I would like to share my recent build with the Zen Zone Art World B2+ case. I was pondering whether I would go air-cooling, or water-cooling with this build, since I was concerned with the thermals of the layout, I tried asking for a suggestion here awhile back but didn't get any reply. But when I saw the ID Cooling Auraflow 240X going for just $5 more than the Shuriken 2, I just have to try it. This is my first AIO build, by the way.
Part's List
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5600X
CPU Cooler: ID Cooling Auraflow 240X (fans replaced with Silverstone 120AR)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX
RAM: 32GB PNY XLR8 EPIC Gaming-X DDR4-3200MHz CL16 memory
GPU: Gigabyte RTX 3080 VISION OC
SSD: ADATA XPG 8200 2TB PCIe gen3
PSU: Silverstone SX700-G
CASE: Zen Zone Art World B2+ ITX Case
Build log:
It’s a very arduous case to work with, at least for me, and this is coming from someone who had managed to cram in a NON-modular ATX power supply to an SG13. So just a brief overview the case has a removable center spine similar to the FormD T1.
Under normal builds:
The problem on my end was that the GPU was quite large, while it can technically fit, heck if you believe the case’s advertising even the larger MSI 3080 gaming can fit. You simply won’t be able to mount it from the side panel opening, it was too small. So you have to mount the spine with the GPU in it, otherwise it simply won’t work. However if you mount the spine with the GPU in it, then you’ll have no space to screw in the motherboard especially if you’re maxing out the air cooler limit.
What I ended up doing was removing the front panel, normally you don’t have to do this, but there was simply no way of doing it otherwise. So my steps were:
Cable management was quite manageable but you really have to plan early on, most of the cable management should be done while the assembling the PC in the spine outside of the actual case since the spine would snap everything into place, just be cognizant on how everything will look out.
GPU sizing is very important. I was so close to getting the MSI Gaming X Trio instead of the VISION OC, I personally felt that it was an act of providence that I got the Gigabyte VISION card instead of the MSI one, especially since the latter was already in the cart, ready for check-out.
If you look at this picture, these screws connect the spine to the front panel. I wasn’t able to connect the one in red, because the GPU is quite long. I tried forcibly screwing it, but only ended up scratching the GPU backplate, not by much, but still. This just shows how tight the GPU clearances are when you’re really close to the limits. If a screw head can prevent you from mounting the card, I can only imagine the problems I would have been facing if I ended-up with the MSI card, I might end up having to do some serious case modding.
One more item that is somewhat related to the GPU clearance, is the AC power line extension, the powerline was meant to go from the GPU side, either over if the GPU is long, or just by the side if short, and attach to the PSU on the other side. The VISION OC 3080 is 120mm x 55mm, and the cable just fits at the side panel while having enough space to accommodate the GPU thickness. I reckon if you follow the absolute limit of 150mm x 57mm, then you would have problems trying to connect the powerline to PSU, unless you’re using a much shorter GPU, maybe an EVGA/TUF card.
On a positive note, the AIO was relatively easy to mount. It was pretty straightforward, then again I already made sure that I have enough clearance at the top level so there’s that. The AURAFLOW 240X has a surprisingly convenient mounting method, which allows the waterblock to be mounted without having access to a backplate, and I really like what ID-cooling did here.
In the end, it was a tedious, but rewarding experience, and lots of lessons learned. The case is quite small and unobtrusive in a desk. Right now I have it setup at the back of my monitor, and fitting just right at the small space there. Although if I ever needed to swap cases, maybe I’ll go for an NR200.
GPU Overclock Settings: AORUS Engine Auto-Scan (approximately +200MHz clock across all the voltage curve) +500MHz Memory OC Custom Fan Profile (0-50C @ 0RPM, 50+ @1650 RPM) [it’s the maximum speed where I can tolerate the noise ~42dBA] Stock temperature and power limit. The GPU is already operating at 370W by default, from what I heard, and no maximum overhead was provided.
OCT Test:
CPU: OCCT Large Data Set
GPU: Unigine 8K Optimized
Results (OCCT + Unigine):
Gaming Results (4K Ultra/Max Settings – RTX = ON, if available): Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – 64 fps Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DLSS = ON) – 109 fps Red Dead Redemption 2 – 59 fps Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon – 55 fps Shadow of Middle Earth – 103 fps Shadow of Middle Earth (8K downscaled to 4K) – 40 fps Injustice 2 – 60 fps
I think Injustice 2 might be just limited by the refresh rate, because it simply toggled between 59-60 throughout the entire run.
Size compared to a typical 14" laptop:
Part's List
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5600X
CPU Cooler: ID Cooling Auraflow 240X (fans replaced with Silverstone 120AR)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX
RAM: 32GB PNY XLR8 EPIC Gaming-X DDR4-3200MHz CL16 memory
GPU: Gigabyte RTX 3080 VISION OC
SSD: ADATA XPG 8200 2TB PCIe gen3
PSU: Silverstone SX700-G
CASE: Zen Zone Art World B2+ ITX Case
Build log:
It’s a very arduous case to work with, at least for me, and this is coming from someone who had managed to cram in a NON-modular ATX power supply to an SG13. So just a brief overview the case has a removable center spine similar to the FormD T1.
Under normal builds:
- This spine is pulled from the back.
- You build the motherboard (CPU + RAM + SSD)
- Attach the motherboard, riser cable and PSU to the spine while outside the case.
- Mount the spine back to the case.
- Attach the GPU at the other side of the case, and you’re done.
The problem on my end was that the GPU was quite large, while it can technically fit, heck if you believe the case’s advertising even the larger MSI 3080 gaming can fit. You simply won’t be able to mount it from the side panel opening, it was too small. So you have to mount the spine with the GPU in it, otherwise it simply won’t work. However if you mount the spine with the GPU in it, then you’ll have no space to screw in the motherboard especially if you’re maxing out the air cooler limit.
What I ended up doing was removing the front panel, normally you don’t have to do this, but there was simply no way of doing it otherwise. So my steps were:
- Remove the front panel.
- Mount everything on the spine, and do some pre-cable management.
- Squeeze the PC in from the front of the case.
- Re-attach the front panel. This is by far the most difficult thing to do since the PSU cables are smashed up at the bottom making it hard for the screws to align properly.
- Secure the back panel.
- Assemble the AIO outside the case, pre-route some of the fan cables at this stage.
- Attach the AIO.
Cable management was quite manageable but you really have to plan early on, most of the cable management should be done while the assembling the PC in the spine outside of the actual case since the spine would snap everything into place, just be cognizant on how everything will look out.
GPU sizing is very important. I was so close to getting the MSI Gaming X Trio instead of the VISION OC, I personally felt that it was an act of providence that I got the Gigabyte VISION card instead of the MSI one, especially since the latter was already in the cart, ready for check-out.
If you look at this picture, these screws connect the spine to the front panel. I wasn’t able to connect the one in red, because the GPU is quite long. I tried forcibly screwing it, but only ended up scratching the GPU backplate, not by much, but still. This just shows how tight the GPU clearances are when you’re really close to the limits. If a screw head can prevent you from mounting the card, I can only imagine the problems I would have been facing if I ended-up with the MSI card, I might end up having to do some serious case modding.
One more item that is somewhat related to the GPU clearance, is the AC power line extension, the powerline was meant to go from the GPU side, either over if the GPU is long, or just by the side if short, and attach to the PSU on the other side. The VISION OC 3080 is 120mm x 55mm, and the cable just fits at the side panel while having enough space to accommodate the GPU thickness. I reckon if you follow the absolute limit of 150mm x 57mm, then you would have problems trying to connect the powerline to PSU, unless you’re using a much shorter GPU, maybe an EVGA/TUF card.
On a positive note, the AIO was relatively easy to mount. It was pretty straightforward, then again I already made sure that I have enough clearance at the top level so there’s that. The AURAFLOW 240X has a surprisingly convenient mounting method, which allows the waterblock to be mounted without having access to a backplate, and I really like what ID-cooling did here.
In the end, it was a tedious, but rewarding experience, and lots of lessons learned. The case is quite small and unobtrusive in a desk. Right now I have it setup at the back of my monitor, and fitting just right at the small space there. Although if I ever needed to swap cases, maybe I’ll go for an NR200.
GPU Overclock Settings: AORUS Engine Auto-Scan (approximately +200MHz clock across all the voltage curve) +500MHz Memory OC Custom Fan Profile (0-50C @ 0RPM, 50+ @1650 RPM) [it’s the maximum speed where I can tolerate the noise ~42dBA] Stock temperature and power limit. The GPU is already operating at 370W by default, from what I heard, and no maximum overhead was provided.
OCT Test:
- Stock Cooler: CPU @ 80C, Frequency @ 4.16 GHz
- AIO: CPU @ 60C, Frequency @ 4.4 GHz
- AIO (CPU + GPU): CPU @ 70C, Frequency @ 3.9 GHz – GPU @ 83C
CPU: OCCT Large Data Set
GPU: Unigine 8K Optimized
Results (OCCT + Unigine):
- CPU: 67C running at 4.4 GHz
- GPU: 74C running at 1.95 GHz
- CPU: 70C running at 3.9 GHz
- GPU: 83C running at 1.65 GHz
Gaming Results (4K Ultra/Max Settings – RTX = ON, if available): Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – 64 fps Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DLSS = ON) – 109 fps Red Dead Redemption 2 – 59 fps Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon – 55 fps Shadow of Middle Earth – 103 fps Shadow of Middle Earth (8K downscaled to 4K) – 40 fps Injustice 2 – 60 fps
I think Injustice 2 might be just limited by the refresh rate, because it simply toggled between 59-60 throughout the entire run.
Size compared to a typical 14" laptop:
