[finfud]

My first build was last summer and was relatively easy. Obsidian 650D, H100, i5-3570K at 4.5Ghz, integrated graphics. I'm trying something more ambitious. Here's the beginning. I have purchased everything besides cooling (pump, rads, fans) and misc accessories (brackets).

Got an o7-3770K (good deal at Microcenter) which hopefully clocks to 4.7. I plan on running 2 Samsung 840 Pro 128GB in Raid0 as my system drive. 2 WD Red for backup and storage, mounted with Nexus Doubletwin (and 100GB on Dropbox for safety). I will use the machine at work for Matlab simulations and processing fairly large data in SAS (>10GB). Asus P8Z77-V Pro mobo, will flash bios with updated orom for raid0 trim. 32GB G.Skill Sniper 1866Mhz, hopefully it clocks to 2100. Some random Bluray burner.
Fan near drives mounted using (UN)Designs 5.25 Bay rad bracket. I think it's long enough to allow room for sata and power cables to drives. I chose to mount this way instead of using 4-to-3 hdd bay device since those cram drives very close together and don't blow air over sides of drives. SPCR article from a few years back claims most of HDD heat escapes through sides, some through bottom. Anyway, with this setup I can put Enzotech heatsinks on drives for better cooling.

Probably HD7850 graphics card. I just need something that will comfortable run 2 1680x1050 monitors on DVI and another 1920x1200 on displayport. I know an HD7770 can probably do this since I don't game, but I MAY eventually do some basic GPU computing so I'd rather have a decent card.

In image below, red is radiators and green is 120mm (or 2x120) fans. I'm thinking Alphacool UT60 240mm as the front intake, ST30 as the bottom intake, and XT45 is rear exhaust. Going to use Phobya foam gasket/shrouds and rubber fan spacers everywhere.

As of now I'm thinking of using Scythe AP-15 for all fans. Used in my last corsair build and loved them. Only problem is what everyone knows; weird resonance tones around 1400-1700 rpm. I think most of the time I can run at ~1100 and ramp up to full under heavy load. Asus FanXpert2 should be flexible enough to completely avoid the problem RPM range. The push/pull fans on UT60 need to be run 2 per header. Nidec spec sheet shows 0.36A starting current with 0.086A running current. Mobo fan headers rated at 1A so I don't think this should be a problem. If anyone has a better suggestion (like some awesome PWM fan that can be mobo controller and PSU powered

??) I'm all ears. Other fans are 1 per header.

Pretty sure I will use Swiftech MCP35X pump with "integrated" reservoir and optional heatsink. I like PWM control. Will mount to bottom intake rad using (UN)Designs Z2 Pump bracket, decoupled with some foam or rubber.
Swiftech Apogee HD CPU block and MCW82 GPU block.

I haven't made any decisions regarding fittings and tubing. Martin likes barbs for good seal, though compression looks nicer. The XL R2 case has no window so I'm not sure compression has any benefit. I'm a noob with custom water. What do you guys think? I appreciate suggestions before I buy the cooling hardware. Found best prices on swiftech stuff at jabtech (all on sale now).

Spoiler: Build diagram

Case notes: The XL R2 is so far a very pleasant case. Contrary to review you've seen, the front filter can be removed without removing the fans IF you use 120mm mounted directly to the fan bracket. I liked the toolless bays in the Obsidian 650D, but think the screw style in the XL R2 is more flexible for doing weird things, like bay res or rad brackets. The overall build quality is pretty excellent, though maybe not quite as good as 650D. I really like the factory noise blocking foam and really heavy bitumen anti-vibe material on both side panels. The included 140mm 1000rpm fans are fairly silent at 12V, but don't push much air (no scientific testing). I which Fractal would just exclude them and charge $10 less (most manufacturers should do this since most of us change the fans!).

 

[bwhiten]

Very interested to wach. Define XL R2 is what I am targeting for a dual 2011 Xenon build with a SM EATX MB.
There's also an ATX version of the MB if I decide there isn't enough room.
Water cooling loop with possibly dual 240 rads. One up top, one in the front.
I don't believe there is a place for a 360 inside?

 

[finfud]

There isn't room for a 360. Can do 240 front, 120 bottom, 120 rear, 240 top. Rear may interfere with top. I bought this case mainly for silence since I'm not going to run high end graphics. It's not the best case for a serious gaming rig. But for a good looking, quiet workstation it seems really promising.

 

[PhantomTaco]

Why not use 2 240mm instead of a 240 and 2 120mm rads?

Also I'd go for compression personally, I've never had a leak from them.

 

[bwhiten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by finfud

There isn't room for a 360...........
Rear may interfere with top. I bought this case mainly for silence..........for a quiet workstation it seems really promising.

Didn't think there was enough room for a 360.
Why rear interference with the top rad? Rad maybe too long?
Definitely a workstation application for me.
Also, looking at your model, if it's close to scale, looks like a thin rad up top would be necessary if I tried that.
And maybe no room for internal fans up top.

 

[finfud]

I measured again. There's 2 5/8 inches from case top to top of mobo so enough room for rad and fans. Only trouble is bit of difficulty in routing 8pin cpu power. I prefer to keep foam panels on top to block sound. I think setup like this should be quietest. A bit more expensive buying 2 120mm rads instead of 240 but I hope it's worth it. Top rad does NOT interfere with rear so you could put rads in all locations. I don't think the extra fittings from having an extra radiator should significantly affect loop resistance.

 

[bwhiten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by finfud

I measured again...........
I don't think the extra fittings from having an extra radiator should significantly affect loop resistance.

Cool on the top measurement.
And I believe any additional loop resistance will be minimal compared to the extra cooling power of the added rad.
I take it that Asus MB is standard ATX size?

 

[MarkV1184]

Subbed! I was thinking about getting this case for the wife, but wasn't sure about the available space

And welcome to OCN from a fellow Chicago'an! I'm a frequent customer of the Micro Center in Westmont.

 

[finfud]

Asus is standard ATX. The case can fit larger but ATX is fine for me. I had a bit of difficulty mounting the mobo. Not sure if it is because of thick foam on Asus backplate or slightly misaligned holes for mobo standoffs. Needed to manipulate board a bit (1-2 mm) for each screw. In the Corsair 650D I had no such problems using a Gigabyte UD3H mobo.

I buy CPUs and mobos at Microcenter in Lincoln Park. Love the deals. $230 for 3770K.

 

[finfud]

Sorry for no updates. More parts arrived!

Spoiler: SSDs

Spoiler: AP-15s

The KamaFlow to be mounted along with sound foam to top intake, cooling off HDDs, ram, and mobo vrms. In place, it just clears and 24pin ATX cable and leave room for SATA and power cables to drives.

Spoiler: KamaFlow2 900RPM with UNDesign Brackets

 

[bwhiten]

No new updates?
I'm having to limit my selection for water blocks as these SM multi-processor motherboards have what's called a "narrow" ILM LGA2011 pattern.
Right now I can only find those from EKWB in their Supremacy line.

 

[finfud]

Sorry for lack of updates. Waiting on replacement reservoir. First one arrived cracked. Going on vacation out of country so build on hold for a couple weeks.

Swiftech blocks and Danger Den 1/2" ID black sparkle barbs. Basically identical to Bitspower version but cheaper. t-connector and elbows are solid brass from Home Depot, originally meant for PEX tubing (used for heating systems). Though nominally 1/2", PEX has actual ID of 0.475" SPECS. I am using 7/16" (0.435) Tygon tubing so this should still work. I tested and it seems to form a good seal. I wouldn't recommend using these fittings with 1/2" ID tubing. The 7/16 tubing is kind of a tight fit on the 1/2 Danger Den barbs, but not too difficult to install.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Here are drives installed. Samsung SSDs held in place with double sided tape. After reading about seemingly bad batches of WD Red drives, I instead went with Toshiba branded Hitachi 3TB drives for storage. They're mounted using Nexus Doubletwin with copper heatsinks on sides. SATA cables are routed through holes in 5.25 bay cage (just barely large enough to wiggle the connector through.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[finfud]

It seems only EKWB makes that mount. Possible to mount different block using the EK adapter?

 

[bwhiten]

That would be an interesting question.
I suppose I can purchase one adapter, cheap enough, and try it with a standard LGA2011 FHS to see how it matches up.
Should have the same pattern as a LGA2011 block.
Don't suppose EK will be that happy if it works

 

[finfud]

Started assembly.

900rpm fan mounted to ceiling for cooling HDDs. 8-32 screws fit perfectly in fan holes (the noise foam uses standard fan screws). They even kinda fit the thread pattern made by fan screws. I stupidly bought screws that are much longer then necessary. It was pretty tough to hold the nylock nuts with a wrench while tightening screws. Extra long screws means I had to do this horrible job for much longer time than if I had been smart and ordered screws of half the length.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Mounted pump to UNDesign Z3 bracket. Used long screws to mount bracket, heatsink, and pump all together. Be careful when doing this as bracket has very little rise for screw head (no room for vibe dampeners). I cut up the stock, fairly dense foam that came with MCP35X pump to put between heatsink and bracket. Screws go right through the foam.

Tubing from pump to radiator was a pita. The 7/16 Tygon tubing is SUPER flexible and is nearly impossible to kink. I'm sure the way I've done it isn't optimal in terms of turbulence/pressure drop, etc. But it's the only way I could figure out. As you can see, there is only about 1.5 inches between end of barb coming from pump and the 90 degree elbow. Also, since barb is 1/2" and elbow is 0.475" the flow won't be perfectly smooth there. 7/16 tubing is not fun to mate with 1/2 barbs, but wetting the tube first helps a lot.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Finally, front and bottom rads loosely mounted to show position. Fit is pretty tight, especially since I'm using 10mm foam gaskets everywhere:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[bwhiten]

Looks like your getting there! Even with a large case tubing can be a challenge.
Just an FYI but I ordered one of the narrow ILM block adapters from EKWB to see if they would be compatible with other standard blocks.
Worth a shot to give me more options.
Keep the info coming!

 

[finfud]

Back in the country. Finished tubing. Mounted blocks. Filled system and started leak testing. Noticed a weird thing which I cannot explain.

When the pump is off, a small section of tubing attached to front radiator is completely empty (full of air, not water). When I turn on power, water level in reservoir drops and whole system is full. Every time I turn off pump, the same section goes empty even though everything else is full. The section is NOT near the top of the loop. I don't know why this is happening. I'll post pics tomorrow if it helps.

 

[finfud]

Fixed problem by bleeding using port on radiator. There must have been some weird vacuum/uneven pressure building up. Only a few tiny air bubbles left but they're going with some tapping on tubes. No leaks so far.

WC is a bigger pita than I anticipated. Next time I think I'll use a larger reservoir, placed at the top of the loop. Might make equalizing pressure easier (i.e. easier to bleed).

Had to trim bottom filter on XL R2 case since button screws I'm using for radiator stick up too far. Stock screws are countersunk fan screws that sit flush with case.

 

[finfud]

Finished leak testing, installing OS, overclocking, stability testing!! Using DangerDen fillport connected to bottom rad as a drain.

I can confirm that TRIM DOES WORK with SSDs in RAID0 using modded bios. Downloaded Intel RST 11.7 executable from station-drivers.com (where tester at rwlabs.com downloaded from). Used trimcheck to verify actual functionality.

Overclocked 4.5 Ghz at 1.29v, stable with 30 runs of IntelBurnTest at Very High. Unfortunately, I'm seeing pretty high load temps. Idle is ~28-30C but load with IBT is >80C on all cores. I remounted the block but no improvement. Perhaps I suck at mounting?
The issue is not with the loop since GPU runs super cool. Did a benchmark with FurMark after maxing out overclock settings for card. Drawing 60 watts the GPU maxed at 36C and VRMs hit 52C.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Pics

 

[bwhiten]

What SSD brand are you using in the RAID0?
I take it that's a single loop with no splitter somewhere.
What is the connection sequence pump outlet...........back to pump inlet?