I used the Mastercase Pro 5 before this and after my back got hurt trying to move the midtower ATX around from university to my house I decided to change to this Elite 130 ITX case. Other than that I really like to build PCs and have been building a lot before this but now I just want the challenge of a small form factor case rather than "easy to fit everything in" case

My previous build was :

Intel i7-4770K
Asrock Z97 Extreme4
Nvidia GTX 980 Ti
Corsair Vengeance Pro 4gb x2
Kingston SSDNow 120gb
WD Blue 1TB
Corsair RM1000

Custom loop hardline watercooling

Here is the picture of my previous build :





and now for my new build, I had to sell a few hardware and get a new one that could fit the Elite 130 case. The things that I sell and replaced are :

Asrock Z97 Extreme4 > MSi B85i Gaming
Corsair Vengeance Pro 4gb x2 > Kingston HyperX 8gb x2
Corsair RM1000 > Silverstone 450w SFX (yeah I know you think 450w is a bit low for my system but I stress tested everything with OC and max wattage is only 390w | stock clocks around 350w).

I didn't want to throw away my custom loop wc from the old system (i use a lot of rendering and designing programs that will cause higher temps for the hardware) and decided to try and install wc in the elite 130.

I only have 240mm rads so I got one new 120mm rad (yes it is not enough! this is the first idea) and I have a res + pump combo under my bed that I decided to use since the space inside the elite 130 is quite limited. At first I thought a single 120mm rad with push and pull could do the trick but I was so wrong.

So the main idea is :

Res + Pump > Radiator > CPU > GPU > Res + Pump

Below is the first assemble I did before I made a few changes.


Did I mention that I bought this case as a used for RM50 (USD12). Lucky me I guess.





Since it is a used case, so a few things are missing such as the case fan but the owner replaced with a swiftech fan.





The 120mm are installed at the front intake of the case. I am going to do a pull and push method where the cool air inside the case is pulled out through out the radiator and exit through the front of the case.





There are some space behind the radiator for me to put the push fan and res+pump combo. The res+pump combo is a product from Larkooler. Got it off from a kit I used with my very first custom loop wc setup inside my Storm Scout 2 (yeah I'm a Cooler Master fan)





Now its time to install everything else (actually I forgot to take picture through out the installation because I was too excited :biggrinsm )







Close fit for the res+pump combo with the ram modules. Cable tight is the easiest way for me to make the res+pump combo stay in one place.




This post has been edited by danialzaidi: Feb 24 2016, 03:32 PM

The stop fitting at the reservoir is where I fill in my coolant with a tube and syringe (much safer but slow method)











Still filling the loop with coolant.






Barb fitting for everything, low risk for leaking, no aesthetic just performance and portability.




I had to improvise for the location of the HDD and SSD. Cable tight is always the answer. I made the right choice to get a SFX psu, it gave me more space to work with.





Right side view, a bit messy.





Left side view, not that messy here.





Okay so after I leaked tested everything for 24 hours, no leaks, works perfectly. Plugged in all the cables and did a first start up everything went well and I started the stress test. Well.. as expected, the temps was not really satisfying, i7-4770K + GTX 980 Ti, what do you expect? :

Processor : Prime95, 2 hours, stock clock, max temp 78 degrees Celsius
GPU : Furmark, 1 hour +, stock clock, max temp 68 degrees celsius
Fan speed : Acceptable noise (quite noisy)

so, I had to put another 120mm radiator urgently at the push fan location and remove the push fan.

This post has been edited by danialzaidi: Feb 24 2016, 03:31 PM

So I had to change the setup and add another radiator at the front of the case and remove the push fan and the loop will be :

Res + pump > radiator > processor > radiator > gpu > res + pump

The CPU and GPU both will get intake from radiator.



Below shows space is enough for another radiator (why didn't I get a thick radiator? well there is no one in my country have ready stock and I dont want to wait and I like a little challenge)




Added another 120mm radiator in there





The loop has to be redo







Added a case fan at the left side for fresh air intake from outside of the case to feed the pull fan at the radiator.




AND VOILA!

good temps for the CPU and GPU. Phew.. at least it is good enough for me for an ITX build

CPU : Max temp 68 degree celsius
GPU : Max temp 55 degree celsius

next I might do some OC for both CPU and GPU then I will mod the case a little bit at the side for the case fan air intake and handles on top for easy carrying around.

By the way, this build is called THE MICROWERX

Thank you for reading and sorry for my bad english!


This post has been edited by danialzaidi: Feb 24 2016, 03:32 PM

.

Awesome..

awesome loop and good improvements shortly after!
Could you list down the liquid cooling parts used in this build? You might want to consider using compression fittings later on.

Just a suggestion, having a fully acrylic panel on the top and GPU side would really show it off nicely as well.

nice, im building itx and wc as well, but didnt sure with my skill to create loop in small space like you. you're awesome!

Thanks man!

thanks man, well most of the parts are not branded, got them off from Aliexpress.com. The most branded part I think is the GPU waterblock which is from EK.

Compression fittings? Mehh.. I've experienced leaking before this with compression fittngs. Not this time though.

I did plan to cut the left side of the case and add acrylic so that it can show the gpu water block and on the right side I planned to cut a hole for the intake fan. On top maybe case handle for portability.

This post has been edited by danialzaidi: Mar 2 2016, 03:35 PM

Well, everything needed to be planned. It will be easier for you to imagine the loops if you have the case in front of you. But custom loop wc in an ITX case surely will give you some challenge. PM me if you have any questions. Do some research as well man. Cheers!

thanks man!

i do have evolv itx with me right now, already essamble it with basic wc, waiting for my gc + wb to fully assemble

if i have anything to ask, sure, i'll directly ask you

nice mod!