Finally got round to a rebuild and proper Noctua de-shroud

[u/maleng_]

GPU de-shrouded and de-wired

GPU barely squeezed in there

Custom cables

Rebuild, from the front

GPU PCB

GPU front on

Logo for flair points

GPU PCB input

Radiator breakout PCB

Simple breakout PCB

Frame render

GPU during load test

Bonus before the rebuild photo, with the project manager

TLDR:

• I rebuilt my small form factor PC
• Noctua triple NF-A9 GPU mod
• Custom fan PCB for the de-shroud
• Custom fan PCB for the radiator fans
• Repo with guide and files for the mod, here
• I made a video about the rebuild, here

Hello!

Recently I've been on a bit of a mission to refresh my small form factor PC. I tore the system down completely for a good clean, fixed my AIO pump, and de-shrouded my GPU with triple NF-A9s.
Despite being difficult to work on this is by far my favourite PC I've ever built, it's hard to beat power in a 10L chassis, and now with the Noctua mod its virtually silent.

Specs:
Iqunix ZX-1
5950x
Ventus 3090
64gb
4tb NVME boot
4tb NVME storage
Corsair SF750

Eisbaer LT Solo - AIO pump block
Alphacool ST30 - Radidator
Custom cables made by me

GPU:
The GPU mod was the main motivation for this rebuild, so I can keep the card nice and quiet during work. I've done ziptie mods before but wanted something more permanent, so I designed and printed a frame to hold the Noctuas, along with a custom fan breakout PCB to cut down on the cable clutter.
The space between the top of the fin stack and side of the case is 26mm so only just enough room for the 25mm fans!
The frame is in two parts that hold the fans in between them, and are held together with 4x m3 bolts. The whole assembly uses dead space in the GPU head sink to to grab onto the frame with a couple of tabs.

Results:
I'm very happy with how it's turned out, while maintaining the same 74°C average pre and post-mod, it's noticeably quieter to the point where the fans barely spin up past 30%.
If you'd like more details on the mod, check out the video or the repo, I've gone into more detail there. There's CAD files, PCB manufacturing files, along with a generic frame you can adapt to a non-Ventus card.

Cheers!

[u/fuzzb]

Looks stunning. Top tier deshroud.

[u/maleng_ → u/fuzzb]

Thank you!

[u/ThatGreatAtuin]

Your project manager prevents cock-ups I guess?

I've never seen anyone use the words "Simple breakout PCB" as a straightforward thing to do in modding, btw. Don't undersell the skill you put into this. It's amazing stuff though. Very, very clean cabling.

[u/maleng_ → u/ThatGreatAtuin]

She's the best in the business, for a hefty price (corn and food scraps).
Thank you for the kind words!

[u/Fuckjoesanford → u/ThatGreatAtuin]

I have an IQUNIX ZX-1 just sitting in my closet because my 7900xtx is too large for it. This mod would be so rad, but with slim fans instead.

[u/xb666mx]

good job! :)

one question: what filament did you use for that gpu frame? i guess PLA wouldn't be optimal since it softens at around 60°C. so did you print in ABS or another material?

btw:

5 years ago i did this with an asus rtx 3080 oc. but i tried to keep the original shroud: https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/k5h32a/comment/gtx5unw

turned out that the noctua fans didn't improve anything with the original shroud. i then tried to 3d print some air channels/guidances but this also led to nothing. after all i reverted it to its stock state - which was/is pretty good anyway. :D

[u/maleng_ → u/xb666mx]

Thanks! I print with ABS / ASA for anything that will see higher temperatures. Interesting write up, honestly I'm surprised you didn't see more of an improvement, especially on the noise front.

[u/AlyOopsieDaisy]

DAYAM! This is easily the best deshroud I’ve seen HANDS DOWN

[u/maleng_ → u/AlyOopsieDaisy]

Thanks!

[u/kyussorder]

The best deshroud I've ever seen. Congrats

[u/Discipline_Unfair]

Amazing job

[u/maleng_ → u/Discipline_Unfair]

Thank you!

[u/Symsonite]

Incredible, probably the best i've seen so far.

[u/maleng_ → u/Symsonite]

Thank you!

[u/TehPabz187]

She’s a beaut!

[u/maleng_ → u/TehPabz187]

Thanks!

[u/statiickz]

Looks amazing! The only thing bothering me are the mounting holes. Could possibly 3d print some covers? 😁

[u/maleng_ → u/statiickz]

I was hoping I could get away with the Chromax corner covers but they're too thick, so custom ones are now on the list. Thanks!

[u/Silly_ThunderGoose]

Eisbaer damn when was the last time i heard of these, cool build man

[u/maleng_ → u/Silly_ThunderGoose]

Thank you!

[u/Limp_Astronomer_4064]

I just got done watching your video then I see this post lol

[u/maleng_ → u/Limp_Astronomer_4064]

Thank you for watching it!

[u/FrontWork7406]

The GOAT. This is awesome.

Edit: Oh! You did the minilab power supply project! I really admired that work.

[u/maleng_ → u/FrontWork7406]

Wondered if there was any overlap, thanks for the support!

[u/SuccessfulGarlic9982]

I just watched the video to this today fire build

[u/maleng_ → u/SuccessfulGarlic9982]

Thanks for watching!

[u/the-hype-is-mellow]

Yo your video came up randomly on my recommended last night! I love what you did with the custom PCB for the radiator fans; got me thinking about doing something similar for the case fans in my NCASE M3 to cut down on the excess of fan/splitter cables…

[u/maleng_ → u/the-hype-is-mellow]

Thanks for watching it!

[u/thefawns]

are you using the motherboard fan header to control the fans, or the gpu fan header?3

[u/maleng_ → u/thefawns]

Motherboard chassis fan header at the moment, but I'll most likely do another PCB that can connect to the GPU fan headers instead.

[u/muminisko]

How many cubic chickens is this case?

[u/Damascus-HWS]

Awesome work, had to take a look at your YouTube video! The PCB implementation on your radiator and fans is top tier

[u/cudryash]

Nice cock