Phanteks Evolv mATX (TG), 2x280mm rads, Hardline build

[gsrcrxsi]

figured my new build would get some more exposure/love here than the project logs section. just wanted to show it off.

This is my second ever water loop, and FIRST hardline build. Even though I'm fairly comfortable tackling new projects, I'm pretty impressed with myself that i got all the tubes bent "close enough" on the first try. I really wanted to keep 90* angles and straight lines for a very clean look with the tubes.

System Specs:
Phanteks Evolv mATX Tempered Glass case
ASUS STRIX Z270G mATX board
i7-7700k
EVGA GTX 1080 FTW2

Watercooling Parts:
2x 280mm HWL Black Ice Nemesis GTS
4x 140mm Phanteks PH-F140MP
EK Supremacy EVO CPU block (nickel/plexi) w/green LEDs
EK GTX 1080 FTW2 GPU block (nickel/plexi) w/ green LEDs
EK GTX 1080 FTW backplate (black)
Laing D5 (non vario, 4200rpm) pump, repurposed from an old build
EK XRES 100 Revo D5 pumptop/res combo
Bitspower 14mm hardline PETG
Bitspower 14mm Enhance Multi-Link fittings
various other bitspower adapter fittings that I needed, including drain valve
Mayhems Pastel White coolant

I wanted a quiet system, so i got the most rad i could fit in this case and slower speed PWM fans, and man is it tight. everything essentially had to be configured one way, and had to be assembled in a specific order, or it couldn't be properly installed. I hadnt seen 2x280mm rads in this case before. If the rads were any thicker, or were oriented differently, they wouldn't fit. I also wanted to avoid cutting the case in ways that would hurt its aesthetics or its ability to go back to stock, but i did have to drill a couple holes in the bottom of the case to mount the Pump/Res.

Build pics!

It's tight.




Drain valve.



Delidded 7700k


Install progress











A good comparison of the GPU temps before and after. I only ran the air cooled setup for about 10 mins because it doesn't take long for the air cooler to reach max temps. But it takes a while for water so I ran that one for about 45mins. I extrapolated the air cooler temps and assumed they'd stay more or less the same.

Interesting to see that boost clocks were higher on the water cooled setup due to higher thermal headroom. Time to crank it up!

Both ran on FurMark with identical settings. Orange is Air, Blue is water.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Really nice build and not bad bends for a first timer.

As for the fluid, I won't bug you as I'm sure you know the risks that come with that but the contrast and colors picked look nice. The only thing I will say since you tested it out and great job on the tests btw is, adding either a internal back slim fan behind the tubes for exhaust or having one externally. I think it's needed for such a small case because in most of the time with these small cases it's always an air flow issues because of its small size and how close everything is.

I almost forgot, check this out for future reference down the road.

 

[gsrcrxsi]

I'm aware of the issues some people have had with colored fluid, while others seem to not have many issues. I really wanted white (and to see white through the plexi blocks) so I'm rolling the dice. If i have to disassemble and clean after a few months, so be it and i'll re-evaluate at that point.

about the rear fan,

1. it wont fit inside the case. the tube routing doesnt have enough space, not even if i got a slim fan.
2. i played around with mounting a fan on the outside. i seem to get better temps blowing cool outside air IN rather than trying to suck hot air out (and fighting the top rad fans for air flow). I'll play around with it more and maybe run a more formal test.

dealing with trapped air bubbles that wont seem to budge also. very similar to this thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/1526864/i-cannot-get-all-the-air-bubbles-out-of-my-cpu-block

I've also started playing around with the CPU clocks. My MB has an "auto 5GHz" config that i tried out. ran prime95 for about 20 mins and it was at 1.44v and 90C on the hottest core haha. but it seemed to run fine. dropped the voltage down to 1.36, and still seemed to run fine and was only about 85C on the hottest core. I dont know too much about the other settings, so i need to do some research to fine tune things. My board has an overwhelming amount of things to tweak.

I seem to have an odd thermal delta between cores 0/2/3 and core 1. 0/2/3 run ~8-10C hotter than core 1, which is very odd. My CPU is delided with TG Conductonaut.

 

[RGE]

Nice build, love the aesthetics of hardline tubing. modmymods has a modded top if interested in permanently dealing with evolves restrictive top.

Regarding the rear fan, if running both rads as intake, rear fan helps, but I tested rear fan with front rad intake/top exhaust and got same result as you, worsening delta air to water as it just increases air resistance, ie steals air from top rad.

With 4 calibrated sensors (one on each fan intake) and 2 in water, I tested different configurations/restrictions of filters/components in both Fractal design R5 case and Luxe case, both with similar setup as yours. Same build in both...OC'ed 6900k and single Titan XP, gtx 280 rad in front push/pull, gts 280 rad in top, all fans aerocool DS 140mm always at 950 rpms. Time spy ran 10 mins for each test.

Fractal design R5 case, both rads as intake, single rear exhaust, delta air to water:
9.5C all filters/panels in place
8.1C removed only top Demciflex filter, 15% restriction
8.0C removed only front panel, top/front filters in place, 15% restriction
8.6C removed only front FD filter (door closed), 9% restriction
6.1C front door open, both filters off, 36% combined
4.9C front door open, filters off, side panel dropped, 48% total loss from air restriction of front, both filters, and unbalanced air.
11.3C if rear fan removed.


FD R5 case, top gts 280 exhaust via push and no top filter, front same gtx 280 push/pull intake.
delta air to water:
7.1C no rear fan. Cpu/gpu temps 1C higher than both rads as intake, despite 2C lower delta, since warmer internal case air in top rad increased average intake temps by 3C. Delta lower since no top filter, push is 0.4C better than pull, and more balanced air flow so less resistance.
7.7C with rear fan exhaust
7.9C with rear fan intake
5.1C with front door open, front filter off, panels dropped, no rear fan.


Phanteks luxe both rads as intake, single rear exhaust, delta air to water.
delta air to water:
9.3C all filters/panels in place
8.4C, only front aluminum piece off, 10% restriction
7.3C, front off including filter, total 22% restriction
8.1C only top filter/grill removed, 13% restriction
6.1C, removed top grill/filter and front panel/filter, 34% combined restriction
5.0C, side panels dropped, front/top off.


Phanteks luxe case, top gts 280 exhaust via push and no top filter, front same gtx 280 push/pull intake. delta air to water
7.0C, again cpu/gpu temps 1C higher than both rads intake.
Below is pics of setup, though tape sensors in place for fans intake when testing.

 

[gsrcrxsi]

Looks like that top is for the ATX case. I have the mATX case. Won’t fit.

Looks nice though