Streacom DB4 Water Build (now flat heatpipe)

[StevenG]

Hi guys,

Decided to get back into gaming / building so ive gone for something different, ATX doesnt do it for me its far to easy to throw it all in a case and get it all working so ive decided on a custom water loop into a DB4 case. Why? i liked the case and after reading others buildings using the heat pipes i wasn't convinced of their effectiveness after all its a round pipe touching a flat surface for 50mm, so has virtually no contact area with the amazingly designed heatsink side panels.

My aim is to go fanless water cooled (power supply being an exception at the moment, ill see how it goes before voiding the warranty and cutting the fan) it states fanless at low outputs so time will tell.

The spec:

Straecom DB4 with custom milled sides
Asus Strix Z270i
i5-7600K
Corsair Vengence 8gb DDR4 2400
Corsair MP500 240GB M2 SSD
Corsair SF450 450W power supply
Zotac GTX 1060 3GB

Water:

EK-Supremacy AX for both cpu and gpu (will need custom mounts)
EK-ACR SPC-60 PWM pump and res combo
Custom water blocks utilising the case heatsinks.

Unboxing :

I knew the reviews had said the panels were heavy i just wasnt expecting this :


For perspective :

The water-cooling has its issues right from the get go but for me the fun is overcoming these and getting a unique solution going. Germanic reaction is the big one, and luckily for me EK have just released an all aluminium kit that i will be using. Even after i overcome this i really have no idea if this will work making custom radiators but hey it'll be an experiment none the less. In theory the contact area is much much larger than that of using the heat pipes with a more effective method of actually getting the heat to the heatsinks, so in theory it should work. Straecom have said each panel will take 65W of heat dissipation so there is a theoretical 260W of dissipation to be had. I know previous people have struggled to reach these figures.


So heres the plan, ive contacted several local companies to CNC the side panels of the DB4 in a 6 pass configuration similar to the image below with an 8mm acrylic top, i was initially going to use hard drive water blocks from Koolance but they worked out about £50 each before getting them over from america with the vat etc to go on top which has made me look at this custom solution :

2 * 4MM glass coasters testing space to allow the factory mounting rails to be used:

4.5mm heatsink thickness :

Plan B :

 

[AleksandarK]

Nice idea. I hope it works out.
But one suggestion. Make the top from mirror like acrylic and put some LEDs under it. When you turn on LEDs it will look dope.

 

[StevenG]

Nice idea. I hope it works out.
But one suggestion. Make the top from mirror like acrylic and put some LEDs under it. When you turn on LEDs it will look dope.

Will give it some thought If i can get it within 8mm limit I've got to play with i just might do it! not seen anything like that before any links to something similar?

 

[AleksandarK]

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/148597-silverstone-raven-z-rvz01-mirror/ Here is what i thought about.

 

[cleveland]

Why would you buy a passive case to mod it and fit a watercooler in it?

 

[Raiju]

If you haven't cut in to the panels, don't. Just wait for the DA4 if you like the case that much.

 

[StevenG]

Is this an air cooled version ?

 

[StevenG]

Why would you buy a passive case to mod it and fit a watercooler in it?

in my eyes the passive cooling is inadequate, im aiming for a passive water cooled system instead.

 

[TinyAudio]

This looks awesome! GL buddy!

 

[Raiju]

Is this an air cooled version ?

Yes

in my eyes the passive cooling is inadequate, im aiming for a passive water cooled system instead.

The problem isn't getting the heat to the panels as me and Zgembo have shown with our builds. The bottleneck is the dissipation from the panels itself, you will almost certainly push your water temperature above 45C with this setup.

 

[Lee.III.Will]

Hey StevenG,

I registered just to post in your thread!

I've also got a DB4 and have been playing with the same idea and almost the same parts list! I'm currently using it in it's passive state with the following components:
Asus Impact VII
I5-4690K(small undervolt for temps)
16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum Ram
EVGA GTX 960
256Gb m.2(PCIe) SSD
500GB Sata SSD
2x 2.5" 1TB SSHD
HDPlex 250 Watt Passive PSU
Custom Sleeved PSU cables
Custom bent Heat Pipes to use the LH6 Kit

I can't stress how much I love the case and near silence. The 960 has the stock cooler but I've only ever heard the fan kick on when I restart the computer. The loudest component in my system now is the 2.5" SSHD's when they are in use!

I think with all 4 panels you should be able to dissipate ~240W as long as the room has a little air flow. My thoughts were to use Bitspower quick disconnects and nickle plated tubing for stability to keep the ability to slide the sides of the case up and still be able to remove them.
You should also check out the HDPlex 300W PSU. It should provide enough power for the setup(even with the pump) and if you get a 330W Dell power brick you may even be able to squeeze another Few watts out for peak power draw. Also, the AC-DC power conversion happening outside the case should keep internal temps a bit lower as well.

I'm really eager to see how your project turns out! If I can help in any way, let me know!

 

[StevenG]

Yes

The problem isn't getting the heat to the panels as me and Zgembo have shown with our builds. The bottleneck is the dissipation from the panels itself, you will almost certainly push your water temperature above 45C with this setup.

Do you not think having the pipes that close tgether is not helping? imagine if you had them split over the panel evenly i bet it would work much better. Evening using the stock bracket that comes with the cpu cooler lots are saying that side heats up the fastest compared with the 50mm*50mm blocks. Its about contact area in my eyes.
Not keen on the air version either btw, the passove one looks so uch better.

Hey StevenG,

I registered just to post in your thread!

I've also got a DB4 and have been playing with the same idea and almost the same parts list! I'm currently using it in it's passive state with the following components:
Asus Impact VII
I5-4690K(small undervolt for temps)
16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum Ram
EVGA GTX 960
256Gb m.2(PCIe) SSD
500GB Sata SSD
2x 2.5" 1TB SSHD
HDPlex 250 Watt Passive PSU
Custom Sleeved PSU cables
Custom bent Heat Pipes to use the LH6 Kit

I can't stress how much I love the case and near silence. The 960 has the stock cooler but I've only ever heard the fan kick on when I restart the computer. The loudest component in my system now is the 2.5" SSHD's when they are in use!

I think with all 4 panels you should be able to dissipate ~240W as long as the room has a little air flow. My thoughts were to use Bitspower quick disconnects and nickle plated tubing for stability to keep the ability to slide the sides of the case up and still be able to remove them.
You should also check out the HDPlex 300W PSU. It should provide enough power for the setup(even with the pump) and if you get a 330W Dell power brick you may even be able to squeeze another Few watts out for peak power draw. Also, the AC-DC power conversion happening outside the case should keep internal temps a bit lower as well.

I'm really eager to see how your project turns out! If I can help in any way, let me know!

Hi bud, yea i will keep you all posted on how it goes, i now have all the cmopoets here excpt the cooling, going to do an air build tommorow so i will be posting pictures up of the temporry build.

Using the fan at the top of the case is my plan B really id like to keep it passive if i can, i might install it anyway and have it set if certain temperatures are reached etc.

So far no one has got back to me regarding CNC milling the sides, this doesnt mean the build will be a non starter just means i may have to go a different way by using the hard drive water blocks instead which is unessesarily epxinsive !. ive got a day off tomorow so will take the sides around a few shops see what they have to say!

 

[Lee.III.Will]

imagine if you had them split over the panel evenly i bet it would work much better.

I picked up some 7mm blocks of Al the other day at the thrift store to do exactly this - haven't fount a cheap enough source for heat pipes to justify the project yet though.

Its about contact area in my eyes.

This couldn't be more true! Granted, each side will have a max thermal dissipation but I highly doubt that size of the stock plate is resulting in the full dissipation possible. Check out this HeatSink Calculator and play with the 'Width and Length of Heat Source'. You'll quickly notice that the surface area of the heat source plays a pretty large roll.

Not keen on the air version either btw, the passive one looks so much better.

I'll second this, the active cooling variant is kinda ugly IMO.

So far no one has got back to me regarding CNC milling the sides

Not sure what your skill level is with tooling but you should check around your area for a local Creator/Maker space. Usually they have Mills and CNC machines that you can use for a monthly cost(Usually < $50). This may save you a LOT of money if the shops in the area don't have to do any fab work.

 

[StevenG]

I picked up some 7mm blocks of Al the other day at the thrift store to do exactly this - haven't fount a cheap enough source for heat pipes to justify the project yet though.

The heatpipes can work but it'll require some nodifition! I even thought about buying some flat heatpipes which would work much better it's just bending them you almost need half flat half round.

This couldn't be more true! Granted, each side will have a max thermal dissipation but I highly doubt that size of the stock plate is resulting in the full dissipation possible. Check out this HeatSink Calculator and play with the 'Width and Length of Heat Source'. You'll quickly notice that the surface area of the heat source plays a pretty large roll.

Got it in one there!

I'll second this, the active cooling variant is kinda ugly IMO.

Agreed nothing beats the clean lines of the DB4

Not sure what your skill level is with tooling but you should check around your area for a local Creator/Maker space. Usually they have Mills and CNC machines that you can use for a monthly cost(Usually < $50). This may save you a LOT of money if the shops in the area don't have to do any fab work.

Well this was the plan, I've sent several emails one guy phoned me by accident and suggestest i 3d print it! Clearly didn't read my email! And wasnt interested!


Oh well parts are here, note the naff cooler this is obviously temporary, not feeling the best so dont know if i will get round to building it today :

 

[aquelito]

Great project

I've been toying a lot with Amec Thermasol Flat Coolpipes. Cheap and easy to work with.

Great product that could simplify the build and maximize surface contact with the four heatsinks

 

[Lee.III.Will]

I've been toying a lot with Amec Thermasol Flat Coolpipes. Cheap and easy to work with

What are you temps with these? Also, did you do a build\temp test with normal copper heat pipes before this? How are they to work with? Are they as brittle as copper heat pipes?

 

[aquelito]

@Lee.III.Will : after 45 min of Prime95, the G4600T temp stabilizes around 56°. Idle at 30°.
I don't have the ambient temperature though.

The heatsink dimensions are 220 x 75 x 30 mm.

Never tried standard copper pipes before. I snapped this barebone for cheap and modded it to fit the Coolpipes.
They are quite sturdy - made of aluminium - while easy to bend.
Only issue is that once it's bent to a certain angle, it's not easy to bend them back to the inital shape.

 

[StevenG]

So dry build done, had a phone call about doing the CNC work which is promising just waiitng on the quote to come through! God the Zotac gtx 1060 is noisy !!!!!

Mobo done crazy to think of the value with the Mp500, chip, and ram installed:







Bios quite interesting :



The desk (also under construction with chair, i have a lot of projects to finish !!!!! )





Power supply not evening spinning during light gaming which is a good sign !

 

[StevenG]

So had a small update today, took the side panel in to be looked at for milling and am awaiting a quote, had 2 people definitely say they can do it thought. the thing im struggling with now is finding aluminium fittings.

 

[StevenG]

Small update, first quote in, coming back at around $400 what do we think?