Production Nouvolo Steck - SFF 8.7-11.2L ITX PC Case, supports liquid cooling

[emadman]

Long story to this build, but it's my first time with a custom loop


I started with the base steck and air cooling with a plan to go liquid down the road:

• Ryzen 3600 + Scythe Big Shuriken 3 & noctua slim
• Gigabyte GTX 1080 Windforce - this was VERY loud even in the original PC it was mounted in (ATX chassis with excessive sound dampening)
• Corsair 450w SFF psu

The noise of the GPU was unbearable - in such an exposed chassis, it was louder than my 3d printer that sits on the same workbench. This made me rush the transition to water.

I ordered a stack unit as soon as they became available.

• Alphacool Eisbaer LT Solo
• Bykski GPU block
• 3/8 x 5/8 soft tubing, Barrow fittings across the board
• Darkside 240mm radiator
• Noctua fans
• 1 pair of Barrow Quick Disconnect fittings going from the CPU outlet to GPU inlet. For filling, draining, and bleeding, I pop them off and plug them into a reservoir with matching fittings
• CPU Temps: Idle between 40-50c. Load around 80c - I still need to do some voltage tuning to bring this down a bit.

Lessons learned:

• The GPU Block + fittings are too thick to close the side panel. I designed and 3d printed a set of risers that utilized the stock thumbscrews to avoid having to make a trip to Home Depot for 1" 6-32 screws. I spent about 4 hours between designing, iterating, and running several test prints before I landed on the model you see here. I'm approx 5mm taller than absolutely necessary. I may update the design and reprint to get some space between the speaker and case.
• Koolance slim 90 degree fittings, based on raw measurements will most likely still need a riser, just not as huge a riser. I will definitely make the switch at a later date. Hard to stomach additional costs on this machine, and I'm somewhat ptsd from my first attempts at filling and draining
• The first time I filled the loop, I used plain distilled water for 48 hours as a leak test. I learned after draining how poor a job I did at bleeding out air. Lesson: Having the QDC AFTER the CPU and before the GPU block puts my fill port right between two areas of high flow resistance. I probably could have saved a lot of bleed headaches having the QDCs between the rad and one of the blocks. As it stands now, I have figured out the pattern of rotating and shaking the machine to do a pretty decent job.
• Every time I unplug the QDC and reconnect, I introduce a small amount of air into the loop - this has to be factored in and the air needs to be agitated enough to go up to the rad
• The Alphacool pump is a lot weaker than I thought it would be, but it does the job. I originally wanted the Swiftech Apogee Drive II, but COVID-19 made it incredibly difficult to get - Swiftech and most vendors were sold out with no lead time. I may switch over in the future
• The Barrow QDCs appear to be somewhat flow restricting - not an issue for a more powerful pump, but something to be aware of. Besides that, they perform great - only lose a few drops of water, if that when connecting/disconnecting

 

[emadman]

Something went wrong with the imgur link. Here's an updated one with a few more pictures and some video

 

[element72]

For just the base unit, can you stick a CPU AIO, under the PSU? I'm thinking of cpu liquid cooling at the start, then consider expanding to gpu liquid cooling later. If so, do you recommend the asetek 645LT only?

Do you get the new v1.1 if you order from the website?

 

[emadman]

For just the base unit, can you stick a CPU AIO, under the PSU? I'm thinking of cpu liquid cooling at the start, then consider expanding to gpu liquid cooling later. If so, do you recommend the asetek 645LT only?

Do you get the new v1.1 if you order from the website?

It almost definitely won't fit. Take a look at the last pic in my post above. You can see how tight the cable management is under the PSU with custom, non-sleeved cables. I almost didn't have enough space for the 120mm fan to clear it. If you get creative with the radiator flush with the bottom panel and the fan pushing air through the bottom panel, into the rad, you might be able to clear it, but I suspect the cables will protrude too far from the PSU to clear it. I think the gap is something like 55 or 65mm between the bottom of the PSU and bottom panel. Take away about 2-3cm for cables to protrude and flex.

I was originally considering putting a dedicated DDC pump in that space and opted against it because of clearance concerns and the non-refundable nature of water cooling parts :/

you'll get the 1.1... they've been selling that since at least December, if not earlier.

 

[KetchupFTW]

Could anyone explain how to exactly tuck the cables so that I am able to install a 120mm fan (25mm thick) fan at the bottom and have space for an sata SSD? I tried before but the side panels wouldn't close. I'm using a Corsair SF450.

 

[Blahbleh]

Could anyone explain how to exactly tuck the cables so that I am able to install a 120mm fan (25mm thick) fan at the bottom and have space for an sata SSD? I tried before but the side panels wouldn't close. I'm using a Corsair SF450.

You can find some pics here and there. It's barely visible but it can help.
Most of the GPU power cable length is tighten next to the GPU.
Then all other cables (but not the SATA one) are flattened, twisted as little as possible, stuck together, folded then slided behind the PSU.
The SATA power cable is a bit of a pain because of all the connectors along the cable. It actually wraps the PSU through the MB side up to the PSU top.

 

[Blahbleh]

More pics here.

(where is the edit button ?!)

 

[Nouvolo]

Our response to some misinformation about Steck quality issue specifically about "Front panel bulge"


Hope this can help to stop the spreading of misinformation about quality issues with our product. We will never criticize our users for not realizing "seemingly" obvious cause of this issue, we will improve our design for later revisions to avoid confusion.

And we refrain from contesting each and every of those comments. We cannot fix what is not broken from the beginning. Anyway we just want our fellow enthusiasts to have a great time building the Steck.

CORRECT METHOD OF INSTALLATION BELOW :

Correct method to route power switch cables to avoid bulging front panel

It it NOT quality issue but in most cases is caused by incorrectly running the power switch cable, contrary to some users who may have made similar mistakes and chose to make accusation without fully understanding the issue.

[1] Front panel bulging - Maybe something on the other side is pushing out and causing this issue?

[2] power switch cable running between the spine and front panel - WRONG

[3] power switch cable routing (top view) - WRONG

[4] power switch cable routing (top view) - CORRECT

 

[Linko]

Hello people.
I'm very interested in this case. Would like to try to re-purpose the top stack for 3,5 HDD + fan. Math showed me it should fit, but I'd like to hear some opinions from people who own the case.
Would it fit? Could I make a simple frame for HDD or is there an available option on the market?

 

[LexImatx]

Hi all, finally back now that I finally have the funds to complete my build in the Version 1.0 Steck.
I even lost the bag of bolts in the gap between buying and building, but Nouvolo were awesome and sent me some new ones!!
I absolutely love the case, but my hardware is not quite done...I need a GPU.

Has anyone done any comparisons between open and blower style GPUs in this case?
I'm looking at a 2060 Super if that makes a difference.

 

[LexImatx]

Hello people.
I'm very interested in this case. Would like to try to re-purpose the top stack for 3,5 HDD + fan. Math showed me it should fit, but I'd like to hear some opinions from people who own the case.
Would it fit? Could I make a simple frame for HDD or is there an available option on the market?

You could maybe look at getting a 3.5" to 5.25" adapter and drilling holes to line up with the existing fan mount locations. In theory this would fit the case with a little modification.

There may also be some already available for the job.

If you search ebay for "5.25" to 3.5" 2.5" SSD HDD Tray Caddy Case Adapter Cooling Fan Mounting Bracket" this one comes up.
Not sure if we are allowed to post links, but I'll remove if I need to. HERE
Never used it, so no idea how well it works...

 

[Linko]

You could maybe look at getting a 3.5" to 5.25" adapter and drilling holes to line up with the existing fan mount locations. In theory this would fit the case with a little modification.

There may also be some already available for the job.

If you search ebay for "5.25" to 3.5" 2.5" SSD HDD Tray Caddy Case Adapter Cooling Fan Mounting Bracket" this one comes up.
Not sure if we are allowed to post links, but I'll remove if I need to. HERE
Never used it, so no idea how well it works...

This is actually pretty good! Thank you!
Those brackets for optical drive slot could be sawed off, in case they wouldn't fit. It's plastic so it should be easy to work with.

 

[evq]

Hi,

Been using this case since the Kickstarter last year, loving it!
however, if i mount the glass panels, temp will go up, which is expected. Is there any other ways, eg having so sort of standoffs so that the glass panel gives a bigger gap, to improve the temp? Sorry if someone already asked this.
thanks in advance

 

[Nouvolo]

Hi,

Been using this case since the Kickstarter last year, loving it!
however, if i mount the glass panels, temp will go up, which is expected. Is there any other ways, eg having so sort of standoffs so that the glass panel gives a bigger gap, to improve the temp? Sorry if someone already asked this.
thanks in advance

Just use some M3 standoffs. You can get them on Amazon.

 

[evq]

Thanks. Hahaha, I printed some standoffs.

 

[Snookaloo]

Just received my Steck.

I like the look and size of the case.

I wish there wasnt so many bends in pieces though. The entire case isnt square unfortunately. I have the panel bulge at the front (yes the power cable is routed correctly per Nouvolos pics), and also the back.

The right hand side panel sticks up at the front left (top) corner (when viewed from the side) by about 2mm because the entire case is out of square. Both side panels and the top panel have to be pushed into place as a result.

The power button is super flimsy and isnt sitting even in the cut out, it almost touches the bottom left area.

Feeling pretty bummed out tbh.

 

[Nouvolo]

Just received my Steck.

I like the look and size of the case.

I wish there wasnt so many bends in pieces though. The entire case isnt square unfortunately. I have the panel bulge at the front (yes the power cable is routed correctly per Nouvolos pics), and also the back.

The right hand side panel sticks up at the front left (top) corner (when viewed from the side) by about 2mm because the entire case is out of square. Both side panels and the top panel have to be pushed into place as a result.

The power button is super flimsy and isnt sitting even in the cut out, it almost touches the bottom left area.

Feeling pretty bummed out tbh.

Please email us photos of the issues that you have (info@nouvolo.com), maybe we can try help you solve some of them

 

[nicocm9]

Hey I got my Steck and I'm really enjoying it. One thing I am curious is if the layout could be inverted. Let me explain myself, I must have my pc on my right side bc there's no space on the left. Hence the GPU is closest to me. Since I purchased the case with the tophat and glass side panels I got a 240mm AIO and some RGB diffused strips and it looks awesome, the problem is that I can't see it because the CPU side is on the right sided! ahahah and that was the main reason to get the rgb stuff. I have seen a couple posts where people shifted the spine and hence poistioned the CPU on the left side, making the case inverted (GPU now on the right side "hanging").
I would love to do this but I have some questions, maybe @Nouvolo can answer them or someone who has done this "mod".
1)Is if the structural integrity of the case will be compromised?
2) Is the GPU safe by hanging only with the locking mechanism of the riser?
3)I guess the AIO would be at the bottom instead of the top if I go this route, are there any downsides to this orientation? If yes, would it be possible to put it at the top and just don't have a downpointg fan?

Maybe I asked too much here ahhaha but well I guess this is the place to do so. If anyone could help out it would be great, thank you!

 

[Nouvolo]

Hey I got my Steck and I'm really enjoying it. One thing I am curious is if the layout could be inverted. Let me explain myself, I must have my pc on my right side bc there's no space on the left. Hence the GPU is closest to me. Since I purchased the case with the tophat and glass side panels I got a 240mm AIO and some RGB diffused strips and it looks awesome, the problem is that I can't see it because the CPU side is on the right sided! ahahah and that was the main reason to get the rgb stuff. I have seen a couple posts where people shifted the spine and hence poistioned the CPU on the left side, making the case inverted (GPU now on the right side "hanging").
I would love to do this but I have some questions, maybe @Nouvolo can answer them or someone who has done this "mod".
1)Is if the structural integrity of the case will be compromised?
2) Is the GPU safe by hanging only with the locking mechanism of the riser?
3)I guess the AIO would be at the bottom instead of the top if I go this route, are there any downsides to this orientation? If yes, would it be possible to put it at the top and just don't have a downpointg fan?

Maybe I asked too much here ahhaha but well I guess this is the place to do so. If anyone could help out it would be great, thank you!

1) I think the only way to have both sides "switch around" is by turning the case upside down. You can still choose how you want to place your expansion (remains at the top or bottom). e.g. upside down with stack expansion top , or bottom.
2) if you turn the case upside down, the CPU will be upside down also.
3) you can change the AIO to remain at the top if you want.

You can check out some upside down setups in our community gallery.
example 1, example 2

 

[flower]

Hey @Nouvolo ! do you have any news on restock for the v1.1? is there a v1.2/v2.0 in the works?