Prototype Oki-Doki : a GPU bifurcation and watercooling dedicated case, from 9 to 14L

[aquelito]

Some updates, as it seems I cannot prevent myself to change everything every three month.

First, I replaced the Asrock Z170 Fatal1ty ITX motherboard by a Supermicro X11SSV-Q board.
It's the perfect piece of hardware for this build as it supports bifurcation, SO-DIMMs and, above all, embedded applications.
Which means no more 24-Pin connector : the system can be powered by a simple 4 or 8-pin connector, depending on the CPU.

Second, I replaced the 6700K by a 6700T and the SFX PSU by a Meanwell EPP-400-12 driven by @Thehack One2 Distro board.

In order to test the Supermicro board with this particular power solution, I repurposed the first prototype of Adibou.
After a few days of use, I can confirm that all is working like a charm !
@Thehack designed the perfect power solution for this build.


Finally, to be able to test my two watercooled 1070s with this board, and while I was at it, I decided to use a single 180 mm radiator I had lying there to cool the whole system.
This is an EK Coolstream WE 180 radiator, paierd with a slim 18mm Silverstone fan.
Total width : 53 mm !

I wanted to test this cooling setup for a while and I'm pretty surprised by the temperatures !

Max. temperatures fter 45 min of Prime 95 on the 6700T and Octane Render on both 1070s (room temp : 22°) :

- CPU : 50° max
- GPU 1 & 2 : 50° max.

Granted, this is only a 35W CPU but it has plenty of power for my needs.


Since cooling my whole build with a single 180 mm radiator is possible I'm going to further downsize Adibou from 11.9 to 9L !

 

[SashaLag]

It's probably smaller... But by not having a direct airflow to every components inside the system... Is it still realiable?
I would seek a more conventional approach, even this means going a little bit bigger than 9 liters

 

[aquelito]

Yes, you're right.
I forgot to mention that I have room for one intake 120mm fan or two intake 92mm fans

 

[BaK]

Well done, very clean and dense build!
What kind of CPU cooler is it?

Some updates, as it seems I cannot prevent myself to modify to change everything every three month.

Haha!

a Meanwell EPP-400-12 driven by @Thehack One2 Distro board

Good find, looks like a nice combo!

Finally, to be able to test my two watercooled 1070s with this board, and while I was at it, I decided to use a single 180 mm radiator I had lying there to cool the whole system.
This is an EK Coolstream WE 180 radiator, paierd with a slim 18mm Silverstone fan.
Total width : 53 mm !

Cool rad, first time I see one!

I wanted to test this cooling setup for a while and I'm pretty surprised by the temperatures !

Max. temperatures fter 45 min of Prime 95 on the 6700T and Octane Render on both 1070s (room temp : 22°) :

- CPU : 50° max
- GPU 1 & 2 : 50° max.

Good temps indeed!
Are you getting these with or without side panels?

Idea for the next three months itch: as you have some margin until reaching critical temps, why not check if an XSPC Ultrathin Radiator can do the job along with a slim fan?
It looks like it misses a few cm to fit a 240mm, but maybe a 120mm that will open a new shrinked size possibility!

 

[aquelito]

Idea for the next three months itch: as you have some margin until reaching critical temps, why not check if an XSPC Ultrathin Radiator can do the job along with a slim fan?
It looks like it misses a few cm to fit a 240mm, but maybe a 120mm that will open a new shrinked size possibility!

It's just a temporary build based on my first prototype, which featured two 240 rads instead of the single 180 !
I use exactly the same components apart from the motherboard and CPU, which is cooled by the same EK Annihilator block.
I just drilled some extra holes to fix the Meanwell PSU. Very quick adaptation.

I'm going to produce a third prototype, based around the single EK 180 mm rad.
I purchased it for 35€ from a French shop a while back and always wanted to test its cooling capabilities.

This 3rd prototype is going to be around 9L (from 15L to 11.9 to 9L).

Below is the most advanced layout to date.


Loop order would : pump > rad > GPUs > res > CPU > pump

Someone told me that I would have trouble filling this loop : water is not going to reach the pump while filling the res.

I remember that you did something similar with your Ncase build.
How did it go ?

 

[SashaLag]

what is the reason to not locate the rad on the opposite side? This way total volume should be the same, but you have the advantage of a more "direct flow" on components instead of just the opposite side of the MoBo.

You already said there would be some fans, but I can't understand where. On top of GPUs?

 

[aquelito]

This is how I intend to do things


Having the radiator at the back makes building and maintaining the computer much easier !

 

[BaK]

Oh sorry, I didn't realise the 3D model was your next planned prototype.
I saw the tiny res and thought it was an old setup, I mixed up your two ongoing builds my bad. Good to see the Mini Tank is back in business!

I also only see now, as mentionned by @SashaLag, that the slim 180mm fan is stucked under the motherboard! Hopefully with just enough clearance to get some air.

Loop order would : pump > rad > GPUs > res > CPU > pump

Someone told me that I would have trouble filling this loop : water is not going to reach the pump while filling the res.

I remember that you did something similar with your Ncase build.
How did it go ?

Almost the same setup in my NCase yep, pump > rad1 > GPU > rad2 > res > CPU > pump
No problem at all having the CPU inbetween the reservoir and the pump.

Let me quote myself from back then:

Anyhow I managed to fill the loop without problem.
So from what I see there was only a small pressure drop in the reservoir, or the negative pressure from the pump was enough to compensate the CPU block constraint/resistance.

Obviously the important point is to have the reservoir higher than the pump.

The tricky part for me was having the fill port on the side of the res, which made me do this hmm non conventional setup:

 

[aquelito]

Thanks for your input.

I managed to work out a more "standard" loop : pump > GPU > CPU > rad > res > pump


Should bleed just fin with the res directly connected to the pump.

 

[BaK]

The new tubing runs looks good!
Some radius prone to kink here and there though, especially on the bottom of the GPU to CPU portion.

Btw good job on the tubes modelling, drawing them was always getting on my nerves when I had to do that for my NCase build.

From what I see the fill port of the mini res will be accessible from the outside of the case, much convenient.
Is it going to be the only way to attach the res to the casing?

Can't wait to see the new proto!

 

[aquelito]

Thanks ! I'm drawing the tubing sections in Rhino, which has a very useful function "Arcblend".
This way I can check that every bending radius is within Tygon tolerance (around 25 mm for Norprene 10/6).

Anyway, I found a much better way to do things.

1. I tried again to place the radiator on the opposite side.
By just rotating the rad by 180°, I obtain a much better tubing layout !

2. I went back to a vertical layout.
I have now plenty of room for a 120 mm intake fan (25 mm) just below the reservoir.

Loop order is now : pump > GPU > CPU > rad > res > pump

It's the best solution as I reduce the tubing length, increase the clearance for the 180mm fan and further reduce the overall volume to 8.8L !


The motherboard and back panel are hidden.

 

[ExplodingWaffle101]

I always thought about a 180mm rad under an itx motherboard: this is like the perfect project for that to happen and I love it

 

[aquelito]

Yes it's the perfect size !

Currently finalizing the 9L design : the case could be made of 2 mm aluminium panels, fastened using self-clinching nuts.

Two fans : one 120 x 25 intake fan, one 180 x 18 radiator fan.
To remain cost effective, both large fan holes are going to be filled with perforated metal sheets.


For ease of building and maintenance, I need the IO panel to be independant.

Consequence : no fastening possible on one of the 4 sides of the panel.

What do you think ? Could it be an issue ?


I also simplified and shortened the hose routing. Cleaner, easier and more airflow-optimized.

 

[BaK]

I'm drawing the tubing sections in Rhino, which has a very useful function "Arcblend".
This way I can check that every bending radius is within Tygon tolerance (around 25 mm for Norprene 10/6).

Thanx for the tip, I should give Rhino a try instead of Sketchup.

I also simplified and shortened the hose routing. Cleaner, easier and more airflow-optimized.

Great improvements!

For ease of building and maintenance, I need the IO panel to be independant.

Consequence : no fastening possible on one of the 4 sides of the panel.

What do you think ? Could it be an issue ?

Should be ok without an IO shield.
But with one in place it will add some pressure, and with the thin outer frame remaining, I think the panel will be slighty pushed outside.

I guess the thin outer frame is the problem and is what stops you from adding a fold on this side.

Can't you do like the opposite side, but with smaller holes and screws? No, this will block the IO shield I guess...

According to this image:

Instead of an U shape + IO panel, you could maybe have two L shapes? Front (rad) + bottom / back + top (IO)
The bend between back and top will probably also interfere with the IO should though, dunno...

 

[Thehack]

Keep in mind the order of installing components. It seems like it'd be really difficult to get all of them installed in order.

There is nothing wrong with the flat packed design you had earlier, since it allows you to install components easily.

 

[aquelito]

@BaK : thanks for your input but I need the top panel to be installed last. Otherwise, connecting the hoses is going to be almost impossible.

@Thehack : yes, nothing wrong with the flat panels connected with threaded cubes.

Besides for the more professional look, I went for bend metal sheet as I also thougth it would make the case smaller.

To my suprise, the volume gain is actually very thin vs. flat panels (9L vs. 9.1L).

The flat panel method is going to be way cheaper and faster too (three days, 100€) ; I may stick to this design method.

 

[Thehack]

Flat panels can also offer significant cost reduction in shipping as well.

Sheet metal design looks more finished and the lack of hard corners is a design improvement.

OH. Have you thought about my mod corner project?

 

[aquelito]

Could work but it'll increase the overal volume ahah !

 

[aquelito]

I got a first quotation from a French company : the main U-shaped bend sheet costs 270 € alone, w/o shipping...

I am waiting for an other quote but I think I'm going to stick to flat sheets.

Single bend pieces are just too expensive.

 

[SashaLag]

woa! what was the total cost for the past revision?