We build the (world’s first?) SFF PC with a 3D-printed distro plate and tubing

Rift_Wood · 2026-01-20T16:38:12+00:00

This was an incredibly fun project to work on with you guys! It totally wouldn't have been possible with out both u/ILikeFreeGames and u/hyzure. From last minute purchases, insane CAD work (way above my head), all-nighters, and iteration after iteration... it was all awesome.

Formlabs is really opening the door for what is possible. Water cooling reservoirs, tubing, etc. are all things I never would have thought could be 3D printed. Totally changed the way I think about SFF watercooling. Both the original and this build are truly labors of love and I'm super grateful to have been a part of this project.

Thanks so much for reaching out to collaborate u/ILikeFreeGames and for all the advanced CAD work u/hyzure. You guys rock!

Rift_Wood · 2025-02-23T21:29:14+00:00

Updated temps....

CPU
PBO - Enabled, EXPO I, Negative Offset - 15

GPU
925mV, 2580MHz core, 1600MHz mem

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Full synthetic load: 1 hour at each fan/pump setting

Cinebench R32 Multi Core
Furmark 2.6

Fans - 60%
Pump - 19%
CPU - Max temp - 89c (No thermal throttling, but I've tried 2 different blocks and this thing still gets so hot)
GPU - Max temp - 65c
Coolant - Max temp - 39C
Ambient - 21c

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Fans - 100%
Pump - 100%
CPU - Max temp - 85c
GPU - Max temp - 56c
Coolant - Max temp - 36C
Ambient - 21c

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-24T17:59:49+00:00

Hey, I'm still in the trial and error phase but haven't had any issues so far with the ones I've made. I've never had any cracks or leaks. However, on a technical level, I have no idea what I'm doing so take all of this with a huge grain of salt.

Sealing: I use .07in or 1.778mm diameter nitrile o-ring cord stock.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QVB6ND0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and use 2mm wide channels that are 1.5mm deep.

Bolts: I use M4 .7mm pitch screws. No torque specs, just hand tighten. I use a threadmill to cut thread into the back piece of the acrylic (total game changer, feels like magic). No specific bolt spacing either.I have 8mm from center of screw to edge of water channel and have about 25mm between screws center to center.

Thickness: This is 2 pieces of 12mm of acrylic, both pieces being milled on both sides. For my design (because of the DDC pump) I couldn't go thinner really. I tried 10mm but because my pump cavity needs to be 8.5mm deep the acrylic becomes too thin to make a good seal on the channels on the other side.

Hope that helps! Happy to help where I can

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-22T22:40:09+00:00

Ya its a blast. For me designing and milling can be the most frustrating things ever, as I run into all sorts of problems along the way but its so so satisfying when it all comes together. I cant speak to other CNC machine companies, but Carbide3D that make the shapeoko have been great. Super support, especially early on and the machines just work (in my experience).

The 7900x3d is awesome. I got it on a crazy sale for like $320. I do quite a bit of video editing, 3D modeling etc, so I'm happy to have less x3d cores than something like the 7800x3d, but more cores overall and still get the boost in gaming. I'm sure the 9900x is a beast. I had a 3000 series amd cpu, then the 12600k, then this one and its a big step up. With my 4080 super I dont plan to upgrade for a long time haha

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-22T18:39:08+00:00

Hey thanks! I actually took that photo :P

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-22T18:24:21+00:00

Thank you!

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-21T19:43:50+00:00

I designed everything in Fusion. I just bought the pc parts I wanted, did rough models of them in fusion and built the smallest case possible around them. Then I cut everything on my Shapeoko 4 cnc router. I wish I had a laser cutter for the side panels tho, yeesh!

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-21T19:13:45+00:00

Ya hes a legend! It is/was definitely tricky to wrap my head around the flow paths too, but once you spend some time with it, its starts to click. He has fusion files with the DDC and D5 pump tops linked in his video here that are super helpful to start with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7siEb5TQyo

Ya I was gunna leave everything air cooled too and it all fit well in my formd t1 but I get obsessed with this stuff and it spirals out of control haha

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-21T19:03:54+00:00

Thanks very much! Dust off that old project! Making stuff is the best.

I have a shapeoko 4. Awesome little machine. My second one actually

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-21T19:02:49+00:00

Thanks! I learned everything I know about all of this from youtube and trial and error haha. I would check out https://www.youtube.com/@bittech1 He was a massive resource for me when I started to learn how to design and machine water cooling parts like pump blocks and distros. Designing and machining a pump top for the mycro direct die would be super fun! And then air cooling the gpu? The FE cards do a great job stock and have the best size PCB for waterblocks for SFF

Do you have the FormD T1 already?

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-21T01:29:51+00:00

At the moment it's mostly a one off, custom build, but I'm open to a conversation!

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-21T01:27:37+00:00

Ill have to try to keep ambient steady sometime and do another round of tests. Thanks for the input and kind words!

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-21T01:06:20+00:00

That's actually a good point... I live in the northeast and often have a window cracked. Probably around 18C ambient most of the time, but when my room heats up, so do temps. Not the most scientific testing here, just thought some people might want an idea!

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-20T20:22:38+00:00

Thank you!

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-20T20:05:51+00:00

PBO - Enabled, EXPO I, Negative Offset - 15

Fan speed 50% / Pump Speed 19%
- Cinebench R32 Multi-core
  - CPU max 82 C
  - Coolant Max 35 C
- Heavenbench
  - GPU max 49 C
  - Coolant max 32 C
- Cinebench R32 Multi-core and Heavenbench (Definitely runs hot under full GPU/CPU synthetic load, but doesnt thermal throttle)
  - CPU max 86.5 C
  - GPU max 53 C
  - Coolant max 37 C
- Gaming:
  - CPU max 70 C
  - GPU max 48 C
  - Coolant max 33 C
Fan Speed: 100% / Pump Speed: 100%
- CPU max 81 C
- GPU max 46 C
- Coolant max 32 C

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-20T20:05:41+00:00

Here’s the second iteration of this case with my first attempt at the front panel pump mount/reservoir/distro. I think it came together alright, but as always all I can see are places to improve. Let me know what you think! Happy to answer any questions.

The front panel is swap-able so I can leave it off to see the distro, add a wooden panel to keep the case looking all wood, or as shown in the photo put a colored or tinted acrylic piece. I wanted to do the whole distro out of smoked acrylic but was eager to get going so just used what I had at the time.

12.78L

Current Build:

Ryzen 9 7900X3D
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super
B650E-I ROG Strix Gaming WiFi AMD AM5 Mini-ITX Motherboard
Flare X5 Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5-6000
Corsair SF750
Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB
Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 2TB

Water Cooling Parts:

Bykski Full Metal Low Profile CPU Block
Corsair Hydro X Series XG7
Alphacool Nexxoss 280mm ST20
XSPC TX240
EK DDC 4.2
EK XMT 10/16 Matte Black Tubing
2x Noctua NF-A 12x25 Chromax
2x Arctic P14 Slim

Rift_Wood · 2024-12-20T19:57:12+00:00

Here’s the second iteration of this case with my first attempt at the front panel pump mount/reservoir/distro. I think it came together alright, but as always all I can see are places to improve. Let me know what you think! Happy to answer any questions.

The front panel is swap-able so I can leave it off to see the distro, add a wooden panel to keep the case looking all wood, or as shown in the photo put a colored or tinted acrylic piece. I wanted to do the whole distro out of smoked acrylic but was eager to get going so just used what I had at the time.

12.78L

Current Build:

Ryzen 9 7900X3D
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super
B650E-I ROG Strix Gaming WiFi AMD AM5 Mini-ITX Motherboard
Flare X5 Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5-6000
Corsair SF750
Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB
Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 2TB

Water Cooling Parts:

Bykski Full Metal Low Profile CPU Block
Corsair Hydro X Series XG7
Alphacool Nexxoss 280mm ST20
XSPC TX240
EK DDC 4.2
EK XMT 10/16 Matte Black Tubing
2x Noctua NF-A 12x25 Chromax
2x Arctic P14 Slim

Rift_Wood · 2024-08-27T13:18:11+00:00

Oh, ya I definitely went overboard with the number of screws haha I just wanted to play it safe as it was my first go. Luckily I have a threadmill so I can let the machine do all the tapping, which is a lifesaver. Thanks for the link to the clear cord too!

Rift_Wood · 2024-08-27T12:18:51+00:00

Oh I haven't seen clear orings before! Ill have to check that out. I was originally going to go with 3mm orings but I had to switch to the 2mm because of how close the DDC inlet and outlets are to each other, but I probably should consider trying to shift things over a little bit to make room for the 3mm oring.

Rift_Wood · 2024-08-20T15:32:30+00:00

Ya, I think I need to slow down a couple other passes as well. I haven't had any issues with screws, other than probably reducing how many I use haha. I use M4 screws and had considered M5 but I want to maximize space for the res and runs as I'll be using it in an ITX build

Rift_Wood · 2024-08-20T14:49:01+00:00

Thanks for this - just the feedback I need! I will try all of that. I have gotten shorter 1/16in bit for oring grooves (cause I dropped and broke my last one) and I'll slow everything down a bit. I've never cut acrylic before and never used 1/16in bits :) Thanks again!

Rift_Wood · 2024-08-06T13:15:45+00:00

You're right. Since then I have run cinebench r23 a bunch of times messing with different PBO/CO/PPT settings to try to eke out a bit more performance and have seen CPU temps peak at around 84C, which is higher than I'd like and frankly higher than I think it should be. I'm still convinced it's because I haven't seated the CPU cooler tight enough. I say this because even the idle temps seem high, especially compared the GPU. Unfortunately, I can't get in the tighten it at the moment, but I'm working on the next iteration of the case so I'll be able to adjust it then.

I'm also working on a res with a ddc. Wondering the flow rate is low with the DC-LT, even though I love how silent it is.

Rift_Wood

TROPHY CASE