FrostyBoy

[ExpendableCustoms]

Hello guys,

 

First of all I would like to introduce myself. My name is Paweł and i'm from Poland. I'm working with my friend Karol as ExpendableCustoms. I visit LTT since 3 years but i never posted anything. This is my 3rd project so i decided that it's the right time to introduce myself.

 

If you're interested here are links for my previous projects:All or Nothing and Lambda Core (still not finished - waiting for customs panels from Parvum).

 

Feel free to check our profile at Facebook and Instagram for more content.

 

 

Project:

 

I would like to thank aquatuning.de for providing all water cooling suff. Without this support it would be much harder to start this little project.

 

 

 

Few final shots of the project:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few words of introduction about the project. It all started from conversation with my brother-in-law about PC for my nephew, who graduated from elementary school this year. I offered to build PC for him, as a gift. It didn't take me much time to convience my brother-in-law that water cooled it the only way to go :thumb:. His only condition was case as small as possible. After working with monstrous L1.0 form Parvum choice was obvious for me. I decided to use smallest of all Parvum cases for this project - X2.0, exactly frosted clear version, which is not very popular. Frosted clear/satin plexi is main theme of this build. I'm going to use not only frosted X2.0 but also satin Alphacool CPU block, reservoir and tubing.

 

Building LC loop in such small case will be very challenging, especially bending hard line tubing. At the beginning i didn't even know if all parts i'm going to use, will fit in the case. Only way to find this out was to create exact 3d model of whole build. It took me several hours to gather all necesary dimensions and create model in SketchUp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PC specs:

 

Case: Parvum X2.0
Mobo: Asus Strix Z270i Gaming
CPU: i5 7600k
GPU: Zotac GtX 1080 Mini
RAM: G.Skill Trident Z 2x8GB 3200MHz
SSD: Crucial MX300 275GB M.2
PSU: Corsair SF450
Fans: 2x Noiseblocker PC-P and Noiseblocker PK-PS
Monitor: Dell U2715H

 

LC:

 

CPU block: Alphacool Eisblock XPX Satin Clear
Radiator: Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 140mm
Pump: Alphacool Eisbecher DDC 150mm + Alphacool Satin Plexi Tube
Tubing: Alphacool Eisrohr Satin 13/10mm
Fittings: Alphacool Eiszapfen

 

Buylog part of this worklog:

 

 

 

 

Dell U2715H - 1440p, IPS, 60Hz. Great image and build quality.

 

 

 

 

 

Mobo looks solid, i hope it will handle overclocked i5 7600k without any problems.

 

 

 

Top plastic part will be painted yellow to match whole system.

 

 

Match between motherboard radiator colour and RAM heatsink is perfect. I'm very pleased about this.

 

 

Crucial MX300 275GB will be only drive for this PC, because it will be attached to high bandwidth with NAS, which will store all games/movies and music.

 

 

 

 

Heart of system - little Corsair SF450 compared to 'normal' ATX HX1000i

 

 

Due to lack of space i decided to use low profile fans at the back.

 

 

 

 

Pump with standard reservoir tube...

 

 

... and with satin one.

 

 

Color of fluid is not exactly what i was expecting, but it's easy to change.

 

 

 

Of course i will make all cables from scratch.

 

More pictures (including case) at Saturday or Sunday. Stay tuned :).

[Hackentosher]

Wow, no one's first post is ever this exciting. Welcome to the forums!

[ExpendableCustoms]

@Hackentosher - Thank you very much :). Now i feel pressure to keep level of my next posts .

 

Just received 'mysterious' package from Parvum .

 

 

Quick assembly of all hardware to check if none of parts is DOA. Luckily, everything is fine .

 

 

 

 

I will post pictures of X2.0 tomorrow. Stay tuned!

[ExpendableCustoms]

Parvum X2.0 frosted clear after assembly:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First issue - original black screws don't match case esthetics. They all will be changed to stainless steel. I've already have few, but no enough for whole case.

 

Below - front of the case with changed screws. In my opinion it looks way better.

 

 

 

[ExpendableCustoms]

Stainless steel screws got deliver. In my opinion case looks much better now.

 

 

 

Tomorrow more pictures of real work including cutting, heating and bending .

[ExpendableCustoms]

It's time to end buylog part of this worklog, and start some real work. I've started with hardline tube bending, because i assumed this will be the hardest part of the build and will determine the whole look of it.



Assembly station - tactial blanket prevent case from scratching .













Some of you may noticed that pump to CPU block tube isn't connetced. It's because i ran out of 90 angle adapters.

I'm very pleased with look of tubes. Every section is parallel or perpendicular to another one.



Bending station made of 100x100x1cm plywood which helps to screw on every mold i'm using. Heat gun with variable temperature is must have, when i'm bending, because it's much harder to overheat the tube, when you set temperature to 300-330 Celsius.



Hardest connection was between CPU block and radiator because of two 90 degree bends close to each other. I've tried few different routes, but finalny i take off all measurements and i built small template for bending.



Pile of shame - all those tubes, except one, are unsuccessful connections betwen CPU block and radiator.

[Glennieboyyy007]

i love the look of it right now, especially the tube from the rad/pump to the cpu block. a nice smooth bend, really nice!! keep up the good work

[TheCamba]

This may be my favorite build currently.  Love the look of the case.

[ExpendableCustoms]

@Glennieboyyy007 @TheCamba Thank you for the kind words :). Pump to CPU block was easiest to make, i just used 180 degree mold and set pump in proper position :P. On the other hand making rad to CPU block tube took me almost 14 hours and 7 attempts.

 

Today i changed rez tube to satin one, drill holes in base plate and mount the pump. Seems like not to much work, but i had to disassemble whole case to do this.

 

 

 

Tomorrow or day after tomorrow i'm going to paint RAM and start work on cabling.

[Guest]

That is one awesome looking build .

[TheCamba]

@ExpendableCustoms Will you be adding LEDs to this build?

[ExpendableCustoms]

@TheCamba Yes, i will use 2 or 3 LED strips hidden in angled aluminium profile with milky cover to dissipate light more even. Now i have to decide whether to use standard white LED stip or RGB one. Asus Z270i has RGB header so going RGB route will be easy one.

[ExpendableCustoms]

Custom cables for project made from scratch. I made all core cables (24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, 8-pin PCIE, PSU Molex), and all peripheral cables (extension for front radiator fan, splitter for rear fans, cable for front panel, also mobo batery and pump got sleeved).







I've also prepared lights system based on 3 RGB LED strips cased in aluminium profile with milky cover to dessipate light more even. First strip will be placed behind motherboard tray, second above radiator, and third near rear fans.



Fans also received a small 'surgery' to mask the stickers and colored cables.

Before:



And after:

[ExpendableCustoms]

Result of painting RAM plastic trim. I'm very pleased with effect.

[ExpendableCustoms]

New CPU block arrived - Alphacool Eisblock XPX with satin top. I really like it appearance, because it is different from other blocks available on the market.









I'm going to use another fluid, because this one is as yellow as North Korea is democratic country, but more on topic of "yellow' fluids in a few days.

[ExpendableCustoms]

Price of GPU in my country at last dropped to acceptable level, so i decided it's time to buy. At the beginning i was aiming at GTX 1070, but finally i managed to find GTx 1080 in a decent price.

The case has some serious limitations on the GPU side itself. Lenght of the card, in most cases, isn't a problem, but height and width is. 2.5 slot cards in theory should fit, but in practice 2.5 slot Palit JetStream is too thick. Another problem is height of the card. Zotac GTX 1080 mini has only slightly higher PCB than "reference" model, but 8-pin PCI-E cables rest on plexi window. If PCB was only 5mm taller, i would be unable to plug them in. This two major problems disqualify most of cards avaliable on the market. Of course throwing full cover water block on card would solve everything, but CPU and GPU on 140mm radiator is too crazy, even for me.

 

 

[ExpendableCustoms]

Unexpected problem I encountered when it comes to fluid color. All of the following fluids are advertised as yellow:



I do not know if I am a color-blind person, but I see orange, yellow and green here. Third time lucky and i can start filling the loop.

The orange looks almost like a whisky .

 

Caol Ila 12yo for comparison .

[ExpendableCustoms]

Build is finished and loop got filled. I hope you like it











































Next week i will post more photos with lighting system on, and PC on the desk - i'm currently waiting for workers to instal new glass desk.

[PoznanskaPyra]

Great build

[ExpendableCustoms]

Thank you :D.

[ExpendableCustoms]

In my spare time I remade a 3d model, which was originally use as a "base" for this project. Relative to the original, I had to invert the pump because the original tube arrangement was impossible to achieve - too tight bends, too close to each other.



I also noticed that build should have its own wallpaper. Of course it's based on picture i found on internet, but i processed it a little.



The computer was supposed to stand on a desk made from tempered glass... which shattered into million pieces before it was delivered from the company where it was ordered. For a new piece i have to wait another week.

[Glennieboyyy007]

12 minutes ago, ExpendableCustoms said:

In my spare time I remade a 3d model, which was originally use as a "base" for this project. Relative to the original, I had to invert the pump because the original tube arrangement was impossible to achieve - too tight bends, too close to each other.

I also noticed that build should have its own wallpaper. Of course it's based on picture i found on internet, but i processed it a little.

The computer was supposed to stand on a desk made from tempered glass... which shattered into million pieces before it was delivered from the company where it was ordered. For a new piece i have to wait another week.

looks so nice, can you show us the final stage of the whole thing when the desk is there?

i'm so excited!!

[ExpendableCustoms]

@Glennieboyyy007 Thank you for your support. Of course i will post pictures of whole set when the desk will be ready :). I think the earliest date to do this will be next weekend, so stay tuned!

[-ism]

Beautiful PC man! I love how small it is. Perfect use of space!

[ExpendableCustoms]

Final shots of the project .

Once again a heartfelt thanks for Aquatuning.de for providing all LC stuff for this project. Without this support accomplishment of whole project would be impossible.