mATX- Node 804

[Pneumonic]

So with my NAS / Media server mostly completed now I have started to pull together parts for my day - to - day / gaming rig.. looking at the following spec:

CPU: 4930K
MB: ASUS Rampage IV Gene
RAM: Kingston Hyper X Beast (4 * 8GB) 2400
SSD: 2 x 240GB Kingston Hyper X 3K
GPU: 2 x 7990

All of this will be squeezed into a Fractal Node 804.. GPU's and CPU will be in 1 loop under water.. hopefully will be-able to fit in 2 x 240 and 1 x 120 rad.

Colour scheme will be an inventive red/black..

 

[Pneumonic]

Well.. case arrived yesterday and had sometime to do some proper measuring to see what I can squeeze into this little box!

So Rad configuration is going to have to change... so plan is now as follows:

Left hand compartment (MB Side):
1 x 120mm in the front top (leaves room for the 7990's
1 x 120mm on the exhaust

Right hand compartment (PSU side):
1 x 240mm in the front
1 x 140mm on the exhaust above the PSU

Should give me enough grunt in the radiator department to keep temperatures under control and have a nice little heater in the winter when the cards are at 100% load!

Loop is likely to be one of the following:

Res/Pump -> CPU -> Rear 120.1 -> GPU 1 -> GPU 2 -> Front 120.1 -> 120.2 -> 140.1

Res/Pump -> Front 120.1 -> GPU 2 -> GPU 1 -> Rear 120.1 -> CPU -> 120.2 -> 140.1

Anyway's time for some pictures!

Case and CPU block turned up yesterday so took some pictures and got the motherboard mounted in the case to see what sort of room I have to work with!

Box!:

Front:

Left Side:

Top:

Right Side:

Naked Chassis!

Motherboard & CPU:

That's all for now..

 

[Pneumonic]

I brought the case mostly on spec for its ability to fit radiators.. but having got it out I do really like the case it is nice and "clean"... Lian-Li with curve is I think a good description of the style..

I think its all going to be a little tight but have decided to bite the bullet and go with hard-line for the water-cooling.. should be easier to get the bends that I need in the tight spaces and save a fortune on fittings!

 

[Pneumonic]

So a bit of an update!

Part of my order from OCUK turned up today! Unfortunately missing some items that I really need to get a move on but a few bits and pieces to make some progress with!...

So... on with the Pictures:

Obligitory Picture of Boxes!

And A Pile Of Stuff:

CPU & RAM:
Added the red insert to the block and got the RAM all in..

PSU:
PSU into the chassis.. 1300w Superflower.. I really like these is my third one now! but damn they take some room in these mATX chassis..

Radiators:
Got all my radiators flushed.. unfortunately OCUK are current out of stock on the Red LED 120mm Spectre.. so couldn't get any of the 120mm radiators in.. but have fitted the 140mm radiator.. as you can see measurements were pretty spot on.. snug fit!

SSDs:
SSDs were one of the items that were in stock so got them mounted in the front of the case..

Next Steps:
Pretty much have everything that I need now other than 120mm Fans and the hard-line acrylic for the water loop.. got some odds and sods turning up over the next few days but hopeful OCUK will get stock sorted soon!

 

[Pneumonic]

I love the way it's "only" 900 watts! sounds about right however.. I wanted to give the PSU a bit of headroom.. I don't want it running at 90 - 100% max capacity and having the fan whirring away at full tilt.. with 1.3kw PSU it should run around 70 - 75% load and therefore fingers crossed stay pretty quiet and cool(ish)..

 

[Pneumonic]

naaaw, 900w at the wall = 810w ish power draw, my 1kw psu is practically slient and i defo can't hear it above my rad fans
and i'm looking forward to see how cable management is like on a node 804 with watercooling xD

cable management.. my favourite! I think I may be shortening a lot of the PSU cables I don't think it will be as bad as on my NAS / Media Server build.. that was tight with six hdd and 2 ssd in it!

 

[Pneumonic]

looks fun! the nice thing about the node is that it has a bit more space for cables in the PSU compartment.. plan is to have the radiator / pump on the motherboard side.. should leave some room for management!

Am going to have a nose at your log now

 

[Pneumonic]

yep.. one reason I can't have a 120.2 in the front of the case on the motherboard side is that I need to leave room for the GPUs..

I have one of the bitspower 120mm res mounting brackets.. so plan is to mount the pump / res using this probably in the roof of the motherboard side as I have no rads there.

 

[Pneumonic]

that's correct..

On the MB side.. I will have a 120.1 in the front (top) and then a 120.1 in the rear exhaust..

Then on the PSU side I will have a 120.2 in the front and the 140.1 in the rear exhaust.

 

[Pneumonic]

Are you going to add any mass storage? (As it being a NAS and all)

This box is gaming only..

I recently built a yellow/black build for a NAS/Media storage.. that little fella has two 3 x 4 TB disks in raid 0 for storage

 

[Pneumonic]

How does the Node 804 'feel' in terms of real life dimensions? I've only ever seen pictures, and they make it look a bit large. I wondered whether the depth/width actually made it seem that big or if it was relatively small, if you catch my drift....

By measurement it is near enough the same size as the Lian Li mATX cube I recently built (maybe 2cm wide and taller).. but it does "feel" bigger inside certainly I think the middle split gives it the feel of a larger case because you have the rear room for extra stuff..

I think the styling also makes it look bigger.. think if it like an EVO compared to a normal hatch back.. with the wheel arches and beefy body kit it looks bigger but in reality is the same sort of size as a Mondeo!

In terms of actual usable space inside.. its an mATX case so you need to be a bit careful.. I had to be careful in radiator choice for-instance as a lot of 120.2 radiators are too large.. also once I get the radiators in and the res/pump as well you will see that actually its all very tight.. maybe 2 - 3 cm clearance between parts.. one of the reasons I have chosen to work with hard-line this time is that with normal tubing you have some very tight turns and bends.. and to get it nice I could have spent £150 on fittings easily.

 

[Pneumonic]

I see, that's interesting. Sounds like it fits your needs pretty much perfectly anyhow. I think it's good to use a case that is as small as possible whilst fitting your required hardware, personally. Perhaps a banana for scale pic at some point in the build log?

lol.. I'll look into that probably not a banana but certainly I can take something to show scale! I think once you see the GPUs in you will realise how small it is.

I went through a stage of huge cases but I just don't have the room in the man-cave for 3 / 4 massive PCs!

 

[Pneumonic]

So time for a small update..

Had a couple of items arrive in the post:

and just to give a little idea on "scale" and the size of the case:

... So progress has been slow.. still waiting for 120mm fans and the hardline tube before I can make real progress now but I have done a couple of bits and bobs..

Firstly I have replaced the standard Acrylic bracket on the Raystorm with a Black Aluminium one.. Think this looks really nice! and not so afraid of snapping the acrylic now so can apply a bit more pressure on the mount.

Next I have got the 120mm fan mount bits-power reservoir brackets into the top of the case.. I needed two to make sure my reservoir was centrally mounted in the roof.

Using just standard bits-power reservoir brackets on the EK res.. both 60mm so fit nicely.

And finally.. 1st 7990 with block.. as you can see the card is pretty much the length of the case

That's all for today more to follow soon!

 

[Pneumonic]

Looking good so far, very interested to see how this evolves. I was seriously considering this case as an option but went with the Air 540 instead.

Where did you learn/practice your water cooling skills...thinking about it myself at some point but nervous about making the jump...so starting with a CLC to begin with.

Will reference your build to see how you get on and see what I can learn.

Good luck and enjoy

Hi Joe.. I had a look at the Air 540 as well but decided it was too big as I was really looking for an mATX case.

Reference water cooling.. Just learnt as I have gone really.. its not difficult just take your time and read instructions!

 

[Pneumonic]

Didn't expect that to be the reservoir mount spot!

Not 100% sure if it will stay there or move to the other compartment (plumbing it is going to be awkward!).. but I do like to see the reservoir and given the space restrictions I don't have a massive amount of choice as to where it goes in the main compartment!

 

[Pneumonic]

wow man, gorgeous, love the black aluminium bracket and the reservoir positioning.

That is some serious graphical horse power!

I went with the bigger case because I was hoping to learn and try water cooling at some point and the challenge of that in addition to building in small cases seemed a step too far.

Need to start with learning in a case with some space to move with trial and error.

Thanks for updating the log and the great pictures!

Nice thing about larger cases is that the tubing runs are generally easier and thus cheaper because you don't need loads of angled connections..

Once you start watercooling you never go back! Its a nice little hobby (if expensive!) and you can't be silent performance

 

[Pneumonic]

I think that being the location of a large quantity of fluid would worry me, personally.

I am not that worried.. will do a nice long leak test and not had a loop leak yet once its all setup correctly!! (always a first I guess!!)

 

[Pneumonic]

Time for a little update..

A couple of packages have arrived over the last couple of days so had a chance to put a bit more together....

Main items to arrive have been the 2nd water block and bridge for the GPUs... so some pictures:

Parts!
Got to love EK packaging and product!

Block
Block all mounted and looking shiny!!

GPUs In

Loving the look of the back plates now they have been covered

Really Tight!
Space between front of the case and end of the GPUs.. for those that are interested its 18mm... have a 15mm slim 120 fan to go in that slot to move some air over the cards..

Crossfire Bridge:
Covered as well so to fit in with the theme..

Comparison to a Cat!
That's Riley one of our seal point Siamese his not a massive cat.. but thought would give you an idea of the size of the case..

Have a couple of other nice bits and piece arrived.. hopeful I can get some more done over the next couple of days..

Cheers for all the great comments so far!

 

[Pneumonic]

Cheers for the great comments all.. can't wait to get the 120mm fans and hardline.. so I can get this finished now!

Good stuff

What did you cover the backplates with? Those things get pretty bloomin' toasty!

Not 100% sure what its called its a type of stick rap stuff used in cars so should be ok with the temperature.. will have air moving over the cards as well so that should help keep the backsides cooler.. done this before when I had a pair of 4870x2's and they used to stick out 300 odd watts so fingers crossed it shouldn't melt!

Great stuff!
Where did you get those crossfire bridges, they look very sleek?

Just a normal crossfire bridge covered in black rap stuff that I had laying around..

 

[Pneumonic]

Not that worried about rad space.. running effectively 120.1 per component plus a 140.1 on top..

Could get a bit toasty if I 100% stress everything! but in real world usage I hope I am ok.... if not you will see a "rad box" project