CaseLabs STH10

[Blade Runner]

After completing my last build (It’s in the Rig section under “Workstation”) I wished that I had built it with a custom water cooled loop but as I am now using it as my main work PC taking it apart for a longish period would be no good.

So…………..I have gone and done it…………. I’ve hammered the AmEx and ordered a CaseLabs STH 10 in white with black Flexbay covers and a black on/ reset switch plate. (See pic at bottom for similar case)

I know it’s going to be a while until it turns up, I ordered it at the beginning of February, so I have spent a bit of time making plans and I have started to buy some of the water-cooling parts that I will need.

I will be taking the main parts from my current PC and fitting them to the new one but with building it in another case it will be out of action for a much shorter period.

Here is a list of the parts I will be transferring from my current PC:-

· Asus X 99-E WS
· Intel i7-5820K @ 4.3MHz
· G.Skill Ripjaws4 2400MHz 32GB
· Samsung 3D 850 PRO SSD 512GB
· Corsair Newtron GTX 256GB
· 2 x WD Red 1TB
· WD RE 1TB Backup
· 2 x OCUK Reference GTX 970's
· 2 x Sharkoon SATA Quick Port Internal Multi Docking Station
​

This is what I have either ordered or have got planned

· XSPC Raystorm CPU block
· 2 x XSPC Razor GTX 980 Water block and back plates (OCUK Reference 970’s use a 980 PCB B)
· 2 x Alphacool NexXxos UT60 560 Radiators
· 2 x Aqua Computer Aqualis Pro Nano reservoirs with lighting option 880ml
· 2 x Aqua Computer filters
· 2 x Aqua Computer Aquastream XT USB 12V Pump - Ultra Version
· Aqua Computer Aquaero 6 XT USB Fan Controller
· Aqua Computer farbwerk USB LED controller
· Monsoon Hardline Acrylic Tube 1/2 X 5/8 (16mm) clear
· Monsoon Hardline free centre fittings
· Monsoon Light Port and plain 90 degrees rotary fittings
· Various Bitspower bends/ fittings/ valves to suit

​

I will likely add another GPU and I will need a new power supply. I can’t make my mind up between a Super Flower 2Kw 8 pack edition Platinum or a Super flower 1.6Kw Titanium or a Corsair AX1500i

I am planning on keeping this case/ cooling loop for many years so the PSU needs to be big enough to allow for future expansion, for example 4 GPUs. I know new model CPUs/ GPUs etc. are using less watts than the previous models but it’s not a huge amount so I would be more comfortable with a big PSU.

I am doing my own sleeved cables again although not in paracord this time, I have bought some LC sleeve and 3.1 heat shrink.

I have been practicing bending the acrylic tube with the Monsoon jigs and I am getting better! I have plumbed in 3 full central heating systems over the last few years so I thought plastic pipe would be a doddle……… Give me copper tube, a bending spring some solder and a blow torch any time – it’s much easier! J

Here is picture of a case that is very similar to the one I have ordered and a couple of pics of the bits that have been delivered so far.

I will post more as it gets delivered and also some questions I have regarding the case and a few dimensions I could do with now so I could make a start on some custom brackets etc.

ETA A pic of the planned loop - in theory

 

[JR23]

Whoa that's a lot, a lot of everything

Are you going for dual loops? What PWM 140's have you got your eye on? All of the aforementioned PSU's seem like ridiculous overkill even for 3 970's, but so does the cooling, and the case.... so i'd probably go for the Titanium Superflower.

JR

 

[Blade Runner]

It is a lot.. of everything but you only live once and I thought what the hell.....

It will be dual loops and I have ordered 8 Phanteks PH-F140SP-BK 140 fans but not PWM, the Aquero fan controller can run non PWM fans at various speeds.

 

[Wraith]

This is going to be an epic build! I'm subbed for sure.

 

[Bartacus]

WOW, a lot indeed! But that's all good. I think I'd take the 2K PSU, because 2000 watts adds 6 inches to the ole e-pecker. I think I'd have to upgrade the crappy breakers in my house to use a PSU that large, LOL!

 

[JR23]

It is a lot.. of everything but you only live once and I thought what the hell.....

It will be dual loops and I have ordered 8 Phanteks PH-F140SP-BK 140 fans but not PWM, the Aquero fan controller can run non PWM fans at various speeds.

Interesting, the whole appeal of the Aquaero 6 seemed to be in the PWM route so you could stick multiple pumps and countless fans on it. When I was putting my rig together the 6 had just come out and it was rather expensive, I ended up saving quite a bit by running a pair of Aquaero 5 LT's. It wasn't really necessary they don't run that hot as it happens but it's nice overkill. I thought you'd be eyeing up the 1200RPM PWM P12 Redux's for it. Dual loops make sense, deciphering you loop plan in ant size is rather difficult though! It's not like your going to be tight on space anywhere.

Have you considered keeping the GPU loop separate in the bottom and the CPU up top, I just thought thermally and visually it might be nice not to intertwine them.

JR

 

[Blade Runner]

Interesting, the whole appeal of the Aquaero 6 seemed to be in the PWM route so you could stick multiple pumps and countless fans on it. When I was putting my rig together the 6 had just come out and it was rather expensive, I ended up saving quite a bit by running a pair of Aquaero 5 LT's. It wasn't really necessary they don't run that hot as it happens but it's nice overkill. I thought you'd be eyeing up the 1200RPM PWM P12 Redux's for it. Dual loops make sense, deciphering you loop plan in ant size is rather difficult though! It's not like your going to be tight on space anywhere.

Have you considered keeping the GPU loop separate in the bottom and the CPU up top, I just thought thermally and visually it might be nice not to intertwine them.

JR

I did consider putting one of the rads in the lower chamber but where this will sit on my desk will mean that it would be blowing air right at my keyboard/ hands.

I am going to try and squeeze the 2 rads in the top. I know it will be tight and I wont know for sure if it will fit until the case is here but that's the plan anyway.

 

[Blade Runner]

A bigger pic of the planned loop in the area of the reservoirs, note that the pipes will be in the rear compartment. This is laid out to scale so I can start bending the acrylic and leaving it a little over length.

I am having to fabricate another Stainless steel deflector plate for inside the right hand reservoir. I can only get the feed pipe into that side of the reservoir and the deflector is made to fit the other side, it aint reversable.

 

[Permafrost]

subbed

 

[BigDaddyKong]

 

[Blade Runner]

Interesting, the whole appeal of the Aquaero 6 seemed to be in the PWM route so you could stick multiple pumps and countless fans on it. When I was putting my rig together the 6 had just come out and it was rather expensive, I ended up saving quite a bit by running a pair of Aquaero 5 LT's. It wasn't really necessary they don't run that hot as it happens but it's nice overkill. I thought you'd be eyeing up the 1200RPM PWM P12 Redux's for it. Dual loops make sense, deciphering you loop plan in ant size is rather difficult though! It's not like your going to be tight on space anywhere.

Have you considered keeping the GPU loop separate in the bottom and the CPU up top, I just thought thermally and visually it might be nice not to intertwine them.

JR

Advice required if you or someone can help.

I have been told that the fans I ordered are not in stock and there is no ETA so I need to get some alternatives on order.

I had ordered the Phanteks because I have been impressed with the solid structure of the frames and the general feel of the fans. I have a couple in my current PC and they may not be fancy but they are quiet and push plenty of air through.

I was under the impression that running non PWM fans off the Aquero would be better than PWM type - is this not the case?

I have had another look around and I am drawn to the quality, maybe not the colour! Of the Noctua NF-A14 PWM or the non PWM Noctua NF-A14 FLX ---- which would be the best choice?

Anyone got any experience of these fans and how hard is it to take the blades off to paint?

 

[JR23]

Advice required if you or someone can help.

I have been told that the fans I ordered are not on stock and there is no ETA so I need to get some alternatives on order.

I was under the impression that running non PWM fans off the Aquero would be better than PWM type - is this not the case?

I have had another look around and I am drawn to the quality, maybe not the colour! Of the Noctua NF-A14 PWM or the non PWM Noctua NF-A14 FLX ---- which would be the best choice?

Anyone got any experience of these fans and how hard is it to take the blades off to paint?

You absolutely cannot remove the blades from current Noctua fans without permanently damaging them. Some guides on the internet show earlier Noctua's being modified but it's no longer possible to disassemble them.

If you intend to use them on a radiator really you would be better off with a P14 which are actually available in grey on grey as part of the Redux range, there are multiple PWM and 3-pin options for those although presumably you'll want the slower ones. Quality and presentation is off the scale.

I see no reason why not to go with PWM fans on the Aquaero 6 now it's supported by all of the fan channels, I suppose with only 8 it doesn't matter too much either way.

JR

 

[Blade Runner]

You absolutely cannot remove the blades from current Noctua fans without permanently damaging them. Some guides on the internet show earlier Noctua's being modified but it's no longer possible to disassemble them.

If you intend to use them on a radiator really you would be better off with a P14 which are actually available in grey on grey as part of the Redux range, there are multiple PWM and 3-pin options for those although presumably you'll want the slower ones. Quality and presentation is off the scale.

I see no reason why not to go with PWM fans on the Aquaero 6 now it's supported by all of the fan channels, I suppose with only 8 it doesn't matter too much either way.

JR

Thanks for the reply JR, I have searched the Redux P14's and to be honest I just don't like the look of them.

What about the Noctua NF-A14 Industrial PPC 2000RPM PWM 140mm High Performance Fans?

I could live with their colour as they are (I have not seen them before and I like them better than the "normal" brown Noctuas) and if I ever get the urge to put the pc in the drive and pressure wash it, the fans will stand up to it with their IP52 rating what do you think?

 

[JR23]

Thanks for the reply JR, I have searched the Redux P14's and to be honest I just don't like the look of them.

What about the Noctua NF-A14 Industrial PPC 2000RPM PWM 140mm High Performance Fans?

I could live with their colour as they are (I have not seen them before and I like them better than the "normal" brown Noctuas) and if I ever get the urge to put the pc in the drive and pressure wash it, the fans will stand up to it with their IP52 rating what do you think?

I have a pair of the iPPC F12's in my ITX rig and they are epic quality, the brown rubber parts are removable so you could quite easily make them all black if that offended you but I rather like it. They are stupidly high quality fans with 3-phase motors, the operating range is also incredible 250-2000RPM (although not officially that slow they really behave on Aquaero's!). I wouldn't jet wash the IP52's but the IP67's will withstand some abuse, if your the kind of person to run your fans underwater lol. The A14 design is airflow optimized however i'm sure they will still function reasonably well as radiator fans. I would definitely encourage the use of them in that style of build and black certainly looks better than cream.

Curiously have you purchased your radiators yet?

JR

 

[Blade Runner]

I have a pair of the iPPC F12's in my ITX rig and they are epic quality, the brown rubber parts are removable so you could quite easily make them all black if that offended you but I rather like it. They are stupidly high quality fans with 3-phase motors, the operating range is also incredible 250-2000RPM (although not officially that slow they really behave on Aquaero's!). I wouldn't jet wash the IP52's but the IP67's will withstand some abuse, if your the kind of person to run your fans underwater lol. The A14 design is airflow optimized however i'm sure they will still function reasonably well as radiator fans. I would definitely encourage the use of them in that style of build and black certainly looks better than cream.

Curiously have you purchased your radiators yet?

JR

Looks like they are the ones then,

....and I will remember not to aim the water jet directly at them

I have ordered the rads; the Alphacool NexXxos UT60 - 560s there was a good review of them on here a while back IIRC

ETA Fans bought - I ended up with the Noctua NF-A14 PWM Industrial PPC 2000RPM IP67 versions as the IP52 versions had gone out of stock while I was on here.

 

[Blade Runner]

The second water block and back-plate turned up today so the plan is to get some paint on them over the weekend.

All the screws out and ready to go, primed and then the first top coat, I will need to let them dry properly before I can sand them lightly and build up a decent depth of colour.

 

[Blade Runner]

Along with the water block plates I was going to paint the res' brackets at the same time but when I started to work out how I was going to attach them to the case I did not like the look of the slots for the M3 bolts.

No matter where you placed the 2 bolts they just did not look right and M3 seemed very light and looked very light, for a bracket supporting so much weight.

I decided to cut off the wings and I will drill either 2 or 4 holes in the reduced plate when the M4 bolts turn up and I can see what looks best.

Really impressed with the Multi Angle Vice, its the first time I have used it and it is excellent for this type of work.

With only a cordless at home I used a few different sized bits to get through the stainless steel; more time but better than breaking the bits by forcing them.

A couple of before and after shots.

 

[Blade Runner]

I thought I would try a practice joint on the acrylic pipe and try the UV cured adhesive for the first time.

It is much easier than I had imagined, lots of time to make sure you have full coverage between the pipe and lock fitting and then once you are happy just expose it to UV light

You can just put the assembled joint on the window sill but I did not like the idea of that and so I bought a cheap UV light box on Amazon; it's for UV nail varnish so if I get fed up with this build I can always start a nail bar............

I needed to check that I could have a tight bend this close to the fitting - The pipe gets slightly deformed that close to the bend in the heating/ bending process.

The lock fitting and the UV glue allowed me to do a bit of gap filling at the joint where it was deformed. It means that it is OK that close to a bend and means that I can plumb up the filters and reservoirs as per my plan, I am really liking this Monsoon hardline system.

 

[Blade Runner]

The postman came today, with a couple more bits for the build. The radiators are as the reviews said, very high quality, even the paint on the sides and ends is flawless although I am going for another colour on those parts

The Aquero looks complicated :huh:, if it was easy though, it would not be fun!

There is going to be a lot of late nights reading up on these controllers and a lot of questions asked on here to work out how to get it all working together along with the FabWerk LED mixer and the 2 pumps, plus temperature inputs etc. etc. etc.......

 

[Blade Runner]

Trial fitting of the reservoirs: I made a full scale paper template on Bricscad so I could centre punch all of the holes in the right places.

Trial fit went ok including the adjustable length fittings between the bulkhead fittings and the reservoir inlet and outlet.

I used a stepped drill for the large holes, a really useful bit of kit. I drilled the other holes with a 4mm drill but they are a little too tight so I am going to get a 5mm bit to open them out a little tomorrow.

If I get all these things sorted out now I will be able to drill the real thing as soon as it turns up and before assembly which will make for a more accurate and less difficult drilling.