PARVUM i1.0 Prototype

[imersa]

Thank you to EK Water Blocks, ASUS ROG UK, Silverstone Technology, Samsung, Nvidia, Bitspower and of course JR23 for collaborating on this project.


For a long time we had been planning a new ITX build, getting parts ready and running through new case ideas, but the daily pressures of keeping Parvum moving forwards stood in the way of devoting any serious work hours to a project. However that very rapidly had to change when one of our work rigs started showing serious signs of old age. With a sketchy RAID0 array and everything bordering 5 or so years old the best way forwards was to quickly round up all the fresh parts and get a rig together. That being said, our office rigs have some serious standards to live up to!

So JR23 was summoned to Parvum HQ at the soonest available opportunity and instructed to bring some new case designs along with him. We had already discussed this build a while back, pencilled to use an old Maximus VI Impact with EK monoblock and even drafted some layout concepts. Rather than waste this fresh thinking we picked it back up, threw in some fresh hardware and reworked it all into an elegant build that wouldn't be too time consuming.


Case - Parvum i1.0 Prototype
CPU - Intel i7-6700k
Motherboard - ASUS ROG Strix Z270i
RAM - Corsair Dominator Platinum 2x8GB 3866C16
GPU - EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080Ti
SSD - Samsung 960 Pro 1TB x2 RAID1
PSU - Silverstone SX800-LTI SFX 800W Titanium

Fans - EK Vardar F1-120 x6
CPU Block - EK Supremacy-MX
GPU Block - EK FC Titan X Pascal - Acetal
Radiator - EK PE240 x2
Pump/Res - EK XRES 100 SPC-60 MX x2
Tubing - EK HD 10/12mm - Acrylic
Fittings - Bitspower Deluxe White (C47)

Most unusually this time we start with the case rather than hardware. Everything had been measured and modelled ready for the build so the case could be cut straight off with no pass through's to add in or mounts required.

Ice cream!

May have noticed by the odd M.2 placement that this isn't an old V Impact and that's the main reason it got swapped for this one. A 1TB 960 Pro in the back...

...and another 1TB 960 Pro in the front of this awesome little Strix Z270i.

While everything theortically should of just fitted together obviously, mistakes were made, and the radiators didn't match up exactly with the drawings for the case. But thankfully enough rotaries can quite literally solve any problem. So rather than joining the rads in the middle we dropped below and joined the bottom port on each, sneaking around the other port.

Quickly checked the midwall fitted properly with our new fitting fix, crisis avoided, new side panel not necessary.

Fans! Very slow ones, and lots of them.

Without wanting to add a fan controller we didn't have or overload the board with loads of fans and pumps joining all 6 fans together was the neatest option, first they were all cut to the same length.

Then the unsightly wires on the front fans heatshrinked black. Vardar's now have all black wires, that's how long we've been planning this for!

All the PWM and Tach wires were removed as they will be used on a fixed voltage directly in a PSU peripheral connector.

A + and GND wire soldered on to all the fans ready for sleeve and heatshrink.

Quick check that the pumps fitted neatly, no problems here.

Small tube between the inlet and outlet of the two pumps, configured in series for ultimate work rig redundancy.

And the little board prepared earlier screwed down to the midwall.

With the board screwed down we finally had the chance to see it on it's feet having built from the side panel upwards.

CPU of choice being a 6700k, all the threads ready for occasional nesting and rendering duties.

So that wraps up our first day on this incredibly high speed build, already looking very different from any other Parvum, the first triple white and an eerily simple midwall with very little need for cable routing. Let us know your thoughts on this little guy so far! J.​

 

[NeverBackDown]

Wow this is very very impressive. I should expect that though from JR23 by now

 

[Wraith]

It's been a while since we've seen any Parvum stuff, I'm glad to see something new and different.

 

[imersa]

@Wraith

Got some pretty cool stuff on this one. First Parvum with PSU in the front / visible.

 

[tinytomlogan]

Certainly looks like an interesting design boys

 

[AlienALX]

I like the radiator sandwich.

 

[Davva2004]

This is looking very interesting, I'm a big fan of compact builds and I love what you are doing with the rads.

 

[imersa]

Thanks for all the comments guys

Once again it was another very sunny spring day in Essex and with the prospect of new hardware arriving in the post we made a very early return to the warehouse.

Nothing like the morning light on a new Ti.

But before JR23 spent the entire morning on glamour shots of the card, creeping slowly back to the usual studio style we were interrupted by DPD with many fresh toys!

A much needed CPU block, the only part missing from our watercooling stash as we anticipated using the old Impact and monoblock and a very mighty 800W Titanium SFX PSU.

Which didn't quite fit in as planned. It was evident from the product photos that the fan grill protruded every so slightly so we cut a hole for that to sit in, which it did, however the screw heads holding it in place also stood proud. Didn't need it anyway

Fans tested with the PSU and new shiny RAM installed.

And that seemed like a great opportunity to tidy the ever growing pile of boxes from our work area ready for tubing and sleeving tools and go get some lunch! J.​

 

[imersa]

No time was wasted fitting the card along with the 24-pin. After JR23 changed PSU in his R1.0 build we had a huge amount of wires to pick through, re-pin and make up a new set. All sleeved in MDPC-X shade 19.

Unlike in the back this time around fittings and routing were going exactly according to plan

So very quickly bending commenced.

The first was a very straight forward 90°.

...and the second could of easily been the same however we decided to switch it up and take a slightly more direct path.

The first attempt was good, however, we felt it looked too parallel, almost as if it was unintentionally off.

So next time we exaggerated the angle a little more, paying slightly more attention to lengths each side of the bend.

Success!

Tubing to the CPU block was next up, we tried a few different combinations of fittings, contemplated slight bends and even tried something different on each side.

But the obvious option prevailed. Continuing the loose angles while mirroring the pair of DIMMs, pumps, fans...

All starting to piece together now. J.​

 

[Permafrost]

looks amazing so far, looking forward to the updates

 

[imersa]

Sorry for the big gap since the last update, someone decided to run away with all the photo's and then take his daily PC apart h34r:

Anyway, right back to it. Where were we?

Yes, building up cables!

Being the first and only Parvum with a front mounted PSU that made tackling the cables quite a unique task so we took a unique approach.

We wanted to achieve a really organic form, a contrast to the harsh straight lines of the loop but still purposefully direct.

Enough admiration for the moment, prep for coolant!

With the case completely together you can see just how exactly the GPU fits inside

I'm so used to seeing a PSU fan on the side, this just isn't right anymore.

Mayhems Pastel white incoming! Both little reservoirs filling simultaneously was great fun.

**coolant intensifies**

Well this was the end of our 2-day build, but a little package from Slovenia arrived today... J.​

 

[ADmodz]

Beautiful little build

 

[LittleTaff]

absolutly stunning build there!!!

 

[Davva2004]

Gorgeous build, but I have a question - how much clearance is there between the mid board and the radiator fans? It looks tight as the proverbial gnats chuff in there!

 

[Avet]

Nicely packed. Great job.

 

[WillSK]

Lovely build! One of the best things in custom PCs today is the amount of power you can pack into something and still have decent temps etc.

 

[imersa]

Although we had it running good there is always just a little more to unlock and aesthetic tweaks to be made, so we pulled it all apart ready for the latest Slovenian care package to be installed.

Bye bye copper/acetal!

One moment please RAM, we'll get back to you soon.

Right, new 7700k for extra ghz! The 6700k was benching at 4.9ghz an exceptional sample but some very rushed screening was showing potential for 5.1ghz with this new guy.

And here it is, the new Strix 'i' (totally not impact) block.

Preparing the Impa... i

Here we go now, pace is building.

...and a new GPU block to match! Another Titan block rather than the Ti or FE variants because the hefty new terminal definitely wouldn't fit in our mm perfect chassis. Wishful thinking also, we may find an extra 1GB IC on the warehouse floor to turn this into a Titan one day!

Now everybody, remember there is a fan header right under the block, erm, we didn't and we were using it. But if you remove the Wi-Fi header and try hard enough, it can be done. (mileage may vary on finger size)

As if by magic though, we managed to get the pumps in under the block.

Some ~7mm longer tubes were needed to make the extra distance.

Also got a proper EKWB backplate in that fancy nickel, very shiiiiny RGB enhancement.

We know some of you are eagerly awaiting those coolant shots, well maybe the tease has gone on long enough.

Getting real close now! J.​

 

[You_What?]

Really nice stuff as ever!

 

[tinytomlogan]

Does look very tidy boys

 

[imersa]

We return for another round! i1.0 Prototype-I has been performing very well and with the monoblock fitted it feels complete, definitely the best system in the office for a quick game of PUBG. So instead of cannibalizing it's parts and swapping in a different motherboard we will be building i1.0 Prototype-II.

Each decision on the original was focused around keeping it as small and simple as possible, now we have a little more time it will be taking the opposite route. Just the same concept but a very different approach...

Furia - 73 x 320 x 335mm - 7.8l -76%
X2.0 - 250 x 250 x 310mm - 19.4l -40%
i1.0-I - 235 x 307 x 350mm - 25.2l -22%
VEER1.0 - 267 x 307 x 357mm - 29.3l -10%
i1.0-II - 285 x 320 x 355mm - 32.4l 0%
Manta - 245 x 426 x 450mm - 47.0l +45%

Getting a little wider but for good reason a 30mm acrylic plate through the center houses the reservoir (20mm thick internally), the motherboard, active cooling for the rear M.2 drive and the rear side of the CPU socket as well as all the distribution of cables and coolant. Front and rear chambers are also a little wider giving extra fan clearance and room for a wider GPU.

The PSU has moved to the back with an EK PE 240mm in it's place out front. Then surrounding the PSU in the rear chamber will be a second PE 240mm and an additional PE 120mm leaving just enough room to route the PSU cables. The dual SPC pumps will be dropped in favour of a single D5 REVO but the GPU and motherboard block will remain in parallel.

We collected the 30mm polished acrylic block yesterday and all of the stainless steel screws are due next week so building will commence very soon!

J.​