Log Walrus mk02: a 3D-printed brickless ~4L case with external radiator

[morj]

Sounds good! It would be really interesting to see it compared side-by-side to something like a similarly thick 420mm rad with rpm/noise normalized at various levels, though I guess that's a bit much to ask

If I had extra 300 EUR in my budget, I would test the Black Ice Nemesis GTR 420 with triple Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC. It would be louder at max RPM, that's for sure, but I have no doubts it would have much greater cooling capacity.

 

[morj]

Finally got my waterblock from the customs, which means final assembly (part one: installing and testing the waterblock)!

This waterblock is intended to be used use with Gigabyte X570I AORUS motherboard, but I tried to use it with Gigabyte B550I first. Those boards are very similar, but, unfortunately, the VRMs on the B550I are a bit higher, so the block can't fit properly. After changing the board the installation went mostly smooth.

You have to remove all the extra stuff attached to the motherboard (CPU+M2 heatsink, VRM heatsink, plastic shroud cover) first.

I've leak-tested the block separately before installing (using my Barrow "DDC" pump).

The most overkill AIO cooler ever!

All assembled, forgot to take a photo with M.2 cover installed.

The M.2 cover is visible near the riser here.

First the PC haven't posted . As it turns out, I have shifted the CPU in the socket while installing the block, very scary. Of course, when I lifted the block to fix that, the CPU became glued to the block. Fortunately, haven't bent any pins. After re-install all works like a charm. Got absolute maximum of 86° CPU temp while running TimeSpy (on CCD1 only), under 70° when running Prime 95, 4.25 all core boost (but that was before changing the power limit to 200W, and I think I need to tweak more limits to overclock with PBO2). Single core boosts up to 4.95 (not pictured here). Overall pretty happy with this waterblock. VRM temps are in check, chipset stays under 40°.

 

[morj]

Then it's just a matter of moving the motherboard into my custom case and re-doing the custom loop.

First, I had to re-wire the power button:

Tight clearance between the pump and riser mount:

First I tried to use Watercool Heatkiller 13mm tubes, but they appeared too rigid to maneuver in the tight space and to connect to the fittings. Also, I had to change the loop and fitting order because (a) temp probe leaked, (b) it was more convenient to have Phanteks fittings in the other place because it's easier to connect stuff to them.

That's the fitting setup I ended up with.

Assembly is tricky: first I had to connect all the tubes except the one disconnected on this picture, then install GPU, then connect the remaining tube.

Looking good! Even with taller Barrow pump I still have clearance between GPU and the pump top.

Ran the pump with external power to test for leaks and to eliminate bubbles. It ran for several hours without a problem, so I installed the remaining top (forgot to take photo of the cable management) and it was all done!

Battle station ready.

I have to do some custom wiring to (1) decrease cables: currently too much cables are needed inside for the pump (2) make fans more modular. I have a GX12 connector on the rear panel I intended to use for the external fans, but haven't done it yet.

Next up: performance testing, making an additional small radiator for 5.5L total volume.

Currently the case itself is around 4.1L and it houses:

• 800W modded server PSU
• DDC pump
• Nvidia 3080 with EK waterblock
• PCI 4.0 riser
• Ryzen 5900X
• 64GB 3600Mhz Corsair LPX RAM
• 2xM.2 drives
• Aqua Computer QUADRO fan and RGB control

I've uploaded the design files here. Please, let me know if you were interested to open it and something has gone wrong.

 

[eedev]

It really is a super cool project, well done!

 

[Valantar]

Looking forward to seeing the small rad setup! The PC itself is gorgeous and really impressive, but sadly the massive rad on the desk kind of ruins it for me. (But then luckily it isn't my PC )

 

[morj]

Looking forward to seeing the small rad setup! The PC itself is gorgeous and really impressive, but sadly the massive rad on the desk kind of ruins it for me. (But then luckily it isn't my PC )

I'm moving this year, want to somehow hide the rad in the desk at the next place.

 

[Lakimakromedia]

Paint the panels to white or something and will be perfect .

 

[morj]

Long overdue post about the performance.

First I overclocked the CPU to the max to test the maximum PSU load capacity.

The PSU temperature was rising, but it had no problem running during a 20 minute test at whopping 610W at the wall. Unfortunately the all-core 4.6 GHz CPU overclock gave the VRMs a hard time (even tough they are waterblocked) and eventually my motherboard decided to shut off thermally. I don't remember the exact TDC/EDC numbers in the BIOS overclock, but they allowed the CPU to drain over 180W.

Eventually I came up with a more conservative overclock and limited the PPT to 160W.

Note that the single-core boost reaches 5GHz and I got stable 4.4 GHz all-core clock which is not too shabby as well. Just -18 step undervolt, +50Mhz Auto OC and raised PPT/TDC/EDC. VRM maxes out at 80°C which is pretty comfortable to my taste (note that saturated VRM temperature can't be much different from CPU temperature because they are essentially pressed against the same chunk of copper).

Regardless of the overclock conditions and test setup the water temperature stabilized on 39° C under sustained load, it seems 600W of heat can be dissipated with my huge radiator without a problem. So far using the PC has been a breeze. There is a slight coil whine from the GPU while gaming (the PSU contributes a little bit too), but it's not annoying. Overall very quiet and powerful without any stability issues. Will be very interesting to test it with a small radiator, hope to find time for it soon.

Bonus: some photos with my buddy's Dan A4 for size comparison.

 

[mknrls]

this is a dope build, so compact! Seem like deep-itx motherboard could fit it there. Giving me ideas!!!

 

[Ikki kurogane]

Did you use a TPM for the psu?

 

[morj]

this is a dope build, so compact! Seem like deep-itx motherboard could fit it there. Giving me ideas!!!

Yep, ASRock ROMED4ID-2T will fit length wise, but I'm not aware of any SP3 or TRX pump+block combos for the CPU so it may require switching to external pump instead. Also, the "lower" RAM slots on the ROMED4ID-2T will be restricted on the module height if used in this layout.

 

[morj]

Did you use a TPM for the psu?

If you mean Thermal Power Management module, then no, I just used my trusty Aqua Computer QUADRO to control the PSU fan curve based on a thermal probe I placed inside the PSU.

 

[mknrls]

Yep, ASRock ROMED4ID-2T will fit length wise, but I'm not aware of any SP3 or TRX pump+block combos for the CPU so it may require switching to external pump instead. Also, the "lower" RAM slots on the ROMED4ID-2T will be restricted on the module height if used in this layout.

Haven't seen a pump+block combos but wouldn't mind running it externally. If i flip the motherboard the other orientation and run the tubing we might be fine.

 

[morj]

Haven't seen a pump+block combos but wouldn't mind running it externally. If i flip the motherboard the other orientation and run the tubing we might be fine.

But ROMED4ID-2T is not square. If you flip it in my case, all the motherboard I/O will be at the front...

 

[Elaman]

For a while, I had no idea what I was looking at. It took me some time to notice the tall "speaker" on the left.
Well played sir.

 

[Tact1calBeard]

Finally got my waterblock from the customs, which means final assembly (part one: installing and testing the waterblock)!

This waterblock is intended to be used use with Gigabyte X570I AORUS motherboard, but I tried to use it with Gigabyte B550I first. Those boards are very similar, but, unfortunately, the VRMs on the B550I are a bit higher, so the block can't fit properly. After changing the board the installation went mostly smooth.

You have to remove all the extra stuff attached to the motherboard (CPU+M2 heatsink, VRM heatsink, plastic shroud cover) first.

I've leak-tested the block separately before installing (using my Barrow "DDC" pump).

The most overkill AIO cooler ever!

All assembled, forgot to take a photo with M.2 cover installed.

The M.2 cover is visible near the riser here.

First the PC haven't posted . As it turns out, I have shifted the CPU in the socket while installing the block, very scary. Of course, when I lifted the block to fix that, the CPU became glued to the block. Fortunately, haven't bent any pins. After re-install all works like a charm. Got absolute maximum of 86° CPU temp while running TimeSpy (on CCD1 only), under 70° when running Prime 95, 4.25 all core boost (but that was before changing the power limit to 200W, and I think I need to tweak more limits to overclock with PBO2). Single core boosts up to 4.95 (not pictured here). Overall pretty happy with this waterblock. VRM temps are in check, chipset stays under 40°.

Hey,

do you know if there is such a waterblock for the ASUS x570 itx board, too?

Cheers and thanks,
Beard

 

[morj]

Hey,

do you know if there is such a waterblock for the ASUS x570 itx board, too?

Cheers and thanks,
Beard

No, to my knowledge there is a very limited choice of full-cover X570 / B550 waterblocks. Only the model I have from Taobao and another model without a pump by liquidextasy.de (also for the Gigabyte X570I board) is something I'm aware of. And none for B550.

 

[Tact1calBeard]

No, to my knowledge there is a very limited choice of full-cover X570 / B550 waterblocks. Only the model I have from Taobao and another model without a pump by liquidextasy.de (also for the Gigabyte X570I board) is something I'm aware of. And none for B550.

Thank you very much for your information =)

 

[Ikki kurogane]

No, to my knowledge there is a very limited choice of full-cover X570 / B550 waterblocks. Only the model I have from Taobao and another model without a pump by liquidextasy.de (also for the Gigabyte X570I board) is something I'm aware of. And none for B550.

Sorry, I meant the TP345

 

[Ikki kurogane]

Thank you very much for your information =)

Do there is a monoblock for the asus x570i https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.1-c.w4004-23983870278.2.429ea4b6CMdnvo&id=646589640810