

[nascentparadigm]

Some additional details on the images above:

Fans

• I had some extra 40mm fans and an unused fan header on the board, and realized there was 0 airflow on the motherboard side of the case, so I added them at the top in exhaust to help get some air in there.
• I removed the side panels on the HDPLEX and put a 30mm fan on either side in push-pull configuration, hopefully to pull air from the back of the case and over the aluminum housing to keep it cool (can see one of the fans in the photo of the rear).
• All the fans in the radiator block (2x 120mm and 2x 92mm) are driven by a single fan splitter, which runs from the mobo all the way to the front of the case

Cables/Power

• I'm glad I watched some videos online and added a recommended 1" to all my cable measurements before trimming, because the DC-IN for the HDPLEX barely reaches.

 

[nascentparadigm]

Finally swapped my previous SFFPC with this build (only took me six months...) and ran some tests with OCCT, where I stressed the CPU and GPU together for 10 minutes.

CPU reached 83 at peak, and then sat idle around 45.
GPU reached 65 at peak, and then sat idle around 34.

So, at idle its louder than my old system, but at load it is mercifully much quieter (that old 2070 FE got really loud when under full load).

Should probably run it again for an hour or two or have OCCT track temps in the background while doing some actual gaming, and then see what the results are as it looked like the temperature on the CPU was still incrementally rising even at the end of the 10 minute run.

 

[nascentparadigm]

Update - RIP

This machine didn't see much use over the last two years, but then recently I found time to play games again. Was going well for a couple weeks, then it started randomly shutting off mid-session (usually during an intense boss fight). Assumed that some component or another was overheating, due to the lack of ambient airflow in the case (as some pointed out might be a concern), so I opened up the side panels and pointed a desk fan at it, and that seemed to work as a short term solution.

Then the other night, I forgot to turn on the desk fan, and it shut off once more, however this time I can't get it to turn on anymore (no POST LEDs when I press the power button). So, now the slow tedious process of finding out which component died (I'm going to assume either the power supply or motherboard), but in any event, this marks the end of my SFF journey.

It's been a fun experience, really enjoyed the engineering problems that are intrinsic to trying to cram so much into so little, but I need to prioritize something that is easier to maintain. Gonna miss the A4, maybe I'll find another use for it down the road, doing less-demanding work.

Best of luck on the rest of your micro journeys!