JayGee's Dark Base Pro 900 Water Cooled Build

[JayGee]

Introduction
This is my first post on this forum (hello to all) and I'm posting to share the details of what will be my third build, and the first one that I'm starting that will be water cooled from the get go. For the record the first build was a gaming rig that started off as air cooled but was then converted over to being water cooled after about six months; and the second build was a low power home server.

The spec for this build is unquestionably overkill for my gaming needs - I'm essentially a casual gamer - but what this build is intended to do is to scratch my itch to build a new, relatively silent, high performance and aesthetically pleasing system, one that I can put some time into as I don't need to tear down the existing game rig whilst I build this one.

Case & Core Components
Case: bequiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Orange/Black
Mobo: Asus ROG Maximus X Formula
CPU: i7-8700K (OCUK delidded and prebinned @5GHZ)
GPU: 2 x Asus ROG Strix GTX 1080 ti OC w/ Asus ROG HB SLI bridge
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (4 x 8GB) 3200MHz, RGB
PSU: EVGA Supanova 1000 T2
Storage: 1 x Samsung Evo 250GB NVMe M.2 SSD (for OS); 2 x Samsung 850 Evo 500GB SSD (Raid 0 for games/benchmarks); 1 x Seagate 2TB FireCuda 2.5" internal SSHD.

Cooling Components
CPU Block: Phanteks Glacier C350i acrylic cover & RGB
GPU Blocks: Phanteks Glacier GTX 1080 Ti ROG Strix full water block & RGB
Rads: 2 x Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis GTS420
Fans: 7 x bequiet! Silent Wings 3 140mm PWM
Res: EK-RES X3 250 RGB
Pump: EK-XTOP Revo Dual D5 PWM
Hardline: Monsoon 13mm
Fittings: Primarily Monsoon Free Center in Black Chrome

Challenges & Unknowns
1/ Fitting 2 x 420 rads in the case - the bequiet! literature suggests that this is possible with one to the front and one up top but I've also seen lots of folk who have said that this is a challenge.
2/ Airflow - I love the case aesthetics but I've also read that the airflow can be a challenge - I'm almost certain that this will lead me to make some mods to the case.
3/ Power Supply - will 1000W be sufficient? (my current rig is running SLI and has an 850W which runs with headroom so I believe that this should be fine, but some power calculations suggest 1200W or even 1600W would be needed)
4/ PSU Shroud - I plan to build custom cables but I'm still conscious that the lack of a shroud might mean things could look a little untidy. I've a cunning plan on how to address that but I'll keep that under wraps for now.
5/ SSD Mounting - I plan to strip out all of the internal bay mounts and front bays that come with the case to accommodate the rads, res and pump - but that will lead to challenges on where to mount the SSD's - this will likely lead to some mods as well.
6/ Res/Pump Mounting - until I figure out how to accommodate the rads how I mount the res and pumps is TBD, I'm comfortable that there shall be room but with a dual pump that extends beyond the width of a 140mm fan I'm not entirely sure how that will fit in just yet - more modding may be required.
7/ Hardline routing - I'm thinking that I'll feed the GPUs in parallel but beyond that how I route things will largly depend on how/where the rads/fans fit and their orientation.
8/ Cables - this is the first build that I plan to make my own custom cables, so a jump into the unknown for me and therefore listed as a challenge.

Timeline
I expect to have most of the key components with me by the end of this week but I'll need to fit the build in with a full time day job and also some personal commitments over the next few weekends. As such I'm expecting this build to take some time to execute on, quite possibly stretching into February at least. I'm also conscious that I need to curb my natural tendency to "blast through things" and instead try and spend a little more time on the quality of the end result - I'm hopeful that the fact that I have a working system already shall help with that!
Next update shall likely be pictures of the various boxed components - that could be this coming Saturday but that is dependent on some other personal stuff that may need to be prioritised over this.

 

[JayGee]

900 case ordered ? should see the new 700, with subtle RGB at the front for the strix

as with airlflow you'll have none- you can set those silent wing 3 to 100% and will be quieter then most fans at 50%!!! the static pressure will also pull and push through anything pretty much

phanteks is a lovely block! hand one on my strix 1070- would recommend Thermal Grizzlie thermal pads, think its 1.5mm thick pads .

also check the serial number of the Strix Ti, know there was a design change which makes new ones not compatible with older verison- EK made note of it first

Yes, I have the 900 ordered - it *should* be arriving today.
Thanks for the tip re the TG pads - I'll look some out when I can confirm which size I need (I've already got some TG Kryonaut paste).
WRT the Strix Ti's thanks for the heads-up, I wasn't aware of that - I'll do some digging and check the serial numbers as you suggest.

 

[JayGee]

https://www.kitguru.net/components/...mpatibility-issues-with-gtx-1080ti-rog-strix/

Thanks, I found a similar article elsewhere, I've checked my cards and found that they're both in the range that EKWB have indicated are affected <-- false statement, see edit comment below.
- I've written to Phanteks to see if this change will also cause compatibility issues with their blocks as I've not found anything other than the EKWB note.
- I'll share any details that I get back from Phanteks.

EDIT: Actually I'd assumed (yep that old mistake) that the change would affect all new cards and because my cards have serial numbers beyond the top range of those advertised thought that they must also be affected. That assumption might actually be wrong, but the cards stay boxed for now in the hope that ASus will confirm one way or another.

 

[JayGee]

you should be able to see the block design of both phantkes and EKWB strix ti unit- holes for components clearance and ram chips will be the same

doesn't help ASUS dont allow cooler removal and use sticker son screws - use some pliers to remove it

For now both the cards and the blocks are staying in their original packaging until I've got more clarity (hopefully from Phanteks) on the extent of the issue and whether or not there is a practical work-around. Worst case scenario I'll return both cards and blocks to find an alternative as I'm fully set on water cooling the whole rig.

 

[JayGee]

try their social media as well, facebook/ twitter etc to see if they reply back quicker .

Good idea - I've pinged Phanteks on both FB and Twitter.

aorus waterforce has block pre assembled and RGB but then you'll be clashing - if your not OCD then its fine haha
evga could be another shout

If it comes to it the Aorus Waterforce looks like a good option at least as far as the colours should tie in with the case orange+black.

The other option that comes to mind is that assuming that the Phanteks blocks are currently incompatible (seems likely to be the case), then I would expect that they'll come out with a new variant to fit the new PCB layout at some point in time - depending on when that is I can either defer the build until then or take a two step approach and start-out with the GPU's in their stock config. As much as I'd like to go full water from the outset the two step approach would extend the building fun - i.e. I'd have a very clear second phase/next step to undertake after the initial build.

 

[JayGee]

ohhh nice build here... i'm doing similar in the DBPro 900 white during the year... got the case, just saving for the rest of the parts

you going normal or inverted layout with the case?

Current plan is to use it in its normal orientation but that may change depending on how I get along with figuring out how to best accommodate everything - for instance if I need extra clearance at the top then inverting it might give me that. That said part of the appeal of the case is the flexibility to move the MoBo vertically which, I'm anticipating, means that I should be able to get sufficient clearance between MoBo/RAM and a top mounted rad+fans.

 

[JayGee]

i only wish this case came with a PSU shroud... going to have to invest in an aftermarket one for my rig lol

I was originally contemplating making one out of acrylic (and may yet still go that route), but then I had another idea which I think could be pretty cool if it pans out... I won't divulge that just yet as I first want to measure things up (dependent on the case turning up) and do some experimentation/prototyping (dependent on some other bits and pieces turning up).

 

[JayGee]

i'm probably going to order one made from V1tech... he does pretty nice custom ones in either short or long lengths in any colour you can think of

i'm going with him so i can get some custom backplates and grills at the same time for a cohesive look

Yep, I've seen those, at least pictures of, they look like a solid option too.

 

[JayGee]

only option i've got really as i've never worked with acrylic before, so wouldn't even know where to start making a shroud or anything fancy lol

YouTube is your friend

 

[JayGee]

lol true

might give it a go someday... guessing it's similar to working with PETG, just in flat form lol

you planned out your loop already? would be curious to see some other ideas on cooling the 900 aside from my own plans

Not yet - and it's all even more up in the air due to the uncertainty around compatibility between the GPU cards and blocks thanks to Asus ninja changing their PCB design as mentioned above ^^.

 

[JayGee]

Thanks - fingers crossed for a *simple* solution.

 

[JayGee]

simple solution? with a custom loop?

what gods are you praying to? and what blood sacrifice are you providing? lol

ain't that the fun of it though?

 

[JayGee]

...really interesting, I have more or less the same build / spec as your and just finishing mine off in the next week.
The two 420 rads is certainly possible, I have mine in push / pull config (minus one fan)

I'd love to see pictures of your build and hear of anything that that you've learnt about the case as a result of building in it.

 

[JayGee]

@JayGee
...

I think that's intended for @Methos - no need for a card reader in my build.

 

[JayGee]

A couple of updates:
1/ I managed to hook someone at Asus UK (via https://www.facebook.com/ASUSROGUK/) to try and get more clarity on the topic of recent PCB layout changes to the Asus Rog Strix GTS 1080 ti boards and potential incompatibility with third party water blocks - I've shared the serial numbers of my cards and they're going to pass those to "HQ" to see if they can determine which rev of the PCB is used. I know the Asus customer support isn't always great but the person I spent some time with (via FB/Messenger) today was really understanding of my situation and is clearly trying to help.
2/ After a bit of a nail biting delay the case rocked up today (should have been before New Year)... and I couldn't resist getting the box open and tearing the case down to check how comfortably the two GTS420's might fit - pictures below.
Some observations on the tear down:
a. It exudes quality, nice solid well made feel to it.
b. Tearing it down is not exactly intuative, some of which I think is related to how solid it is. For example you'd think that you should just be able to snap off the top and the front cover (as you can on some other cases), but I had to get inside to push the retaining clips free, and there's more of those than you might expect. Taking out the front bay to replace it with the fan bracket pretty much requires dismantling the whole case (kind of fine because you won't do that very often).
c. I liked that most (not all) of the screws were retained in some way to help prevent losing them or mixing them up with different ones.
d. I love the fans, compared to the Noctuas in my current gaming rig, they look quite elegent, but the main thing I like about them is that the screw holes have rubber inserts so you're not "tapping" into the solid case when you screw them into position - presumably this also serves to mitigate vibration.

Anyway, here are some pictures, mostly aimed at showing the space available when the case is stripped down (as I'd struggled to find anything like that when I was looking at this case as an option)....

It survived the journey unscathed, and it's as smexy as I hoped


Stripped down and the vital statistics on the front panel recess - perfect fit for the silent wings 3 140mm fans, but not an option for a 420 rad as the recess is too narrow



A couple of pictures to show the kind of space to work with (looks tight but doable) when fitting a Nemesis GTS420 on the inside front and inside top.


All in all I'm pretty chuffed with how things are looking right now.

I'll be leaving the case stripped down for a while now so if anyone needs any measurements/pictures or details please do ping me and I'll try and help as time allows (I suspect that I won't have too much time this coming weekend).

 

[JayGee]

ohhh looks lovely

can't wait to see your build grow with it

if you like the fans, do you want 3 (or however many it comes with?) more? annoyingly the white case comes with the same black Be Quiet fans... which will be torn straight out of my system and replaced with white ones lol, so they're going spare if you want em

Cheers. I don’t think I need any extra fans, as I’ve already ordered and received enough, however if I figure out that I need to go push-pull on either rad I’ll hit you up then.

 

[JayGee]

A little bit of time presented itself this afternoon... so the Dremmel and files came out to remove the drive bay horizontal supports all of which had lips which protruded into the case preventing, or at least complicating, flush fitting a panel there instead of the bays.


I know I want a panel fitted there but I'm not 100% sure yet whether I'll be mounting the reservoir to it or the SSDs - I'll figure that out when the reservoir and pumps turn up.

In other news, I've been pestering various companies trying to get more clarity on the issue with Asus changing the PCB in their Rog Strix GTX 1080 ti cards which has broken compatibility with at least EK water blocks. I'd asked EK if they had any plans to respin their water block to fit with the new design, and this is what I got back:

Thank you for contacting us.
We are really sorry,but sadly we don't have any plans to make a new water block for these cards. Asus says this change is only temporary and after some time they will return to the first PCB design.
The information provided on the water blocks product page is the information Asus provided. If that is about to be changed, we don't know, but that is the info they provided. Sadly we can only go by this.

I'm still awaiting to see if I can get specific details on the PCB rev that I have in my cards - but if the range of serial numbers is accurate then I should be golden, as on double checking it appears I have cards which are beyond the upper range of serial numbers that were affected, i.e. cards which have been built since Asus reverted back to the older PCB.

 

[JayGee]

Mobo, PSU, CPU, Memory and Storage laid out ahead of first sanity test:


And the beast breathes for the first time (Noctua NH-U12S fitted purely for the purposes of testing):

 

[JayGee]

This afternoon I've mostly been planning cable stuff...

Colours:


Plotting out the pin-outs of the cables included with the EVGA Supernova 1000 T2 using a meter:

 

[JayGee]

ohhhh nice fiery colour scheme you're going with there

cablemod?

I'm planning to make my own cables (a first for me) so the colours/pattern might change yet. I'm keen to give it a go though because I'd really like to get nice, neat bends for the cables on display which means needing different lengths of individual cables in the same loom.