Reaching the symmetry on this unbelievable water-cooled mini-ITX PC required some severe work. Not solely did Ukrainian PC modder Mr. Mass find yourself designing and creating some superb customized waterblocks and distro plates for the GPU, CPU, motherboard, and extra, however he even constructed his personal CNC machine to do it – now that’s dedication.
Because of our quickly rising PC constructing Fb web page, we’ve seen many customized gaming PCs, from mods based mostly on current case designs to scratch PC builds. You may even submit yours for consideration proper right here. Right here we chat to Mr. Mass about how he constructed this symmetrical mini-ITX rig.
: What’s the identify of this undertaking?
Mr. Mass: Symmetry Essence. This identify was born on the very finish of all of the work, and I believe it precisely displays the principle level of this undertaking.
What impressed you to construct this PC, and what look had been you hoping to attain?
I’ve simply all the time loved inventing and creating issues. I’m particularly impressed if, through the course of, I notice that I’m creating a singular product. That’s what occurred on this case. Initially, I used to be interested in the Phanteks Evolv Shift X case due to its look. Its strict, minimalist design, aluminum panels, non-standard structure, and use of glass, all made it look actually distinctive.
Nonetheless, on nearer examination, this structure upset me, and I requested a number of questions. Why does such a visually tall case solely have room for one 240/280mm radiator? Why is there just one fan on the high? Why are there fully clean panels with air consumption coming by skinny slits? I wasn’t prepared to place up with these elements on my PC. Plus, I’d been wanting to construct a customized water-cooled machine for a very long time.
How did you propose out this construct?
I often begin all my initiatives with a 3D mannequin after which proceed to sensible realization when the entire mannequin has been created with the smallest particulars. Nonetheless, with this case I made a decision to strive a distinct methodology.
Firstly, I had to determine precisely how I might add a second radiator and a second fan to the case. This half was solved fairly merely. I made a decision to interchange the usual SFX energy provide with a 1U-size server energy provide. Since I wasn’t planning on utilizing 2.5-inch drives on this undertaking, it was potential to make use of their house for the second fan.
At this stage, I noticed that the placement of radiators and followers was strictly symmetrical within the case, and I needed to help this symmetry all through the construct, together with the placement of the tubes. I made a decision to start out with the graphics card, particularly with the PCB structure and the areas of the weather.
After this analysis, I noticed that it might be potential to make two separate waterbloone for the GPU and reminiscence, and one for the VRM space. This may enable me to make a very symmetrical tube structure, no less than on one aspect. Nonetheless, I wanted a CNC machine to do it, and the trail to my machine wasn’t a straightforward one.
I had needed to construct my very own CNC machine for a very long time, and for a number of years I had been shopping for appropriate elements, principally from used machines. I made designs of various CNC machine constructions and found out the way it all could possibly be assembled. When the variety of these elements reached a important mass, the machine was born. There was nothing particular about it, but it surely simply expanded my capabilities in a grandiose means.
After I bought snug with it and made a couple of easy initiatives, I made a decision I might get again to this construct. It was my first time doing many of the work concerned – machining acrylic and aluminum on the outer panels, and really smooth aluminum for the inside panels, plus copper for the chilly plates – I needed to learn to work with all these supplies from the start.
Regardless of the outward simplicity of the PC’s design, it turned out to be very sophisticated in lots of locations. For instance, to make a symmetrical waterblock for the motherboard, I needed to design and fabricate all of the chilly plates, carry out the electrochemical nickel plating, and add a three-layer distro plate on high, plus aluminum covers, and inner UV LED string. There’s additionally a customized I/O panel together with exterior battery entry and so forth.
How lengthy did it take you to make this Symmetry Essence, from begin to end?
That’s a sophisticated query. In the event you depend from the time I purchased this case to the completion of the completed undertaking, it took about 5 years. Nonetheless, I postponed work on the construct for an extended hole in between, as I’d underestimated the quantity of labor concerned. In the event you depend the work itself, it took somewhat greater than a 12 months. It took many a whole lot of hours.
Did you come throughout any difficulties through the construct course of?
Maybe probably the most troublesome half was placing all the pieces collectively. Regardless of the comparatively massive measurement of the case itself (170 x 650 x 274mm) the inner structure turned out to be very tight. Many of the gaps between the assorted elements measured, on common, 1mm. Designing such a fancy meeting was a giant problem for me.
Additionally, I considered new concepts through the course of, which made an already troublesome job tougher. For instance, after the graphics card and the ornamental plate had been positioned on one aspect, and the motherboard on the opposite, there wasn’t a lot house for a pump and reservoir. A variety of house was already occupied by two radiators, the PSU, the motherboard, and the glass of the case itself. Even a DDC pump wouldn’t match on this house, so a inventory reservoir was out of the query.
After doing some research, I discovered some compact P60A pumps which, as a result of their smaller measurement, had been capable of be positioned within the PC in two items. The distro plate that connects one aspect of the case to the opposite was positioned on the backside, but it surely was troublesome to measure precisely on this place, so I got here up with a design that comes with the underside distro plate, a reservoir, and an adjustable dual-top pump.
The purpose of the dual-top pump is that these two elements may be moved relative to one another with out shedding tightness. This allowed me to maintain the appropriate dimensions and preserve the integrity of the entire meeting – even a 1mm hole ruins the general look.
Are you fully pleased with the tip end result, or do you want you’d achieved a few of it in another way on reflection?
Regardless of the large period of time I spent on this undertaking, I used to be very glad with the end result, though this job was extraordinarily difficult for me. All of the work on this case was achieved by me personally with none outsourcing.
Originally, I solely had a really tough thought of how the tip end result would look. Nonetheless, within the means of working, and steadily mastering new applied sciences and supplies, I got here to know what I might do. With out this understanding, I might not have been capable of make a PC with this complexity from the very starting. I’ve gathered tons of expertise and expertise on this path, and I hope that I could make the subsequent undertaking much more fascinating – I have already got a couple of ideas about it.
Symmetry Essence specs
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X overclocked to 4850 MHz
- GPU: MSI Gaming X GeForce GTX 1070
- Case: Phanteks Evolv Shift X Black
- Storage: 2 x 1TB Kioxia-Exceria M.2 SSD
- Reminiscence: 32GB (2 x 16GB) Essential Ballistix DDR4 3000MHz, overclocked to 3800MHz, with 16-19-16-35-1T timings
- Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I Aorus Professional AX
- PSU: 650W Supermicro-PWS-655P-1HS 80+ Platinum
- Cooling: 2 x 280mm radiators with 4 x Phanteks F140MP followers (push), 2 x Phanteks F140MP exhaust followers, 2 x P60A pumps with customized dual-top and reservoir, customized CPU, RAM, M.2, chipset, and VRM waterblocks with multi-layer built-in distro plates, customized GPU waterblocks, customized backside distro plate, customized higher distro plate with temp and stream meter
We love your dedication to creating the construct of your goals, Mr. Mass – we’re in awe of the truth that you even made your personal CNC machine so you may fabricate the elements, and the customized distro plates look superb. The result’s a extremely clear construct in a good kind issue, with lovely symmetry.
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