<Red Impact> - Phanteks Evolv ITX, Maximus Impact VII, Fury X, Custom Hardline Waterloop

[Khazzirh]

Alright, once again my inner lust for building has gotten a hold of me, and I told myself it was finally time to build something with the Maximus Impact-mobo. As you can probably tell from my previous builds, I'm fairly fond of building nice and functional water cooled builds into small cases, and I usually take ages when trying to find a case to my liking. This time was no different, and after contemplating several options, I found Phanteks Evolv ITX to be the one (even trumping caselabs in the consideration phase, although slightly because of availability, waiting 5-6 weeks for a Nova X2M seemed long..).

 

So far, I have picked up the case and the motherboard with a full-cover waterblock from EK, and the next part is likely to be fans, radiators and possibly pump/rad, in order to start planning the loop. 

 

Components (as currently planned):

 

CPU: Intel 4690K

Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VII Impact ITX

Memory: HyperX Savage DDR3 1600 MHz 16 GB

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB

GPU: ASUS AMD Fury X

PSU: Corsair AX760

Case: Phantek Evolv ITX

Fans: Corsair AF/SP 120

Radiator 1: EK PE 120

Radiator 2: EK PE 240

Res./Pump: EK-DDC 3.2 PWM X-RES 140

Waterblock: EK-FB ASUS M6I Fullcover block

Tubing: PrimoChill 1/2in Rigid Acrylic Tubing - Clear

 

Stay Tuned!

[Aytex]

project tiger/hamster/kitty/big kitty

[arnavvr]

Get a 295X2

[Khazzirh]

Alright, its been a long wait, but there was a slight reevaluation of the project, and a holiday in between, but this time everyone gets what they want: pictures!

 

So, lets jump right into it with a couple of pictures showing of some of the current goods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, the newest addition to the family, one that I am really looking forward to using:

 

 

 

Did a little dry-fit, and the interior is going to be looking awesome with everything in place. I've changed the theme to be red/black (yes, I know, a bit standard and boring, but with the Savage RAM and SSD, and the new GPU is going to look quite nice).

 

Let me know what you think

[Magic Puffin]

Following this because of the case! Love that case..

[Delusional Phil]

The Red Impact ... 

[Khazzirh]

Following this because of the case! Love that case..

 

Yeah, the case is awesome, probably the coolest case I've worked with, and with the best and most practical functions (size considering) 

 

The Red Impact ... 

 

That's actually not a bad idea at all, might just use that.. 

[Khazzirh]

Alright, a little update again. Bought some new stuff, mainly two EK PE 120 rads and 2 Vardar 1450 RPM fans, just to test how everything would fit into the case. 

And let me just say again, this case is just awesome with all the stuff you can actually cram into it if you are a little creative. 

 

First, a little nudie-shot of the stripped case:

 

 

The detachable rad-top has a bit of a creative way of placing the rads in order to make everything fit as intended: 

 

 

Also, the great news was that I was actually (surprisingly) able to place the fans on top of the rad-mount:

 

 

This was a major space-saver as you can see:

 

 

 

Next, I'm going to show the general idea with the GPU and its rad:

 

 

As you can see, it fits great in the following position:

 

 

And with the shroud closed. There will also be another 120 rad in the front, above the rad for the GPU, with an intake fan, and also a rear exhaust fan. A little sag on the rad-mount plate, but that will improve when I attach everything with screws again. 

 

 

I'll be using the rad for the GPU in push/pull, as there is actually room for it, while still keeping the aesthetics (also, this is just a test-fit, so never mind the type of screws)

 

 

Next up is ordering another 120 rad, and a couple of fans for the front, and some sort of rear exhaust fan I haven't decided on yet

 

Let me know what you think

[smartone29]

Dude! Looks awesome. Can't wait to see where this goes!

[shawno]

Wow...

This build is amazing!

Excellent job on highlighting phanteks case ideas too. Those guys think of everything and seem to understand that its the little things that matter most.

[era506]

Following this thread just for the case, it's the one I picked for mine. Yours looks great so far! I should start a build thread for mine, I picked most of the components already and have ordered half of them, but I'll take a while since I have to ship them all the way to Costa Rica.  

[Khazzirh]

Dude! Looks awesome. Can't wait to see where this goes!

 

Thanks  

 

Wow...

This build is amazing!

Excellent job on highlighting phanteks case ideas too. Those guys think of everything and seem to understand that its the little things that matter most.

 

Glad you like it Yeah, it even feels like they have really got the right idea of what makes a great case, there is hardly going to be any cables visible in the end, and its probably not even going to be hard to manage the cables to make it so. 

 

Following this thread just for the case, it's the one I picked for mine. Yours looks great so far! I should start a build thread for mine, I picked most of the components already and have ordered half of them, but I'll take a while since I have to ship them all the way to Costa Rica.  

 

I can only say that you have made a great choice, and I would absolutely be interested in seeing what other people can do with this case, there are just so many options

[Khazzirh]

Another little update. Changed the rads up top from 2 x 120 to a single 240, as it saves me some much needed space in the back. Think it gave me about 1 cm more of clearance in the back, which could potentially make way for some interesting solutions. I'm probably just sticking to a rear exhaust fan, but there will be a picture further down to show the possibilities. Also, my slight OCD didn't like that the fans hidden under the shroud up top were not aligned. No one would ever see, but I would know.. 

 

Here is the case as it stands now, with the 240 up top, and the 120 in the front. Probably just sticking with that, as three rads for the CPU-cooling is definitely enough. 

 

 

Not really alot of extra space here:

 

 

And this is the space in the back:

 

 

This is what one could potentially do, although with a fan in front, it would obscure the view of the mobo, which is why I opted not to do it. 

 

 

Obviously the stuff is just to keep the rad up for the picture

 

There is also a lot of room to work in the front, and double 120 fans is a great fit, giving the rad for the GPU push/pull. (GPU-rad not in the picture, and bottom fan not attached)

 

 

And also the fans on top as I mentioned are now alligned:

 

 

More coming up soon enough

[era506]

Another little update. Changed the rads up top from 2 x 120 to a single 240, as it saves me some much needed space in the back. Think it gave me about 1 cm more of clearance in the back, which could potentially make way for some interesting solutions. I'm probably just sticking to a rear exhaust fan, but there will be a picture further down to show the possibilities. Also, my slight OCD didn't like that the fans hidden under the shroud up top were not aligned. No one would ever see, but I would know.. 

 

Here is the case as it stands now, with the 240 up top, and the 120 in the front. Probably just sticking with that, as three rads for the CPU-cooling is definitely enough. 

 

 

Not really alot of extra space here:

 

 

And this is the space in the back:

 

 

This is what one could potentially do, although with a fan in front, it would obscure the view of the mobo, which is why I opted not to do it. 

 

 

Obviously the stuff is just to keep the rad up for the picture

 

There is also a lot of room to work in the front, and double 120 fans is a great fit, giving the rad for the GPU push/pull. (GPU-rad not in the picture, and bottom fan not attached)

 

 

And also the fans on top as I mentioned are now alligned:

 

 

More coming up soon enough

Oh, so the fans fit without issues between the radiator tray and the roof of the case? That seems like an interesting option to remove clutter from the inside visible from the side window.

[Khazzirh]

Oh, so the fans fit without issues between the radiator tray and the roof of the case? That seems like an interesting option to remove clutter from the inside visible from the side window.

 

Yeah, they fit great, didn't have to make any adjustments. Keeps the interior real clean. Might affect the airflow somewhat because of the limited space, but all in all a good trade-off. 

[era506]

Yeah, they fit great, didn't have to make any adjustments. Keeps the interior real clean. Might affect the airflow somewhat because of the limited space, but all in all a good trade-off.

Great! I'm actually thinking of setting the rad fans as exhaust, with the front and rear fans as intake (a friend's recommendation actually), so I guess the limited space might not affect me much since I won't be taking air from there and it'll be exhausted through the vents up there.

[Khazzirh]

Great! I'm actually thinking of setting the rad fans as exhaust, with the front and rear fans as intake (a friend's recommendation actually), so I guess the limited space might not affect me much since I won't be taking air from there and it'll be exhausted through the vents up there.

 

Yeah, as you can see, mine are exhaust as well, with front as intake through the 120 rad and the GPU-rad. Probably going to have a fan in the back as exhaust to keep airflow from front to back over the motherboard, but yeah, there are definitely a lot of different solutions that can be implemented with this case  

[era506]

Yeah, as you can see, mine are exhaust as well, with front as intake through the 120 rad and the GPU-rad. Probably going to have a fan in the back as exhaust to keep airflow from front to back over the motherboard, but yeah, there are definitely a lot of different solutions that can be implemented with this case

Right! I don't know why I assumed yours were intakes. Anyway, I'm glad I ordered this case, all builds I've seen so far featuring it look great!

[Khazzirh]

Time for a little update of sorts, although mostly using my (awesome) paint-skills to get some feedback. I was going a bit back and forth if I should have red-sleeved power cables or black-sleeved, and you can see the difference in the pictures below. There will most likely be red pastel water in the loop, and I don't really want to go overboard with the red. The rear exhaust fan will likely be a Corsair AF140 with red ring, and the RAM will have red heatspreaders, keeping the subtle accents all around. 

 

Now, first the picture with the red wires, painted in with great skill:

 

 

I think the red gives a bit of needed flare, and I like it, but not sure how it will blend with all the rest. Now for the black:

 

 

A bit more stealth on the cables, keeping them hidden, but again the problem of perhaps having downplayed the red too much. Its a challenge keeping the theme at the right level. 

 

What you can see though, is that there really isn't going to be much cabling showing, which is why I'm leaning towards the red. Obviously a few more cables will be going into the motherboard, but those I will keep black as to not overload color above the motherboard itself. 

 

Also made a picture showing the loop, with the light blue being the tubes, the green outline is the pump, and the darker blue on the motherboard is a rough outline of the waterblock going onto it. 

 

 

Let me know what you think

[smartone29]

If you're liquid is going to be red, I don't feel like the red part of the theme will be downplayed. Personally, I've always liked black sleeving better. It's a lot stealthier. So that's my vote 

[Tarou]

If you're liquid is going to be red, I don't feel like the red part of the theme will be downplayed. Personally, I've always liked black sleeving better. It's a lot stealthier. So that's my vote

I second this, use the red liquid as the flare you want

[Khazzirh]

If you're liquid is going to be red, I don't feel like the red part of the theme will be downplayed. Personally, I've always liked black sleeving better. It's a lot stealthier. So that's my vote 

 

 

I second this, use the red liquid as the flare you want

 

Alright, so it seem the general consensus is to go with black, so I might go with that. I get the feeling as well that there might be enough red without all the cables being red-sleeved as well. 

 

In other news, I got the CPU, RAM and the rear exhaust fan (corsair AF140), so I'll mount all of that today, and throw up a few pictures later

 

The HyperX Savage RAM just looks fantastic, and I can't wait to see how it all looks together!

 

Stay tuned for more later!

[Lays]

I think black cables with red coolant would be best, my two cents

[Khazzirh]

Alright, promised some pictures, so here we go

 

Firstly, the Savage RAM:

 

 

These just look fantastic in person, and I'm satisfied with the aesthetics alone! Can't wait to see how they perform as well. 

 

Dismounted the Impact from the case in order to install the new parts and the water block:

 

 

And here we go, water block installed:

 

 

And the RAM and some other components on the motherboard itself:

 

 

And into the case with the new fan, and the Fury X properly mounted:

 

 

 

Everything mounted back together. You can see that the shroud properly hides the wires going out from the Fury X:

 

 

And the fans mounted in the front:

 

 

Gonna be a tight fit with the SATA-cables from the motherboard, and the front I/O-connector for the sound, but we'll see how that ends up

 

Let me know what you think!

[JRS2K]

Looking good man!

 

Cant wait to see the Res and tubing in place!