Project: Murder on the Carbon Fibre Dancefloor

Legend

Legend

Legend

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Joined
31 Dec 2006
Posts
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Spec: i7-6700k, Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7, 32GB Avexir Core RAM (White LED), Asus 1070 ROG Strix Gaming OC, Samsung 961 512GB, Samsung 850 PRO 512GB SSD, Samsung EVO 2TB SSD.

Loop consists of the Alphacool Eisbecher D5 150mm Acetal reservoir and Alphacool VPP655 pump, with EK Supremacy Evo CPU block and mostly EK fittings. I used a Bitspower drain valve, located at the bottom of the rad.

The Phanteks Evolv ATX Glass is wrapped in 3M Di-Noc Black Carbon Fibre vinyl, with a custom acrylic shroud wrapped in the same vinyl.
evolv_top_panel.jpg


I actually found wrapping this case quite easy, not as tricky as I thought it would be given the shape. It's easy to remove the panels, so I could work on them individually.

I noticed a bit of GPU sag so I took a bit of 16mm PETG tube, wrapped it in vinyl and added some foam pads either end so nothing gets scratched. Simple but very effective.

I deliberately did a half loop as I didn't really want to go to the expense of watercooling the 1070, as I was initially hoping the 1080Ti would be available earlier this year, but with it now looking like March I will see what performance it offers (and at what price!) and then decide what to do. VEGA may even be a candidate, but it doesn't seem that will be available until the summer now.

I also do have some concerns about air restriction in the top of the Evolv. It seems to be a common complaint with custom loops in this case, so if I go that route I'd look at modding the top panel somehow. The small vents just make it too restrictive. No problem for now of course, and my CPU is idling in low 20's and barely hits 60 under stress test in Aida 64. The front panel is not as restrictive as it may look, and I barely notice any difference in temps when removing it.

I have the Silent Wings 3 fans running at max and can barely hear them. I didn't get the PWM versions as I saw no need, but I can use the voltage adapters to slow them down if need be for extra silence. The rear Thermaltake Riing 140mm fan is super quiet, I can barely hear that at all.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the end result, although I do consider it somewhat of a work in progress in respect to the GPU situation.

And I couldn't resist putting Deadpool in there... seemed apt given what I've named this haha! :)

Anyway, here are the pics... :)

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:D
 
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I did try that actually, didn't quite work for me... ended up being too much red, so I drained it. I did use a red dye though, it might work better with a pastel.
 
It looks fantastic.

At first I was thinking oh no it's another one of those builds where only the CPU is watercooled which seems just dumb to me as GPU's are hotter and noisier than CPU's these days but then I read the build log and see why things are the way they are :)

I've tried both red and white pastel and much prefer the white plus it's going to be a damn sight easier to get the loop clean if I decide to change colours. Red pastel seemed to take forever to remove completely.
 
Mikey C said:
It looks fantastic.

At first I was thinking oh no it's another one of those builds where only the CPU is watercooled which seems just dumb to me as GPU's are hotter and noisier than CPU's these days but then I read the build log and see why things are the way they are :)

I've tried both red and white pastel and much prefer the white plus it's going to be a damn sight easier to get the loop clean if I decide to change colours. Red pastel seemed to take forever to remove completely.
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Yeah, it is noisier than it would be under water for sure, and I agree WC'ing a CPU is a bit daft if you want a super quiet system lol! The 1070 Strix isn't a loud card by any means, but it becomes the loudest component by default.

Just frustrating me a bit with neither the 1080Ti or VEGA being available yet.
 
Yes, it's 3M Di-noc which I got off eBay. Loads of different ones as Smffy says. I've used other vinyls, but I've always found 3M to be the best by far. I used a cheaper one before that was far too thin, didn't take to heat manipulation very well and would tear easily, but the 3M is much more resilient and pliable.
 
Love the build, love the quality of the wrapping, but I honestly can't say I'm a fan of the actual carbon fibre effect.

Still, life would be boring if we all liked the same thing, and as I said the actual wrapping itself is godlike. Really nice job.
 
Smffy said:
Oh cool, thought it didnt blob well like the synthetic sleeving... Might have to consider it in future (when i've not ordered 60m of MDPC :) )
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Does shrinkless quite well. There's swearing and slightly singed fingertips if you're not careful, like with anything, but it does work. Paracord is much cheaper than the plastic sleeving and it gives a nicer (IMO) cloth-like finish but it can snag a little (it's nylon) so you have to be a little more careful with it than the plastic stuff.

I've never really liked any of the patterned paracords myself...but it definitely works with that theme. Like Deadpool abseiling off the fan too :D

LePhuronn said:
Love the build, love the quality of the wrapping, but I honestly can't say I'm a fan of the actual carbon fibre effect.

Still, life would be boring if we all liked the same thing, and as I said the actual wrapping itself is godlike. Really nice job.
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Got to agree. CF is definitely a Marmite phenomenon. Expertly wrapped though - look how it lines up perfectly round the rotating USB cover at the top of the front panel for example. Would I do it myself? No. Would I **** it off? Also no....in fact I think it's growing on me :D

Legend said:
I also do have some concerns about air restriction in the top of the Evolv. It seems to be a common complaint with custom loops in this case, so if I go that route I'd look at modding the top panel somehow. The small vents just make it too restrictive.
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Yes, it's the only negative of the Evolv. What you need, obviously, is a hugely overkill rad bolted to the outside to compensate*! :D

Random idea for you: if you could open up either the front or the back is probably better of the top panel - the bit where the plastic underpart fills the gap - could you get a laptop-style blower fan in to either force air in towards the rad or assist in exhausting it?

*Well, clearly I'm compensating for something! ;)
 
Cenedd said:
Yes, it's the only negative of the Evolv. What you need, obviously, is a hugely overkill rad bolted to the outside to compensate*! :D

Random idea for you: if you could open up either the front or the back is probably better of the top panel - the bit where the plastic underpart fills the gap - could you get a laptop-style blower fan in to either force air in towards the rad or assist in exhausting it?

*Well, clearly I'm compensating for something! ;)
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I do see more of the external cooling going on these days... it's catching on for sure. Short of cutting holes in the top panel though, the Evolv is never going to be the best case for a full loop. I think this could be done and still look good though, more so with a vinyl wrap. I'd lean towards circular cut outs, or something that complemented the side vents or the lines of the case, rather than a straight edged rectangle.
 
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johnny sublime;30484137 said:
Does the wrap go around the side od the front panel. Only asking as ive got the non tg version and want it white.
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No I used a very sharp blade ran around the edge. Was a slight issue as I had the grey version of the case, so I had to spray the panels black, more so the edges, so that there was no visible break. Worked out well. If you have a non-white front panel, you would need to spray the edges white before you wrapped it in white vinyl... assuming you trim the edges like I have. It probably would be possible to use heat to wrap around the edges, but having done this before I felt it could lead to a result that wasn't as aesthetically pleasing, plus with the metal being quite sharp in places, it could have torn the vinyl as it gets very soft when heated. I think the method I've used is the best for this case.
 
That is a sweet build, really like it. I like the braided cables too, nice that they are not uniform.

I was going to do somthing similar colour wise in a darkbase case but I sold my G1 and my g7 gaming so have opted to do greys, blacks and whites in a p5 case with RGB LED's so I can choose the main colours.

Great job on the carbon wrapping too.
 
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