Louqe Ghost with 2070super and 3700X cooled byL12S frankenstein

[CaptainBigleux]

Hi !
After my presentation yesterday, (https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/my-1st-sff-a-louqe-in-the-french-caribean.11439/)
it seems it sended good vibes to DHL guys : I got my Ghost today !

Already ordered the RTX 2070 super that will arrive in friends lugage late october.
Now is time to finalize my choices about the other components.

 

[CaptainBigleux]

I ordered main components :

- CPU = 3700X
- RAM = 2x 8go DDR4 3600 Corsair LPX vengeance
- MB = Aorus X570i
- SSD = Sabrent 1to M.2 nmve

Just need to order the PSU (will be SF600 platinum for better cables), and choose my cooling solution.
I tried to mount the large top hat just to see the look of it.
Mounted on top I'm not fan, looks weird, not well balanced.
Mounted on bottom, looks OKish, more like a dock base. So if I go for AIO it will be in bottom even if I know it's not optimum.

But for nom I think I will try with a noctua L9x65, and a small A12x15 fan below PSU for more breathing.

 

[Soul_Est]

I ordered main components :

- CPU = 3700X
- RAM = 2x 8go DDR4 3600 Corsair LPX vengeance
- MB = Aorus X570i
- SSD = Sabrent 1to M.2 nmve

Just need to order the PSU (will be SF600 platinum for better cables), and choose my cooling solution.
I tried to mount the large top hat just to see the look of it.
Mounted on top I'm not fan, looks weird, not well balanced.
Mounted on bottom, looks OKish, more like a dock base. So if I go for AIO it will be in bottom even if I know it's not optimum.

But for nom I think I will try with a noctua L9x65, and a small A12x15 fan below PSU for more breathing.

For air cooling, I would recommend either the Noctua L12S or Scythe Big Shuriken 3 as they would perform better and quieter.

You may be able to get the SF750 for maybe 10 dollars (more less) extra. It runs fan-less up to 300W as opposed to the SF600 Platinum which runs fan-less up to 240W.

You may have issues with the Sabrent drive. I had the 1TB and had to return it due to bad blocks. When it wasn't crashing my system, its speed was scintillating. Also note that the drive can be formatted for 512 byte or 4096 byte (native) blocks. I will be ordering one again in the future. Also have a look at the ADATA XPG SX8200 PRO for not much more as its performance is eerily close to the Samsung 970 Pro.

 

[CaptainBigleux]

This WE was Lego's time !

Quite happy ! Pretty straight forward and easy build, especially for this kind of small size I expected more difficulties.
Only mistake, was not to read the pdf on the website first, as I used the wrong screws for the MB, used the one for the PSU... and it damaged the slots on the plate a bite... but still working.

My only regret is the L9x65...
First, as I live in the caribean the weather is hot. My 3700X doing not much (just downloading on steam) is running between 50-60°C ! So the fan as to be quite high all the time (even if I smoothed the speed a little bit on the MB software).
But the main issue is that the fan is really clos to the panel, and the holes on the panel are too small. So it kind of whistle.

Don't know I I try to bend a L12S to fit. Would love to keep the smallest form of the ghost, as it looks great like that.
It should not whistle, as the fan is further back.
But the temps should not improve much... so maybe I will sacrifice the look and go for an AIO.

 

[CaptainBigleux]

Almost 1 week with the running Ghost. Very happy with it, looks great besides the TV, can play 4K HDR games and movies. Exactly what I was looking for.

But... there is a but ! I get very annoyed by the turbine sound of the L9x65.
Well, it's not exactly the L9 fault, but rather the position of the fan too close of the tiny holes of the panel.
For now, I often remove the side panel, as it's easy and quick to do... but it's not a long term solution.

I do have the large hat in stock ready. But I would love to keep the minimal look.
Do you think the L12S would be enough and reduce significantly the noise ?
Or should I go directly for an AIO (H100i pro) ?

 

[CaptainBigleux]

Quick updater, finally happy with my ghost.
I managed to fit a L12S. But i had to Frankenstein or MacGyver it a bit...

First, bending.
Actually was kind a walk in the park. Much easier than expected. Main challenge is to find right bend to get clearance but also keep the base for the cpu at same level. If not, clearance would be ok, but whole rad would not get in, as the pipes would get stucked by the bottom of the case.

Second challenge, and not expected. The fan of the L12S just cant fit in the aorus x570i. Too many things sitting there (m.2 with chipset fan, rear shield...)
So i remembered the design of the original L12 non S. I fitted the fan of the l9x65 instead, using simple pastic locks (cant remember the name in english sorry).
Its ugly but it fits and works Welles

Now, temps are slightly better, but more important the case is more silent.
A Another interesting benefit, now its not blowing fresh air, but expeling hit air. So the motherboard is cooler (before the top of the case was vert hot... not anymore)

 

[CaptainBigleux]

I thought L12S in a ghost would attract fellow ghosters.
In my opinion Ghost is better without top hat. Almost everybody go to AIO in top hat road, since the non S L12 is not available anymore. It miss some aircooling solutions and sharing about it.

Bottom line : yes L12S can fit
Just need easy bending for side panel clearance.
And optionnal fan NF A9-14 PWM to swap, if the standard fan cannot fit in your motherboard.
Then you can use the NF-A12x15 packed with the L12S, as case fan below your PSU.

 

[CaptainBigleux]

I discoverd this great video :
and there I see that the guy has the same MB(aorus X570i), the same L12S ... but managed to fit the original fan!
While I hacked with the L9x65 fan ... grrrrr

I took advantage of the holiday yesterday, to watch the part of the video that concerns the L12S, and get back into the hack of my louqe.

The difference :
I was 90 ° away from the video, with the heat pipes below. Indeed, it seemed more logical to me, and especially during my blank tests I could not fit the rad otherwise.
My mistake: I did not removed the bottom panel of the louqe. Doing so, I managed this time, as on the video, to bring in the rad, and the original fan. Well, it took a little bit of forceps to close everything, but it's better like that