Watercooled Ryzen in NCASE M1?

[ryanjg11]

I upgraded from my NCASE SFF build to a ridiculously large CaseLabs Merlin SM8 - you could stuff ten NCASE M1s in this behemoth! I think I may have overcompensated a bit...

This was my first custom loop watercooling build.

Anyway, I'm having regrets about moving to such a huge system, especially since I had no good reason for doing so (only a couple of drives, no need for optical drive). Of course, the Merlin is great for watercooling and has excellent airflow, and it's easier to build inside simply because of all the free space, but I'd like to move it all back into the NCASE M1.

I'm waiting for ASROCK to release their mini-ITX X370 board and then I'll make the move.

My question really comes down to cooling. In the Merlin, right now I've got a 360 (3x120) radiator on top, and a 240 (2x120) radiator on the front, with no less than seven fans in the case. I know I'll have to shrink down to a slim 240 radiator and fans, and I've seen some builds that also incorporate another 120 radiator and fan.

I'm expecting my temps to rise with this smaller configuration, no doubt. Do you think I can get away with it? Or is this probably not even worth hassling over, and just keep it all in the big boy Merlin? Right now, my CPU temps are low to mid 50s with an overclock to 3.9 Ghz. Video card will be a GTX 1080, also watercooled, in the same loop.

 

[AleksandarK]

You should be fine with 240 mm rad on the bottom with slim fans. Btw what fans you will be using. I would reccomend noctua becouse they are best slim 120 fans on the market right now

 

[ryanjg11]

I'm using a bunch of new Corsair ML120 mag-lev fans. I like them, but I'm guessing they might be too thick. Probably won't really know until everything is squished in there.

One other concern I have is res/pump mounting. I'm using a EKWB EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM pump/reservoir combo. It's pretty darn compact but I need to see how others are mounting their pump/res combos to identify the best fit.

 

[Neapolitan6th]

You could also put the pump in the basement of the case and still fit a 3.5in drive in with a single slot gpu.

This would allow you to use the side mounted radiator option which would provide for some better radiator/fan options. All with the res being mounted on the back of the rear 92mm fan mount.

There are lots of different ways you could do it. For the most performance you could have a 240 radiator on the the bottom and the side.

I've even seen a 240 in the basement and then a 92mm radiator in the rear.

I've never done it myself, so I'm sure some others would have better recommendations regarding temperatures to expect. Under normal conditions, a 240mm radiator is typically enough for both the gpu and cpu. However, I'm not sure how much hotter a single 240 rad setup would run within the Ncase.

 

[ryanjg11]

I'm already committed to the GTX 1080 FE (with waterblock and backplate). So I presume that will limit my radiator options some?

 

[rfarmer]

Use a side mounted 240mm radiator, I have seen several builds with bottom mounted radiators and bottom mounted and 92mm rear mounted. I have yet to see one that cools as well as a side mount. I have an i5 6600k OCed to 4.6 GHz at 1.25v and a GTX 1070. Max temps on the CPU is 60C and 42C on the GPU.

I highly recommend the FrozenQ reservoir, it mounts perfectly on the back, is easy to fill and doesn't take up any space on the interior. I am using a Swiftech Apogee Drive II which works very well and removes the need of mounting a separate pump. If you don't want to go that route you can use a Laing DDC pump under the GPU, there is room for one with a pump top if you want.

 

[ryanjg11]

I highly recommend the FrozenQ reservoir, it mounts perfectly on the back, is easy to fill and doesn't take up any space on the interior.

I like the FrozenQ reservoir as well, but I already purchased an EKWB D5 combo pump/res. I believe I can option a short 64mm tube and that would make a tidy, compact little package. Still need to figure out where to mount it though.

 

[rfarmer]

I like the FrozenQ reservoir as well, but I already purchased an EKWB D5 combo pump/res. I believe I can option a short 64mm tube and that would make a tidy, compact little package. Still need to figure out where to mount it though.

You are going to have to use a bottom mounted radiator if you want to use that pump/res. There is no where to mount one with a side mounted radiator. Unless you hang it on the back, I have seen it done but it looks like hell.

Spoiler

This is the location most use for a pump/res combo.

Spoiler

 

[Alexreffand]

As rfarmer said, with that res, you're limited to bottom 240 and rear 90 rads, but it's a bit worse than that. With the bottom radiator you're limited to very thin radiators and very slim fans, which individually would impact performance noticeably, so I'd be concerned about the two together. The addition of the rear 90 would help, but I still feel like it's far from optimal, especially with you coming from such a prior setup as you are. I'm not saying it won't get the job done, but if I were in your position I'd see about doing the rear mounted res and if it's possible to do the bottom 240 AND a beefier side 240. The additional rad room and better fans and airflow might be worth it if it's possible.

 

[ryanjg11]

Unless you hang it on the back, I have seen it done but it looks like hell.

I was hoping it would look OK but in that picture, from that perspective, it really does look like hell. Do you have any zoomed-out pictures there?

With the baby-blue configuration pictured, where is this pump located?

I'm liking more and more the idea of mounting the 240 radiator on the side, with perhaps a slim 240 and slim fans along the bottom.

 

[rfarmer]

I was hoping it would look OK but in that picture, from that perspective, it really does look like hell. Do you have any zoomed-out pictures there?

With the baby-blue configuration pictured, where is this pump located?

I'm liking more and more the idea of mounting the 240 radiator on the side, with perhaps a slim 240 and slim fans along the bottom.

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-xtop-ddc-3-2-pwm-elite-plexi-incl-pump The pump is on the right side at the end of the reservoir.

https://0x7d.com/2015/ncase-m1-workstation-computer/ That is a link to the work log of the one with the rear mounted EK pump/res.

 

[ryanjg11]

With access to a 3D printer and the ability to custom model brackets, any possible way to get that EKWB EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM pump/reservoir combo stuffed in there, while still retaining the side-mounted radiator?

Alternatively, could I just use the D5 pump and purchase the FrozenQ reservoir, mounting just the pump inside?

 

[rfarmer]

With access to a 3D printer and the ability to custom model brackets, any possible way to get that EKWB EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM pump/reservoir combo stuffed in there, while still retaining the side-mounted radiator?

Alternatively, could I just use the D5 pump and purchase the FrozenQ reservoir, mounting just the pump inside?

Unfortunately no, there just isn't room. With a radiator and fans mounted you only have like 35mm between them and the PSU. You only have 45mm under the graphics card. The only way you could do it is with a short GPU and mount it on the case bottom.

Just to give you an idea of how much room is available.

 

[AG1M]

With access to a 3D printer and the ability to custom model brackets, any possible way to get that EKWB EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM pump/reservoir combo stuffed in there, while still retaining the side-mounted radiator?

Alternatively, could I just use the D5 pump and purchase the FrozenQ reservoir, mounting just the pump inside?

It only fit's a around 50mm reservoir (in my example at bottom it's a Alphacool Cape Coolplex Pro 10 LT) between radiator and motherboard, if you use a 27mm thick 240mm side radiator like the 240mm MagiCool G2 Slim ("normal" 30mm thick, 240mm radiator are already too thick for regular fans). If you use slim fans (<12-15mm thickness) instead of regular fans with <25mm thickness, you coukd add some 10mm to 13mm space, to get around 60 to 63mm room for a reservoir, but if I'm not wrong your pump/reservoir combo has 78mm thickness.

 

[Nanook]

With access to a 3D printer and the ability to custom model brackets, any possible way to get that EKWB EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM pump/reservoir combo stuffed in there, while still retaining the side-mounted radiator?

Alternatively, could I just use the D5 pump and purchase the FrozenQ reservoir, mounting just the pump inside?

The D5 takes up the entire width between the PSU and left wall. There may be some space in between the CPU water block (or ram) and the left wall, but still not enough for a 30mm thick radiator + fan. Internal pump and res will likely result in bottom + rear only reservoir.
The 140mm reservoir D5 will likely have to be mounted sideways as well.