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

[BaK]

@BaK : the aquarium foam works wonder ! I only had to purge a little liquid to be able to open the res and add the foam.

Yes!!!
Really cool to see another mini res with foam in action!

Now I can properly bleed my loop, even though it takes ages.
After 12H of running the pump full tilt, I still have some air in the GPU waterblocks.

You probably already did it, but tilting the case in every direction should get rid of the remaining air pockets.
That's another advantage of having to deal with a small case instead of a full ATX tower!

The little res is saturated with trapped bubbles.

After some time the bubbles gather themselves at the top of the res. That's what they did in mine at least.
Hopefully not only because I let the top without foam, as yours is fully packed from what I see.

Then you just need to top off the res from the fill port.

I notice you have two of the latter btw.
Is the one you add at the back also in use or did you have to cut a hole in the case panel in order to the res to fit flush with it?

 

[aquelito]

Thanks !

Yes my res is fully packed. Seems I missed this detail...
Let's see how it goes when I'll have to refill a bit the res in a few days.

The res is oriented this way to take advantage of the four tapped holes in the POM body.
The extra fil port I drilled at the back is not in use right now but could be if I want to use the case vertically

I used 4 mm standoff to fix the res to the case.
This allows me to have the back fillport flush with the back panel and it prevents the POM threaded holes to be damaged.

 

[BaK]

Yes my res is fully packed. Seems I missed this detail...
Let's see how it goes when I'll have to refill a bit the res in a few days.

Actually I only left the top of the res free of foam so that I can see the water level better.
Thinking about it, if you refill it up slowly with the pump stopped, the bubbles should be replaced by water and go up out of the res.

The res is oriented this way to take advantage of the four tapped holes in the POM body.
The extra fil port I drilled at the back is not in use right now but could be if I want to use the case vertically

I used 4 mm standoff to fix the res to the case.
This allows me to have the back fillport flush with the back panel and it prevents the POM threaded holes to be damaged.

Heh very clever!

 

[aquelito]

I used a small wooden stick to burst the bubbles !

I also rewired my last load switch to be able to use it in that case ; two large 12AWG wires are powering both GPUs
(which previously were directly connected to the Meanwell PSU).

The Meanwell PSU is atteched to the top panel thanks to four 40 mm standoffs and two aluminium brackets.

Now the build is almost final; fully packed as it should be !

 

[neyurt]

I used a small wooden stick to burst the bubbles !

I also rewired my last load switch to be able to use it in that case ; two large 12AWG wires are powering both GPUs
(which previously were directly connected to the Meanwell PSU).

The Meanwell PSU is atteched to the top panel thanks to four 40 mm standoffs and two aluminium brackets.

Now the build is almost final; fully packed as it should be !

I also notice you're using thinner standoff comparing to the cube. Do you have links to those too?

 

[aquelito]

Yes but they are only threaded on two axis.
This is an Ettinger reference :

https://fr.farnell.com/w/c/visserie...toises-filetees?gamme-de-produit=05.60-series

 

[BaK]

I used a small wooden stick to burst the bubbles !

Haha good idea!

Now the build is almost final; fully packed as it should be !

Fully packed, really? I even wonder how the fans are able to breathe!
Congrats for this epic build!

 

[aquelito]

Ahah !

You can see it better on this picture but both fans have at least 20 mm clearance to breathe :


Wish it could stay like this, clean and wire-less !

I checked again the power consumption under load : 310W typical, 350W max (OCCT Linkpack + Octane render on both GPUs).
I made the measurements prior to building that proto around a 400W PSU, which I knew would be enough.

With an ambiant temp inside the case at around 30°, CPU reaches low 65°C, while both GPUs stay below 45°C.
Fans are audible but not annoying.

 

[WH-team]

amazing for ti`s space utilization

 

[petricor]

Ahah !

You can see it better on this picture but both fans have at least 20 mm clearance to breathe :


Wish it could stay like this, clean and wire-less !

I checked again the power consumption under load : 310W typical, 350W max (OCCT Linkpack + Octane render on both GPUs).
I made the measurements prior to building that proto around a 400W PSU, which I knew would be enough.

With an ambiant temp inside the case at around 30°, CPU reaches low 65°C, while both GPUs stay below 45°C.
Fans are audible but not annoying.

Very interesting project!

 

[aquelito]

Thanks man, too bad that slim 180 mm fan is on the noisy side.

 

[dowfry]

Congratulations, it looks like a very fun process. Regarding filling:
A large syringe may be helpful. Similar to this style
To fill the system from dry, you can pull off a hose, and inject fluid until the loop is full, and then reattach the hose.
To bleed with system running, you can use: ~1/2 full syringe -> ~75mm long hose -> g1/4 barb fitting -> reservoir fill port. Pull plunger to apply gentle suction with syringe- air bubbles will enter syringe, coolant will exit syringe into reservoir as you release plunger. This will also help when there are trapped bubbles in the pump impeller.

This works with 1/4"/7mm I.D. hose. Not sure about 3/8"/10mm. Make sure to use a quality style syringe with rubber plunger- much easier to use one-handed than the cheap plastic style.

 

[MODZERO]

Really enjoyed reading this buddy,

I'm working on a build using a single WE180 rad to cool and RTX2070 + R72700K. I'm about to start the loop (gonna put up a retrospective log after it's finished as I'm against the clock on this one) and began to panic thinking it'll not perform well enough. Found this, and feel loads better. I know you've moved on to a second 120mm but you had ran 2x1070s + 65watt cpu on a single 180 with a slim fan! EPIC!

You're build reminded me of the Apple Cube (I've got one in the attic) makes me wanna pull it out and mod the snot out of it.

Keep up the great work chap.

J.

 

[aquelito]

Thanks for the heads up, especially coming from you

You're doing something like the AMD Quantum Project ?
https://www.pcworld.com/article/297...y-and-powerful-project-quantum-dissected.html

Can't wait to see that !

The build is performing well but I'm going to replace my two 1070s by two 1080 Ti mini.

Since I'm a silent freak, I'm going back to the dual 240 radiator vertical layout of my second prototype.
This time with a sheet metal case

 

[aquelito]

Currently finishing the sheet metal definitive design.
Of the three prototypes, the vertical layout proved to work the best.

Since I'll updgrade my two 1070s, I'll need the most cooling and power possible. So, back to dual 240 rad and SFX PSU.

 

[BaK]

Wow, I want one!

2x XSPC slim rad + slim fans?
Is it a new cylindrical res on top of the DDC? Must be room enough for a D5 pump down there I guess?
Why do you need dual 1080 btw? Just because you can or is one not enough?

 

[InfernoZeus]

Currently finishing the sheet metal definitive design.
Of the three prototypes, the vertical layout proved to work the best.

Since I'll updgrade my two 1070s, I'll need the most cooling and power possible. So, back to dual 240 rad and SFX PSU.

What about using a custom distroplate? Might fit better than the cylindrical res. Looks like there's a lot of wasted space at the bottom with the new design.

 

[aquelito]

Wow, I want one!

2x XSPC slim rad + slim fans?
Is it a new cylindrical res on top of the DDC? Must be room enough for a D5 pump down there I guess?
Why do you need dual 1080 btw? Just because you can or is one not enough?

Thanks man !

Yes, dual XPSC TX240 and Noctua slim 120 fans, to achieve a total volume of 13.4L.
It supports GPU up to 280 mm long.

The res is an Alphacool Cape Corp Coolplex HF10 metal.
Its output is indeed off-centered so I can connect it straight to the pump and slide it between the back panel and the bottom GPU

This layout is pretty universal : it makes for an easy tube routing and works whatever the GPU length.



Right now, I have two short Zotac GTX 1080 Ti Mini - I want to improve my rendering-game - so I think I'll just go with a Bitspower Mini DDC Tank.
This combo is much sturdier than the Cape Corp : fewer chances to get leaks.

I guess I could also use a D5 pump with shorter GPUs but it may block the PSU cables.

What about using a custom distroplate? Might fit better than the cylindrical res. Looks like there's a lot of wasted space at the bottom with the new design.

Wait for the final build, when the five 8-pin cables and the fat 24-Pin cables are going to fill all this space !

Granted it looks pretty empty with my two short GPUs but since this case is going to cost a pretty penny, it also supports long GPUs, in case I want to upgrade them.
Given the lack of short GPUs in the RTX lineup, I decided to play it safe and increase the total volume.

 

[maslygan]

looking great. Was actually thinking of something similar, although with a single gpu. But 2x240mm rads. Looking at your specs, that might be overkill perhaps (2700x, rtx 2080)

 

[aquelito]

Downsizing from two 240 rads to one 240 and 120 doesn't make the case that much smaller
If you are looking for a silence-oriented build, that's not worth it IMHO !

Otherwise, the sheet-metal prototype is becoming a reality !!
This is the raw case without back and IO panels assembled.


Next stage is powder-coating.