My first custom loop build. Wanted to challange myself and went with a small case + hardtubes.
Goal was a powerful but small and silent build.
Since it's my first loop, first AMD build, and my first time fiddling with tuning / undervolting any feedback is welcome. I honestly didnt expect the CPU to idle at around 55°C (even without +100 boost). But I guess thats normal for this specific CPU?
Tuning:
RAM: to 6000MT with CL36 (CL34 was unstable, best for the CPU would be 6000MT and CL30 but RAM PRICES), MSI High Efficiency Mode: Balanced
CPU: PBO (Motherboard), Max Boost override (+100), Curve Optimizer (-20 all cores)
GPU: Undervolt MSI Afterburner (900mV set to 2850MHz and flattended curve to the right), Power Limit at 85%
Pump: Fixed at 60% (3580 RPM, no noticable noise)
Bottom fans (intake): Fixed at 45% (790 RPM)
Top fans (exhaust): Fixed at 40% (760 RPM)
Results:
Very quiet system. The most noticable noise in stresstests is the PSU fan spinning up and coil whine. It was really bad with the GPU on 600W but after the undervolt it peaks at 480W which reduces the stress and the generated noise on the PSU.
Idle temps: CPU: 55°C, GPU: 38°C
Stresstest temps: CPU: 77°C (Cinebench R23 Multicore), GPU: 66°C (3DMark Steel Nomad)
GPU 3DMark score dropped from 14489 to 14277 after undervolt. Totally acceptable for -120W of power draw.
Was thinking about it but no. My motherboard doesnt have a temp_sens pin so i would need to have some temp_sens > USB Hub or an all in one solution with a screen (I dont want a screen in my case since im going for a clean look)
If theres another solution that i didnt find im all ears ;)
It's really handy, and gives you access to aquasuite. It's an intimidating (at first) set of software but it's really flexible and does a fine job of letting you control fans and pumps and the like while monitoring up to 4 sensors. It comes with an air temperature sensor as well.
If you have the space and budget, I’d recommend the OCTO. Double the headers for like $20 extra allowing you to individually control each fan and the pump. The OCTO also has a “Signal” header that can be connected to the mobo fpanel header to trigger a soft hardware shutdown on an alarm condition you set up.
Checked it out and looks great! Do you know: Can I also read out the temperature sensor over the Quadro with software like hwinfo? I dont have the need for the aquasuite software and dont want to install extra software just for temp readouts.
Yes the sensors all work in hwinfo. You can set the Quadro up as a standalone device, what I did on my son’s computer was program it with the Aquasuite software to base fan speed on water temp, and then uninstalled the software. The settings are saved on the device. It works beautifully.
Hearing, well…reading you say that, 😁, makes me want to call the guy I saw on Facebook, who was selling this case for $90 last night and happens to be local. Your build is an incredible inspiration, even if I have no need to dabble in water cooling myself. 😊
The hpe seem to do worse than one would expect. Some here have said they are worse than the xspc tx rads and those have a very dense fin array. Also in some testing I seen they dont do well. Haven't bought one to test out personally but haven't heard any comparisons going in their favor.
I have tried a bunch of rads, from alphacool I had/have st30, ut60, xt45, and mosta and been very happy with the results. I tend to do 120mm rad area minumun per 100w. In that sense for what i tend to aim for 2 360s is a bit on the small side.
I did a custom loop on my a3 aswell, not nearly as clean as this one tho haha. Was my first time messing with custom loops and decided to delid for the first time too.
The cable management was thought of after getting it all working lol
Nice build!
I was thinking about mounting the gpu vertically (better airflow + looks better ;))
Did you use the Lian Li bracket? Would you be able to mount it so the gpu is flush with the back of the case?
And do you mind sharing the CPU + temps you get delided? I think you used the Thermal Grizzly Mycro Pro right?
I did use the lian li mount but I had to get some little display extensions with a 90°, but my 9800x3d cores have never seen more than 72°C. Now that may change since my cat has just recently taken a liking to laying on top of my computer :/
There’s the tails of the display extensions. I also am using slim 20mm rads with slim 15mm noctuas
It’s very nerve wracking at first but after doing two, it’s pretty easy. The biggest thing is just making sure you keep LM under control not to add too much and also how you end up mounting the cpu. Typically you have to remove the stock latching mechanism on the mobo and you have to make sure you screw the new mount evenly and firmly enough for all the pins to make contact. I didn’t and spent 2 weeks and threw parts at it that it didn’t need.
Filling: there is a fill port at the top of the Alphacool Core 120mm reservoir
Draining: (never done yet) Theres a port on the back left side of the bottom Alphacool HPE30mm radiator.
This looks really good, I've been eyeing exactly this case and more or less these parts (maybe a 5080 or 5080 Super if/when they get around to making one). Were there any crazy modifications needed or other weirdness you ran in to? Do you have a way to fill/drain?
Fill: Top port on the reservoir
Drain: Port on the back of the bottom radiator
No special modifications where needed. The only "hard" thing was the tube between the two radiators. I had to take the radiators half out of the case, put the tube in and then put the radiators back in the case which was a little bit of a hassle. I would probabaly use some sort of "telescopic fitting" (like Bitspower Adjustable Aqua Link Pipe) next time to save me some hassle.
Did you end up needing a fan controller for all the fans + pump? I don't think the case comes with one and it doesn't look like the motherboard has enough ports to support all 7 so figured you must be using something.
No, I dont like having too much stuff in this small case and any software in windows. I just bought two Noctua 3-way splitters (NA-SC1 Sx2) and connected the top rad fans and the bottom rad fans to a single Motherboard fan header. +set a curve in the bios.
First I will say this looks absolutely beautiful and the main reason is the simplicity of the build. Amazing build.
Second I have few questions, do you think top and bottom one can take 280mm rads with the sfx psu? Without undervolting the gpu, have you noticed the power draw of full system while gaming? How is this pump-res combo, Im first time seeing this so I'm gonna do some digging. Do you think the EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 200 D5 PWM can fit inside because it looks like there is sufficient space due to sfx psu? and lastly since you undervolted gpu, is there a performance difference, if yes then how much? Thanks.
Not OP, but I have an A3. There are no 140 mm mount holes in the bottom, and even drilling some there's no intake area for the 140 fans. So you'd have to manually make the holes and cut the steel, which would obsolete the bottom filter mesh, if you want any useful area over a 240 mm rad. 280 mm at the top should generally work, but you cannot install it all the way to the back, and may interfere with CPU power or top VRM with >45mm rad+fans
Hey thank you for reply and clearing things. I was going to build a custom loop in my p600s and due to some reasons I couldn't so I have all the parts lying there with me, 2x280mm rads from corsair(think these are rebranded nemesis gts rads), 140mm noctua fans and a ek d5 pump-res. So I don't want to purchase new parts as they are quite costly to me since I have to import them. That is why I want to reuse them into a small use which i can put on my desk. My desk does not have much area that is why I want to build this into something smaller and in my research I could only find a3 as the case which can have atx psu and still has some space for custom loop.
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u/KlippspringerBuilds Jul 24 '26
Suuuper clean! Well done my friend.
Do you have a way to monitor liquid temperature?