Stupid B&W WC 1070 Build in mATX

[MarbleDuck]

e: Progress post #1

 

Will be updating this thread as I finish things up and put the footage together. I've got about a couple hours of footage, and will be filming the rest of the process over the next couple weeks. Unfortunately, I don't have a cameraman, so everything is from one angle on a tripod, which is a little suboptimal

 

Purpose: Extremely quiet gaming PC
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv mATX - The best looking mATX case I could find. May be switched out for a Cerberus when that case releases.
i5-6600K - Hyperthreading is unnecessary for this application
Asus Maximus 8 Impact - Originally chose the board for an mITX build. Ended up with an mATX case because Cerberus hasn't released yet. It's not like I use the extra PCI-e slots, anyway.
G.Skill Trident Z 3200MHz 32Gb - What? I liked the heatspreader design. Besides, despite the i5, this will end up handling some workstation duties.
EVGA GTX 1070 Superclocked ACX - the non-reference cooler is getting shelved anyway. I always end up buying EVGA products when I can because their warranty is so damn nice.
Seasonic Snowsilent 750
Samsung 850 Evo 1tb
Samsung 850 Evo 256Gb - I'm not made of money, you know.

 

WC Nonsense
XSPC Ion pump/res - it was white.
XSPC EX120
XSPC EX240x2 - Ex-series radiators perform well with low RPM fans, and are slightly slimmer than the AX rads. This ended up being important.
Noiseblocker eloop x5 - Quiet.
EK FC1070
EK Asus M8I Monoblock
EK-Ekoolant Pastel White
Primochill LRT Clear

EK-ACF fittings

 

Lacking any actual content for the moment, we can instead appreciate how nice EK's block looks on my 1070.

 

 

 

[MarbleDuck]

1 minute ago, Jorgen297 said:

wait did you remove your profile pic? i liked it

Fine, you can have it back: 

[Energycore]

If you're on a budget and need mass storage, consider a low RPM (5400) HDD, especially one from the recommended hard drives list over at SPCR.

 

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page2.html

[Energycore]

I would not recommend eloops for radiators since their airflow to pressure is skewed toward the airflow side, but with the heat you'll be dissipating you're unlikely to notice.

 

If you feel like you need a fan upgrade, I'm a fan of EK vardars although they are expensive. There's also NF-F12s, can't go wrong with those. Either way the key to silence is overkill cooling and not so much the quality of the fans.

[Leinahtan]

Still patiently waiting for the Cerberus myself too. One day...  

[MarbleDuck]

8 hours ago, Energycore said:

If you're on a budget and need mass storage, consider a low RPM (5400) HDD, especially one from the recommended hard drives list over at SPCR.

 

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page2.html

I actually have a couple 4Tb 7200RPM drives sitting around. They're going to be attached to a downstairs NAS so I don't have to listen to them.

 

7 hours ago, Energycore said:

I would not recommend eloops for radiators since their airflow to pressure is skewed toward the airflow side, but with the heat you'll be dissipating you're unlikely to notice.

 

If you feel like you need a fan upgrade, I'm a fan of EK vardars although they are expensive. There's also NF-F12s, can't go wrong with those. Either way the key to silence is overkill cooling and not so much the quality of the fans.

I actually have two Vardars as well. I initially bought two of the eloops as well as the vardars, but found that, even in very low RPM, the vardars were louder than the eloops at max RPM. The static pressure of the eloops isn't great, but it doesn't need to be.

[MarbleDuck]

8 hours ago, Jorgen297 said:

Thanks lol btw it say's i5 6500k but dont you mean 6600k?

My brain is still on Sandy Bridge. Fixed.

[MarbleDuck]

Oh look, I made some progress.

 

 

A list of extremely interesting things which have happened so far:

1)

 

I mean, I had to return the res/pump unit—that's what I get for cheaping out on it, to be honest. The EK unit I got to replace it is almost twice the price.

 

Anyway, so here's the story: I start filling up the loop and things seem to be going as expected. The pump is a little bit noisy, but hey, I've got a lot of air in there. It probably won't be a big deal once the bubbles are gone, right?

 

Nope.

 

After getting it mostly full, I find that the pump is creating a lot of noise. Well, really, it's the case which is noisy—the pump vibrates around and the case makes a nice harmonic. So I put some rubber washers between the pump/res and the mounting location. Problem solved.

 

Mostly.

 

Now, it seems that the vibration might have been a bit out of line even for this unit. It's still extremely noisy, and quite audible from several feet away. It's at this point that I realize that I'm going to have to figure out how to return a probably perfectly functional unit, since the noise is absolutely unacceptable for a quiet build. So I prayed to the Lord.

 

...and the Lord provided. A leak suddenly appeared from the bottom of the res as I tilted the case slightly to move some air bubbles. Thank you, divine intervention. While I wasn't able to replicate the leak more than twice, the pump sounds did continue to get worse, culminating in an awful grinding noise which lasted up until I turned off for good.

 

So, ordered a unit from EK. It got here today, and I... need some 90 degree fittings. So we're waiting on those now.