Log STREACOM DB4 Custom Build - RTX 3060Ti & i7 11700T

[REVOCCASES]

I found a second hand DB4 for a good price locally and pulled the trigger to see what I can do with the case...



Unfortunately, the case came without CPU cooling kit, so I decided to go another route...



I found a nice big tower cooler for 20 bucks on ebay, but obviously this would not have fit in the case, so I made a new bottom panel out of 4mm aluminum...



in order to mount the motherboard tray in it's new location, I added new M3 threads in the "side rails":



test fitting with the cooler installed:



now that the CPU cooling was solved, I started to work on the GPU cooling...



I designed a custom coldplate, made from 3mm ETP copper, which is compatible with the DB4 GPU cooling kit:



after soldering the two pieces together:



next part was the power supply... first I was thinking to get a 500W HDPLEX GaN, but then decided against it... considering that the HDPLEX unit also has a small fan build in, I just modded my 600W Palatinum rated FLEX PSU that I had left from another project...

(remember, PSU modding is dangerous unless you know what you're doing!)



I covered everything with thermal pads, so that it would transfer some of the heat away to the chassis...



it still has a fan inside to have a little bit airflow but it's completely inaudible... even the coil whine of my 3060Ti is louder

 

[REVOCCASES]

next, I modified the motherboard tray: two M3 threads to mount the FLEX PSU and one cutout for heatpipes:



mounting the PSU:



bending the heatpipes was really a PITA - maybe its the cheap tool I was using or just my non existing patience ...



since the CPU has its own cooler, I tried connecting the GPU with all four side panels ...





doesn't look good, but should work!





almost done...



next up: custom top cover & thermal testing!

 

[b_force]

I covered everything with thermal pads, so that it would transfer some of the heat away to the chassis...

I am not really seeing why that would be helpful to be completely honest?

In any DC/DC converter (which a PSU basically is), it's mostly just the (GaN) FETs, and sometimes the bridge rectifier.
As well as the inductors for the switching (although you almost never cool these)

In this case I would rather keep the back open like the original, so you don't get heat build up, which can be a lot more harmful, especially to the electrolytic caps.

All these other parts also don't (really) heat up at all, so they also don't need to be covered in a thermal pad.
It's actually better to let them breath

I like the custom GPU heatsink again!

 

[REVOCCASES]

I am not really seeing why that would be helpful to be completely honest?

In any DC/DC converter (which a PSU basically is), it's mostly just the (GaN) FETs, and sometimes the bridge rectifier.
As well as the inductors for the switching (although you almost never cool these)

In this case I would rather keep the back open like the original, so you don't get heat build up, which can be a lot more harmful, especially to the electrolytic caps.

All these other parts also don't (really) heat up at all, so they also don't need to be covered in a thermal pad.
It's actually better to let them breath

I like the custom GPU heatsink again!

You are probably referring to the large pad which I put on top of everything... usually there is a Lexan cover to insulate components from the metal chassis, but i removed it... the large thermal pad keeps everything electricaly insulated but at the same time helps to conduct some heat to the metal case. It's basically the same STREACOM did with their ZF240 PSU.

Oh, I didn't cover the vent slots completely, air still can move from bottom to top.

 

[b_force]

You are probably referring to the large pad which I put on top of everything... usually there is a Lexan cover to insulate components from the metal chassis, but i removed it... the large thermal pad keeps everything electricaly insulated but at the same time helps to conduct some heat to the metal case. It's basically the same STREACOM did with their ZF240 PSU.

Oh, I didn't cover the vent slots completely, air still can move from bottom to top.

Yes, in the next photos the side vent slots are covered (I can still see the blue thermal pad), so it looks you kept it that way.
That is definitely not recommended.

 

[REVOCCASES]

Yes, in the next photos the side vent slots are covered (I can still see the blue thermal pad), so it looks you kept it that way.
That is definitely not recommended.

I know, it somehow feels wrong but those vent slots are already covered out of the box with an insulator:



there was a discussion about that a while ago and Silverstone said, that it is meant to be like this. Air shall move all the way through the PSU to help cooling the buck stages at the end of the PCB...



I assume they just wanted to safe tooling cost and are using one chassis for a couple of different PSUs. Some need those vents at the top, others don't.

 

[REVOCCASES]

OK guys, here's the last part of the build log...

based on @Raiju 's DB4 build with the RTX A4000, I already expected that I have to UV and UC my RTX 3060 Ti to make this work... 200W are just too much for the DB4, even with mods...

however, with heatpipes going to all 4 side panels, I was able to keep the card below 80C @ 120W ~ 130W without any throttling...
I think with more heatpipes going directly from the GPU to all of side panels, I would be able to push it further, but for now I'm good with the results!



for the CPU, the tall tower cooler I found on eBay works really well... I set PL1 to 65W and PL2 to 100W and CPU temps stay well between 70 to 80C during stress testing:



here are the Timespy scores:



given now is wintertime (20C room temp), I still wanted to be prepared for summer - probably nothing for passive cooling enthusiasts, but I decided to make a custom top panel with walnut wood and adding a quiet 140mm fan...



the fan will kick in @ 65C and just run at very low RPM between 300 ~ 600 so that the build is still completely inaudible





a nice bonus of the fan is, that I can push the GPU a little bit further to 160W ~ 170W

if you like to do a similar mod, I have attached the DXF files for the custom top, bottom and GPU coldplate!

 

[Raiju]

Nice job on the custom parts

 

[REVOCCASES]

well, the quality of "internet news" is getting worse each day... FanlessTech.com decided to pick this up but obviously didn't bother to read the build log here... sad times...

FanlessTech: Custom Streacom DB4

 

[msystems]

Very nice work on fabricating the copper gpu block

 

[Snerual]

Impressive build! Always felt the DB4 was just begging for a large fan to be added to the top... but of course many consider that blasphemy.

To take this concept one step further, you could try to find a 180mm fan for the top and then see if the PSU can be run without its casing and completely fanless.

 

[REVOCCASES]

Thanks guys!

see if the PSU can be run without its casing and completely fanless.

oh, I forgot to mention this... actually the PSU runs completely passive already with the thermal pad mods... I found it only gets handwarm @200W during stress testing, even without the PSU fan connected

 

[Raiju]

Impressive build! Always felt the DB4 was just begging for a large fan to be added to the top... but of course many consider that blasphemy.

To take this concept one step further, you could try to find a 180mm fan for the top and then see if the PSU can be run without its casing and completely fanless.

I think it is great what and how he did. For me it would be a no go, either I go fans or not. I have a very dusty house and my experience with fans is when you first build them it is great but after a couple of months they start making noise because of dust buildup. I hate opening a finished build, my first db4 hasn't been opened since building (7 years) and still runs the same as first day.

 

[ignsvn]

well, the quality of "internet news" is getting worse each day... FanlessTech.com decided to pick this up but obviously didn't bother to read the build log here... sad times...

FanlessTech: Custom Streacom DB4

Yea I don't understand this part "...Unsurprisingly, a fan had to be added. "

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the onlyfan is the one inside the Flex PSU right?

 

[REVOCCASES]

I have a very dusty house and my experience with fans is when you first build them it is great but after a couple of months they start making noise because of dust buildup.

Oh... dust... that's a very good point, usually I only think about reducing noise when it comes to passive cooled builds

Yea I don't understand this part "...Unsurprisingly, a fan had to be added. "

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the onlyfan is the one inside the Flex PSU right?

well, actually there are three fans: 1xVRM on the motherboard (disabled), 1xPSU (disabled), 1x140mm exhaust (set to kick in at low RPM when the system pulls more than 200W)

I explained the reason for the case fan in my post #7 - TLTR: the fan wasn't necessary but gives me a little bit more headroom if I need it