Ecki's Ophion Evo Custom Loop

Ecki

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Dec 26, 2018
10
4
Hello SFF Forum

my name is Ecki, I am from Germany and I would like to share my build with you all for feedback and tips on improving the result.
There is lots of things I learned with this build, and there will be lots more in the future. Not everything will be perfect out of the box and if you have suggestions, feel free to post them.
If you need any measurements from any part of this build, just ask. I will try and help out as i can.


I7 7700k
Asus Z270i Gaming
GTX 1070
16 GB DDR4-2400
Samsung 250GB M.2
Samsung 500GB SATA
Corsair SF600 PSU

Watercooling Stuff:
EK Z270i Strix Monoblock
EK GTX FE RGB VGA Block
EK XRES 100 SPC DDC
EK Fittings & PETG Hard Tube
XSPC TX240
Noctua NF F12 industrial

Custom Cables made by myself


This is my first watercooled PC. Not my first ITX build though.
Previously i built a little Media PC in a Jonsbo V6, an entry level gaming system in a Phanteks Shift and a „one game only (iRacing)“ one in a Raijintek Metis which i modded to have two 120mm fans on top for cooling the GTX760 in it. The Metis one was mainly build for using it on an single 1080p Display and to be portable, as my current PC (Jonsbo W2/i7 8700k/GTX1060) is a bit heavy and bulky. I mostly don’t care about noise as long as the pc just works well and doesnt get too hot as i got a closed up Headset which blocks noise really effectively. Used it on the Simracing Expo this year as we were driving with live audience in the background and you couldn’t notice them a bit.

After using the Metis one for almost a year now my needs in iRacing were growing, hence the Upgrade to the „new“ specs posted above. This system will most likely also only be running iRacing. For now on a single 1080p monitor but already planning for a triple 1080p setup in the near future. Tested a triple Setup on my 1060 which worked great and made me hate my single setup..

Parts mostly consists of stuff friends had sitting around.
Why even go through the hassle of watercooling it? Why not? I just wanted to try it out and i like the look of it.

Is it going to work just as good or better as air cooling in this specific case? I don’t know yet. I based my idea on the EK A240G Set as this seemed to be fine for a 7700k and a 1080 according to some researche on the internet.

I saw the Ophion Evo at Youtube when it was first presented and immediately wanted it just for the looks. As soon as it was availible at one of my preferred online shops, I bought it.

Special Thanks to your Forum, as it supplied me with some measurements before starting this Project.
Biggest concern for me were the following things:
1) How or where to put a pump and Reservoir in this case
2) Will cables from the PSU prevent mounting a Pump on the CPU side of the case?
3) Will the 1070 with the block fit without hitting the radiator on top?
4) How to route all the tubes in this case

I quickly learned why all the photos i found at the time only had a 240 AIO for the CPU.
When you never worked with watercooling parts like me, you don’t really get the size of things and how tight everything will be in this case.

After researching for hours on the internet, I decided to go for a EK DDC pump with the built in reservoir, as a D5 plus reservoir seemed not to fit anywhere in this case.

Here is a picture of the first fitment. I strapped two Noctua fans together to get a visual and dimensional feel for the radiator and fan combo on top of the case, as I had not yet decided on a specific Radiator.

After that i made the cables next, to make sure they can clear the pump without issues. I think they turned out good for my first attempt at making custom cables.

Don't mind the crappy cooler on the CPU as it was just for testing purposes and did not fit very well anyways.
Next up was looking out for clearance to the glass panels. Really tight...


Cool. Worked out as i hoped. Tight in some areas but possible. The other side of the case was waaaay worse in terms of being tight.

After seeing that i opted for the thinnest radiator i could find, made a paper mockup, checked again and ordered the TX240. When it arrived and I assembled it in the case..o_O




So everything fits. :thumb:
 
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Ecki

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Dec 26, 2018
10
4
Pump mount done


First tubes are in. Currently waiting on more tubes to arrive, as I ran out of tubes trying to route the one from the pump to the cpu block and from the cpu block up


Next up:
  • finish last tube
  • put in drain port valve
  • shorten cables
  • sleeve all the cables
  • pressure test the system
  • pull everything apart and clean it

 
Last edited:

Ecki

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Dec 26, 2018
10
4
It's been a while since my last post. After messing up countless times on my last bend, i ordered ACF fittings and ZMT tube for now an got it hooked up. Days of searching leaks later it is now air tight and should work just fine once it gets filled up. First few cables are done too as you can see.


Now I need some help with some of my cables.
I am currently using 15 AWG wire an need to fit 2 of them in one connector. Does anybody have tips on how to do this so it doesn't look too bad? Cable sleeves should go on as well..
 
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owliwar

Master of Cramming
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
Now I need some help with some of my cables.
I am currently using 15 AWG wire an need to fit 2 of them in one connector. Does anybody have tips on how to do this so it doesn't look too bad? Cable sleeves should go on as well..

build is looking really nice!

for the connector, cant you join the cables before this? like, closer to the PSU? this way you could hide the join a bit easier.
at least thats what I see people recommending on youtube, didn't try this myself.
good luck
 
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Ecki

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Dec 26, 2018
10
4
build is looking really nice!

Thanks :)

for the connector, cant you join the cables before this? like, closer to the PSU? this way you could hide the join a bit easier.
at least thats what I see people recommending on youtube, didn't try this myself.
good luck

Did it yesterday like that, but i am not yet satisfied with it :/
Guess i have to do it again to make it look a bit better at least.

I also tried to sleeve the kind of bulky USB 3.0 Frontpanel Connector. But i am not sure how to secure the sleeve to the connector. Zipties for now, but it doesn't look good XD

Guess i have to get anotherone of those connectors an try if the shrinkless method works on this as well as on the normal cables..
 
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owliwar

Master of Cramming
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
Did it yesterday like that, but i am not yet satisfied with it :/
Guess i have to do it again to make it look a bit better at least.

Its looking great honestly. I guess you're just looking too much at it? happens with me sometimes haha
I also tried to sleeve the kind of bulky USB 3.0 Frontpanel Connector. But i am not sure how to secure the sleeve to the connector. Zipties for now, but it doesn't look good XD

pics? I have no idea on how to fix that either.
 
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Ecki

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Dec 26, 2018
10
4
Small Update on cables. Finished the 24 PIN yesterday late at night and had to rearrange every other cable previously done. Some zip ties for now until cables hold their new positions.

 
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Ecki

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Dec 26, 2018
10
4
Good and bad news for this..
Thanks to me beeing stupid, my 24PIN ATX connector fried my board -.-
I kept searching for another one, but couldn't find the exact board i had in a new condition.

So i bought something which was availible. An Asrock Z270i Fatality and an EK Velocity CPU Block as my fullcoover Asus block wouldn't work on the new board anymore.
Luckily i managed to just kill the board. CPU and GPU are working fine. I assembled everthing together now to test and see how well the slim 240 does cool the 1070 and the 7700k.
For now it works way better than i expected. Temps are great for now. It has not been over 50C on any of both parts even when looping a benchmark like Unigine Heaven.

When the 24 PIN is sorted out, there will be new pics for this thread
 

Thomas_O

What's an ITX?
New User
May 10, 2021
1
0
I'm looking at using custom cables for my Ophion Evo, could you post the lengths of the cables you made?
 

Ecki

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Dec 26, 2018
10
4
I'm looking at using custom cables for my Ophion Evo, could you post the lengths of the cables you made?
Hello Thomas, i am sorry to inform you that this PC does not exist anymore in this form. I still have the cables for it though. I have not written down any lenghts but i pinned out one of each cable since i made all the pin cables the same lenght per each connector. The given leghts are with the Crimp included and for the Corsair SF600 (sfx). If you PSU has another layout, you might have to add or decrease the cable lenght.

CPU 24 PIN: 38,5cm
CPU 8 PIN: 47,0cm
GPU 8PIN: 66,5cm
SATA behind the front plate: 84cm