Watercooled Parvum S2.0 (Extended) ROG Build

JimboTheGiant · 2 Apr 2014 at 15:15

The time has come to begin my new build log!

I've been acquiring all of the various parts for this build over the last few months but have been waiting on my custom extended Parvum S2.0 case to be made, and I've today had the email from Parvum to confirm that it will arrive with me tomorrow!

I had also a requested an ROG inlay be cut out of the front panel of the case at the top (above the fan cutouts) but from what I hear from the guys at Parvum, they've done it slightly differently this time around (which is not new for these guys, they're always discovering new ways of doing things. Their expertise never ceases to impress!) Anyway, more on that later...

Here is a quick run down of some of the parts i'll be using so you know what to expect:

Hardware
----------
Case: Custom Extended Parvum S2.0 w/ ROG logo [Black/Red]
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VI Gene [Black/Red]
Processor: Intel i7 4770K
Memory: 16Gb (4x4Gb) Corsair Dominator GT 1866Mhz - [Black w/ Red Cooling Fins]
Power Supply: Corsair AX1200i
Hard Disks: 2 x Corsair Force GS 240Gb SSD's in Raid 0 [Red]
Graphics: 2 x Sapphire R9 290

Watercooling
-------------
Motherboard Block: EK Plexi Nickel Mosfet Block
CPU Block: EK Supremacy Plexi Nickel
Graphics Blocks: EK Plexi Nickel w/ EK Backplates
Pump: EK-DDC 3.2 X-RES 140
Radiators: GTS Stealth 360, GTS Lite 120 x 2
Tubing: Tygon R3603
Fittings: Monsoon 19/13mm Matt Black Fittings w/ Red Accents
Coolant: Mayhems Pastel Red
Rad Fans: 5 x Aerocool Dead Silence 120mm (5 in Red)

In addition to this lot, I had James at Pexon PC's make up some MDPC-X PSU Extensions (24 pin, 8 pin, 2 x 6 pin PCI-E, 2 x 8 pin PCI-E and 4 x SATA cables) in Red/Black/Grey. Would recommend his work to anyone who's looking for a perfect job when it comes to cable braiding! See below for some teasers

Photos taken by James @ Pexon PCs before he sent them out to me:

That's it for now. Hoping to take some more photos once my case arrives then will be looking to start the build over the weekend!

Jim

JimboTheGiant · 2 Apr 2014 at 19:21

I'm really looking forward to doing this build. My current build is a Mini ITX in a Bitfenix prodigy, which, whilst being a great little case, doesn't really lend itself to watercooling as well. Hoping the Parvum will be a much better case to work with.

From what I've seen in other peoples builds it certainly seems that way.

I did see your build snips86x, it's very nice indeed and definitely gave me some inspiration whilst I've been waiting for my Parvum

JimboTheGiant · 5 Apr 2014 at 14:42

After a slight hiccup with the delivery of my case going to my home address instead of my work address I missed the delivery, so won't have it until Monday now

But in the meantime, here's a shot of all the bits waiting for it to arrive!

Jim

JimboTheGiant · 5 Apr 2014 at 15:01

Haha it feels like Xmas has come early! Itching to get my case!

JimboTheGiant · 5 Apr 2014 at 15:20

I haven't used them before but have heard nothing but good reviews about them so am looking forward to using them

JimboTheGiant · 5 Apr 2014 at 15:27

Yeah, I had to source these ones elsewhere. Wanted to make sure I had plenty of 90 and 45 degree fittings as well as I'll more than likely need to use a few in the Parvum!

JimboTheGiant · 5 Apr 2014 at 15:28

paulm71 said:
when parvum bring out a ATX id be interested in that, but have had fun so far putting the S2.0 together but want to see the S2.0 extended, as might go for that for watercooling as i cant fit xflow rads in the s2.0 and have the loop how i want it, but the monsoons are good and yes reviews have indicated this, matt black and red are the ones i like but ocuk only do the chain gun ones.

Does the 240 x-flow fit at the front of the s2.0? Was it just an issue with the rads being too close?

JimboTheGiant · 5 Apr 2014 at 15:44

What was the issue with the fan holes? Aren't all 120mm radiators standard spacing? Or am I getting confused?

JimboTheGiant · 5 Apr 2014 at 15:58

Ahh OK. So the problem with fitting a x-flow in the front is just a clearance issue between the front and top rads?

JimboTheGiant · 5 Apr 2014 at 16:00

paulm71, do the middle 4 holes still align correctly? If so, Id've thought the rad would hold with just those 4 in place

JimboTheGiant · 5 Apr 2014 at 16:46

I understand now. I imagine I'll have the same problem then if its distance from the case floor to the first set of fan holes on the rad. Was hoping to use both x-flow rads but looks like it's going to be the gts 240 in the front then

JimboTheGiant · 7 Apr 2014 at 13:26

Case has arrived! Not had chance to check through everything yet, but you can expect the case to be assembled this evening

Photos later tonight!

Jim

JimboTheGiant · 7 Apr 2014 at 21:57

Right guys, as promised here's my next update. Today the case finally arrived

Apologies in advance for the photos, they're not brilliant, but I only have my camera phone.

So, once I got home it was time to make a brew and get to work!

Unpacking the case I was surprised to see a nice frosted red midwall, wasn't expecting that so it was a bit of a bonus! Cheers Parvum!

I was surprised with how quickly the case was coming together. So easy to build and a very nice design!

Now for the special part, looks like a standard black front panel:

...But on the reverse....

That's right, it's an ROG logo cutout

Shining some light onto this once it's mounted to the red panel should give us a nice red glow! After a quick break and some dinner it was time to get back on with the assembly...

Side panel fitted:

Such a nice finish on the window panel, it's almost glass-like!

After getting to this point, I thought it would be time to test fit some radiators. I was a bit disappointed to find that neither my 240 x-flow or my 360 x-flow would fit. I knew there was going to be issues with the 240 as others have had this problem before, but the 360 wouldn't fit either due to the spacing of the fan cutouts being so close to the rear of the case.

This means that i've got to go with the standard 240 and 360 combo, which is going to make watercooling this thing a challenge!

I also had to remove the connecting block from the top left of the window side of the case as it was hitting the rad. A bit of filing should sort this out so not a huge issue.

Before calling it a night I thought i'd quickly get the motherboard and cpu block installed (temporarily) just to give an idea of how it's going to look.

I had also originally intended to run push/pull on the front rad but due to space restrictions and the fact i've got to use the normal (non x-flow) rads, it's going to be tight enough up in that corner, so i'm going to have to run the front rad in pull config.

A quick mess about with a 4" white cathode behind the front panel, just for kicks:

Lights on:

Lights off:

That's it for now, will hopefully be looking to get the graphics cards installed tomorrow and plan some tubing runs!

Cheers,

Jim

JimboTheGiant · 8 Apr 2014 at 00:16

Have decided to go for 2 x 120 gts stealth rads in the front instead of the 240. This will allow me better access for the water cooling and should keep things tidier. May even allow me to run my push/pull config

JimboTheGiant · 8 Apr 2014 at 08:26

paulm71 said:
yes i think i saw someone else doing it that way, what you doing with the 240mm sending it back, what do you think of the case, have you thought of fan dust filters, ive used the akasa ones they seem ok , only used them on the front and rear back ones on intakes.

I think it's the best way forward as things are going to be really tight otherwise, should allow me to keep my tubing path a lot tidier as well.

I love the case, it's just so well made, and putting it together was an absolute breeze. I was unsure whether there would be any flex in the extended panels (top and bottom) but it seems to have enough support. The midwall really strengthens it.

Dust filters aren't something i've really looked at yet. If I end up going with a push/pull on the front rads, I don't think i'll bother, as I think they might spoil the look from the fan leds at the front, but if I am forced to go with pull only (with the radiator up to the front panel as it is at the moment), then it's something I might add.

Are the akasa ones thin enough that they can be added in between the red and black front panels?

JimboTheGiant · 8 Apr 2014 at 08:34

paulm71 said:
what you doing with the 240mm sending it back

It'll most likely be going on the MM along with both of the x-flow rads at some point

JimboTheGiant · 9 Apr 2014 at 13:51

Ordered the GTS Stealth 120 radiators to realise that they wont fit next to one another, so have just ordered the GTS-Lite 120's which are exactly 120mm wide so these should fit just fine.

Hoping to get graphics cards and PSU installed tonight then I can crack on with the loop tomorrow evening

JimboTheGiant · 9 Apr 2014 at 23:05

Been busy tonight doing some more work on the build. Have photos ready so will post an update in the morning. It's coming together nicely!

JimboTheGiant · 10 Apr 2014 at 08:53

As I said, I managed to get some time to work on this last night, so here's where I've got to:

I started off by getting my graphics cards blocked up:

Backplates installed:

EK-FC Terminal:

EK Terminal installed (view from front):

EK Terminal installed (view from back):

After getting the cards installed, I realised that the PCI-E bracket was out by quite some distance, I don't know if this is down to the actual bracket itself or if the motherboard standoffs are located too far from the back panel. Perhaps parvumsystems can advise

Looking at it, it looks like it's just the bracket, but would be good to get some confirmation.

With some force I was able to get the first screw in but this was causing the panel to flex, so I left it in it's natural position and have secured it temporarily with some cable ties:

A quick shot of all the different length black countersunk M4 bolts I ordered for the build. Wanted to make sure I had all the right sizes for installing my radiators

Photo of them installed in the roof panel:

Once the graphics cards were installed, I attached the 6pin and 8pin braided extensions and test fitted a couple of my monsoon fittings. A 1mm EK extender and a 5mm Bitspower extender fitting on the mosfet block were enough to allow the use of 2 90degree fittings to align almost perfectly between the mosfet block and the cpu block

Close up of graphics and braided cables:

Close up of mosfet and cpu blocks:

After trying a lot of different options with tubing, this is what i've settled on (with pump in situ. Pump cables also braided in MDPC red and black to keep with the theme):

Planned finished loop will be: Pump > Graphics > Mosfet > CPU > 360 RAD > 120 RAD > 120 RAD > Pump

Here's a close up of the tubing route:

And the last shot for now:

Hope to receive the correct 120mm rads for the front in the post today, so can hopefully get the loop closed up tonight and run a leak test!

Let me know what you think

JimboTheGiant · 24 Apr 2014 at 13:32

Just a quick update on the build. Finally got the correct 120mm radiators for the front, and have them installed but am unable to complete the loop the way I want without having to bend the tubing to connect the top rad with the top port of the front rad, so i'm just waiting for a 90 degree 'L' fitting to allow me to connect it properly.

I'll be taking more pictures once it arrives