[Build Log] H2O-Micro (<3 Liter watercooled gaming system)

[CtW]

That looks like a huge amp or dac. Nice job on the design!

[Tearass]

That looks like a huge amp or dac. Nice job on the design!

 

Looks like a Schiit product, I agree!

[QinX]

I've been getting more and more question about the final price for the kit, so I guess I'll go ahead and release an estimate.

 

I'm still waiting on some small bits and pieces for final pricing, but the biggest wait is still the case. Also some other parts I haven't been able to calculate yet, because I still have to design them, such as the GPU power board.

If I'd have to give an estimate I would say somewhere between €350 and €450 would be end user pricing. 

 

It will be an expensive kit, I realize that, but I think the pricing is justified looking at what the market has to offer and what you actually get.

What do you actually get for that kind of money?

 

Preliminary Box of Contents

1x 2mm anodized Aluminum Chassis(With Horizontal and Vertical brackets)

1x Dual 92mm Radiator

2x 92*92*15mm Fans

1x Copper/Acetal Socket 1150 CPU Waterblock

1x Copper/Acetal GTX970 GPU Waterblock

1x Acetal Reservoir

1x 12VDC Pump

1x 12VDC 180W AC Adapter for GPU

1x 19VDC 120W AC Adapter for System(CPU, Motherboard etc.)

1x AC Adapter mounting bracket

1x GPU Power Board

Miscellaneous accessories (Fittings, Tubing, Screws, Allen keys, Manual and all other things needed to build a system)

 

What else do you need to buy to build a working system?

 

Shopping list:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81TN, GA-B85TN, GA-H87TN, GA-Q87TN

CPU: Any S1150 Haswell CPU up to the i7-4790K

DRAM: SODIMM DDR3 or DDR3L, up to 16GB

SSD: Any mSATA SSD

GPU: GTX970 with short PCB and Single Slot I/O

 

 

Here in the Netherlands I can build the following system including the kit for around €1550:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 Boxed

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85TN

GPU: Gainward GeForce GTX 970 4GB

RAM: Kingston KVR16S11K2/16 (2x8GB)

SSD: Crucial M550 mSATA 512GB

Wifi: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 Plus Bluetooth

OS: Windows 8.1 64-Bit OEM

[willemdoom1]

With those requirements for the 970, are there any apart from the Gainward that would work?

[QinX]

With those requirements for the 970, are there any apart from the Gainward that would work?

Gainward should have 2 GTX970's that should be okay to use with the system.

Their default Blower style and the Phantom version:

http://www.gainward.com/main/vgapro.php?id=954〈=en

http://www.gainward.com/main/vgapro.php?id=953〈=en

Though I have to put a remark for the Phantom, it looks like they use the reference PCB but I'm not sure what TDP they have set for it.

Other manufacturers are:

Palit

PNY

[QinX]

A while back I mentioned some results I had gotten with my setup but I've decided to do a quick run with some games included so here we go.

Firstly I ran an Idle test, nothing spectacular, I was streaming Youtube at the same time.

Ambient was 21C, with the radiator temperature being 30C so about 9C higher than ambient. Fans where at their minimum speed.

Power draw at the wall was about 48 Watts.

Next up we have Prime95 on 3 Cores with Furmark on 1 Core, this proved to be the most stressfull scenario I could create and is by no means even remotely comparable to a normal load.

Ambient was 21C, with the radiator temperature being 40C so about 19C higher than ambient, Fans where at full blast.

Power draw at the wall was about 285 Watts.

HWInfo64 results seem a little vague, de maximums for CPU temperature are hitting 99C, but the average is 88C, and looking at the current temperatures it jumps from 88C to 97C for 1 second and goes back down.

I this image you can also see how I had my probes for measuring temperatures arranged.

Next up I tested 2 games, Skyrim with +- 200 mods and Far Cry 3.

Ambient was 21C, with the radiator temperature being 47C so about 26C higher than ambient, fans where around 70%. Here can see that H2O-Micro can be small and quiet when playing games.

Power draw at the wall was about 233 Watts.

So with only 50 Watts less power consumed than the Prime95/Furmark run and the radiator being 5C hotter, temperatures are excellent on both the CPU(76C MAX) and GPU(73C MAX)

Ambient was 20C, with the radiator temperature being 46C so about 26C higher than ambient. Fans where at around 70% speed.

Power draw at the wall was about 207 Watts.

Again excellent temperatures and fan speeds while playing a game.

I've also received some samples this week for the kit to check out and test.

Among them a set of fans most of you will recognize instantly.

But first! I orderded some Anti-vandal switches, Both are the same model and have a white led but 1 is a Dot and the other a Ring, let me know which you prefer. I already have a preference, can you tell?

Switches in Off state

Switches in On state

I modeled the switch in CAD and pooped out a render.

And finally I was sent 2 Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM fans by Noctua. These are actually my first Noctua's and I'm looking forward to testing them. I will be comparing them to some other manufacturers but they haven't arrived yet.

Some of my models I download from a website called www.grabcad.com and someone on there already made some Noctua models, but not of the Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM.

So I went ahead and made a CAD model and gave it a lick of paint in 3dsmax. I have to say I'm pretty proud of this model, it's 99% accurate.

That was it for now.

[hearthofsin]

yes! noctua fans!  perfect!

[QinX]

yes! noctua fans!  perfect!

 

Now with animated GIFs!

[hearthofsin]

nice haha  

[Guest]

The lack of cables on the fan is bugging me. You should put the noctuas in the case and make a gif of them spinning through the vent.

[simson0606]

Now with animated GIFs!

 

 

noctua should hire you!

[NIC ROBERTOOO]

So glad you pulled this off, keen to see where it goes

[QinX]

Hmmmm, perhaps there is going to be a possibilty to support a 390X in H2O-Micro?

How extreme would it be to have the highest end single GPU be 17cm in length.

Should be possible in theory, there is no space need for all the VRAM so the VRM can be more optimally placed.

 

I'm really curious about the 390X now and it should be launched this quarter.

[hearthofsin]

i would worry that the amd gpu would overheat the system.. you know.. it is after all amd :lol: and i doubt it will be the strongest single gpu but it sure is cool that it is SFF. 

[QinX]

i would worry that the amd gpu would overheat the system.. you know.. it is after all amd :lol: and i doubt it will be the strongest single gpu but it sure is cool that it is SFF. 

 

Well part of my design was based on the fact that you don't need a lot of Rad to cool something. In fact the R295x has a board power of 500W, say 400W of GPU Heat and they only used a 120mm rad to get it all out.

 

12*12= 144cm^2*3.8= 561cm^3 of radiator volume for a 400W to 500W load

9.2*18.4= 169cm^2*2.8= 473cm^3 of radiator volume for a 250W(GTX970 + 4790K) to 350W ("390X" + 4790K). So maybe it can work

 

of course there are fan differences and such.

Asetek build aluminum rads, mine will be copper. They have Push & Pull with 120mm fans I have 2x92mm fan in Push OR Pull.

[MeltingPoint]

Holy shit! This build is on a whole new level.

 

This is actually the first time I've seen a (desktop?) motherboard that had its own DC-DC converters.

 

And I still can't wrap my head around on how the CPU and GPU waterblocks are connected.

[MrSuperb]

Wow! 

 

This is actually the first time I've seen a (desktop?) motherboard that had its own DC-DC converters.

 

And I still can't wrap my head around on how the CPU and GPU waterblocks are connected.

there are quite a few Thin-mITX boards that have DC connectors on them

[MeltingPoint]

there are quite a few Thin-mITX boards that have DC connectors on them

Thin. Is that the key word?

 

Do you have an idea how the two waterblocks are connected?

[hearthofsin]

Thin. Is that the key word?

 

Do you have an idea how the two waterblocks are connected?

i thinkk i know how they are connected as one unit kinda and screew togheter like that   but it is just a guess. 

[MrSuperb]

Thin. Is that the key word?

 

Do you have an idea how the two waterblocks are connected?

most likely through the custom pump top

[QinX]

I've designed a custom Reservoir/Pump top that both the CPU and GPU waterblocks are screwed into, so once bolted together 3 Acetal parts make almost the entire loop. On the radiator needs to be connected with tubing.

[PineappleHolidays]

Hi,

In the thread you used a 4x to 16x riser;

Was there a big performance drop ?

Also, you said it was powered, could I get a look at it ?

I'm looking everywhere for a 4x to 16x flexible powered riser and to no luck, so I'm considering making my own .

[willemdoom1]

From my memory I think he said that it was like 5 fps so not that big of a deal, but correct me if im wrong

[PineappleHolidays]

The difference is minimal, definitely not a dealbreaker

I was more interested in the way he made the powered riser;

Did he just power it off a molex power ?

I'm thinking of getting a 4x flex riser and just splicing the cables to power it, but I want to see how he did it .

[MrSuperb]

I was more interested in the way he made the powered riser;

Did he just power it off a molex power ?

I'm thinking of getting a 4x flex riser and just splicing the cables to power it, but I want to see how he did it .

 

it is a custom pcb ?!