Project SLITX - A water cooled SLI ITX Tower

[MarcParis]

Very nice build!
Your setup just reminded me this Cerberus-x...You guys are crazy to cram so many gpu in small space...

https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...tx-usa-made-enclosure.454/page-180#post-78461

 

[zanduh]

Very nice build!
Your setup just reminded me this Cerberus-x...You guys are crazy to cram so many gpu in small space...

https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...tx-usa-made-enclosure.454/page-180#post-78461

This is the hardware equivalent of making a boat out of diamond and wondering why it sinks....

 

[aquelito]

@chemist_slime is a regular customer when it comes to multi-GPU in small spaces
Thanks to him, EK launched the 1-slot FC Link Terminal.

His configuration would be even greater with four waterblocks and this :

 

[Testifier]

Hey guys, it was time for me to update the build.

Looking at the current state of the build, it seems that there are still a lot of wasted space

Basically, I just gotta get rid of the top, rotate the motherboard so that the io will come out the same direction as the psu, and redo the original tubing.

Here are all the stuff I ordered from Alphacool to reduce loop size (ordered on Sunday, it took only 3 days to arrived in Texas from Koeln, great shipping)

After ordering these from Alphacool, I realized that I could actually get a be quiet! Silent Loop 120 and a ST30 240mm radiator and still have $50 to spare if I didn't buy the Silent Loop 240 unit, fml T_T


First I removed the original fittings at the radiator side and drain the loop

The amount of liquid inside this unit with 240 is approximately 200ml, which is twice the amount approved by the TSA. That is a problem because I do need to take this build with me on a plane.

The plan is to have the filled loop but with the radiator is detachable using the quick disconnect coupling. After detaching, the remaining amount of liquid would be lower than 100mm (I hope). The rad will stay with the checked baggage while the more important parts of the machine stay with me.

This is actually my first time touching this stuff. I have no idea what I am doing. Fitting, tubing, pump, res, coolant, priming, bleeding,... and all of that stuff

Does this count as a custom loop?

Detached the pump/res unit and reinstalled radiator

I think this looks a little bit better than the last.
- With the anti-kink slinky removed, the contrast between the tube and the quick disconnect actually is kinda classy in my opinion
- The removal of the top helped me reduce the volume of the case. Now the dimensions are 320x200x170 = 10.88 Litres <- Is this the smallest water cooled SLI build ever?


Here's another angle, using the quick disconnect coupling, I can actually drain or refill the loop without the need to take out the rad

The distance between the two GPUs decreased a little bit. Let's hope that it won't affect the thermals though

 

[Narwhal]

nice, whats the case on the right in the second picture? looks good

 

[Testifier]

^^
Thanks mate, the other case is a taobao case called Sesto Elemento - SE One by Sea-Damaged. It's made fully out of carbon

 

[BaK]

Doh I missed the February update!

Well done on the space shrink!
Do you have more pics showing how you have managed to route the PCIe riser with the now rotated motherboard?
I am working on a similar setup, mobo and GPU in parallel though, and it was quite challenging to find how to bend/twist the PCIe riser.


I am also wondering what tool you did use to make such nice cuts on the frames?


No side pannels yet?
Looking at how Hauteware do it, there are these right angled connectors that are attached into the inner side of the frames. Thus a side pannel could be attached flat on the exterior side of the frames. I guess they are not part of the MakerBeam kit, but are available on ebay...

 

[KDC]

Very nice build!
Your setup just reminded me this Cerberus-x...You guys are crazy to cram so many gpu in small space...

https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...tx-usa-made-enclosure.454/page-180#post-78461

Mind blown.. This is awesome and stupid(The good kinda stupid!) . This just does not get any better

 

[Ephixi4]

@Testifier Hey there, I am doing a similar project atm but with one gpu and a full water loop. (will start posting build / design log soonish). I also want to use aluminum profiles for the base of the case.

I see how you mounted the GPUs, but how did you mount the MOBO, PSU aswell as the radiator / radiator fans? Just some angled mounts?

 

[Testifier]

@BaK here's how I bent the riser

I was wondering which cut are you referring to?

For the angle inserts, I had actually look them up before cause they help a lot with clean joints. However, the smallest I could find was for 15x15 extrusion and none for 10x10, probably because it would be to little material to structurally support the joint

The side panels will probably have to wait again. I am preparing for the March update

@Ephixi4 Except for the PSU, which I had to 3D printed a bracket to affix to the frame, the rest are attached using only angle brackets. Hope this image will help

 

[BaK]

Great, thanx a lot for the pic!
I like how the folded PCIe just leave enough room for the CPU block inlet and outlet, the latters being almost in contact with the rad. Space efficiency, nicely done!
Looks like you have tried several risers, I see a black, a silver and now this brown one!

I was wondering which cut are you referring to?

Just wanted to know how you did cut the frames at the right length? A simple hacksaw did it or did you use any mechanical tool?

For the angle inserts, I had actually look them up before cause they help a lot with clean joints. However, the smallest I could find was for 15x15 extrusion and none for 10x10, probably because it would be to little material to structurally support the joint

You must be right on that, no 10x10 inserts seem to be available unfortunately. I will look further though and let you know if I get something.

Seems to be the same with this kind of corner joints, no 10mm. Maybe 3D print them, dunno if that would be strong enough...

 

[rosinbole]

Hi! I've followed this for some time, and I think that the build is just wonderful! Great work.... !

 

[Testifier]

@Matias Petersen Thank you, your build looks great too

@BaK I did not cut any extrusion, all the bar I used are at the stock length from Makerbeam.

March 15th Update: Some minor update:

I said I would hold out for 2080, but this is such an unpassable deal, I got these Dell OEM 1080 Ti GPUs

The coolers look like the ones from the MSI Aero 1080 Ti cards. Heard it was terrible though, performance wise and appearance wise. And the PCB is red, what blasphemy is this?

Let's try to fix that with these $25 unused stock coolers I got from eBay.

Metamorphie Faciesse!!!

Mah! Better, but still looks a bit off. Them red PCBs, whyyyyy! At least the backplates will give me a piece of mind when these components are so close together


I also found out that by rotating the motherboard, I can now use the regular thickness 25mm fan for the radiator, so the stock be quiet! fans are going to their original position.

From the sides of the radiator

Still have room to spare for the tubes and cable.

How do these abominations look?

There are some problems though.
- First is the change in risers routing. As it was before, the riser setup was like this
Motherboard -> Cheap Extended Riser -> Bifurcated Riser -> GPU2

|-> Ameri-rack Extended Riser -> GPU1​

But the Cheap extended Riser gave out on me, so I had to change the setup to the current state:

Motherboard -> Bifurcated Riser -> HDPlex Riser -> GPU1

|-> HDPlex Riser -> Ameri-rack Extended Riser -> GPU2​

This setup made the bifurcated riser stuck out too much from the top because the ribbon wasn't long enough. This made me wonder if I should just cheap out and made the frame taller to account for that part or bite the bullet and buy another longer bifurcated riser while this one is still working perfectly

The second problem is the performance. The same SLI setup work flawlessly when I used the 980 Tis. This setup has the performance gain as expected... as long as the program doesn't go full screen. When the program is full screen, either it flickers really bad, or the driver just crash and the screen goes black altogether.
I am not sure what is the source of the problem, but I think it is either the driver or the SLI bridges. Does anyone know if the 1080 ti is incompatible with the old SLI bridges and requires a newer revision (HB or ribbon)?

After fixing these two problems, I'll work on the side panels, I promise >.<

 

[rosinbole]

Thanks alot man!

 

[sajjad7]

@Matias Petersen Thank you, your build looks great too

@BaK I did not cut any extrusion, all the bar I used are at the stock length from Makerbeam.

March 15th Update: Some minor update:

I said I would hold out for 2080, but this is such an unpassable deal, I got these Dell OEM 1080 Ti GPUs

The coolers look like the ones from the MSI Aero 1080 Ti cards. Heard it was terrible though, performance wise and appearance wise. And the PCB is red, what blasphemy is this?

Let's try to fix that with these $25 unused stock coolers I got from eBay.

Metamorphie Faciesse!!!

Mah! Better, but still looks a bit off. Them red PCBs, whyyyyy! At least the backplates will give me a piece of mind when these components are so close together


I also found out that by rotating the motherboard, I can now use the regular thickness 25mm fan for the radiator, so the stock be quiet! fans are going to their original position.

From the sides of the radiator

Still have room to spare for the tubes and cable.

How do these abominations look?

There are some problems though.
- First is the change in risers routing. As it was before, the riser setup was like this
Motherboard -> Cheap Extended Riser -> Bifurcated Riser -> GPU2

|-> Ameri-rack Extended Riser -> GPU1​

But the Cheap extended Riser gave out on me, so I had to change the setup to the current state:

Motherboard -> Bifurcated Riser -> HDPlex Riser -> GPU1

|-> HDPlex Riser -> Ameri-rack Extended Riser -> GPU2​

This setup made the bifurcated riser stuck out too much from the top because the ribbon wasn't long enough. This made me wonder if I should just cheap out and made the frame taller to account for that part or bite the bullet and buy another longer bifurcated riser while this one is still working perfectly

The second problem is the performance. The same SLI setup work flawlessly when I used the 980 Tis. This setup has the performance gain as expected... as long as the program doesn't go full screen. When the program is full screen, either it flickers really bad, or the driver just crash and the screen goes black altogether.
I am not sure what is the source of the problem, but I think it is either the driver or the SLI bridges. Does anyone know if the 1080 ti is incompatible with the old SLI bridges and requires a newer revision (HB or ribbon)?

After fixing these two problems, I'll work on the side panels, I promise >.<

Wow !!
Just wow ! Thats insane man.
I really adore what you did in such a small space. I cannot wait for the updates.
Could you please inform the distance between the CPU and the GPU side? and also between the CPU block and the GPU?
I am very curious about the thermal results. would you please update with them?

 

[Testifier]

Thank you, really appreciate it

.. CPU and the GPU side .. << I'm not sure I understand this

..CPU block and the GPU << This would be greatly depending on the height of the cpu block, but for the be quiet block specifically, the distance is about 5mm from the surface of the block to the PCIe slot on the GPU side

I have not actively been trying to test the thermal because the build is not actually completed, if I were to test right now, it wouldn't be much different from the open air test. But I suspect the component affected the most would be the gpu in the middle, which is currently the second SLI card.

 

[sajjad7]

I really appreciate the reply.

.. CPU and the GPU side .. << I'm not sure I understand this

I just wanted to know the clear space above the CPU (between the CPU and the GPU) which by considering the 5mm and the height of the be quiet block I think I can guess that

 

[sdf37]

Thanks guys, and thank you, @aquelito for pointing me to the Bifurcation thread. The process is pretty simple, but it made me go through 100 pages to figure it out. Basically it's just:
- Apply DifferentSLIAuto
- Apply HyperSLI
Since HyperSLI only work up to Windows 8.1. That's the latest version of Windows that I can enable SLI for now. I'll look into other methods for windows 10

Here's some benchmark. Everything went well, no artifact or crash/BSOD. I don't know if these are the performance results I should be expecting though

Actually, I just got a reply from ASRock support, they sent me a new bios for SLI. I'll try using that bios with Windows 10 again to see if SLI can be natively enabled via bifurcation

Hello Testifier,
Great ITX SLI project!!!
I have an Asrock X299 ITX/AC also with tows RTX 2080TI.
I would want to activate SLI but i can't do it.
What is your nvidia driver release that you use with hyper sli?
And you x299 itx with sli is operate yet with windows 10?