Thanks for the suggestion. Yes I did have a look at that and nearly bought the Fractal Kelvin block (pretty much the same as the Silent Loop block), but ultimately decided against that. This is because the shape/size of the fan & rad will create too much "dead space" anyway so I might as well make use of the space with the built-in res of the Eisberg.
WyWyWyWy's NUC Cooling Experiments & (Eventually) Custom Enclosure
- Thread starter wywywywy
- Start date
Soldato
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- 1 Dec 2015
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Tjey are very very very different, silent loop is the Eiswolf GPU AIO block. Kelvin is the older generation
Oh really 
I kinda assumed that it was the same as the Fractal based on early previews! Kinda gutted that I didn't even give it a try now.
So even though the Silent Loop is based on the Eiswolf, it has the Eisberg/Eisbaer CPU mounting rather than the GPU mounting?
On that note I wonder if Alphacool sells the Eiswolf block on its own.
I kinda assumed that it was the same as the Fractal based on early previews! Kinda gutted that I didn't even give it a try now.So even though the Silent Loop is based on the Eiswolf, it has the Eisberg/Eisbaer CPU mounting rather than the GPU mounting?
On that note I wonder if Alphacool sells the Eiswolf block on its own.
Soldato
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Oh really
So even though the Silent Loop is based on the Eiswolf, it has the Eisberg/Eisbaer CPU mounting rather than the GPU mounting?
On that note I wonder if Alphacool sells the Eiswolf block on its own.
They plan on getting around to it... Basically they ruined a good business plan as they should have been selling standalone first and not kits which takes 3 months to develop and make .
Yes, silent loop has CPU mount not Eiswolf mount
The first step to building the case is to make a skeleton.
This "frame" supports the PCB and then attaches to the water block mount, as well as allows fitting a 2.5" drive.
Structurally there are 4 long M3 screws, one at each corner, to join everything together.
It's again modelled in Fusion 360.
It's then printed out, again in PETG. This particular filament is the FormFutura HDglass, in smokey black. Pretty nice filament to work with and the semi-transparancy looks pretty cool, although it's quite a bit more expensive than others
And this is the outcome. The dead 2.5" drive is just a placeholder until the final SSD goes into place.
I also soldered a nice vandal switch button on with LED. The soldering isn't very strong because the contact points are small, so I may need to put some hot glue on
This "frame" supports the PCB and then attaches to the water block mount, as well as allows fitting a 2.5" drive.
Structurally there are 4 long M3 screws, one at each corner, to join everything together.
It's again modelled in Fusion 360.
It's then printed out, again in PETG. This particular filament is the FormFutura HDglass, in smokey black. Pretty nice filament to work with and the semi-transparancy looks pretty cool, although it's quite a bit more expensive than others
And this is the outcome. The dead 2.5" drive is just a placeholder until the final SSD goes into place.
I also soldered a nice vandal switch button on with LED. The soldering isn't very strong because the contact points are small, so I may need to put some hot glue on
The next step is the "base".
The design again is done in Fusion 360. The four main long screws that goes through the skeleton are used to secure to the base.
The design itself is rather simple. Definitely more function than form. Mainly because my creativity isn't with me right now.
The pattern on the left/right sides is called a "Voronoi Diagram". I decided to use this pattern because it looks interesting and is different to the usual round or honeycomb holes that you see all the time.
It now finally resembles a case.
It can also be used as is, and I have actually started using this computer now after nearly a year of buying the NUC!
The next step is the front cover.
However it is not without problems!!! Firstly the BIOS fan control has a mind of its own and does not work properly, and SpeedFan can't control this particular board, so the fan has to be ran at full speed right now... Secondly the board is quite hot to touch, even though the CPU and the chipset are both sub 40C, so I'm guessing it's from the VRM whose input is 19V. And lastly the NUC shut itself down once while I was using it, like the power cut out... I don't know what it means and I hope it's just a one off...
The design again is done in Fusion 360. The four main long screws that goes through the skeleton are used to secure to the base.
The design itself is rather simple. Definitely more function than form. Mainly because my creativity isn't with me right now.
The pattern on the left/right sides is called a "Voronoi Diagram". I decided to use this pattern because it looks interesting and is different to the usual round or honeycomb holes that you see all the time.
It now finally resembles a case.
It can also be used as is, and I have actually started using this computer now after nearly a year of buying the NUC!
The next step is the front cover.
However it is not without problems!!! Firstly the BIOS fan control has a mind of its own and does not work properly, and SpeedFan can't control this particular board, so the fan has to be ran at full speed right now... Secondly the board is quite hot to touch, even though the CPU and the chipset are both sub 40C, so I'm guessing it's from the VRM whose input is 19V. And lastly the NUC shut itself down once while I was using it, like the power cut out... I don't know what it means and I hope it's just a one off...
Soldato
Excellent thread!
Like to read these type of threads
Like to read these type of threads
So I "designed" a cover for the NUC in Fusion 360. It really is nothing more than a cover with holes for USB etc.
It looked pretty bland and uninteresting to be honest. So I decided to give it some graphics, and sticker-bombed it.
I quite like how it turned out. The good thing is that if I change my mind, I can easily remove them all and start again.
The stickers could do with flattening a bit though
It looked pretty bland and uninteresting to be honest. So I decided to give it some graphics, and sticker-bombed it.
I quite like how it turned out. The good thing is that if I change my mind, I can easily remove them all and start again.
The stickers could do with flattening a bit though
Soldato
Or if you like it, you could stick a layer of clear self-adhesive vinyl over the lot to stop it peeling.
...and at this point I see I must have missed a notification and need to play catch-up!
...and at this point I see I must have missed a notification and need to play catch-up!
Associate
wow thats pretty neat. love the way its been designed and really is a 1 off and unique. love the stickerbomb finish
Soldato
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- 1 Dec 2015
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you running the fan in push or pull. having it in push> forcing hot air out the case should draw cool air over the board
One thing I found is that the printed bracket to hold heatsink down is a bit inconsistent. To solve this issue, I had the bracket laser cut in mild steel. It's then spray painted with grey primer and matt black for protection. The nuts to hold it down is now Nyloc so they won't lose tension unexpectedly.
At the same time I also opened everything up to clean & flush all the bits because there was some plasticiser in the old tubing. The chrome elbows were replaced with black ones - just look a bit better really. The soldering on the LED & power switch was also reworked to make them stronger.
As for the cover, I was given the idea of using a transparent vinyl film over it so it stays nice and flat Which is just what I did, with a matt texture one to avoid the glossy look!
There's some air bubbles in the pictures but I have since had most of them flattened.
I think that's pretty much it for this project now. Because unfortunately something unexpected happened (loss of my supplemental job!) and I don't really have a use for this machine any more So it'll probably just sit in a corner as a spare in case of my main PC goes down.
At the same time I also opened everything up to clean & flush all the bits because there was some plasticiser in the old tubing. The chrome elbows were replaced with black ones - just look a bit better really. The soldering on the LED & power switch was also reworked to make them stronger.
As for the cover, I was given the idea of using a transparent vinyl film over it so it stays nice and flat
Which is just what I did, with a matt texture one to avoid the glossy look!
There's some air bubbles in the pictures but I have since had most of them flattened.
I think that's pretty much it for this project now. Because unfortunately something unexpected happened (loss of my supplemental job!) and I don't really have a use for this machine any more
So it'll probably just sit in a corner as a spare in case of my main PC goes down.