Enclosure Small mATX case, sli liquid cooled

MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
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I keep reading the Titan XP only drawing 250W max... interesting
280 rad front
240 rap ontop
120 naked/rad on the rear
Hopefully this will be enough to cool stock, non-OC cards under load
Gtx1080ti is drawing 295w when you increased its power limit, like on msi afterburner..:)
 

Nanook

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May 23, 2016
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That's a maxed out rig!
The Define C mini is only a little bit shorter than the Define C. Are there many mATX x299 options out there?
If you're going to travel with this pc in a pelican case, you may want to reconsider glass panel and watercooling. Maybe soft tubing?
 

Mr.Fenestron

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Aug 23, 2017
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That's a maxed out rig!
That's the idea ;). As small and as quiet as possible.

Are there many mATX x299 options out there?
So far, the only one I know of is the MSI board and it seems to be sold out everywhere but MarcParis said it was available now so If I look around I'm sure I can find one. I really don't have major requirements for the board. I just need 2 full M.2 slots and SLI at 16/16

If you're going to travel with this pc in a pelican case, you may want to reconsider glass panel and watercooling. Maybe soft tubing?
Ya, your probably right in regards to the TG. I should play it safe and just go with a solid panel. Besides, I want it quiet so I don't bother other people but so many of these damn boards these days have the RGB stuff going on, I don't want it to light up when I don't want it to, ya know. There's nothing worse than trying to game in the dark with a whole bunch of distracting LED's in your face. As for the liquid cooling in general, I'm definitely going liquid but I had already planned on going with soft tubes.
(maybe 1/2"?, I read it makes very little difference between 1/2" and 3/8")

Still hoping someone posts some sound levels of the D5 ;)

Found 3 different EK 120 rads. Now to figure out which thickness is appropriate... (SE:25, PE:40, XE:60). For some reason, the FPI decreases as the thickness increases in the SE, PE, and XE models; 22, 19, 16 respectively.

I'm astonished, there are A-LOT of cooling companies now, things sure have changed for the better :).
 
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Nanook

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May 23, 2016
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Check here for D5 pump decibel. Yours may not be the exact same brand / pump top, but they seem to be in the 30-40 range depending on rpm / PWM %.

Regarding radiator, the thinner 25 - 30mm radiators are usually designed with low FPI for low rpm. I would stay away from the thinnest EK radiator because it is too dense for low rpm fan set up. Also it's lower quality when compared to other EK radiators / popular brands. Check out the Alphacool ST30 thin radiators, or Hardware Labs thin radiators.
 
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Mr.Fenestron

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I just read about those two brands and another, XSPC. From what I'm reading, people really like their low FPI rads.

I was trying to checkout AlphaCool's hardware but navigating their website was a nightmare and google translate is lacking.
 

MarcParis

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Apr 1, 2016
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For single row radiator, best in performance are hardware labs gts series, however they are quite restrictive in flow (check with d5 pump as it's designed for highflow vs ddc)
Ek radiators, i'm a bit disappointed about except their thickest series.
Alphacool 45mm+ thick radiators are orientated to low restriction fluid and fan.(30mm thick from alphacool are also quite ineffective)
For thinnest radiator (and not so bad) magicool were pretty nice compromise.
Xspx radiators are in average beaten by competitions.

On radiator choice, in d5 pump is capable, go on hardware labs gts series..:)

Ps : did i really told you that x299 msi matx board was available?..:)
 

Mr.Fenestron

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OOPS! Your right MarcParis, my apologies, it was FoscoRS5 that said an x299 mATX board was out and said the EVGA board was released, not the MSI. (I found the MSI board available on Amazon).

Thanks for the info MarcParis, I'll look into that.

Why did you call it a "single row" radiator?
Also, if I'm reading your post correctly, you say the Hardware Labs GTS series is restrictive but you still suggest it, why?
Also, if my coolant is flowing slower, won't that mean it is unable dissipate heat as quickly?

If anyone has found a way to substantially cut their D5 pump noise down, let's hear it :).

I found a great article with plenty of information:
http://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/02/11/radiator-round-2015/
The downside is, in their charts they reference "performance" but never specify what that is.
 
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MarcParis

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Single row means you have one layer of tubes connected to fins. Generally they are around 30mm thick.
After two rows radiators are 50-60mm thick.

For hardware labs gts radiator, they are a bit more restrictive but a d5 pump is clearly enough.

Check this website ( my bible on watercooling) :



http://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/02/11/hardwarelabs-nemesis-360-gts-radiator-review/5/
 

Mr.Fenestron

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I'm definitely over my head here. I'm looking at Frozen CPU as a buying source for everything. Is there by any chance, products you recomend for everything I would need like a complete shopping list of sorts?

I am quite certain I will be going with the EK TitanXP acrylic gpu block. I mention this because Idk what material EK uses in their blocks but I don't want any corrosion.

I saw HW labs had a 9FPI radiator, I imagine that would be pretty useless but I'm just guessing. Keep in mind, the fans I chose I intend to run dead silent, if possible.

I've done a simple exyernal CPU liquid loop before with compression fittings and I really liked them, but thats was for my external setup. I do not like barb style connectors with the little metal clip, they seem cheap and prone to leaks. Im a fan of the koolance compression type fittings (screw to hold line). Thoughts?

I guess the question that needs to be asked is:
with 2-3 rads (280 front, 240 top, 120 rear?), and the fans I picked out, will I be able to stay SILENT under load with very minimal to no throttling?
 
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MarcParis

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Based on my experience, a fan alone could be dead silent...but once you put it on radiator, or case with mesh/filter, you can hear air movement. In terms of ratio noise/performance, my recommandation is still to try, at least, gentle typhoon (dark side, pwm), 120mm fan only, with oversized motor and blade design very well suited to radiator.

I'll stay away from 140mm fan. I own quite many 140mm fans (noctua nf-a14 as you intend to use), and i find that all generates some small motor/parasite noise at low speed...and they are all getting noisy startint at 800rpm.

120mm fan have better ratio noise/rpm.

With dual 240mm radiator, with push-pull fans (that's allowing to run fan at a slower rpm), you won't throttle at all..:)

Also,,don't rely on motherboard pwm control. Please consider to take a fan controller. I like corsair commander mini/commander pro.

Whatever your choice, in terms of silent, you have to test by yourself equipement...it's a personal quest..:)
 

MarcParis

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also an important point : even if you have a very quiet cooling solution, all your efforts could be ruined by coil whine or any electrical noise.
I've managed on my last setup...full watercooled core i7 4770K and R9 290X...good temperature, very quiet even on load...except coil whine coming from my R9 290X.
All my later gpu (amd or nvidia) got coil whine...but hopefully far less audible than the one on my R9 290X.
After, coil whine, is well stopped by headphones..:)

Look at this example, Calyos, fully passively cooler (no fan, no pump) is still not silent as there are after electrical noise

Silent gaming pc is utopia, but you can achieve very, very quiet gaming pc..:D
 
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jtd871

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Jun 22, 2015
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I am quite certain I will be going with the EK TitanXP acrylic gpu block. I mention this because Idk what material EK uses in their blocks but I don't want any corrosion.

Do you really think they would offer a block that would corrode or react with other parts to promote corrosion?! They would be speedily chased out of the market with their tail between their legs. Go with whatever look you want with confidence.
 

Nanook

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May 23, 2016
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I'm definitely over my head here. I'm looking at Frozen CPU as a buying source for everything. Is there by any chance, products you recomend for everything I would need like a complete shopping list of sorts?

I am quite certain I will be going with the EK TitanXP acrylic gpu block. I mention this because Idk what material EK uses in their blocks but I don't want any corrosion.

I saw HW labs had a 9FPI radiator, I imagine that would be pretty useless but I'm just guessing. Keep in mind, the fans I chose I intend to run dead silent, if possible.

I've done a simple exyernal CPU liquid loop before with compression fittings and I really liked them, but thats was for my external setup. I do not like barb style connectors with the little metal clip, they seem cheap and prone to leaks. Im a fan of the koolance compression type fittings (screw to hold line). Thoughts?

I guess the question that needs to be asked is:
with 2-3 rads (280 front, 240 top, 120 rear?), and the fans I picked out, will I be able to stay SILENT under load with very minimal to no throttling?

A few more thoughts on your build plan, hopefully I'm not sounding like a nag:
  • Water-cooling a transportable rig - I get the goal of having a silent build, but shipping a water-cooled pc is more complicated than an air-cooled system. Personally, I would not ship a filled wc system. This means you'd have to ship coolant, distilled water, and all your filling / bleeding gear separately. Each time you ship and refill your rig, you would have to do a leak test. Each fitting has 2 potential leak points, and each rotary fitting will have 3 potential leak points. You'd want to bring extra backup fittings, tubing, etc... Each time you set up / tear down will require bleeding / draining the loop. You could ship your wc rig filled, but would have to make sure nothing leaked during shipment before setup. You may have to bleed air bubbles if the rig was laying on its side. A loop can be slightly pressurized over time, and that's more stress on the fittings / tubing in shipment. I probably sound super paranoid, but with your expensive PC, and being on deployment, you may want to stick with a build that has less failure modes.
  • GPU - would 2x 1080ti be a better buy than 2x Titan Xp ? Also AIB 1080ti may have more quiet air-cooled solutions than the noisy Titan blower style cooler.
  • in regards to your comment on corrosion (galvanic?), just don't mix copper and aluminum wc parts. Use a proper coolant, or corrosion inhibitor. Keeping up with maintenance will help delay corrosion. Compression fittings works well with soft tubing.
  • I don't have experience with cooling 2x video cards, but I'd like to think that you should be able to keep the CPU and 2x GPU from throttling.
 

MarcParis

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Apr 1, 2016
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On gtx 1080ti, i won't say that even after market air cooler are quiet while using really gtx 1080ti(ie 4k max fps)..)

If plan is to get watercooled gpu, go reference cooler..:)
 

Mr.Fenestron

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Aug 23, 2017
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Thanks for all the comments folks, I really appreciate it.

Thanks for your concern but I'll probably go liquid because a silent build is very important but let me elaborate so its more clear why. I will be flying (career) a lot and often on deployments we are bunked with a few other folks and due to the flight scheduleles, I could be up while another roomate is sleeping. I know in the world of pc cooling 30-40dBA is considered "quiet" but it's really not; hence my insistance on as close to 10dBA as possible.

Hopefully this explains why I need to go water. As far as galvinization goes, when I did my first liquid loop back in the day, it was a big problem from the varying cooling companies. Based on your response, I'm assuming its not so much a problem anymore and perhaps most companies simply stick to copper.

I am not building this rig because it's cost effective, I know full well that the 1080Ti is substantially less, I also know, for the most part, SLI is going downhill. I'm aware, however, I would still rather pay more for that 10-20%.

In terms of the shipping and hassle of setup; Our deployments are 12-18months. I don't mind shipping it dry and setting it back up. This pc isnt a weekend traveller, its a deployment rig. But yes, I know it will be a pain, and I'm happy to have all you folks here to help me pick out the best cooling parts and help me ensure it is as leakproof as possible.

An larger case, bigger rad, what-have-you would definitely cool better, but that breaks my compactness factor.

About the 140's, THANK YOU. I will change the build snd not use them. I suppose then, that I will use 2× 240's and maybe 1×120 for the rear.

One final note, please do not consider price in any of your "factoring".

Marc, that setup from Calyos has got to be one of the coolest things ever haha, too bad its so huge :(

Seriously, I appreciate all the advice you all voluntarily give. Please, continue to help. Thank you.
 
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Mr.Fenestron

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This needs a new post...
I might honestly have to rethink my entire build around the Calyos NSG S0. it's big but its so damn awesome.

If I do go this route, I would use two PC's. When it's time for deployment, I remove some guts and plug them into a DAN.

This is why I made a thread to begin with, you never know what direction your going to end in. Now to think this through and figure a way to make the DAN as quiet as possible. My guess is, its too small for any real sound reduction technologies. Hmmm.

GREAT post MarcParis, you really flipped me on my head!
 
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Nanook

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May 23, 2016
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Good luck with finding the ultimate setup!

DAN case is awesome. I have one and it is extremely easy to pack and transport.

If only the passively cool contact "block" also cover the motherboard and graphics card VRMs :)
 

MarcParis

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Apr 1, 2016
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@Mr.Fenestron no issue, your project is some kind of ultimate gaming rig...and inlove brain storming.

Whatever path your will choose, let us know. It's your quest..:) My general advice is quite simple : before thinking of your case and hardware, think of your screen/display. Do you want silent gaming in 1080p, 1440p or uhd?

Very, very quiet gaming is completely possible on air at 1080p. Just pick oversized gpu (i tried with my gtx 1080ti) and run game at 1080p60...in my case my gtx 1080ti was even running fully passive..:)
If your plan is to have a quiet rig as main priority, forget sli. Pick the best gpu you can, watercool it with a dedicated loop (separated from cpu), 240 or 360mm, and update your gpu once new generation is arriving.
As cpu, aim coffee lake core i7 8700k, that will be efficient best cpu for gaming and productivity.

If you want passive setup, your best gpu will be 1080 as passive psu are like 500w...gtx 1080ti or titan xp will be too power hungry.

Ps : be ready to rma some gpu or psu due to electrical coil whine...:)