Phanteks Evolv Shift custom loop

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
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I loved the look of this case, and had wanted to build a custom loop in it. The Shift X was probably the smarter choice as it providers ample surface area for radiators, but that would have been too easy... The Shift isn’t really SFF, but it’s foot print is relatively small.

Parts
Intel 6700K
Asus Strix z270i w/ monoblock
Geforce GTX 1080 FE w/ waterblock

Loop order
D5 pump - bottom 120mm x 26mm radiator - front 120mm x 30mm radiator - GTX1080 (no OC) - 6700K (5% auto OC) - QDC (removable reservoir) - D5 pump

Airflow
ML 140 exhuast
2x EK F4 Vardar intake
passive exhaust up top and rear

Temperatures and sound while,
  • Idle
    • CPU ~30c
    • GPU ~40c
  • Gaming
    • CPU ~55c
    • GPU ~50c
    • Coolant ~ 42c
    • silent
  • Keyshot rendering
    • CPU ~66c
    • GPU ~45c
    • Coolant ~ 42c
    • relatively quiet
    • radiator fans ~1976rpm
    • pump ~4700rpm
    • exhaust ~1486rpm
  • Prime 95 (15 minutes)
    • CPU ~75c (and rising)
    • GPU ~48c
    • Coolant ~45c
    • relatively quiet
    • radiator fans ~1976rpm
    • pump ~4700rpm
    • exhaust ~1486rpm
The 960 M.2 drive stays at 58c. Actually cooler during stress tests when fans are running high rpm.
The 850 SSD drive hovers around 40-50c

The fans can be loud if I increase the radiator fans RPM beyond 2000 (front bottom fan blade interference with fan frame due to D5 vibration - need to address this)

Overall I’m happy with this build. Given that there is only 240mm of radiator, and crowded case, I wouldn’t expect cpu temperatures to get much better.




 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
Nicely done Nanook.
Thank you!

Very nice!

Any mods needed to fit 2 rads?

No mods needed. Just needed to find two radiators that are the correct size. The spaces intended for 120 AIO rads (slim and small footprint). I had a hard time finding the correct size 120 rad. For example, the bottom rad is a 120 SE EK rad - 26mm slim, but too long to fit between the chassis frame. It fits between the glass panels however. The front rad is a XSPC 120 which had a small footprint, but thicker than the design intended.
 
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govizlora

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Oct 3, 2017
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Thank you!



No mods needed. Just needed to find two radiators that are the correct size. The spaces intended for 120 AIO rads (slim and small footprint). I had a hard time finding the correct size 120 rad. For example, the bottom rad is a 120 SE EK rad - 26mm slim, but too long to fit between the chassis frame. It fits between the glass panels however. The front rad is a XSPC 120 which had a small footprint, but thicker than the design intended.


Shift has 160mm clearance from the PSU to the front panel, and EK SE 120 is also 160mm long. As you said "too long to fit between the chassis frame", does it mean it's really a lot longer or just ~1-3mm longer? I'm considering EK FLUID GAMING A120 for my Shift, which is using the same radiator I think.

Also, seems like when you enclose the case, you removed the reservoir? I'm new to custom loop so does that mean a reservoir is not a must-have for a loop?
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
Shift has 160mm clearance from the PSU to the front panel, and EK SE 120 is also 160mm long. As you said "too long to fit between the chassis frame", does it mean it's really a lot longer or just ~1-3mm longer? I'm considering EK FLUID GAMING A120 for my Shift, which is using the same radiator I think.

Also, seems like when you enclose the case, you removed the reservoir? I'm new to custom loop so does that mean a reservoir is not a must-have for a loop?
The EK 120 didn’t fit between the two corner frames, but it fits between the glass. It was about 2-3 mm too tight between the corner frames. I might be able to get the rad to fit by removing the radiator shroud that surrounds the SE. the shroud is simply screwed together instead of welded. The shroud has the 120mm fan / rad mounting holes though, so removing the shroud makes it a little bit more tricky to mount the rad.

Regarding the reservoir, I filled and removed all air bubbles before disconnecting the reservoir.
 

govizlora

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Oct 3, 2017
3
4
The EK 120 didn’t fit between the two corner frames, but it fits between the glass. It was about 2-3 mm too tight between the corner frames. I might be able to get the rad to fit by removing the radiator shroud that surrounds the SE. the shroud is simply screwed together instead of welded. The shroud has the 120mm fan / rad mounting holes though, so removing the shroud makes it a little bit more tricky to mount the rad.

Regarding the reservoir, I filled and removed all air bubbles before disconnecting the reservoir.


Thank you, Nanook! I just realized maybe fitting the radiator between the glass might be a good choice because this way the tubing is facing the window panel as Phanteks suggests on the manual.

I'm kind of curious how did you mount the D5 pump? Seems like the mounting point is facing the front fan...
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
Thank you, Nanook! I just realized maybe fitting the radiator between the glass might be a good choice because this way the tubing is facing the window panel as Phanteks suggests on the manual.

I'm kind of curious how did you mount the D5 pump? Seems like the mounting point is facing the front fan...
The D5 was mount on a bracket off the front fan. I used only the two rear mounting holes.

I had a bad rattling problem when the fan goes beyond 2000rpm. Not sure if the rattling was caused by the weight of the D5. I decided to switch to a DDC pump mounted on the bottom fan instead.
 

Biowarejak

Maker of Awesome | User 1615
Platinum Supporter
Mar 6, 2017
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The EK 120 didn’t fit between the two corner frames, but it fits between the glass. It was about 2-3 mm too tight between the corner frames. I might be able to get the rad to fit by removing the radiator shroud that surrounds the SE. the shroud is simply screwed together instead of welded. The shroud has the 120mm fan / rad mounting holes though, so removing the shroud makes it a little bit more tricky to mount the rad.

Regarding the reservoir, I filled and removed all air bubbles before disconnecting the reservoir.
That reservoir idea is actually pretty ingenious :)
 
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Signa

Efficiency Noob
Oct 8, 2017
6
2
That reservoir idea is actually pretty ingenious :)
Indeed, I was going to use QDCs just for easy swapping of parts but that's something I've never seen before and truly inspires me!
In near future I'm trying to build a full CPU&GPU-loop in a custom case sized ~11-13 liters so idea like this is a true spacesaver :eek: First I was gonna have res on top to show it off and not worry about fitting it inside, but now I'm gonna do this :thumb: THANK YOU!
 
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Nanook

King of Cable Management
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May 23, 2016
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Thank you! I can’t say that I came up with the removable res idea. I must have seen it somewhere else previously. :)
 
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dr1337

Case Bender
Oct 11, 2017
2
1
@Nanook can you tell me which radiators did you get to fit two of the 120mm into the case?

I'm planning on doing something similar but using an Alphacool Eiswolf and Eisbaer to do a semi-custom AIO loop.

Thanks!
 
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Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
@Nanook can you tell me which radiators did you get to fit two of the 120mm into the case?

I'm planning on doing something similar but using an Alphacool Eiswolf and Eisbaer to do a semi-custom AIO loop.

Thanks!
The bottom is EK SE 120mm 27mm thick, the front is XSPC 120mm 30mm thick.

The 27mm radiator thinness is required for 25mm thick fan to be used on the front. You can go thicker for the bottom rad by using a slim fan for the front. The bottom fan is located below floor.
 
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dr1337

Case Bender
Oct 11, 2017
2
1
The bottom is EK SE 120mm 27mm thick, the front is XSPC 120mm 30mm thick.

The 27mm radiator thinness is required for 25mm thick fan to be used on the front. You can go thicker for the bottom rad by using a slim fan for the front. The bottom fan is located below floor.

Awesome! Thank you very much for the info.
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
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793
Due to coolant temps creeping ever closer to 60c, I decided to take my CPU out of the loop. The CPU will be cooled using the Thermalright AXP-200. The GPU will stay under water. It would be a small custom loop. Pictures later :)
 
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Nanook

King of Cable Management
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May 23, 2016
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Here are two updates back to back:
I tired to set up a small GPU loop but ran out of time to troubleshoot this setup. I needed to do some 3D rendering work, so I had to put the rig back together. Here’s the custom loop (non functional) Note the Cryorig fan is blow “ downwards” towards the cpu.


And here it is where my graphic card is cooled with NZXT G10 + Corsair H75 + 2x ML120 fans, and Gelid Icy Vision VRM heatsink to get things going relatively quickly. The CPU is cooled with a Thermalright AXP-200 with a Cryorig XT140 fan. I think the XT140 has slightly higher performance than the Thermalright TY-14013 fan (~70 vs 60 cfm). For airflow, there are two ML140 fans on the front, top exhaust, bottom intake.
CPU 70c under load
GPU 40c under load

Note here the Cryorig fan is pulling air through the cpu heatsink towards the glass. Temps improved by 10c when I flipped the fan.



Once I get a chance, I might switch the cpu to a Corsair H75 as well so that it gets cold air from a vent instead of warm air from the GPU.
 
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awebexpert

Minimal Tinkerer
Oct 25, 2017
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Guys, I know I might sound dumb but here it is.
I bought a Rayzen 7 and this wonderful case. So... I am thinking of cooling i with air only, using convection also as it follows:
- Stock wraith spire RGB cooler.
-the already mounted 140mm Phanteks fan as exhaust
- on the bottom 2 X 120mm Phanteks or other (haven;t bought them yet) fans as INTAKES.

So, two are pushing air in and the 140mm exhausts it from the top.

The question is DO YOU think it will work? Keeping it in decent temperatures, no OC, no heavy gaming.
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
Guys, I know I might sound dumb but here it is.
I bought a Rayzen 7 and this wonderful case. So... I am thinking of cooling i with air only, using convection also as it follows:
- Stock wraith spire RGB cooler.
-the already mounted 140mm Phanteks fan as exhaust
- on the bottom 2 X 120mm Phanteks or other (haven;t bought them yet) fans as INTAKES.

So, two are pushing air in and the 140mm exhausts it from the top.

The question is DO YOU think it will work? Keeping it in decent temperatures, no OC, no heavy gaming.
Yes, the recommended airflow per Phanteks Shift manual seem to work the best (bottom and bottom front as intakes, and top 140 as exhaust).
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
@Nanook can you tell me which radiators did you get to fit two of the 120mm into the case?

I'm planning on doing something similar but using an Alphacool Eiswolf and Eisbaer to do a semi-custom AIO loop.

Thanks!
Hi, did you ever get the Alphacool Eiswolf / Eisbaer to work in your Shift?