Ryzen Mite

[10e]

As I await the release of Vega for the main Ryzen system I picked up a 1500x for like $210.00 and an MSI B350M VDH motherboard and an Inwin 301.

I was tempted to get the 301 because Bill Owen and the Mod Zoo did an "Ask us anything" video and based on the small size, and ability to easily hold 2 240mm Darkside radiators, as well as a (potentially) third radiator in the rear 120mm fan space, I decided to go this way.

The case is super small (only 28 litre for a Micro ATX case) and can hold a 240mm radiator up front and a 240mm down below. I had a couple of Darkside LP240 rads sitting around. One was in good shape, and the other was scratched up so I repainted it using Rustoleum flat black to give it an OEM paint job to match the original finish. Turned out fine.

I also had to put a button on an extension cable for the CLR CMOS jumper that is run under the cable management "bar" at the front, so I can reset the CMOS (if need be) by just removing the back panel. That jumper would be nearly impossible to reach with the bottom rad/fan combo, and you never know when you have to reset it

I have to say, this is my first Inwin case and it is built like a TANK. For the $94.99 + tax I bought it for, it is incredibly rigid with 1.2 mm thick steel all around, and has no flex anywhere. The glass panel comes off with a quick squeeze of the handle, so no messing around with lining up screws, etc... with it. Very impressed with this case. Cable management is also deceptively good, except for the 8-pin CPU cable (which I'll show later).

So here are the system specs:

1) Ryzen 1500x 4 core/8 thread CPU at 3.8Ghz with a slight voltage offset
2) 2 x 8GB G.Skill RGB DDR4 (B-die) 3866mhz RAM at either 2933 or 3200 Mhz
3) MSI B350M-VDH Micro ATX motherboard
4) EVGA Geforce Superclocked GTX 1080
5) Samsung 840 Evo 512GB
6) Seagate Dm0 4TB drive
7) EVGA 650G2 PSU with EVGA black sleeved cables
8) In win 301 black case (no mods)

WC:

1) EK Supremacy MX with AM4 Kit and some extra washers to fix "pressure problem"
2) EK FC1080 water block (I had bought blue backplate for it from Daz but decided to use stock backplate)
3) Bitspower Crystal link 500mm 12mm UV blue acrylic tubing
4) Bitspower DDC black sparkle kit
5) Bitspower 40mm tall Z-tube
6) Bitspower and Darkside 12mm hard tube fittings (Bitspower for straight, Darkside for angles)
7) Bitspower DDC top and Z-Cap with 3 ports, anti-vortex fitting and cut down acrylic aqua pipe (required for such a short tube)
8) Distilled water with Dazmode protector (clear)
9) Two Silverstone FW121 120mm slim PWM fans
10) Two Gelid slim PL Blue PWM 120mm slim fans (for bottom rad)
11) One blue or UV 120mm 25mm thick fan for the back (still expermenting)
12) Darkside UV Revision 4 strip taped to the PSU shroud up top


I've progressed past this, and will post that tonight, but here is the first shot with the "brown trace" motherboard. You can't tell it's brown with the lighting and the side panel installed

[Bartacus]

Nice man, very clean! Don't forget to put fans on that bottom rad.

[EZ's PC's]

Well done 10e. That loop is super clean

[DazMode]

Bits colored Acrylic tuv=be looks really nice, never can understand why it used so rarely. Nice job!

[10e]

Thanks all,

In terms of the BP coloured tubing, they require slightly less, but more even heating than EK-HD or clear BP crystal link tubes, but once I figured this out, it was pretty easy. I like simple loops that are clean and direct. I have done a loop-de-loop and while entertaining, it's a pain in the butt

The bottom tube looks crooked, but it's not. I put a slight bend just next to the 90 degree bend going into the bottom radiator, but I needed to do a bit more there. It's only because of the 3mm offset of the GPU port and the radiator port. I might address it, I might not.

Bleeding this loop took a little extra time, presumably because the Z-tube in the reservoir is so short.

I have two anti-vortex measures in the reservoir, but it takes time for them to work due to the short 40mm tube. One is a modified (cut short) aqua pipe from my Darkside reservoir, and the other is the anti-vortex plug at the bottom of the reservoir tube where the pump top is. Once bled, the full speed pump is quiet.

I have a Lian Li PT-FN07 4-header 3-pin fan controller to control it, and at half power the DDC pump is completely silent. It also seems this is a very low restriction loop, as before I filled the reservoir the water coming in through the aqua pipe seemed really strong in terms of pressure and force, practically splashing out the top of the res.

Realistically I should have bought a 40mm or 50mm Z-tube from Daz in UV blue to really go over-the-top, but I think one 5mm blue LED in the pump top from behind should work out really nicely too. Also the Supremacy MX block has blue 3mm LEDs in it, I just had disconnected them from the fan controller during this photo. It looks nice though. I might replace the UV strip with a flexible one as the light is a bit uneven at the top of the tube going into the front radiator.

And yes, Bart, I installed the fans hahahaha. I should have it almost done tonight. It's so compact it might as well be Mini ITX. I just have to put a cable comb on the 8-pin EPS/CPU cable due to the distance of the hole to the actual plug on the mobo.

[Bartacus]

Tight fits. Reminds me of a build I did in a Corsair Air 240 with 2 slim Darkside rads. You could barely fit normal sized fans in that thing. After that, I swore I'd never do another ITX build again, LOL! So much lost skin on my knuckles from working in tight spaces!

[snef]

I like it a lot,, very clean

I like what you did with the tubing, short and very clean

[10e]

Thanks all!

Bart: Yup, I cut my right hand a bit when I was trying to shove the excess cables in between the PSU and hard drive bays. Good thing I'm left-handed

Snef: Thanks, I tried to keep it as simple as possible with no extraneous bends. I usually don't like to use right-angle fittings but the Darkside ones seem suitable stiff that I don't have to worry about leaks.

A few comments about the case: Quality is immaculate. Think Caselabs but in steel. No folds on any metal because each panel is very stiff and strong, and the paint is amazingly tough, even textured like Case Labs. The Window is crystal clear, and if it weren't for some reflections, I wouldn't know it is there.

I think this case would be perfect if it weren't for a few small, but not-so-trivial issues:

1) While there is a fair bit of space between the PSU and the HD bays, because I used the EVGA sleeved cable, there was a lot of excess cable to store between the PSU and HD bays. I think shorter, flat style ribbon cables would work a lot better and be easier to use
2) The case needs to be about 1 cm deeper. There isn't enough space between the front cable management "bar" and the motherboard. I thought I was going to destroy the 24-pin trying to plug it in because the bend was so tight
3) The case needs to be about 5mm wider. The 3.5" drive in the top barely has enough clearance to the back panel
4) Airflow to the front for intake is a bit low. I have two Silverstone FW121 fans which are as good for static pressure as slim fans get, and even at 1400 RPM I barely feel any air coming through. I think when I change out the liquid I might put those fans in exhaust, to exhaust air out the side panel's hex holes. This is the suggested configuration

In general temps are fairly low. My 1080 is hitting about 50-53 celsius in Overwatch and Unigine Valley with a slight overclock, generally gaming at around 2020-2070 mhz. The build is relatively quiet. The bottom intake fans seem fairly strong in getting air up, and into the case. I think for this case the suggest configuration is dual intakes in the bottom, and exhaust out the back and front. I think this, with a 240mm rad in the front in push-pull, and a thick 120mm radiator in the back like an Alphacool UT60 in exhaust might get as good, or better temperatures because of superior airflow. The CPU (Ryzen 1500x at stock) is generally not going over 49-51 celsius even with Prime95 on all cores.

The case is VERY good at quelling vibrations because of it's very high level of rigidity. I have the DDC 3.25 pump going into a Silverstone CP04 fan controller running at full speed, and other than a very quiet whine, I don't feel any vibration through the case from it, which is usually the biggest issue.

So I ditched the UV lights, and stuck with blue lighting. It feels more subtle and looks a bit less bright, but more elegant. I also put a blue/red Enermax Vegas fan in the back and set it to blue only LEDs. I also lowered the voltage to it via motherboard BIOS (it's not PWM)

Here's the latest:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zTz...ew?usp=sharing

[EZ's PC's]

The blue beast!! U should rename this machine to "The Blue Beast lol.

[nass]

Nice to see another AMD build, tub runs look nice 10e

[Bartacus]

10e: looking good man! On the bottom, it looks like you might even have enough room for regular fans. I bet if you put the fans on the outside (assuming there's any air flow beneath the case), and pulled that GPU power cable in nice and tight, you could fit regular 120mm fans in there instead of the slim ones. Not that it matters much, as I'm sure you have enough cooling to not worry about it.

[Necrodead]

That is some good cooling that fits into such a little case. Nice build 10e!

[10e]

Nice to see another AMD build, tub runs look nice 10e

Thanks nass! Yeah I'm only keeping my i7 3930K from the blue team for now on. The rest of my Intel stuff is going for sale. So far I haven't noticed anything bad going to AMD. Stability has been great, temps are in the low 50s with the water cooling (on Prime95), and anything I've done with it seems fast, whether gaming, work, etc... And for a $210.00 chip I couldn't ask for more.

10e: looking good man! On the bottom, it looks like you might even have enough room for regular fans. I bet if you put the fans on the outside (assuming there's any air flow beneath the case), and pulled that GPU power cable in nice and tight, you could fit regular 120mm fans in there instead of the slim ones. Not that it matters much, as I'm sure you have enough cooling to not worry about it.

Cooling is decent. GPU doesn't go above 55. I've tried the GT-15s that I had laying around as well, and they don't make much of a difference. I think the feet on this case need to be a bit higher to give better airflow. I'll probably experiment with some extra rubber pads on them, as there is only about 6mm of clearance to the bottom air filter.

That is some good cooling that fits into such a little case. Nice build 10e!

Thanks Necro. Right back at ya.

I had to do this, because last week I tried to bend the stainless steel tubing for Ryzen Shine and it was a disaster. The outside of the bend was fine, but the inside crinkled and folded. Good thing I have some copper tubing that I've bent properly, as a backup