[BlakLanner]

I am transplanting my machine from a Silverstone Raven to a CaseLabs Bullet BH08 in an attempt to find some extra room on my desk. This will be my first attempt in running hard lines. I have done several other builds including one that was submersion cooled inside a fish tank.

All of my previous builds were in large cases where I didn't have to think on what parts would fit. I merely had to install the parts, run the lines, and maybe drill a hole or two in order to make things fit. This is already causing some issues due to my "oh, it will fit" mentality. I will be taking note of all my errors as well so others can learn from where I have gone wrong.

Computer components:
Intel i7-6700k
ASUS Maximus VIII Formula
32GB GSkill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200 (F4-3200C14D-32GVR)
Samsung 960 Pro 1TB
ASUS Poseidon GTX1080Ti
ASUS Essense STX sound card (I run my sound to a receiver and get much better quality over coax instead of the TOSLINK on the motherboard)

Initial proposed cooling parts:
Alphacool NexXxos XT45 280mm (Top radiator)
Alphacool NexXxos ST30 280mm (Front radiator)
EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM
250mL tube to extend reservoir
120mm bracket to mount pump to case bottom
XSPC Raystorm Pro waterblock (White LED, won't be installed)
4x Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC 2000 IP67 PWM 140mm Fan (Radiator fans)
1x Noctua NF-S12A 120mm Fan (Rear intake fan to ensure positive pressure)
Demicfilter BH8 fan filters
Alphacool G1/4 temp probe (inserted into top rad)
Primochill PETG tubing (clear)
Primochill Rigid Revolver SX fittings
Primochill True coolant - Blood Red (considering moving to the VUE coolant but want to wait and see how it works in the real world)

The initial plan was to mount the res/pump to the floor, the slim res to the front and the thick res to the top. The tube would start from the res and run along the bottom of the case to the rear cable access hole (drain valve in the middle of that run) and up to the top rad (fans exhaust). The rad would connect to the chipset cooler (built in on a Formula board), then to the CPU, then to the GPU, then to the front radiator (fans intake). The front radiator would feet back into the res to complete the loop.



I had decided on a black and red color scheme, forgetting that the Maximus VIII series has a lot less red in it than my old Maximus VI. It should still look pretty good when done. I will eventually get red/black modded PSU cables to round out the look but that is not presently in the budget. There will be few, if any, LEDs as the case sits on my desk in my bedroom and the lights would make it much harder to sleep.

The case arrives and it is beautiful. I quickly realize why they carry the price tag that they do and decide that it was worth every penny.



I also realize that it was just a little smaller than I had imagined. I am not sure if I can make it all fit but I think that I can eventually figure it out. I have noticed a few issues:

1) The bottom of the case is not accessible by removing the outer shell. The bottom part holds the rest of the case together so I cannot remove both. Access to bottom only available by removing the 240mm mounts at the bottom. It will still work for a drain but will make it awkward as I will have to prop up the case to remove the panel and that the panel is too large to simply remove it and cover the hole with the fan filter.

2) The gap between the front of the case and the motherboard tray is smaller than I expected. I will not be able to fit the pump in that gap and also mount the front fans and radiator.


Enough for either the fans or the radiator, but not both. Need another inch or so. This seems to be the theme with this build.

Current plan is to try and make a bracket for the middle of the front radiator to fit the pump. I may have to move the inlet of the pump/res to the top but can't be 100% on that until I see if/how the bracket has the pump sit. I wonder if the top radiator should have been an X-flow to make routing the lines a little easier with the new proposed setup.

Parts arrived:
Case, 140mm fans, waterblock, pump, temp sensor

Waiting on:
120mm fan, filters, tubing, fittings, radiators

 

[AngryGoldfish]

In. Sounds good to me.

 

[EKJake]

Following along!

 

[spinFX]

A build log with some challenges right off the bat, sounds good.

 

[EKJake]

Alright, now that I have a free moment tonight, I'll chime in.

I'm happy to help you sort out the watercooling for this. I know it can be a tight fit.

Optionally, a Dremel and a hole saw can fix any fitment issues.

 

[mumford]

 

[BlakLanner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JakeCL

Optionally, a Dremel and a hole saw can fix any fitment issues.

A man after my own heart. That is how I have solved many issues in the past but I really don't want to mar this beautiful case with my ugly cuts.

I won't know for certain until my radiators arrive in the next day or two but I foresee the following potential issues:

1) The top (45mm) radiator getting in the way of either the rear fan or the front radiator and fan, depending on how I orient the top bracket. I already know that I cannot swap the radiators (30 to top, 45 to front) due to the length of my GPU. Said GPU (and the fact that I specced out a model with a window on top) also means I can't just run them side by side on the top. Something tells me I won't be able to cleanly mod the bottom to fit the 280x45 down there.

2) Finding a place to put the pump. Right now I am hoping that I can make a bracket that will screw into the middle section of the front radiator but remain clear of both my GPU and top radiator. I might have to acquire a smaller reservoir tube and change the top to allow it to be used as the fluid intake with these changes. I really dislike the horizontal pump/res layouts as it makes things much harder to fill and much easier to have your pump damaged if not completely filled.

3) Draining the system. In the past, I have preferred to have a connector at the bottom of my case right after the pump to drain the system. This would also let me attach my air compressor and run air through the system to drain the radiators better/faster. This only works if it is right after the pump as I have to keep the reservoir open to allow air in/out. Right now, the only place at the bottom of the case remotely accessible is at the cover for the 240mm rad mount at the bottom. That is a pretty big panel to just leave open. Theoretically, I could cut along the bottom of the case, essentially making a lower side panel held on by a few screws to access the bottom, but there I go again with slicing apart such a nice case.

 

[potato42]

I am following this with great interest, as my BH8 case will soon be here and I also plan on watercooling. I was wondering if you think there is room for both a vertical reservoir and 2x 140mm standard thickness (25mm) fans on front - without a front mounted radiator? I plan on only utilizing the top for a radiator, but the placement and use of the reservoir has me stumped. I had been planning on a horizontal mounted reservoir, accessed as you say through the bottom rad panel, but it does sound like quite a pain.

 

[BlakLanner]

Yes, you would be able to fit a vertical res (at least the one I picked) with just the fans installed. There was about 35mm clearance from the fan mount to the side of the reservoir. I would have drilled a few mounting holes in the bottom of the case for me to attach the bracket (standard EK 120mm vertical mount). I would still need to access the bottom to drain the system though, which could be done via that bottom panel.

 

[potato42]

Thanks for the quick reply! Do you think there would still be enough room with an E-ATX sized motherboard?

 

[BlakLanner]

If I am not mistaken, there is a plate that you have to screw in that covers the gap in order to use EATX. With that in place, there is no gap in which to place the reservoir. Your best option then would likely be to use a mounting bracket and attach it directly to the fan but I am not 100% on how well that will fit.

 

[BlakLanner]

In what I imagine was an annoying moment for my mail carrier, just about everything I have ordered arrived all at once. The radiators will get their bath tonight and I start trying to fit things together either tonight or tomorrow.

 

[BlakLanner]

Radiators cleaned out and time to start assembling!

Front radiator and rear fan attached.


And now for the moment of truth. Will it actually fit?

Nope! The top radiator won't fit even if I remove the rear intake fan. I will have to decide between a front radiator or a top radiator. Or do I?


This is the radiator sitting on the bottom of the case. This raises a few questions:
1) The mounting at the bottom is for a 240mm radiator. Can I even fit a 280mm down there?

2) There is little clearance for fittings with the 45mm thick radiator. Will I be able to even get it to fit with 90 degree fittings? I already know that I can't just put the 45mm in the front and the 30mm in the bottom.

3) Accessing the bottom of the case is tough enough with having that panel out, can I even get under there if I have a radiator there?

I would hate to have to purchase a new radiator and I certainly don't want to return parts because my impulsiveness and lack of planning caused me to order the wrong ones. If I do get a replacement radiator, I would just get a 240x30mm and two 120mm fans to make life simpler.

I definitely will have to get a new reservoir tube and make my own mounting bracket.

This is my current res with the official bracket:


If I make a bracket so the center of the pump mounts aligns with the mounting holes of the radiator, the height ends up like this:


The 110mL reservoir tube is 40mm shorter than the 150mL tube shown, so that should easily fit under the top of the case. I might want to consider the X3 multiport res top in order to use the top as an inlet to make the tube pathing much less complicated. As for the bracket, I don't have a 3d printer so I will be prototyping the bracket out of a 1/4" thick board and my average at best carpentry skills.

I really should name this build "That's what she said" as I keep repeating to myself "if it only was an inch bigger" with the expected pause and response in my head.

 

[mumford]

Is there enough space to fit two 280mm radiators on the roof?

 

[BlakLanner]

From a configuration standpoint, yes. You can order the case with a second mounting bracket and dual ventilated top. For me, that is not possible. The waterblock on the Poseidon is too tall to accommodate fans and a radiator hanging over it. Knowing this, I ordered my case with a plexi top over that section so I couldn't try it now even if I wanted to.

 

[last-]

Going to be keeping my eye on this. I plan to do my next build in this case (whenever I get around to doing it).

 

[potato42]

Thanks for updating us! Those pictures you posted are invaluable to my upcoming build thanks so much!

 

[lemniscate]

Subbed. Planning to do a build in the same case as well. Do you think using 240 radiator on top would solve your clearance issues against the front radiator and fans?

 

[potato42]

Have you considered a PCI-e riser extension cable for the gpu? I have been thinking about that as my back up plan if I lack room up top, but I would not look forward to modifying the rear of the case to accomodate the horizontal card after.

 

[BlakLanner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by potato42

Have you considered a PCI-e riser extension cable for the gpu? I have been thinking about that as my back up plan if I lack room up top, but I would not look forward to modifying the rear of the case to accomodate the horizontal card after.

No I had not considered it. I am not a fan of such risers or extension cables unless absolutely necessary. I also don't see how I could get said card attached to the case once I used it. If this is a new build, your best bet is to use what CaseLabs calls a "standard height liquid cooled card" as that would give you 55mm of clearance for your radiator/fans. You get 94mm to work with from the top of the PCI slot to the bottom of the bracket. Another option would be to use 15mm fans if you can find ones with enough static pressure to push air through the radiator to buy you another 8-10mm to work with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemniscate

Subbed. Planning to do a build in the same case as well. Do you think using 240 radiator on top would solve your clearance issues against the front radiator and fans?

It would be very close and depend on the radiator itself. I measured 285mm between the radiator and the rear fan. The 240mm version of the Alphacool NexXxos is listed as being 277mm long so it should fit in theory. One would likely have to modify/add the mounting holes on the top bracket to get it aligned correctly but it shouldn't be that difficult. If you forgo the rear intake fan (was only there to be 100% sure of positive pressure), it would likely fit with only very minor, if any, modifications. Finding a spot for the pump and reservoir would still be tricky unless you are ok with it being horizontally mounted and/or don't use a combo unit.

The more I think about it, the more I think I will have to get a 240mm radiator. While the 280mm does technically fit in the bottom, finding a way to mount it properly is the tough part. Any cuts that I make to allow the radiator to securely mount to the bottom of the case would likely put too much strain on the removable 240mm plate as I would have to cut apart its mounting bracket (once again needing one more inch of space) and I am pretty sure that said plate won't be able to handle the weight with only one screw attached. I would also have to deal with decreased airflow unless I cut extra ventilation holes to take advantage of the extra 20mm of fan diameter, thus rendering the custom made fan filter less than effective.

During a restless night of thinking about how to get all of this to work, I installed the fan filters. They went in fairly easily aside from a few minor issues getting the magnets to line up properly. They look pretty good but I do wish the sides had a less glossy finish that matched the case a bit better.