Build Log - New Home Project: Basement Water Cooling (Singularity Spectre 3.0 & CaseLabs THW10)

[Spirillum]

I've received the case from Singularity and we're underway! 

 

Photos of the build will be updated here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aMvzofxcW9o9TWyN7

 

Moving over from the New Builds and Planning sub. Link: 

 

 

Build Specs
 

Office (Upstairs)

Case: Singularity Computers Spectre 3.0 Antumbra PowerBoard Edition Silver

Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 Aorus Xtreme

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT

Memory: G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 4000 MHz

PSU: Corsair AX1500i Thor 850W (PSU was too long for compatibility with Powerboard)

Radiator: Alphacool XT45 360mm - I'll control the fans on this rad separately, and it gives me the option to bypass the basement loop if needed. Aesthetically, I think Spectre would look empty without something up there. 

Fans: Corsair ML120 (x6) 

Water Cooling: The rest of the loop, minus blocks, tubing, fittings, is integrated into the Spectre. To bring in the water-loop, I'm thinking quick disconnects at the upper radiator (in) and from a PCI bracket (out) hidden behind the vertical GPU will work nicely. 

Controls: Aquacomputer Octo, Next Flow Sensor, SPLITTY4 (x2), Farbwerk, HUBBY7

Desk & Cable Management: Sit/stand desk with custom surface (quartz matching what we're using in the rest of the house) 

 

Utility Room (Basement)

Case: Caselabs Magnum THW10

Motherboard/CPU/GPU/Memory: I'll be moving the hardware from my Home Assistant/Plex server into this case, but it'll all remain air cooled. In theory I could water cool this as well, but that would be a future upgrade project

Radiators: Dual top mounted Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 480mm & Dual vertical mounted Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 360mm

Pumps: 4x D5s

Controls: Aquacomputer Octo, Aquacomputer Next Flow Sensor, SPLITTY9 (x4)

Water Cooling: I'm particularly proud of the way I planned out the draining and filling of this build. I can drain and fill the loops in seconds, and they're big loops! I wanted to keep as much of the water cooling loop intact as possible from this build. 

 

They're in the walls...! 

Fluid: We ran EK ZMT tubing (strapped to the interior walls) between the Office and the Utility Room. At each wall (Office and Basement) I'll have a plate with some pass-through fittings and Bitspower quick-disconnects in the rooms, with simple tube fittings on the interior. There will be a bit of slack so that I can remove the wall plate if needed, but it should look clean and not out of place on the wall when disconnected. 

Signal: signal from the OCTO & Flow Sensor in the waterbox will be run to a USB outlet(s) on the wall plate, wired between the two rooms. Anything that's connected to this port in the basement will be connected to the office, and I may run a few of these ports if it makes sense versus a hub as a splitter. I'll use a HUBBBY7 in the waterbox so that there's only a single USB connection required to bring the diagnostics from the controls up to Aquasuite on the Office PC. 

Power: I'll use a second power supply in the basement PC (one for the Plex/HA server, and a second dedicated to the water loop). I'll be using an Add2PSU relay, and running a 12v wire over CAT6 from the Office PC to the basement. 

Distance: The wall-to-wall runs will be ~5 meters, with ~3 meters of that is vertical. Going from the PC to the wall in the office, down into the guest bedroom, and across into the utility room, to the wall plate and down to the water-box/HA/Plex Server. I'll have one pump upstairs and four in the basement to overcome head pressure losses. 

Water Heating for Water Cooling: We're using an Air Source Heat Pump Water Cooler for our domestic hot water. This will utilize some of the vented heat from my loops to heat the hot water for the home (which is net zero with a geothermal HVAC system and solar). 

 

I prepared this slide deck when I was planning the project, and it has some more information if anyone is interested: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14Cl2_vuP2dV3lt-EYlvcpeIQRCSZG3kwMd9eAfVIirM/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

I hope you enjoy my build log! 

 

 

[Spirillum]

I started to work on the THW10 Waterbox loop. I opened up two of the PCI slot covers with a Dremel to accommodate the passthrough fitting, but the Alphacool dual pump top was too heavy to be mounted by tubing and fittings and supported by the PCI bracket alone. I had hoped that since it was so close to the PCI bracket that I could support the weight there, but its too long and has enough that wasn't going to be well enough supported. The pump top was twisting and sagging regardless of how I could have run connections from the other side. 

 

Instead, I'll be using some Singularity Ethereal Reservoir mounting brackets to support the pumps weight by mounting to the fan below, and I'll use some rubber spacers for vibration. 

 

My next steps will be a thorough cleaning & detailing of the CaseLabs THW10 and reservoirs, completing the THW10 loop, flushing it with cleaning solution (Mayhems), and then installing the server hardware. I'm waiting on components from Singularity that I'll need before I can do much more with the Spectre. 

 

Google Photo album has been updated. 

[Ben17]

Looking good 

[Spirillum]

Updates: 

 

• THW10 (Waterbox): I completed the cleaning and the loop, and now we're about halfway through a 24 hour flush with Mayhems Blitz. Using the Add2PSU relay, I'm powering my 550W PSU (and the four connected D5 pumps in my loop) with my small 12V external power supply. I could have just used a paperclip, but this is more fun!
• Spectre (PC): Waiting for parts. Singularity updated me that they'll be shipping out the balance of my order next week, which includes the 90 degree 24-pin adapter and 180 degree PCIE adapters. 

To do: 

• THW10: Manage the cables for the fans and Aquacomputer controls. I'm not ambitious enough to do custom fan lengths for the 30+ fans in the waterbox, but I think I can still do better than the full disaster that's going on back there now. 
• Spectre: decide on sleeving colour scheme and make the custom cables for the motherboard to EPS Powerboard connections. 

 

I took a few more photos and added to the album. If there's anything specific you'd like to see along the way, just let me know. Cheers!

[Spirillum]

Updates: 

 

• THW10 (Waterbox): I completed the cleaning and the loop, and now we're about halfway through a 24 hour flush with Mayhems Blitz. Using the Add2PSU relay, I'm powering my 550W PSU (and the four connected D5 pumps in my loop) with my small 12V external power supply. I could have just used a paperclip, but this is more fun!
• Spectre (PC): Waiting for parts. Singularity updated me that they'll be shipping out the balance of my order next week, which includes the 90 degree 24-pin adapter and 180 degree PCIE adapters. 

To do: 

• THW10: Manage the cables for the fans and Aquacomputer controls. I'm not ambitious enough to do custom fan lengths for the 30+ fans in the waterbox, but I think I can still do better than the full disaster that's going on back there now. 
• Spectre: decide on sleeving colour scheme and make the custom cables for the motherboard to EPS Powerboard connections. 

 

I took a few more photos and added to the album. If there's anything specific you'd like to see along the way, just let me know. Cheers!

[Spirillum]

Quite a bit of progress on the waterbox cable management today, it's looking good! Pretty much ready for plex server hardware to come in. 

 

I'm removing the Ethernet connector, pairing the wires, crimping molex pins on, and using cat 6 cable to signal the Add2psu relay and a second PSU to power the Octo when the Office PC is on. I'll finish this cable tonight and add photos to the album. 

 

The Octo PWM channels are connected to:

1. 480mm top rad fans (x8) 
2. 360mm front left rad fans (x6) 
3. 360mm front right rad fans (x6) 
4. Bottom air intake fans (x8) 
5. Pump 1
6. Pump 2
7. Pump 3
8. Pump 4

Molex power to the Octo and 4x pumps is powered by the secondary PSU, connected to the Add2psu and signalled by 12v from the Office PC. 

USB signals from the Octo and High Flow NEXT are connected to a Hubby7 which will be connected to the Office PC via USB passthrough. 

[Spirillum]

Added to my Google Photos album, I just took a quick a video demonstrating how I will power my waterbox controls from the main PC! 

 

Bypassing the basement loop? Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the wall! I'm bringing USB signal back from the sensor and Octo, so I'll be able to confirm the basement loop is running properly at all times from the office as well. 

[thrasher_565]

On 4/3/2022 at 8:05 AM, Spirillum said:

Added to my Google Photos album, I just took a quick a video demonstrating how I will power my waterbox controls from the main PC! 

 

Bypassing the basement loop? Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the wall! I'm bringing USB signal back from the sensor and Octo, so I'll be able to confirm the basement loop is running properly at all times from the office as well. 

nice build well you got my quad loop build beat in a thermaltake core 200 with 2 pedestals... haha

i also own a case labs thw10 not using atm was trying to sell it... only reason i wanted the dule system thow i should have modded mine for 2 systems would have save alot of moeny..

 

i see a custom adapter for the cpu 8pin? is that so you can use the mb slide out thing? i had an idea long ago were i wanted to have all the cables disconnected and a small loop so i cant use it as a bench but never did it i was looking at 24 pin vga....

[Spirillum]

I'm not sure what you mean by custom adapter for CPU 8-pin. On the Spectre there's a Powerboard with connections for the EPS, or on the motherboard it has a proprietary front panel connector adapter. That's for the power and reset buttons. 

 

I don't think I had anything special for EPS on my CaseLabs, just standard cables. 

 

You might be the only other person I've come across with a THW10. Welcome! 

[thrasher_565]

3 hours ago, Spirillum said:

I'm not sure what you mean by custom adapter for CPU 8-pin. On the Spectre there's a Powerboard with connections for the EPS, or on the motherboard it has a proprietary front panel connector adapter. That's for the power and reset buttons. 

 

I don't think I had anything special for EPS on my CaseLabs, just standard cables. 

 

You might be the only other person I've come across with a THW10. Welcome! 

use the quote button for people to respond thx

 

this

 

ya people must love there caselabs cases so i guess they dont sell em much. there i guy on here that clams he bought caslabs and is in the works of find what part gos with what.

 

ya good old build back in the day 1366 times i was stupid and didn't get a window...so cables look like that... i was all about air flow at the time...

 

fried the koolanc controller by buying an upgrade board for the wrong gen...

 

 

 

 

[Spirillum]

28 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

/snip

 

That's Singularity's Powerboard: https://singularitycases.com/product/sc-powerboard-spectre-3-0/

 

It's integrated into my Spectre case. 

 

 

I learned a lot from building in Phanteks and Fractal cases, wanting to maximize air flow, have a cascading loop for draining/filling, and enough radiator space to really overkill any hardware that I'd install. At the time I was running 780 Ti and later 1080 cards in SLI, and I really needed the cooling. The rear compartment in the THW10 was large enough to accommodate a full second loop, though I was never as diligent as I should have been with the cable management. 

 

I think there's a CaseLabs Enthusiast Facebook group that posts cases or components for sale from time to time. I'm at the office without FB logged in, but I'll find it and post when I get back to home base. Cheers! 

[thrasher_565]

9 minutes ago, Spirillum said:

That's Singularity's Powerboard: https://singularitycases.com/product/sc-powerboard-spectre-3-0/

 

It's integrated into my Spectre case. 

 

 

I learned a lot from building in Phanteks and Fractal cases, wanting to maximize air flow, have a cascading loop for draining/filling, and enough radiator space to really overkill any hardware that I'd install. At the time I was running 780 Ti and later 1080 cards in SLI, and I really needed the cooling. The rear compartment in the THW10 was large enough to accommodate a full second loop, though I was never as diligent as I should have been with the cable management. 

 

I think there's a CaseLabs Enthusiast Facebook group that posts cases or components for sale from time to time. I'm at the office without FB logged in, but I'll find it and post when I get back to home base. Cheers! 

oh dam that's expensive for just a cable hub...

 

ok so whats the reason for putting the water cooling thow the walls? dose the thw10 not have enough rad space? or is it because i can kinda thing? the thw10 should do at lest 4 push pull 420 rads and could have done another probably 3 rads with adapters. (the newer gen thw10 you could by rad mounts to use 4x 140mm rads and made both sides a flex bay)

 

thow 580 should fit with mods

 

anyway nice build ill have to keep an eye on it. one day ill work on my build...

 

ya i used fb for rare paintball parts and mods so there probably a caselabs group as well.

[Spirillum]

47 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

/snip

Expensive, but novel. The Spectre is all about integration, and I'm happy to support his business. You should check out some of his builds on his website or Youtube channel - really bleeding edge, high end, enthusiast grade stuff

 

It's less about room for radiators and more about not wanting to be in the same room as those radiators that are venting heat. For as cool as I can keep my components with a high-end custom loop, it still vents all of that heat into the same space where you're sitting and can get fairly toasty and uncomfortable over the course of a day of work or a session of gaming. 

 

The THW10 will house 2x 480mm and 2x 360mm rads, and it'll be in the utility room in the basement (also housing my server hardware). The Spectre case will be in the office upstairs (with my 5900x and 6800xt), with the loop connected through the walls. When the loop is connected, the Spectre in the office won't have any spinning fans on radiators whatsoever. 

 

The intent is so that I can vent the heat from the loop into the utility room, keeping the office nice and comfortable. In my Canadian climate it ranges from hot in the summer, where you'd want a portable a/c unit in the room (which is noisy, and consumes electricity), to very cold in the winter where you'd want to open a window. In either case it can be difficult to maintain a comfortable temperature and noise-free environment for the space. I looked into various ways to achieve a controlled climate for the space, and this was my solution.

 

It will allow me to have the no-compromises cooling performance & functionality of a loop in a much larger case, while building in a smaller mid-tower footprint in the office, which I find aesthetically pleasing. 

[samxtham]

Did you have any considerations for VRM and Memory (and possibly Chipset) water cooling so you could go completely fanless/passive in the office?

Or do you find that their temperatures aren't an issue under normal loads (without air passing over them).

I ask mostly just because I just found out about this:
https://www.ekwb.com/news/rog-maximus-z690-extreme-glacial-the-apogee-of-pc-hardware-and-liquid-cooling-engineering/

[Spirillum]

23 hours ago, samxtham said:

Did you have any considerations for VRM and Memory (and possibly Chipset) water cooling so you could go completely fanless/passive in the office?

Or do you find that their temperatures aren't an issue under normal loads (without air passing over them).

I ask mostly just because I just found out about this:
https://www.ekwb.com/news/rog-maximus-z690-extreme-glacial-the-apogee-of-pc-hardware-and-liquid-cooling-engineering/

I wanted to be able to bypass the basement loop, in case I'm ever having issues there. That's why I'll have the one 360mm radiator in the Spectre (fans won't be spinning, typically), and the three 120mm fans. I like the aesthetic of the spinning LL120 fans, and was happy to include them. 

 

I do love a big monoblock though! I had one in my RVE10 build a while back. 

[Spirillum]

I completed the loop in the Spectre today, including all glass tubing (!!), but tragically my final 90 degree bend broke as I was trying to fit it into the fitting - I've ordered a replacement, but a bit of a bummer for sure. 

 

Now I'm just back to waiting for those Singularity parts... 

[Spirillum]

I found a spare glass 90! Can finish tubing the loop, but one of the parts I'm waiting for is the pump. 

[Spirillum]

Today I completed the Powerboard custom cables, and worked on controls. I mounted the HUBBY7, OCTO, and Farbwerk. 

 

Connections will be: 

Hubby7: 
Out: to motherboard

In (1): High Flow NEXT Sensor

In (2): OCTO Fan Controller

In (3): Farbwerk

 

Octo: 

Fan 1: 3x Front Fans

Fan 2: 3x Top Radiator Fans

Fan 4: Pump

Temperature 1: Ambient Case Temp Sensorsta

Temperature 2: I considered installing a fluid temp sensor at the loop outlet, but I have another Next in the waterbox so decided against it for the sake of simplicity. 

 

Farbwerk:

aRBG 1: Front Case Fans (from SPLITTY4)

aRBG 2: Top Radiator Fans (from SPLITTY4)

aRBG 3: from SC Node (8-way aRBG splitter, will include all case lighting, pump, EK flow indicator)

 

I shortened all of the USB cables to length, as well as the MOLEX power connectors for the Farbwerk and Octo. 

 

I can do a little more cable management, but that's really it until parts arrive from Singularity. He says they should ship next week...

 

 

[Spirillum]

I painted the Linkup pcie 4.0 riser cable (had two red plastic pieces), and did some cable management. 

 

I ordered a few misc fittings from PPCS, but there's not a single thing that I can do now until the Singularity parts arrive. This will be my last update unless there are questions. 

[thrasher_565]

funny i think we have the same desk and legs... ods of that... i got my top used thow fore $40 2 corners are damaged... but its cheap. (dont like the with kinda short)

i got a speaker stand and attached my monitor vasa mount to it so one if off the desk thow my other one it still on there. i can drill a hole and mount it that would get red of the LARGE feet... still undecided on how i want to hook up my other pcs to the 2 monitors...

 

also noticed you have the gen 2 case nice.

[Spirillum]

19 hours ago, thrasher_565 said:

funny i think we have the same desk and legs... ods of that... i got my top used thow fore $40 2 corners are damaged... but its cheap. (dont like the with kinda short)

i got a speaker stand and attached my monitor vasa mount to it so one if off the desk thow my other one it still on there. i can drill a hole and mount it that would get red of the LARGE feet... still undecided on how i want to hook up my other pcs to the 2 monitors...

 

also noticed you have the gen 2 case nice.

The legs will stay, but I'm replacing the desk surface with a quartz to match what we're using throughout the rest of the house. It'll be a 68" x 38" piece of this: https://www.omniaquartz.com/signature/moonrock

 

You're right about the depth being a bit of an issue. With my monitor stand mounted in the desk, and then the mount projecting towards me as I'm sitting, it's a bit too close for my liking. My desk surface (currently) is 72" x 30", and as I'm sitting here typing, I sit about 8-10" back from the edge of the desk, but that still has me ~30" from the screens.  

 

I bought my multi-monitor stand from WSGF.org, and it was the WSGF Ultimate Desk Stand v2, which was an Ergotech product that they've since discontinued. I believe they have a newer option coming, but when I looked on their stand store it wasn't there yet. Hope this helps a potential reader anyhow  Instead of the desk-stand base, I'm using their Thru Desk Mount (Option), SKU: THRU-DESK-KIT. This included bolts and a base plate that mounts under the desk. I drilled the holes, and it was pretty straightforward from there. You could easily DIY this part, and I'm sure if you reached out to Skip at WSGF he'd either make you a kit or let you know which parts you'd need. It was quite the aesthetic upgrade from the large base, and maintains more stability when the desk is moving up and down. 

 

The case is the SC Spectre 3.0 Antumbra Powerboard Edition Silver, link: https://singularitycases.com/product/spectre-3-0-antumbra-le-silver/ It's been phenomenal to work with, and I love the integration of the power distribution and the watercooling components. The delivery is rough though. It was just over to 4 months from when I ordered (Nov 13) to when I received the case (Mar 23), and I'm still waiting on parts. I share some of the blame for the parts order, as I've been adding bits and bobs to my order as I conceptualized my vision for this project, but still, not a good fit if you're in a rush. 

 

Unless you meant my CaseLabs THW10 for the waterbox . 

[thrasher_565]

10 hours ago, Spirillum said:

The legs will stay, but I'm replacing the desk surface with a quartz to match what we're using throughout the rest of the house. It'll be a 68" x 38" piece of this: https://www.omniaquartz.com/signature/moonrock

 

You're right about the depth being a bit of an issue. With my monitor stand mounted in the desk, and then the mount projecting towards me as I'm sitting, it's a bit too close for my liking. My desk surface (currently) is 72" x 30", and as I'm sitting here typing, I sit about 8-10" back from the edge of the desk, but that still has me ~30" from the screens.  

 

I bought my multi-monitor stand from WSGF.org, and it was the WSGF Ultimate Desk Stand v2, which was an Ergotech product that they've since discontinued. I believe they have a newer option coming, but when I looked on their stand store it wasn't there yet. Hope this helps a potential reader anyhow  Instead of the desk-stand base, I'm using their Thru Desk Mount (Option), SKU: THRU-DESK-KIT. This included bolts and a base plate that mounts under the desk. I drilled the holes, and it was pretty straightforward from there. You could easily DIY this part, and I'm sure if you reached out to Skip at WSGF he'd either make you a kit or let you know which parts you'd need. It was quite the aesthetic upgrade from the large base, and maintains more stability when the desk is moving up and down. 

 

The case is the SC Spectre 3.0 Antumbra Powerboard Edition Silver, link: https://singularitycases.com/product/spectre-3-0-antumbra-le-silver/ It's been phenomenal to work with, and I love the integration of the power distribution and the watercooling components. The delivery is rough though. It was just over to 4 months from when I ordered (Nov 13) to when I received the case (Mar 23), and I'm still waiting on parts. I share some of the blame for the parts order, as I've been adding bits and bobs to my order as I conceptualized my vision for this project, but still, not a good fit if you're in a rush. 

 

Unless you meant my CaseLabs THW10 for the waterbox . 

ya this is what i got desk, top, i looked hi and low and all desk start at 30 inch even most sit stand desk and my old desk was 26 inch and i didn't no if i would like 30 inch so i looked for hours and found this one and its grate.

 

ya i was talking about the caselabs case gen one only had one flex bay and gen 2 has 2. that was not far from when case labs went under. other thing was you can buy other mounts for the rads well the gen 1 used all pre mounted 120mm fan mounts. 

[Spirillum]

The parts to complete this project have finally left Australia and should arrive in ~2 weeks. 

 

We should also be having our final walkthrough inspection with our builders in that time, with a possession date to move into our new home. Looking forward to both! 

[Spirillum]

Per tracking, the box has arrived in Canada customs. 

 

Could potentially arrive Friday, but more likely next week. 

[Spirillum]

He forgot to include the aRGB hubs, so we're still waiting on those. 

 

I'm working on the custom motherboard and pcie cables now that we have the adapters.