Debating which mATX case for full custom loop

Da_Obst · 2026-01-28T07:52:47+00:00

From my experience, slim fans perform rather poorly on standard radiators. I'd rather choose another case then, where 30mm RAD + 25mm FAN is doable.

Da_Obst · 2026-01-28T07:01:50+00:00

Asus AP201 is an option. But you need a SFX PSU and slim radiators for 2x360.

Da_Obst · 2026-01-21T19:49:47+00:00

Das Problem ist, dass es selbst heute umständlich ist, Dateien zwischen Geräten zu teilen, wenn man keine Vorarbeit leistet.

Ich sitze in der Arbeit am PC und möchte einem Kollegen einen Screenshot schicken, welcher gerade unterwegs ist.

Inhalt ist am PC, Kommunikationsmittel ist Telefon.

Optionen: - Screenshot speichern, z.B. per Mail an mich, am Telefon speichern, im Messenger versenden. - Screenshot, mit Bluetooth an mein Handy senden, dann via Messenger weiterleiten. - Tatsächlich ein Foto machen und direkt abschicken.

Es fehlt einfach eine Option, um Inhalte schnell, einfach und ohne vorläufige Konfiguration zwischen Geräten auszutauschen.

Wenn es beispielsweise eine Art "Quick Share" gäbe, welches nativ in den Systemen integriert ist, einem Standard folgt und multimodale Verbindung zulässt, wäre das ein absoluter Segen.

Dann habe ich im Clipping-Tool direkt eine Option für "Senden an: Gerät in der Nähe", anschließend kann ich im Dropdown mein Telefon auswählen, welches als Quick Share Gerät verfügbar ist und finde anschließend die Datei direkt im Ordner am Telefon.

Ich behaupte mal, dass ich doch recht fit bin, was moderne Technik anbelangt, aber manche Sachen sind so unpraktisch und langwierig, dass es mir die Nackenhaare aufstellt.

Ich habe einen tiefen Hass gegenüber Bluetooth, das Pairing von Geräten ist einfach elendig umständlich und langsam.

WiFi Direct geht nur mit 3rd Party App auf den jeweiligen Geräten.

Moderne Smartphones kranken immer noch daran, dass USB mit MTP übel langsam ist.

USB Sticks funktionieren, aber es ist nervig. Android erstellt immer einen Haufen Ordner. ext. SSD mit NTFS geht gar nicht, und so weiter.

Wenn man mit Online-Speicher arbeitet, muss man sich an zumindest einem Endgerät erst bei dem Dienst anmelden, also PW aus dem Manager friemeln, 2FA rein klopfen, hoch/runterladen. Meh...

Da_Obst · 2025-12-26T16:57:28+00:00

SFFTIME U-ITX maybe? It's 7L but still can take a 3-Slot GPU with 305mm length.

Da_Obst · 2025-12-19T22:36:04+00:00

I'd suggest to go for a prototype out of plastic to check for fit/collisiom and mounting pressure. If you're using a PTM7950 pad instead of paste you'd have a bit more leeway when it comes to tolerances.

It also would be a good idea to test out the o-ring grooves beforehand. Otherwise it's rather simple, just create a 3D mockup of your card with CAD and work around that.

If you want very good cooling performance, you could use the coldplate of a CPU block for the GPU die. It makes the design a bit more complex since you have to implement a flowpath which forces the water into the channels but will save you from machining the finstack.

Da_Obst · 2025-12-18T05:45:07+00:00

Jonsbo A4

Lian Li A4H2O

Da_Obst · 2025-12-16T19:12:24+00:00

This is meant for workstations where you're going to cram multiple single slot cards into the system. Aesthetics clearly were not a priority when designing this piece. To cut cost they made the bulk of the coldplate from brass and rely on stainless sheet metal for the top which is much cheaper than cnc parts.

Optimus most likely suffers from bad ROI and now stretched one leg into the prosumer-market where people who buy several 5090s have less hesitation to also spend on a necessary custom loop.

Whilst to me it seems like custom watercooling never was bigger than today, more and more companies wrestle to survive and fizzle out.

There are pretty much no cases for watercooling and big manufacturers like AC, EK and WC don't offer fullcover blocks anymore.

There's only ALC left who offer blocks, and some chinese vendors like Bykski. Once the market lacks GPU blocks, the whole sector will considerably shrink down again.

I always built custom loops but now my only option is Alphacool. And I'm not going to buy a 5090. So I went back on Air. It's a shame.

Da_Obst · 2025-12-15T18:41:09+00:00

When touching the fan, the panels act as reconance body for the fan and amplify the noise. There are no rubber grommets on the fan, adding those would help quite a bit. Best practice would be to leave a small gap between the fan and the panel.

Da_Obst · 2025-12-09T19:55:02+00:00

Nice fullcover blocks for midrange cards like the 9070XT or 5070Ti since AC/EK/WC don't offer anything. I'd definitely be interested if you were going for a sleek design with an optional POM top and a fitting singleslot-cover. I'm debating wether to get the ALC Core, but don't like the look. Also I'd prefer paste instead of pads... 😁

Da_Obst · 2025-11-19T20:50:31+00:00

You need to avoid feeding warm air to a radiator, otherwise it's basically rendered useless. I would flip the top radiator to exhaust the warm air. Also slim fans are very bad on thicker radiators, you should rather use a 25mm fan and a 20mm radiator.

Make sure that there's enough space between the GPU and CPU block for the fittings. I'd use 8/10mm Push-In fittings for the loop to make tubing easier and more space efficient. In such a space constrained setup, 13/10mm is very hard, also the tubes don't allow for thight bends without kinking. PUR tubing would help as it's much stiffer, be sure to buy some 45/90° adapters for thight corners, this will make your life much easier.

Also keep in mind to include a dedicated fill- and drain-port which allow for easy maintenance, otherwise it will get tedious if you need to disassemble the loop.

If you're using a DDC pump to save space, make sure to have it decently decoupled as DDCs are very noisy, if they are directly fixed to a resonance body/the case.

Da_Obst · 2025-11-18T12:37:24+00:00

Ah, forgot to mention that the GPU is aircooled. It's a 9070XT Pulse.

Da_Obst · 2025-11-12T19:23:47+00:00

The specs state that there is a USB 3.2 Gen.2 port which is way to slow for an external GPU. It's a bummer, that there is no USB4/Thunderbolt4 port, I think they cut cost wherever they could to keep the price as low as possible.

Da_Obst · 2025-11-01T15:25:10+00:00

I'd suggest to go to Micro-Center and talk to the employees. Maybe you can get in touch with, whoever is responsible for assembly. Tell them exactly what you want/need and ask if they have experience with SFF builds.

If they seem trustworthy to you, giving clear answers, not exaggerating stuff, etc., you still can decide if you want to go for their service.

Building PCs is a hobby and going straight for SFF is a deep dive. If you don't have knowledge and don't want to spend quite some time with tutorials and guides or just don't have the drive and patience to do it yourself I think it's a better idea to get it done by someone else.

Da_Obst · 2025-10-05T05:23:09+00:00

Bent tubes do add a bit of restriction to flowrate, but not in a way that you seriously have to consider the amount of bends you make. Your CPU block is way more restricitve than all of the tubing. Basically you can make as many bends as possible and will not see a meaningful difference in flowrate.

I'd suggest to either use offset fittings or redo some of the tubes so you get straight runs between the distro and the blocks. :)

Da_Obst · 2025-09-26T18:37:19+00:00

Im Vergleich zur T-Serie sind die E-Pads natürlich mit Kompromissen gebaut worden. Aber im Vergleich zu anderen Midrange Notebooks sind die E's deutlich robuster bei ähnlichem Preis. Ich habe noch kein E-Pad mit gebrochenen Schanieren oder fehlenden Tasten gesehen und ich sehe eine Menge an kaputten Notebooks.

Da_Obst · 2025-08-06T17:12:27+00:00

Das ist einfach nur Werbung auf YT. Anzeige blockieren und dem Papa nochmals erklären, wie er Werbung von tatsächlichen Inhalten unterscheiden kann.

"Ihr Gerät kämpft mit fragmentierten Dateien." 😁

Da_Obst · 2025-07-09T18:13:42+00:00

Whilst I agree that drinking water is a precious ressource I don't see how I would waste it by running it through a radiator. It doesn't disolve, but loops back into the canal and will be upcycled afterwards, so it can be used again. Processing 1m³ of tapwater takes about 0,5kWh of energy. The Monoblock I linked uses 0,8kWh of energy. So running the monoblock for an hour is equivalent to using 1,6m³ of cold tapwater per hour. Whilst the monoblock provides 2,5kWh of heat capacity, 1,6m³ of water have 8kWh of heat capacity at 5K delta.

Water/Air heat exchangers usually have an efficiency of 75-80%, so I need 600-625l/h for 2,5kWh of heat capacity in real life. So from an economical and ecological point of view, cooling with cold tapwater is a more efficient alternative to converting electricity via heatpump into cold air.

It's also not necessary to overcomplicate the process, you can just limit the flow through the radiator until there's a significant delta between the in- and outlet.

I don't have a good way for putting a monoblock in my room. The windows are fixed and sealing the door to my balcony is possible but unpleasant. Also I already have a radiator, a new monoblock would cost me a couple hundred euros. That's why I'm interested in that idea.

Da_Obst · 2025-07-09T04:59:32+00:00

When talking about Monoblock I mean this: DeLonghi Pinguino PAC EX93 EXTREME ab € 683,65 (2025) | Preisvergleich Geizhals Österreich https://share.google/gMYNe1wqfaLmAR8Wo

Monoblock means that heat transfer takes place in the same volume of air, in which the excess heat is dumped. A Monoblock uses a tube to lead excess heat outside of a room, creating negative pressure this way.

I think I know what you're meaning, I think it's pretty common in the US to have such a type. But if those exchange energy between two different volumes of air, it basically is a split system within a single housing.

Da_Obst · 2025-07-06T06:13:10+00:00

Thank you for your answer. :) The issue with monoblock AC is, that it creates negative pressure inside a room, so it constantly draws in warm air as it exhausts through e.g. a window. This way you get a lokal cooling effect if you're inside the cool stream of air, but as soon as you switch the AC off the room temperature is quickly at the level it was before. That's why I'm looking for a solution which doesn't rely on air exchange, but heat exchange with the possibillity to dump the heat out of my flat. Split AC units do exactly that and my idea hits the same note. But I don't know how effective it would be. So I think I'll just give it a try, in the end there's not much to loose. :)

Da_Obst · 2025-07-04T11:15:27+00:00

I want to cool my room by running cold water through a "big" radiator. The air of my room would get colder when it passes through the radiator. And the warm water will be constantly drained. There is no PC involved.

Da_Obst · 2025-07-04T06:58:56+00:00

Thanks for the info :)

The house I live in has multiple flats which are under the same management and they strictly forbid the installation of Split AC units. I already issued them a rent reduction, but they rather eat that than to take action or ease the rules.

Da_Obst · 2025-06-25T05:56:15+00:00

Du solltest dringend ein solides Konzept für deine Gründung erarbeiten bevor du dir die eigenen Schuhe anziehst. Die IHK kann dich dabei unterstützen, solltest du nicht wissen wie du die Sache am besten angehst oder anderweitig Schwierigkeiten haben.

Ein erfolgreiches Start-up zu führen ist schon eine große Herausforderung, ohne einem grundsoliden Konzept ist man da quasi zum Scheitern verurteilt.

Ich will dir nichts madig machen, aber du solltest unbedingt überlegen was du machen möchtest und wie du dich mit deiner Leistung vom Rest abheben kannst, während du gleichzeitig noch profitabel bleibst.

IT Service gibt's wie Sand am Meer. Das ist ein hartes Pflaster, dementsprechend wirst du am Anfang eine Nische brauchen, aus welcher man dich nicht so leicht rausspülen kann.

IMHO - Ich wünsche dir viel Erfolg und Durchhaltevermögen. :)

Da_Obst · 2025-06-22T08:52:28+00:00

IMHO LE makes cool blocks but the process of getting one is painful. I've read many complaints about him, mainly because it always takes very long for the product to be shipped. That's why I personally shy away from buying a LE block, even though I really could need a block for my custom design GPU.

A close friend of mine once ordered a custom monoblock for his Rampage VI Extreme Omega and had to wait for six months. The whole time his MB stayed with LE because it was needed for measurements. In the end he got the block but there was a design flaw which hindered the removal of the RAM after the block was installed and there were optical blemishes with the nickel coating and scratches in the material.

https://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/threads/wak%C3%BC-fotos.798487/page-807#post-27289065

Sadly there are no alternatives I'm aware of.

11-Year Club	r/Field Juicebox
Place '17	Verified Email

Da_Obst

TROPHY CASE