Log RAAM version of the A4-H20, 280 AIO, 13600k, RTX 4070 X3, starting today:)

[RAAM]

This will be my second SFF this year, two Optiplex SFF's last year. I love the Fractal Ridge but ended up not being "practical" with a 280mm AIO. I have enough parts to sell the FR nearly complete or completed with a few more bits needed as some transferred to the A4-H20

Case, A4-H20
Motherboard, Asrock Pantom Gaming Z690
CPU, i5-13600K (might end up with i7-13700k)
GPU, MSI 4070 OC Ventus X3, 2 slot, 8 pin power connector
RAM, 2x16 G.Skill RipJaws 6000
Drive 1, 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (might get a 2TB 990 Pro deal from a buddy)
Drive 2, 1TB Samsung 970 Evo
AIO, Corsair i115 280mm AIO
Power Supply, Corsair SF600 (considering stepping up to SF750)
Riser cable, trying a low cost non ribbon Ebay one for now, 300mm, Gen 4
Top fans, two Arctic P12 PST slim fans above GPU blowing up. (I wanted to use 140mm but just a tad to big)
Bottom fan, 80mm Arctic P8 PST
Fan over motherboard, Arctic P12 PST (if needed to keep VRM cool, etc)
Thermal paste, Arctic MX-6
Filters, nylon mesh for all air intakes, other openings sealed off except exhaust

Trim, Wood Veneer, seriously looking into some fine quality wood veneer, maybe just the front
but perhaps top and sides as well, might have to have it laser trimmed. This is not
for traveling so not much to worry about it getting dinged up.

Progress, test fit MB, PS, all cables, working on top and bottom fans and filters
now while waiting for GPU and riser cable to arrive in the mail.

SF600 stock cables are great, much easier that ribbon cables and I cut off all
not needed extra connectors so the wiring will come out pretty neat and organized
with good air flow.

Rick
Still having fun at 72

 

[RAAM]

All together except new GPU on the way and the planned top fans.

I found a non ribbon cable riser, 300mm on Ebay for just $28 and it works great but unfortunately around 20mm to short for having the GPU fans down in the top of the case. If I wanted the fans facing up it fits but I want it down with two 120x15mm fans above it facing up at the very top of the case.

I am searching for a solution, would prefer a 350mm cable, only found one, would have to order from China, hard to be that patient if they have a long delivery time, I guess I better go check it out.

Rick

 

[RAAM]

Posted separate thread looking for a longer internal power supply cable.

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GPU mount plan:
Will sort it out as I go but for now the plan is to remove the GPU slot mount, cut a hole in the case where the slot mount is ventilated and screw the GPU directly to the rear case wall for a nice solid fit.
The Riser cable plan is mounted to the case as well and a rear of the card, which is the front side of the case, make a mount there also.

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Radiator mounting:
The Corsair I have is a perfect friction fit to the front and rear inside of the case, holds itself in position quite well.
I have it at a height in the case so non of the fins are blocked by the case cover.
For now I just have two strips of cloth electrical tap that locks it in place better than one would expect, when I get the rest of the build sorted out I will use some thin wall aluminum angle above and below the radiator, front of case to back, to fill in any gaps so no air is brought in there.

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System is up and running quite well on temp GPU just sitting in the top of the case, new GPU due to arrive tomorrow and riser extensions due Saturday so I can really get into this project.

Rick

 

[RAAM]

4070 just arrived, temp installed, tested, works great, got an RMA in sealed packed on Ebay for $439 and easy to tell a brand new card

Old card, well tuned, 3060 ti FE, Heaven score 158.2 FPS, Score 3986, Temp 67, Hot Spot 80

New Card.

MSI Ventus 4070 3x stock tuned first run on Heaven 183.9 FPS, Score 4631, Temp 68, Hot Spot, forgot to log it.

First tune, add Undervolt .900 ........not liking it, worse numbers, searched YT and found a decent guide to start from and now at .990 undervolt, 2835 MHZ, +1200 memory clock,186.7 FPS, 4703 Score, 57c temp, hot spot 68c.

A few more tweaks now hitting 193.1 FPS, 4839, 54c.

So far really like this light weight, actually 2 slot, very quiet GPU.

This is the standard version of the card, not the OC and the voltage cannot be turned up but does not seem it will matter.


Card is a true 2 slot, low weight at just 28.4 ounces, .805 KG. Old card, 3060 TI FE is 36.2 ounces, 1.026 KG.

My plan for the riser has not paid off, 300mm just a bit to short it looks like I need a 270 degree one, not 90 degree.

I will figure it out or just get lazy and get a 240mm AIO

Rick

 

[RAAM]

Updated the last post with a bit of tuning done, more to go, really liking this low cost decent performance GPU

 

[RAAM]

Havingn trouble getting riser cable figured out so decided to try something I have been thinking of, so far good news!

Deshrouded the GPU, fanless, removed back plate, borrowed two white BioniX P120 fans, rerouted riser between chassis and MB instead of behind chassis, had to mod the riser mount, mod the case a bit but not much. Now the GPU sits low enough to run those fans on the stock bracket.

8 pin power cable is a temp and will be watched, had to bend the wires quite a bit and they are tight against the case side, I would have to mod the case crossbar but enough clearance for testing.
I have a low profile 8 pin adapter cable on the way that will run on top of the GPU between the fans, much better fitment than under it, card will go just a bit lower.

I will be testing blowing down and pulling up, case sides on and off and see what works best.
For now it is running great, not loud at all, two BioniX 120 and two Bionix 140 fans in service, lots of higher pressure air at low dB.

PS cable will have to be extended and new mount location on bottom of case but it be very clean and clear up airflow instead of going between PS/MB/fans on radiator.

DP cable plugged into card through original PS receptacle, I will make a new plate to mount to the GPU and make it nice and clean when done testing.

This SFF PC is coming along nicely

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

8 pin power cable is a temp and will be watched, had to bend the wires quite a bit and they are tight against the case side, I would have to mod the case crossbar but enough clearance for testing.
I have a low profile 8 pin adapter cable on the way that will run on top of the GPU between the fans, much better fitment than under it, card will go just a bit lower.

I bought 180° angled connectors. They work fine, but require space below, which didnt work with the RX 6800 which pretty much fills up the top compartment. A test fit with my GTX 1660 totally worked, even with a bit room to spare, so dual-slot cards should be perfectly fine

cu, w0lf.

 

[RAAM]

Great, thanks for the info

I have one on the way that will fit over the top of the fan facing up mounting of the GPU (though mine no longer has the fans or shroud on it) and between the 120mm case fans as separated them a bit to better direct the air flow centered over the areas most needed.

This is turning out to be a really fun build, just enough to sort out, test, make things fit, minimal case mods, good cable management and look nice while doing it. I guess I better start taking some good pictures to post.

Testing with GPU facing up, fans blowing down and in right now, it was a tough fit to get the riser cable set just right. If I will test with fans blowing up and out next, see what works best. I ordered a 300mm 90 degree riser cable which I can barely but effectivily make work but if I need to flip the card facing down as originally planned then I have to order a 350-40mm 180 degree cable. I also bought a Silverstone small riser card combo and when it arrived realized the 90 degree should of been 270 degree to work.....

Rick

 

[RAAM]

Testing, testing and more to go.....hot spell here and our conversion from ducted AC to ducted evap cooling was not quite setup all the way, running tests that cause heat building up in 82F ambient temperture soon had the area up to 85 degrees, still the system was able to run most everything and stay in the mid 50c to mid 60c range which is quite good all things considered.

I tried the top BioniX fans aiming up and then down into the case which flipped the CPU/GPU temps about 5c higher for either unit depending on where the fans were oriented. I tried running Cinebench but after 8 minutes it finally hit 100c on the CPU and stopped running.

This AM, 71F Cinebench finished with a good score and 92c CPU temp but sill way to high, I need more airflow into the case. I am going to mount an 80mm fan on the bottom facing up and a 140mm slim fan over the CPU blowing on the MB and forcing more air into the case. Then I will try the GPU to mounted 120mm Bionix fans facing in and then facing out and see how it turns out.

The RV has 19 vents for the ceiling ducted AC system which I had some blocked off and the highest ambient temp reached 77F, much better than 82F but still a bit warn for testing as the computer is sitting on a big shelf in the corner where heat builds up when running tests. I will move it to a more open area and have a fan sitting a few feet away to circulate the room air around it better as it is 74F there now.

The evap is on the other end of the RV, 40 ft from where my desk is located. If I can get Cinebench to stay at or below 80c when it is 75-80F in this location I will be quite pleased with the result.

I do promise some pics, it is turning out really nice and a bit easier than expected for having a full size GPU and 280mm AIO

Rick

 

[RAAM]

Update:
System runs everything great with reasonable temps even if my desk area is 80 degrees plus....then it might get up to 85 after running benchmarks but stays within reasonable heat ranges except the VRM, one sensor reports pretty hot, see below. I am satisfied with the built layout and now exploring ways to get more air into the case, plenty of exit, need more fresh coming in and all will still be filtered. The CPU gets pretty hot running Cinebench, high 70 to low 80s if not hot in the RV, low 90s if ambient temps are over 80 F in the RV. Those numbers should drop quite a bit when I am done.

To make things much easier for testing I used blue masking tape to seal things off as needed, works great, no mess, now time to do the metal work.

1) Edit, case feet will be taller now, see below.

2) EDIT: Already ordered but decided not to use two 120mm sliim fans on the top of the case along with the GPU triple fans, went with two 120mm high pressure fans and took the fans and shroud off the graphics card, working well.

So, bottom of the case is now going to have two slim 120mm fans mounted on the exterior blowing up into the case. There will be filters over them, and a bit taller legs, maybe 1 inch, 25.4 mm, or taller. I will not use the case bottom metal, just cut the openings a little to maximize the the 20mm fan air flow.

3) 140 slim fan over MB is just a bit to big so only about 120mm effective area and bigger flans have lower pressure, looks cool with side panel off but going to switch to 120mm as it will flow better though more work to mount.

4) VRM, as mentioned, one temp sensor showing much hotter than the other two but I cannot find which one is which even though I asked on the Asrock site. I might try again with a different approach. In the mean time there is a useless 30mm fan under the heat sink butting right up to it so no real air flow. I have to mod things to fit but putting in a 40mm fan which has around 50% more surface area and drilling holes through the heat sink towards the water cooled CPU and I have the 140 but switching to 120mm fan blowing air into the case over the CPU. Now it will have positive pressure plus and much larger fan that has actual flow out through the vented I/O cover.

5) Raising GPU up to be against the case fans that cool it to get more air flow around it has helped a few degrees and I am going to use an approx 160mm by 20mm slot above the AIO radiator to bring more air to the GPU, going to have to buy a roll of nylon filter and will tape it on with the great cloth electrical harness tape I use for many things. I will make a shroud over the radiator/fans to keep the air flow from just sucking down and into the AIO fans, direct it up to the GPU.

6) PS mount, going to vent it a bit to allow air to be pulled in by the AIO fans, it is already covered by a filter. And I removed the stock grill in the PS and will open up the area on the mount for far more air flow than it came with.

7) PS cable, could not find an appropriate longer replacement so DIY it is, I used to be a union electrican and 20 years in electronics, going to make it longer and this will keep it out of any important air flow.

8) GPU, slot for just the ports, custom internal mount, no ventilation as it will all be handled by the two 120mm high pressure fans above it. I do have to make a custom section as have to cover up the not in use PS cable port, new one will be at the bottom of the case.

This is sure a fun project though not working on it for awhile due to gardening and repairing my silly fast Fiesta ST to prepare to sell it, finally had enough go fast at 72 years old it seems

Rick

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

3) 140 slim fan over MB is just a bit to big so only about 120mm effective area and bigger flans have lower pressure, looks cool with side panel off but going to switch to 120mm as it will flow better though more work to mount.

In my S396 build, I added a 80 mm slim (TL-8015) fan with an approx 20° angle on top of the CPU waterblock, which did drop the overall temps of VRM etc. by a few C (at least the hot spots arent as concerning as before). Originally planned to use a 60 mm fan directly on top of the VRM, but it was just too thick (regular 25 mm).

6) PS mount, going to vent it a bit to allow air to be pulled in by the AIO fans, it is already covered by a filter. And I removed the stock grill in the PS and will open up the area on the mount for far more air flow than it came with.

7) PS cable, could not find an appropriate longer replacement so DIY it is, I used to be a union electrican and 20 years in electronics, going to make it longer and this will keep it out of any important air flow.

There are quite a few ones found on Amazon. Important detail: Search for "C13 / C14 extension mounted plate" or "mounting" or so. Else you get a lot of useless stuff.

I'm currently using the PSU extension cord supplied with the S400, because that one fits really well, and the Inno3D 4070 is small enough to route the cable underneath without any issues; planning to get some spacers to keep properly leveled, but for the initial approach it works very well.

cu, w0lf.

 

[RAAM]

Yeah, I found one, perfect for my needs, .6m, better angles than the stock cable, $12.99 shipped to arrive in 3 days

THANKS!!!

I have four 120mm fans and need added air flow so using 3 of them to blow air into the case, two on the bottom and one above the water block. I should of dug out my drill press but decided to just use a drill, file, etc and now the VRM heat sink as a big hole in it for the 40mm fan I made fit under it. I hope this works out or I will have to find a new heat sink. It will look OK but did not come out as planned and was many times more work. I guess I need to slow down and listen to myself instead of just jumping into things....

Rick