NCASE M1 v6 + EKWB Water Cooling - Advice needed!

[AlexTSG]

I've been thinking about water-cooling my NCASE M1 for a while now, but wasn't planning to do it until much later this year.

However, given that my IceMan Cooler Pump Reservoir arrived yesterday and then EKWB announced a 10% Off Everything sale for this weekend only, I've decided to at least try to buy all the stuff I need for a custom loop now, even if I only do the build in a few months time.

The problem is that I've only ever built air-cooled PCs, and while I have a general idea of what I need, I don't have an exact shopping list. The configurator on EKs website wasn't very helpful either.

So, I need some help from someone who's already been through this before and can help me pick up all the right parts to complete the loop.

Let me start off by telling you what needs cooling, and the few items I've already purchased:

My Current Build

NCASE M1 v6​

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X​

MSI B550I Gaming Edge Motherboard (Looks like I'll need to change this because of CPU waterblock compatibility, ideally to the ASUS ROG X570-I)​

EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra (The EK-Quantum Vector2 XC3 looks like a good option here)​

2x Noctua NF-A12x15 chromax fans (I hope these will work for a bottom mount slim radiator if I need one)​

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Purchased Already

IceMan Cooler NCASE v6 Pump Reservoir​

Alphacool DDC310 DDC Pump (with IceMan Cooler DDC Cover)​

3x Phanteks T30 120x30mm Fans​

I need everything else, and my priority this weekend is to order as much as I can from EKWB. I'll worry about changing my motherboard, and getting customs cables later.

What I Think I Need...

EK-Quantum Vector2 XC3 RTX 3080/90 Nickel + Acetal GPU Waterblock​

EK-Quantum Vector2 AM4 Nickel + Acetal CPU Waterblock​

EK-Coolstream 240 Radiator for the side panel. - I'm not sure about the difference between the Classic PE 240 and PE 240 (Dual)​

Leak Tester and Tube Cutter​

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Beyond this, I know I need compression fittings, soft tubing, and coolant, but I have no idea how many, or how much of any of them I need.

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As I haven't fitted a waterblock to a GPU before, I'm not sure how much space I have to play with at the bottom of the case. I see EK has a slimmer SE range of radiators, but there's also the XSPC TX240 Ultrathin radiator as an option.

Do you think I can run the whole loop off a single 240mm radiator with the Phanteks T30 fans, or will a second radiator be necessary? I'd prefer not to be running my fans too loud, or I won't have gained much from moving to a water-cooled system.

Any assistance here will be greatly appreciated as I only have about 36 hours left to get my order together!

 

[AlexTSG]

After spending the weekend watching videos and reading up as much as I can on custom water loops, and with well over $500 worth of items in my EKWB cart, without tubing, or any fittings added yet, I've decided that this project will probably have to wait.

If I include swapping my motherboard to the ASUS ROG Strix X570-I, I can see this costing around $1000, and I'd rather not spend that kind of money and not be sure that I'm actually getting everything I need to successfully complete the loop.

For now the easier option is going to be to install an AIO, and see if I can improve the air cooling on my graphics card.

If I do this later in the year, and it works out well, then I'd like to put together an SFF water-cooling "Survival Guide" to help others that may be considering giving it a try.

 

[der_brennesel]

After spending the weekend watching videos and reading up as much as I can on custom water loops, and with well over $500 worth of items in my EKWB cart, without tubing, or any fittings added yet, I've decided that this project will probably have to wait.

If I include swapping my motherboard to the ASUS ROG Strix X570-I, I can see this costing around $1000, and I'd rather not spend that kind of money and not be sure that I'm actually getting everything I need to successfully complete the loop.

For now the easier option is going to be to install an AIO, and see if I can improve the air cooling on my graphics card.

If I do this later in the year, and it works out well, then I'd like to put together an SFF water-cooling "Survival Guide" to help others that may be considering giving it a try.

Don't get that board. It has the worst chipset fan of all AM4 ITX-Boards. Every other board is better than this one. Better stay with the classic EK Velocity CPU block and keep your MSI board - you are not going to see any difference at all in temperature given the tiny rads we can fit inside this case and you'll save over 300$

XSPC TX240 is the only realistic option for a bottom rad - i highly recommend to install one if you want to watercool your GPU. If your GPU is short enough for tubing to pass straight out you can install Noctua A12x15s underneath it and keep the front I/O panel.

And get a PWM controlled DDC pump (EK 4.2 or MCP35X or 3.2 PWM) if you want the loop to be dead quiet - you only need around 15-17% pump speed (1000-1200 rpm) for such a small loop. Going above that will give you no improvement whatsoever. Even DDC310 is overpowered + fitting a analog controller takes alot of space.