KaptCrunch
Well-known member
Can use edging grommets for water tubes through case to hide the offset holes
Completed Lian Li PC-Q10WX (mitx watercooled) build
- Thread starter stlouis1
- Start date
I have the grommets that were there to begin with so i may use them. The rad is really flat so to have it mounted flush there made me take them out. I think I'm going to cut them to fill those gaps though because it is ugly. If we weren't going into winter now and the weather getting colder, I'd just weld new metal there to close the gaps. I already need to find a place to repaint paint the frame of the case to clean up the spot's I've drilled and what not. I'm doing a second take at relocating the PSU as I bought some 90* bend aluminum rails to make new brackets since I need to move the psu over another 4-5mm and don't want to leave empty holes everywhere.
I'm just waiting on the res to show up so I can make sure I get the height right with the pump/res fully assembled
I'm just waiting on the res to show up so I can make sure I get the height right with the pump/res fully assembled
KaptCrunch
Well-known member
Or can cut a rectangle hole and use bigger painted rectangle plate that have your oaritaion of hole placement. Note use tin snips to cut hole and for drilling hole use a magnet an rag while drilling to catch filelings so not to remove MB OR CAUSE ISSUES LATER from metal chips , dremal remove MB
Last edited:
ok, so I'm a few updates behind. I honestly haven't been getting too much done as I've been stalled waiting for the smallest reservoir ever made in history to show up. Ok, maybe there's smaller ones, but options were slim, and I had to order it from EK directly. I swear it came across the ocean on a canoe....before we go on to pics and such, I just wanted to point out that a decision was made to add a second 1tb M.2 drive in to make a 2tb m.2 raid. I'm actually slightly jealous now.
Anyway, not long after I made the ATX cable, I got in some slim noctua fans for the top rad. Not the highest static pressure rating on them, but they're slim. We'll see how it does, but it can be seen that I now how quite a bit more clearance between the mobo and top rad.
I also shortened the front panel audio cable. Just look at how much slack came off....
But it sits nice an snug now.
Last month I also took some measurements, and as can be seen here, I've got just over 16cm between the top rad and the GPU. Since I need to run 90* angled fittings off the top rad, being as on average those are 3cm, that left 13cm for a reservoir and pump assembly. Tight
I also ended up cutting some angled aluminum to make new cross members for the front of the case to better support the pump bracket, and also replace some rather shotty work I did with a drill.
These finally showed up last thursday from EK. I must have cocked up my measurements because the multiport top won't quite fit in there which is too bad as it would have made my lift a tad easier.
Now just holding the reservoir assembly in place, obviously, it's tight.
Here I've got the mounting of the pump sorted. Had to turn the bracket up the other way, but you can see my new cross members there are well. I did a much nicer job countersynching the rivets this time too
It can also be seen in this closer pic that I changed up the way the psu is mounted. I used some aluminum spacers to mount the sfx plate directly to the cross member. This actually makes it easier to access the power supply screws, but pulled it back a few mm which gave me a little bit more clearance to connect wires to it as it was pretty close to the mobo.
That's pretty much my last test fit now. Fittings have been ordered now that I've got everything figured out, and until I realize there's something I haven't yet figured out, I'm pretty sure that was my final order for parts. Grand total now sitting at 4205$ spent on this build, to cover parts, shipping, taxes, and other misc hardware and supplies. The bottom line adds up quick.
Just gave the frame of the case some paint to touch up the scratching and spots I had to file down to make things fit.
Once the paint cures, I can start doing the final assembly, and wrap up the wiring as there's still more to shorten and crimp, then tubing, then leak test, and fill, and now I'm tired just thinking about how much there really is left....
Anyway, not long after I made the ATX cable, I got in some slim noctua fans for the top rad. Not the highest static pressure rating on them, but they're slim. We'll see how it does, but it can be seen that I now how quite a bit more clearance between the mobo and top rad.
I also shortened the front panel audio cable. Just look at how much slack came off....
But it sits nice an snug now.
Last month I also took some measurements, and as can be seen here, I've got just over 16cm between the top rad and the GPU. Since I need to run 90* angled fittings off the top rad, being as on average those are 3cm, that left 13cm for a reservoir and pump assembly. Tight
I also ended up cutting some angled aluminum to make new cross members for the front of the case to better support the pump bracket, and also replace some rather shotty work I did with a drill.
These finally showed up last thursday from EK. I must have cocked up my measurements because the multiport top won't quite fit in there which is too bad as it would have made my lift a tad easier.
Now just holding the reservoir assembly in place, obviously, it's tight.
Here I've got the mounting of the pump sorted. Had to turn the bracket up the other way, but you can see my new cross members there are well. I did a much nicer job countersynching the rivets this time too
It can also be seen in this closer pic that I changed up the way the psu is mounted. I used some aluminum spacers to mount the sfx plate directly to the cross member. This actually makes it easier to access the power supply screws, but pulled it back a few mm which gave me a little bit more clearance to connect wires to it as it was pretty close to the mobo.
That's pretty much my last test fit now. Fittings have been ordered now that I've got everything figured out, and until I realize there's something I haven't yet figured out, I'm pretty sure that was my final order for parts. Grand total now sitting at 4205$ spent on this build, to cover parts, shipping, taxes, and other misc hardware and supplies. The bottom line adds up quick.
Just gave the frame of the case some paint to touch up the scratching and spots I had to file down to make things fit.
Once the paint cures, I can start doing the final assembly, and wrap up the wiring as there's still more to shorten and crimp, then tubing, then leak test, and fill, and now I'm tired just thinking about how much there really is left....
Bartacus
Well-known member
How many times have you scratched your knuckles to hell and back and bled in this case without realizing you were bleeding? 
Gotta love small builds! Well love watching OTHERS build them, I don't ever want to do an SFF build again. Too many compromises!
Gotta love small builds! Well love watching OTHERS build them, I don't ever want to do an SFF build again. Too many compromises!I can't count the number of small cuts on my hands from this one now. But honestly, I'm loving the challenge and definitely want to do more builds like this. The critical thinking involved and weighing compromises is fun for me. But unless I get a 25k raise, I'll need someone to sponsor me LOL
Well, made some time yesterday and got it mostly finished up. Few small details left, but she's built and leak testing now.
Here you can see how I mounted the PSU on the second take. Ended up getting some aluminum spacers and mounted the SFX adapter bracket directly to the front cross members I riveted in.
I also pruned up some cables for the video card, water pump, and re-made the ATX cable a bit longer because I moved the power supply. I'm much happier with the way the ATX cable turned out this time as the first go I was using pins made for smaller gauge and some of the crimps were a little sketchy in my opinion.
super tedious work this
Now the final assembly coming together
This was where I started tubing. I had heated the one cable and bent it some, but not long after this did I start to realize that the way I had envisioned running the tubing wasn't going to work due to some tight spacing and fittings that turned out to be larger than I expected
So this ended up being the final product instead. I like the way it turned out. In a sense the tubing is blocking the view or some things, but the empty space looked massive in this tiny box so it's nice having something there. Plus it made for some nice long curves to let water flow nice and smooth.
And finally with water flowing through. Started the leak test last night. I do need to loosen the fitting on the return port of the reservoir though so I can rotate the tube a bit as that small kink is bugging me.
I wish I had a good space to take some really clean pictures of it, and to be honest, I don't want to let this thing go now but I told my buddy he could pick it up next weekend.
Here you can see how I mounted the PSU on the second take. Ended up getting some aluminum spacers and mounted the SFX adapter bracket directly to the front cross members I riveted in.
I also pruned up some cables for the video card, water pump, and re-made the ATX cable a bit longer because I moved the power supply. I'm much happier with the way the ATX cable turned out this time as the first go I was using pins made for smaller gauge and some of the crimps were a little sketchy in my opinion.
super tedious work this
Now the final assembly coming together
This was where I started tubing. I had heated the one cable and bent it some, but not long after this did I start to realize that the way I had envisioned running the tubing wasn't going to work due to some tight spacing and fittings that turned out to be larger than I expected
So this ended up being the final product instead. I like the way it turned out. In a sense the tubing is blocking the view or some things, but the empty space looked massive in this tiny box so it's nice having something there. Plus it made for some nice long curves to let water flow nice and smooth.
And finally with water flowing through. Started the leak test last night. I do need to loosen the fitting on the return port of the reservoir though so I can rotate the tube a bit as that small kink is bugging me.
I wish I had a good space to take some really clean pictures of it, and to be honest, I don't want to let this thing go now but I told my buddy he could pick it up next weekend.
That looks amazing, and the work you put into the custom cable lengths really paid off.
Some folks might not like the look of having a rad hanging off of the back, but I've always been partial to it.
Some folks might not like the look of having a rad hanging off of the back, but I've always been partial to it.
Bartacus
Well-known member
The performance boost makes up for it. Looking good!! It's just too bad you can't get a decent mITX case that can house two 240s. The only case I've ever used that fits that criteria is the Corsair Carbide Air 240, but you'll tear your knuckles to pieces getting a rig in there. And it's not the smallest thing, even though it's a light little cube.
@sswilson , Thanks, glad you like it. I really had no choice but to do the work on the custom cables when I had no space to tuck the slack. It turned out really well though the second run at the ATX cable was a tad frustrating but that was my own doing as I should have waited before trimming it down. It worked out better the second time though, and by then I'd had the chance to order pins for larger gauge wires, so live and learn. I would have much preferred to have the second rad inside the case, but the boxed in EK rad looks okay protruding from the back so I can live with it.
@Bartacus I know what you mean, decent m-ITX cases are hard to come by and despite so many being very much the same, there's very few that can really accommodate much in the way of water cooling. My saving grace with this one was that there's finally some higher output SFX power supplies on the market and I was able to relocate it easily enough. Interestingly, I got more cuts and nicks on my hands from squeezing fittings than anything else.
I think I'd love to find the case Linus used in this vid, because I'm pretty sure I could do a far better take on it.
@Bartacus I know what you mean, decent m-ITX cases are hard to come by and despite so many being very much the same, there's very few that can really accommodate much in the way of water cooling. My saving grace with this one was that there's finally some higher output SFX power supplies on the market and I was able to relocate it easily enough. Interestingly, I got more cuts and nicks on my hands from squeezing fittings than anything else.
I think I'd love to find the case Linus used in this vid, because I'm pretty sure I could do a far better take on it.
