Micro but Mighty - Custom Parvum S2.0 Build Log!

M1keMK

M1keMK

M1keMK

Associate
Joined
10 Dec 2005
Posts
203
Location
Woking UK
Hi All,

I don't post here much, but as this is the retail home of Parvum, I thought I would share my build log from over at Guru3d! Hope you like it.

A little while since I've done one of these, but about to embark on a completely new build for the first time in about 3 years!

I've been wanting to downsize my rig for a while, but keep performance and options to a maximum within a small footprint. I finally came across Parvum systems who sell some fantastic and rather unique mATX cases.

This rig will be based around a custom Parvum Systems S2.0. The standard S1.0 is a case I've been following with interest for a while, but my main concern was being able to accommodate enough radiator power (i.e. I wanted a triple rad in it!).

Big props to Justin at Parvum who accommodated my wishes at a very busy time to provide me with a case to my specification!

For anyone who hasn't heard of Parvum, they are a small UK company (2 guys) specialising in Acrylic cases:

http://www.parvumsystems.com/

For those of you who havnt seen me about here (I dont post so much these days... Kids and all that!) here are a couple of my previous builds from a few years back:

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=241936&highlight=TJ07+dual+loop

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=348082&highlight=Obsidian+red

So the specs:

Hardware

CPU: My trusty 3 year old i7 2600k (switched with Haswell E when available)
Motherboard: Asus MV Gene (upgraded to new mobo with Haswell E)
Memory: 8gb Gskill Ripjaw DDR3 (upgrade to DDR 4 with above)
GPU: MSI Radeon R9 290X
SSD's :Crucial M4 256gb RAID 0
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 12 3TB
PSU: Corsair AX860i

The only thing I have had to compromise on hardware wise has been dropping to a single GPU for the first time since the Geforce 6800 series!

Watercooling:

CPU Block: EK Supreme HF
GPU Block: Aquacomputer Kryographics Hawaii with Active backplate
Res: Aquacomputer Aqualis XT
Pump: Liang DDC Ultra with Petra Top
Rad 1: XSPC AX 240
Rad 2: TBC (need to confirm clearances etc)

Most stuff is on order, I'll update as I progress. I'm aiming to get the water-cooling started next weekend.

So... some early photo's:

This arrived on Thursday:

1u8v.jpg


For those of you that don't know, these cases come flat-packed:

z6s6.jpg


The front panel shows the first little extra Parvum did for me - a slot for a slot loading DVD drive:

s9nl.jpg


I asked them to do the floor red for me... and cut a hole in it on one side (all will be revealed!:

iqz8.jpg


The roof - the whole case has been extended by about 60mm to accomodate a triple rad in the roof as well as a 240mm in the front:

8fph.jpg


The extension will also help with space in the PSU compartment for fitting the DVD and general cable management.

Assembly:

Midwall/Floor:

6ohz.jpg


Back panel:

8rs7i.jpg


Front Panels:

79ki.jpg


99dn.jpg


You have to install the fan's before adding the black front panel, as it acts as a cover to hide the fan screws and keep the front nice and tidy :)

All done, with the exception of the glass for the window - leaving that until the very last thing to avoid any chances of scratching it!

aigq.jpg


gxek.jpg


z0fr.jpg


Look out for updates over the coming week or so! :D
 
The res arrived today so I thought I'd start test fitting some of the watercooling and getting an idea of where everything should go:

pkyz.jpg


Oh, and the res is beautiful. It has a very reassuring weight to it. Definately well built:

p4p7.jpg


Oh, and USB port and on or two others in the base ;)

8ty3.jpg
 
OK, Then build started yesterday, but one thing is clear... small case means you have to consider all your options much more carefully. It took a lot longer to get as far as this than anticipated!

Radiators fitted:
Very tight fit with a dual & triple rad, despite the case extension. The only way to connect them was to run tubing through the midwall and back out to the second rad. Even than was extremely tight connection! another 10-15mm of case length would have mad a big difference here!

808v.jpg


9mmd.jpg


Reservoir

Once that was done, moved on to the res. This needed to be mounted directly into the floor. One great thing about this case, is it turns out the acrylic is very easy to work with. Drilling is much easier than metal cases, and had it drilled and mount quicker than I expected:

4g5a.jpg


1z42.jpg


p467.jpg


evg2.jpg


Aquaero
Next was measuring up and drilling holes for the fan controller. This will be mounted around the back, with the HDD's. Looking forward to having a play around with this aquaero & its in-line water temp sensors! The res also hooks up to it :)

98eg.jpg
 
Another productive day...

GPU Block installed

t2kr.jpg


1dao.jpg


DVD/SSD Mounting

We had to work out a way to mount the slot loading DVD drive, and also the SSD's as the tubing made the original SSD mounts unusable. Props to Alec** for his help coming up with a solution:

7s7w.jpg


Fan Controller Fitted

o5nf.jpg


Hardware & Tubing installed

Had a couple of minor frustrations here... the provided stand-offs were too long so the motherboard would not align with the I/O shield. Luckily I had enough shorter ones to hand! Also the GPU provided tricky to install, it only just missed the memory slots with the backplate installed, and was tricky to get straight and aligned with the PCI bracket at the back of the case. Its still not perfect but its perfectly workable!

zbkj.jpg


iwad.jpg


And now.. Leak testing!

t5v9.jpg


qpip.jpg
 
Thanks for the comments guys!

Short update... this is what cabling looks like in a small area!

7059.jpg


And thats a pretty neat job around the back considering the amount of cables vs. space!
It is exacerbated by the braided extensions. At some point I will either find time to braid the PSU's cables directly, or if not I might have to fork out for the proper corsair cabling kit. It will make a huge difference to the amount of space around the back!

Just lighting to do now, and its all good! Look out for final pics in the next day or two :)
 
Yes it's a bit of a struggle getting all of them in. BTW I had a look through your thread. I have the same problem with back plate alignment and pci-e cards. Also my mono didn't align with the I/o shield as the standoffs were too long. Replacing them with shorter ones fixed that and helped the pci-E alignment a bit but it's still not perfect. Wasn't sure if it was a design issue or if I'd put something together wrong.
 
Thanks for the great comments. I'm hoping to get some decent pictures taken of the final build tonight.

Rainagul - looking forward to giving the aquaero a good test. Once I've had a shot at getting it properly set up I'll let you know my thoughts.
 
Thanks! Glad you like it. Th

Paulm - the bitspower fittings are more expensive than others, but I had quite a few from previous builds so didn't really want to change. Tbh without some of their little angle fittings I wouldn't have got this built as there are some really tight spaces!
 
deFiniLoGy said:
Nice build there :)

Next step might be doing custom cables :D
Click to expand...

Yes, I did custom cables on a previous build. Looked great, but very time consuming. Didn't have time to do it this time but I will go back at some point and do it gradually. There is more need this time as it will definitely save space around the back if I can get rid of the extenders etc!

Thanks everyone for the comments!
 
Thanks mate,

The SSD's could be mounted a different way. There are mounting holes both above where the power switch is (mounts the same way as the HDD above the PSU) but its blocked off by the barb and tubing which is why I couldnt use them. You could also mount them where I put the fan controller in front of the HDD, assuming you didnt put a controller there!

For the mount I used 0.5mm aluminium sheet. Cut it to size with a dremmel and created a kind square/rectangular caddy. The SSD's are directly screwed into in on one side. I would have screwed the DVD too, but no screw holes for mounting so had to resort to double sided mounting tape.

The whole thing is then screwed into the case, utilising the existing threaded cubes in the bottom corner. Its actually reasonably rigid with all the drives in and does the job ok. Would probably have spray painted it black to keep with the look of the case had I had a bit more time!
 
Temps are pretty good.Idles at low 30's on both CPU & GPU. On load the GPU hits about 47 degrees CPU about 50. That's after about an hour or so of gaming. Only used 60mm thick rads before so not sure how well it compares to equivalent setups but it seems ok to me.

Would rather have had the fans in pull on the other side of the rad but that would have given me clearance issues with the barbs.
 
Hey mate, just seen your post. Glad you like the build.

The mount is pretty straight forward tbh, I'll probably improve on it at somepoint. Its a single piece of aluminium sheet, cut to size, and the made into a U shape. The drives are then mounted to it and then its screwed into the case using the square cube in the bottom left corner. There are spacers at the top that are glued to the mount to keep it the drive in the correct position.
 
String said:
I'm surprised you didn't go for a rear exhaust fan. Isn't your MoBo suffering a little with the limited air flow?
Click to expand...

All my radiator fans are exhausting air out of the case, so they are creating a fair amount of negative pressure and drawing a decent amount of air through the rear fan grills. The top of the two rear fan mounts is blocked by the rad anyway.

zorzos said:
No worries mate, thanks for your reply! I was asking because I got quite inspired from your idea and actually decided to use that in my own parvum case (hopefully soon!). Can that piece be painted? For some reason I feel like black would suit it more, or even red! :D
Click to expand...

Yes, Im sure you could paint it. I had intended to myself, but ran out of time when I did the initial build. Next time I strip the case right back I'll take the opportunity.
 
Oh, and I should really update the thread with this:

MicrobutMightHaswell-EFINAL-1.jpg


I've now braided all the PSU cables and removed the extensions which massively helps with the cable management. It also gives it a bit more of a unique look. Oh, and of course... an upgrade to 5960x/x99 :D
 
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