Project finally-resigned-to-a-tower [Neo Mini custom loop with push-pull 280 rad]

Ganelon

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Feb 23, 2017
57
44
Alright, alright.

I've been resisting for a long time, case manufacturers. I've never liked your "ITX tower" cases, with their ATX PSU support and their space for hard drives and their roomy layouts for water loops.

Something about taking the ITX format and having so little imagination as to put it in what is essentially a micro-ATX tower with a few missing PCIe slots has always grated on me. All my personal systems (and the ones I've built for close friends) have been ITX systems, and they've been in cases that I deem to have properly taken advantage (or at least tried) of the ITX form factor. The Raijintek Metis. The Lian-Li PC-Q34. The Jonsbo U2. The Silverstone FT03 Mini.

So when I made the logical move to watercooling, nothing on the market was suitable for the look and size I wanted. Running an i7-8086K at 5.2GHz, with a 1070 to share the loop, I needed more than the single 120mm rad that is traditional in super-small watercooled systems.

My solution was this.

It worked super well! But the project needed time, and work, and custom fabrication that I had no ability to do myself. I stand by the concept, but if I ever go back to it, it will be with the Digital Storm Spark (or something very much like it) as my basis.

For now, the Phanteks MetallicGear Neo (G) Mini will do to house my daily game driver.

Case: MetallicGear Neo G Mini
Radiator: HWLabs BlackIce Nemesis GTX 280
Fans: 4x Noctua Industrial PPC 2000
CPU Block: Aquacomputer Cuplex Kryos NEXT w/ VISION
GPU Block: Bykski IceDragon GV1070MI-X
Pump/Res: Raijintek Atlantis Series
CPU: Intel Core i7-8086K @5.2 GHz
GPU: Gigabyte Nvidea GTX 1070 Mini @2113 Mhz

Here she is with the loop assembled ready for filling:


The radiator doesn't technically fit. There's a bit that sticks out at the bottom of the back panel that interferes with it, and then the screw holes won't line up. Luckily, You can still get the screws into the top, so the only worry is that it's only held onto the case with two screws into the rad and two more into the fans. It honestly seems fine, and the slant isn't remotely noticable from the side, so meh.


I really like how cramped everything is. You've got a fairly thick radiator, push-pull fans, a tall reservoir, and a vertical-mount GPU in just about the smallest box possible. The GPU could even be pretty long if I didn't put the drain port where I did.




But that's not all! I hope to fix the front panel issues that he Neo G Mini has. I'm working on a 3d model for a 3d-printed grille across which I will stretch some very unrestrictive but hopefully dust-filtering speaker mesh. When I have that solution, or some other solution, in place, I'll update this thread.

I hope you enjoyed the pretty pictures until then.

Until next time!
 
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Ganelon

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Feb 23, 2017
57
44
Hi! How's your experience with the gtx 1070 mini block?

I like it! Installation was a little worrying- I wasn't sure the VRMs were making proper contact with the thermal pads- but with everything put together testing shows it's all good. The block is easy to take apart and clean, and it's exactly the length of the PCB. Don't really have any complaints. It even came with ThermalGrizzly Kryonaut, which is a high-end thermal paste.
 
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rosinbole

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 18, 2018
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I like it! Installation was a little worrying- I wasn't sure the VRMs were making proper contact with the thermal pads- but with everything put together testing shows it's all good. The block is easy to take apart and clean, and it's exactly the length of the PCB. Don't really have any complaints. It even came with ThermalGrizzly Kryonaut, which is a high-end thermal paste.
Oh, that's nice. Kryonaut is my favourite, so that's a good sign XD Might give it a try, then. Thanks :)

Edit: Also, the build looks great, congrats on it!
 
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