Log Lian-Li PC-TU100 build : watercooled GPU and Meanwell 400W

aquelito

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
952
1,122
Hi there,

Finally finished my TU100 build, build around a Ryzen 7 3700X and a GTX 1650 Super :)

The goal was to get the some silent possible build, without modifying the case : no extra holes, no butchering of any sort.
There are some nice mods out there but I wanted to get the most of the original design.


Since the GPU is the main offender noise-wise, and since I did not want to drill fan holes in the bottom panel, I decided to watercool the GPU using a single XSPC TX120 radiator and a Fractal Design X2 GP-12 PWM 120 mm fan.
I fitted a modified EK VGA-Supremacy on the 1650 Super, while the loop is made of 10/6 Koolance tubing and an Alphacool DC-LT pump, fed by a Barrow 50 x 60 mm reservoir.
The VRM are cooled by a Noctua 40mm fan, also extracting the warm air trapped below the GPU.

The CPU is cooled by a Noctua NH-U9S, the most efficient cooler available for this case.
Both 92 mm fans are fed by the 120 mm radiator fan and are set to exhaust the air from the case (from front to back).

To be able to do so, I add to replace the SFX PSU by something smaller, here an industrial 12V Meanwell 400W PSU, powering a J-Hack Distro 400 kit from @Thehack.

The fans are controlled by an Aquacomputer Quadro, best hardware piece I have ever purchased :)

To fit all this gear inside the case, I used the original four tray holes to fix an aluminium plate supporting the pump, res, Quadro and Distro 400.
The new plate is supported by 4 silent-blocs, effectively decoupling the pump from the case.

The Meanwell 400W is supported by a cage I build with laser-cut 2 mm aluminium, screwed to the cases holes.

This has to be the most difficult build I worked on. This case is really not easy to work with ! Every step has to be planned carrefully.
Even if I've spent lots of time planning the mod in CAD, I had to make last-minute changes while actually assembling the parts.

Anyway, goal reached ! Very silent with the following fan settings ; you just hear a very faint woosh :

  • Fractal 120 mm fan @ 800 RPM
  • Both Noctua 92 mm fan @ 950 RPM
  • Pump @ 1800 RPM

Ambient temp (inside case) is 20°C, while the water idle temp is 27°C.

Temps are not bad after 30 min of OCCT Power (both CPU and GPU) :

  • CPU : stable at 86°C.
  • GPU : stable 49°C. GPU VRM never went above 70°C.
  • Water : stable at 37°C.

Under Octane Render (GPU-based 3D rendering software), the GPU maxed out at 41°C !

Some pics :







 
Last edited:

aquelito

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
952
1,122
First post updated with better pics.

@Thehack : I have a cold boot issue. Anytime I press the power button, only the Aquacomputer Quadro starts.
I have to manually force the shutdown by holding the power button then press the power button again to get the system to boot.
Everything else works just fine otherwise.
Is it something to do with the way the Meanwell works ?
 

aquelito

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
952
1,122
Are you booting from standby initially?

I remember there was an issue somewhere in the settings for standby boot.
No, it happens on first time boot (cold boot).

WIll try to investigate a little more ; fast startup might be involved.

 
Last edited:

aquelito

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
952
1,122
Are you booting from standby initially?

I remember there was an issue somewhere in the settings for standby boot.
OK, problem solved by disabling both fast startup in Windows and USB legacy support in the BIOS.
Fortunately, the issue seemed not related to hardware :)

Did some more tests today.

With a 20° ambient temperature, the CPU maxed out at 72°C after 30 min of OCCT load.
With both the CPU and GPU under OCCT load, the CPU maxed out at 86°C.
This is a pretty huge difference ; I was not expecting the GPU radiator to have such an impact on the CPU temps.

Anyway, under more realistic loads, OCCT for the CPU and Octane Render for the GPU, the CPU maxed out at 76°C.

To sum up, placing a 120mm radiator on the sole intake is perfectly fine for realistic loads.
For synthetic benchmarks, you'll have to cranck the fans up.

Pretty happy with this great little case (10L) !
 

Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
2,225
Really nice build! I like that it's so dense that it took me quite a while to figure out the layout. The TU100 is definitely old-school in its layout and build process, but this seems like a great use for it. That PSU bracket fitting it between the CPU cooler and GPU is rather ingenious.
 

smitty2k1

King of Cable Management
Dec 3, 2016
967
492
Really neat, I love seeing builds with the Meanwell units and this is one of the few builds I've seen that also uses the Distro400!
 

aquelito

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
952
1,122
Thanks to both of you !

Really nice build! I like that it's so dense that it took me quite a while to figure out the layout. The TU100 is definitely old-school in its layout and build process, but this seems like a great use for it. That PSU bracket fitting it between the CPU cooler and GPU is rather ingenious.

Yes, this project is pretty poorly documented as I did not take any picture while building it.
The PSU bracket is just a simple piece made of aluminium panels and threaded cubes, screwed to the case using the original PSU holes :



Took me lots of time to build this computer since, as you say, the layout is pretty old-school and lots of components are quickly out of reach.
Building steps have to be planned very carefully : upper plate, radiator, MB, GPU, Meanwell bracket and Noctua cooler.
 
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