First ITX Build - In Progress

[jjk1224]

So, I have been dreaming of this for the last year or two... Most of the time when people think about "High end" systems, ATX boards and enormous full tower cases come to mind. My goal for this build is to create something that is relatively small and aesthetically pleasing, but without sacrificing performance or reliability. I have assembled tons of different computers for friends, family and myself over the years all for different purposes, budgets and styles. This time however, I plan on pushing the limits and my abilities to make what I think will be a monster, watercooled ITX based PC.

First, among all things I am a gamer. Having the ability to push my games to their highest visual settings is extremely important to me... Lets face it, life is too short to not enjoy every moment of it at its fullest.
Secondly, I like to do photo and video editing. I am by no means a professional, but I do like to make an occasional youtube video and share some neat pictures on instagram. I plan on using my current main PC as sort of a server to store all of my content, but my ITX build will hopefully be much faster.

Down to the build -

Parts List
Hardware​

• Case - Fractal Design Nano S with MNPCTech clear window mod
• PSU - Corsair AX 860i
• CPU - Intel i7 7700K
• MOBO - Asus ROG Strix Z270I Gaming
• RAM - 16GB G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 3200
• GPU - Asus ROG Strix GTX 1080
• HDD - 2x Samsung 850 EVO SSDs

Cooling​

• EK Supremacy EVO - Nickel
• EK FC1080 GTX Strix - Nickel with black backplate
• EK RAM Monarch X2 - Nickel
• EK RES X3 Reservoir 150mm with multiport top
• EK DDC X-top 3.2 PWM clear pump
• Alphacool 120mm x 30mm radiator
• Alphacool 280mm x 30mm radiator
• Corsair ML120 PRO LED fan in red
• 2x Corsair ML140 PRO LED fans in red
• Fittings are mostly Primochill Revolver SX rigid with a few misc 90s, extenders, valves, etc.

At this point, I literally have everything except the CPU and MOBO. I have been patiently (not really) waiting for ASUS to start shipping their z270I. Once they are out I am hoping to get that $30 off combo deal from microcenter to save a bit of money. It has been killing me to see all of these expensive parts laying on my table collecting dust though.

Once I have acquired the two most important parts... I plan on doing a small video and hopefully taking lots of pictures to follow up here. So far, I have only run into minor issues but everything looks like it should fit nicely inside the Nano S. One problem I may have is getting my videocard to fit inside of the case with the way I have the radiators configured. Unfortunately the Strix GTX 1080 is one of the largest cards on the market. Even with the huge heatsink removed its looking to be a very, very tight fit. I would measure and test fit the card, but it is in my current PC and I really don't feel like taking it out until I am ready to assemble the ITX.
All of the water lines will be done with clear rigid PETG. This will be my first time working with rigid lines and fittings, so I purchased the XSPC starter kit. I should also mention that I bend a lot of stainless tube at my job, sometimes requiring multiple complex bends in a single run. Im thinking this plastic stuff should be a walk in the park, but I bought a whole lot of extra just in case.

I have been looking at all of your builds and I am super excited to get started on mine! If anyone has any input please let me know!

 

[W1NN1NG]

Personally speaking I'm not one for tower itx cases but I will be following this. I enjoy seeing nano s builds. Friend of mine has a zotac 1070 card in his and even those cards are massive so hoping to see that GPU fit. Best way I can say to see if it will fit is take a tape measure from your PCI slot and measure back like 11.4 inches cause I believe that's the length on those cards

 

[Tek Everything]

Nice! Looks like it is going to be a beastly build.

 

[Kmpkt]

With that color scheme (Fans/RAM), you should just get the AsRock Fatal1ty instead of the Strix. It'll suit it better.

 

[Hatswitch]

Looks good so far. I had looked at the Nano S but went for the smaller guy for my build, but goodness they give you some room for the water cooling gear. As far as the graphics card length issue, you may have to do a workaround, as the Nano S clearance is 315mm with front fans installed, subtract the width of the radiator and you'll have about 285mm to work with.

Problem is, the Strix is a beast at 297mm, though it will lose a few millimeters with the removed heat sink. A 12.5mm depth fan like a Scythe Slip Stream Slim would be one way to go about it, or making a little mod like I'll probably be doing with mine, where I'll mount 2x60mm (or 3x40mm) fans to the lower portion of the radiator to get at least some air moving down there. Regardless, even with only one fan on the 240mm rad, mine is working like a champ without any major issues so far.

Looking forward to your progress!

 

[jjk1224]

Thanks for the input guys!

Best way I can say to see if it will fit is take a tape measure from your PCI slot and measure back like 11.4 inches cause I believe that's the length on those cards

Problem is, the Strix is a beast at 297mm, though it will lose a few millimeters with the removed heat sink. A 12.5mm depth fan like a Scythe Slip Stream Slim would be one way to go about it, or making a little mod like I'll probably be doing with mine, where I'll mount 2x60mm (or 3x40mm) fans to the lower portion of the radiator to get at least some air moving down there. Regardless, even with only one fan on the 240mm rad, mine is working like a champ without any major issues so far.

I have made a ton of measurements but the problem is getting an accurate reading of the bare PCB of the 1080. I know without a doubt the card will not fit with the heatsink installed, but with it off I will save a cm or so. If I take the EK backplate by itself and insert it into the case, I have about 2mm of play between the pci slots and fans. Just not sure how much of the card the backplate actually covers. My plan if it doesnt fit is to remove the fans from the inside of the case and install them in the front, under the face plate of the case. I would like to avoid doing this because I believe the fans on the inside will complete the look I am going for. Not only that, but having the fans on the inside of the face will give them limited room to breathe, as they will be mounted about a cm away from the front. Another option would be to remove only the bottom fan and relocate that to the front, but that may look a little strange. These new corsair fans are great, but they actually measure about 27mm in width due to the rubber dampeners.

With that color scheme (Fans/RAM), you should just get the AsRock Fatal1ty instead of the Strix. It'll suit it better.

I thought about going with the Fatal1ty and I may if Asus doesnt get their stuff together sometime soon! The reason I want to stick with the Asus is because I want it to match my GPU. The ram heatsinks are going to get ripped off anyway in favor for the watercooling block. Not doing ti because I actually think the ram needs to be cooled, but because I think it will look awesome!