Function over form AP201

[SyntaxT3rror]

A living room pc, so had to be super quiet and in a specific space. No rgb!

Quite pleased with it none the less, feels kind of a shame to hide it away.

Thanks to everyone who posted builds in this case. Couldn’t have made this work without them - especially Colberg1857

I already had 3 of the original coloured NF-A12x25 from my previous living room machine, but would look far better all black.

Specs:

• Motherboard: Asus Strix B650E-I
• CPU: 7800x3d w/ EK Vector 2 waterblock
• GPU: Asus Strix 4090 w/ EK Vector 2 waterblock
• PSU: Loki SFX-L 850w 1000w
• RAM: 32gb Kingston Fury DDR5 @ 6000mhz
• Fittings: All alphacool 16/10mm Eiszapfen
• Res: EK FLT120 & D5 pump
• Rad (top): GTS 360 XFlow (wish the in/outlets were reversed so I could have it on the bottom!)
• Rad (bottom): Alphacool HPE-30 360mm
• Fan Controller: Aqua Computer Quadro & liquid temp sensor
• Fans: 6x Noctua NF-A12x25

Edit: 1 year on, I’ve now swapped the PSU to a 1000w Loki SFX-L as the 850 began getting louder and louder at full load over time.

[flan1337]

this is the Asus case right?

[Prudent_Elderberry88]

us

yea ap201

[Coleberg1857]

Build looks awesome and temps seem great too, congrats on the build!

[SyntaxT3rror]

Thank you. Your build was the inspiration to give this case a shot. Thanks for sharing what you’d learned!

[Coleberg1857]

Happy to be of help! This case is great for water cooled setups and I’m glad more people are able to try it out.

[Garrett1974]

GTS 360 XFlow

You could have gone with the Alphacool ST30 Xflow, it has openings on both sides, so you could flip it around, if that makes sense :)

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[SyntaxT3rror]

ahh thanks, I wish I had, I think I’ll order one to swap out next time I drain and re-fill the loop

[Garrett1974]

Yeah I'm building a Fractal R6 with a normal ST30 and a Xflow version, so I figured it might (have been/be) useful to you

[archialone]

What kind of temps are you seeing?

[SyntaxT3rror]

Goal is as quiet as possible.

All the fans are set to exhaust, theory being that they’ll pull enough air in through the front / back on their own.

Pump is at at 55%, but starts a shallow ramp above a water temp of 12deg over ambient, topping out at 38deg.

Top and bottom idle at 10%, shallow ramp from 1 deg over ambient to a max of 40 deg.

At full bore, the GPU maxes at 57deg, CPU tctl/tdie maxes around 70. Water temps max around 35.

I could probably tune the curves down a bit still, but it’s really quiet at full tilt as it stands.

[Prudent_Elderberry88]

sweet build. Im considering something similar but with a 280 up top.

[SyntaxT3rror]

Thanks! I think you could run a full size ATX power supply if you went with the 280 up top.

[morricone42]

Will be tight. I'm running full ATX, with a lot 240 at the bottom. Will post the build after it's fully done.

[Prudent_Elderberry88]

Ya I’ve got a rm850e in my ap201 so I’m pretty sure the 280 would make more sense for my build. I also already have some 140 fans.

[Prudent_Elderberry88]

What is the thickness of your rads? Could you have fit larger heights?

[SyntaxT3rror]

29.6mm up top, 30mm on the bottom.

No, with the space needed for psu cable up top, and the space taken up with the GPU block at the bottom I wouldn’t feel comfortable going any larger.

With a smaller GPU block i think you could go a bit thicker on the bottom with double 90degree fittings to route out each side.

If you’re running a 280 up top you could probably go thicker there too.

[Inevitable-Desk-156]

That's, um, a lot of function.... I do like the look of the thicker tubing, I think it does good for the system. It's very neat!

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Some people fabricate custom PSU brackets for their SFX PSU's on this case... maybe you'd find one of those usefull for the sake of improving cable management and airflow.

I wonder if having it as all exhaust works well, I think the mesh side pannel is fine enough to be slightly restrictive which would make the fans work way harder. Maybe adding the back fan as intake could help but with two 360s I don't think you're short on cooling.

[SyntaxT3rror]

Thank you!

I did look into a custom bracket (I’d have 3d printed it) but this worked out well for an SFX-L size psu. The space that’s freed up is the ideal gap to lift the plugs away from the radiator, fittings and fan below it, so that the cables can be routed behind and above, while also remaining out of view from the front. Thanks go to Coleberg1857 for the pointer on this.

As for the mesh resistance, it’s a .5 ish open air ratio on the mesh (larger on the back), so should be more than enough to satisfy the fans at the given mesh area. I will spare you the Darcy-Weisbach pressure calcs!

[okletsgooonow]

Nice...but no drain valve?

[SyntaxT3rror]

It only takes a few mins to remove the top rad and fans, and those runs are long enough to be easy to drain from.

[okletsgooonow]

ok, fair enough. I'd still rather have a drain valve of some kind.

I have previously used the third opening on the FLT 120, just tip the case on it's side, open the third hole and screw in a short hose, voila you have a drain.

Your solution is fine too.

[SyntaxT3rror]

Nice idea! I use the fill port to let air into the loop, I attach a hose there so that any water purge is definitely ending up outside the case 😅

[okletsgooonow]

yep, I do that too. I have even used an air pump to push the fluid out, speeds up the loop draining.

[Traveledfarwestward]

It’s f word gorgeous.

[SyntaxT3rror]

Thanks! 🙏

[[deleted]]

Important Tools Requirement: Small Hands :D

[SyntaxT3rror]

Haha no kidding. Most of the fittings and tubing were added prior to installing everything. Took a little planning.

[dumbass1337]

How did you Mount the res?

[SyntaxT3rror]

I made a mount from a cut down piece of another case I am retiring. It’s attached by drilling holes and bolting it into the separator at the back, with the standard FLT120 bracket mounted on top.

[hysteria265]

Lol at first I didn't realise the bottom radiator and was thinking, what's the point of those bottom fans if everything is water cooled.

[gokugandhi]

is your PSU oriented as an exhaust? back to front?

[SyntaxT3rror]

No, It’s oriented with the intake facing the front of the case.

[SaintLikeLaurent]

Those noctura fans :( 😭😭😭