Well, the only thing that really matters is to have the reservoir before the pump and only because it makes it easier to fill the system and bleed the air out of it. Everything else can be arragned as liked pretty much.
dgingeri loop order doesn't really matter because it will reach equilibrium anyway. It's probably best practice to have the reservoir feed the pump. Go for the shortest loop possible, taking into account the limitations of your build and ease for use.
Looks like order is: pump. heat source. reservoir, radiator. As long as the pump isn't handling the heated water it should be ok. Just because the reservoir is holding heated water doesn't really matter as you just want to have the pump cooled by the (cooled) water to prevent overheating the pump.
That's the first thing I noticed. If it had a backplate bending it would be out of the question. I'm not sure this counts as having a full watercooling setup and fitting a full size graphics card. Clearly an ITX GTX1070 would be perfect for this case.
Wow talk about Video card sag and bend not cool. To me this whole setup is ugly but that is just my own opinion and this would be something not ever allowed to grace my desk. That cooling system looks totally useless but again I myself would do this whole setup completely different from what they got there in the pictures. Other may think it is smexy and that is totally up to you and your likes no fault there.
I think the case itself looks pretty decent, the setup is a little borked but sometimes putting a pretty complicated cooling system in a tiny case introduces some compromises.
Aaaaand like most other gaming-oriented mITX cases, they could have made the damn thing one PCI slot taller and fit a goddamn micro-ATX board in it instead.
"Motherboard Size Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX" And I count 4 PCI slot brackets. Unless you want 5 so you can have a double wide card in the 4th slot, I'm not sure what you are complaining about. :)
I am evidently a blind, blind man when it comes to spec sheets. Only 3 PCI brackets though, so some modding required to fit the bottom card if it needs to have things exposed to the outside world.
What's the point of putting a window on a computer where the PSU blocks the motherboard? Not to mention with this form factor it's gonna be a lot harder to make all the cables look neat through that window.
The various ways in which this is an awful design were pretty thoroughly discussed on TechReport when they reported on the case a few weeks ago. Let's see.
-PSU blocking CPU cooler (acceptable at best, but generally not good)
-A window with a view of ... the top of your PSU. What? Huh? Seriously?
-A tiny, semi-useless top fan mount in a case clearly wide enough to support 120mm fans.
-Shoddy build quality. Misaligned power buttons IN THE PRESS SHOTS? Wow. Not to mention the amazing amount of bending/sag in both the top and bottom panels of the case. How they manage this with aluminium this thick still baffles me.
-NO CABLE ROUTING. At all. In a $160 case.
-"290mm gpu space." Unless you want a radiator (which you need, due to the PSU blocking any not-awful CPU coolers). In which case you'd need a much shorter GPU.
-What's up with that "put your radiator or fan here" thingamajig in the front anyway? Why not just ditch the unnecessary aluminium frame and use a regular 120mm fan mount, with more free space inside the case? Is it for structural support? If so: wow.
-LOADS of wasted space in the top front of the case (for an ITX case, anyway). Why not mount the PSU here?
-Using an SFX PSU (which always runs hotter than ATX) while forcing it to take in air from inside a poorly ventilated (see above) case. Or if you're running a radiator, forcing it to take in air from the exhaust of the radiator.
Awfully pricey for this size of case, Also looks kinda cramped for everything. The power supply is not in a very good place. Does anyone have experience with the CoolerMaster N200 for doing a system build? I don't think I have seen reviews for it on Anandtech but if there is one could you send a link.
Graphics card aside, is that case just crooked overall or is it the photo? The top looks like it's sagging down (which could actually be part of the design I guess) and the bottom seems to be bowed upward.
I'd say both a bad sample and a "feature." Considerin the misaligned power button in the close-up, QC is not their strong suit. And the bends in the top and bottom are obvious enough to (probably) not be conicidental, but on the other hand they would make fan mounting and other things more difficult and doesn't go over well with the strict, straight-lined design, so it's hard to see as a feature...
Shoddy case, shoddy build, shoddy design all around.
Style over function. I don't know how this company stays in business. Years ago, I bought a power supply from them at $140 and it was generating a humming noise that was so annoying.
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JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
Holy shit, that graphics card sag is unreal.Perhaps they should've considered using flexible tubing rather than hardlining?
ingwe - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
Damn that is bad. Way to spot that. I don't know if I would have noticed.dgingeri - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
Not only that, but the order is all wrong. Shouldn't it be heat source to radiator to reservoir to pump to heat source?Death666Angel - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
Well, the only thing that really matters is to have the reservoir before the pump and only because it makes it easier to fill the system and bleed the air out of it. Everything else can be arragned as liked pretty much.HomeworldFound - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
dgingeri loop order doesn't really matter because it will reach equilibrium anyway. It's probably best practice to have the reservoir feed the pump. Go for the shortest loop possible, taking into account the limitations of your build and ease for use.bill.rookard - Wednesday, November 2, 2016 - link
Looks like order is: pump. heat source. reservoir, radiator. As long as the pump isn't handling the heated water it should be ok. Just because the reservoir is holding heated water doesn't really matter as you just want to have the pump cooled by the (cooled) water to prevent overheating the pump.ddriver - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
It is like a thorn in the eye, how could you not notice it :) There are several degrees deviations in the x and z axis at the back of the video card.HomeworldFound - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
That's the first thing I noticed. If it had a backplate bending it would be out of the question. I'm not sure this counts as having a full watercooling setup and fitting a full size graphics card. Clearly an ITX GTX1070 would be perfect for this case.ingwe - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
I'm either intrigued or disgusted with this aesthetic. I just can't figure out which it is. Maybe both...stephenbrooks - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
It's the convergence of PCs and household radiators we all knew was coming. I prefer the green one.rocky12345 - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
Wow talk about Video card sag and bend not cool. To me this whole setup is ugly but that is just my own opinion and this would be something not ever allowed to grace my desk. That cooling system looks totally useless but again I myself would do this whole setup completely different from what they got there in the pictures. Other may think it is smexy and that is totally up to you and your likes no fault there.bill.rookard - Wednesday, November 2, 2016 - link
I think the case itself looks pretty decent, the setup is a little borked but sometimes putting a pretty complicated cooling system in a tiny case introduces some compromises.etamin - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
Nope, won't be bothered with having to clean a front fascia like that.ZeDestructor - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
Aaaaand like most other gaming-oriented mITX cases, they could have made the damn thing one PCI slot taller and fit a goddamn micro-ATX board in it instead.FFS case designers...
Death666Angel - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
"Motherboard Size Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX"And I count 4 PCI slot brackets. Unless you want 5 so you can have a double wide card in the 4th slot, I'm not sure what you are complaining about. :)
ZeDestructor - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
I am evidently a blind, blind man when it comes to spec sheets. Only 3 PCI brackets though, so some modding required to fit the bottom card if it needs to have things exposed to the outside world.DwayneAK - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
What's the point of putting a window on a computer where the PSU blocks the motherboard? Not to mention with this form factor it's gonna be a lot harder to make all the cables look neat through that window.Squinoogle - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
That was exactly my first thought. Enermax need to make some very pretty PSUs if they want us to be showing them off like that.The entire internal design for this case seems to have had zero though applied - utterly shocking given the price of the thing.
etamin - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link
It's kind of sad that they're using Z87 for the promo image of a new product in late 2016.Valantar - Wednesday, November 2, 2016 - link
The various ways in which this is an awful design were pretty thoroughly discussed on TechReport when they reported on the case a few weeks ago. Let's see.-PSU blocking CPU cooler (acceptable at best, but generally not good)
-A window with a view of ... the top of your PSU. What? Huh? Seriously?
-A tiny, semi-useless top fan mount in a case clearly wide enough to support 120mm fans.
-Shoddy build quality. Misaligned power buttons IN THE PRESS SHOTS? Wow. Not to mention the amazing amount of bending/sag in both the top and bottom panels of the case. How they manage this with aluminium this thick still baffles me.
-NO CABLE ROUTING. At all. In a $160 case.
-"290mm gpu space." Unless you want a radiator (which you need, due to the PSU blocking any not-awful CPU coolers). In which case you'd need a much shorter GPU.
-What's up with that "put your radiator or fan here" thingamajig in the front anyway? Why not just ditch the unnecessary aluminium frame and use a regular 120mm fan mount, with more free space inside the case? Is it for structural support? If so: wow.
-LOADS of wasted space in the top front of the case (for an ITX case, anyway). Why not mount the PSU here?
-Using an SFX PSU (which always runs hotter than ATX) while forcing it to take in air from inside a poorly ventilated (see above) case. Or if you're running a radiator, forcing it to take in air from the exhaust of the radiator.
Tl;dr: http://imgur.com/a/dqmLW courtesy of commenter Philldoe at The Tech Report.
And yeah, that GPU might be watercooled, but it sure isn't going to last long with that kind of bending. Ugh.
ryanvoth - Wednesday, November 2, 2016 - link
Awfully pricey for this size of case, Also looks kinda cramped for everything. The power supply is not in a very good place. Does anyone have experience with the CoolerMaster N200 for doing a system build? I don't think I have seen reviews for it on Anandtech but if there is one could you send a link.prime2515103 - Wednesday, November 2, 2016 - link
Graphics card aside, is that case just crooked overall or is it the photo? The top looks like it's sagging down (which could actually be part of the design I guess) and the bottom seems to be bowed upward.Bad QC/sample, bad photo, or is it a "feature"?
Valantar - Thursday, November 3, 2016 - link
I'd say both a bad sample and a "feature." Considerin the misaligned power button in the close-up, QC is not their strong suit. And the bends in the top and bottom are obvious enough to (probably) not be conicidental, but on the other hand they would make fan mounting and other things more difficult and doesn't go over well with the strict, straight-lined design, so it's hard to see as a feature...Shoddy case, shoddy build, shoddy design all around.
azrael- - Friday, November 4, 2016 - link
Even the product photos show a warped case. Doesn't instill much confidence.cocochanel - Friday, November 4, 2016 - link
Style over function. I don't know how this company stays in business. Years ago, I bought a power supply from them at $140 and it was generating a humming noise that was so annoying.watzupken - Friday, November 11, 2016 - link
Looks a like a sure way to kill your graphic card with it flexing this much.