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Silverstone SST-FT03-Mini (Mini-Itx)
- Thread starter lvyelion
- Start date
nameBrandon
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2012
- Messages
- 130
Ranma, that's a very interesting build!
Agreed! Never seen anything like it before with this case.. nice job!
The goal of my build was mostly to silence the graphics card (and I figured I'd do the CPU too while I'm at it), so the temps weren't my main concern. I did do an impromptu test last night with the case doors off. Running Prime95 and Furmark at the same time, the CPU was hitting just below 90 C and the graphics card was at 54 C after 20 minutes of running. Idle seems to be 40 C for the CPU and 31 C for the graphics card. I live in Hawaii, so the ambient is almost always 25 C. The card is a GTX 670 FTW, even though the waterblock says GTX 680. Processor is an i7 3770K with a slight overclock managed by the motherboard (Asus P8Z77-I DELUXE).
I know the temps look high, but in practice, I doubt that I'll ever be using a sustained 100% CPU and 100% GPU for several minutes straight. I did run the Heaven benchmark for 3 rounds straight and the GPU only hit 48 degrees and the CPU was barely above its idle temp.
I haven't played around with the CPU clock yet, but using EVGA Precision X, I was able to do 145% power target, +75 GPU clock, +500 mem clock on the graphics card. This was enough to get me a score of 1208 at 1920x1080 in the Heaven benchmark, something that I couldn't achieve on the stock blower heatsink. On air, I could only do 145% power target, +50 GPU clock, +450 mem clock, which gave me a score of 1186.
With the case doors on, the temps should be slightly higher, but I believe there's still room for a modest overclock, assuming you don't do folding and media re-encoding at the same time.
I know the temps look high, but in practice, I doubt that I'll ever be using a sustained 100% CPU and 100% GPU for several minutes straight. I did run the Heaven benchmark for 3 rounds straight and the GPU only hit 48 degrees and the CPU was barely above its idle temp.
I haven't played around with the CPU clock yet, but using EVGA Precision X, I was able to do 145% power target, +75 GPU clock, +500 mem clock on the graphics card. This was enough to get me a score of 1208 at 1920x1080 in the Heaven benchmark, something that I couldn't achieve on the stock blower heatsink. On air, I could only do 145% power target, +50 GPU clock, +450 mem clock, which gave me a score of 1186.
With the case doors on, the temps should be slightly higher, but I believe there's still room for a modest overclock, assuming you don't do folding and media re-encoding at the same time
.Pjalchemist
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 253
Sorry for the delay, having a new house built, running a pc store and her indoors is hard work. It's not finished as it's just rought laying out.
I need to mod the bottom for the new rad and make a bracket for the pump to stand on.
As you can see i did make a small case mod with the stand offs going.
WC is...
Laing DDC 18W
EK-DDC Xtop CSQ
DT Snipper waterblock
Moonson 3/8 - 5/8
Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 140mm Radiator
3/8" ID (5/8" OD) Masterkleer PVC Tubing Clear
Mayhems "Aurora" - Nebula Blue Coolant
The idea i plumb it all up in the case, so i get the best run on length of hose. I then pull the lot out and with a smaller second loop (pump and res only) i fill and bleed the system via the rad as it has the extra ports. Once done and system air free i will move the system into a fill port style then close off.
I need to mod the bottom for the new rad and make a bracket for the pump to stand on.
As you can see i did make a small case mod with the stand offs going.
WC is...
Laing DDC 18W
EK-DDC Xtop CSQ
DT Snipper waterblock
Moonson 3/8 - 5/8
Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 140mm Radiator
3/8" ID (5/8" OD) Masterkleer PVC Tubing Clear
Mayhems "Aurora" - Nebula Blue Coolant
The idea i plumb it all up in the case, so i get the best run on length of hose. I then pull the lot out and with a smaller second loop (pump and res only) i fill and bleed the system via the rad as it has the extra ports. Once done and system air free i will move the system into a fill port style then close off.
Two FT03-mini watercooling builds in one day! We are spoiled
Some questions. First, any GPU? Second, where are you putting the drives? Third, can you fit a res maybe in the top area?
thats gonna be awesome! i love it already. gotta say though, are you sure theres nowhere better you can put the pump? its pretty small, you might be able to make a simple bracket for it coming off one of the structure pieces. where it is, its gonna create more noise and restriction, and if you move it you can maybe add another fan for push/pull.
ranma, im in hawaii too! you on oahu?
ranma, im in hawaii too! you on oahu?
Yeah, I'm on Oahu too. No, you can't come over to look at my computer
.Yeah, I'm on Oahu too. No, you can't come over to look at my computer
oh i wasnt asking for permission, IM GOING TO COME TAKE IT FROM YOU.
Pjalchemist
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 253
Two FT03-mini watercooling builds in one day! We are spoiled
Some questions. First, any GPU? Second, where are you putting the drives? Third, can you fit a res maybe in the top area?
Yes a GTX 670, once WC'd it's the same length as the mobo
. Optical drive fits still, the 256GB SSD i use mounts on the same plate on the side of the optical drive with both cables passing through the top. Do you mea between case internal top (mobo io) to case outer? If so yeah you could probs fit something. I didn't want too. Nah idea is to have a way better higher performance system than the a pre sealed system
huh? i didnt say anything about a presealed system. i was suggesting moving the pump so its not right on top of your rad. that would allow you to get less restriction on your rad, and maybe add another fan. same pump, different location. the easiest locations that come to mind are the top and bottom outside the main case, but those are both a ways away from the rest of the WC components. another place that might work is if you get a backplate for your video card and then double sided tape it to the backplate. just a suggestion, there may or may not be room for it there or routing hoses with that location might not be possible.
Pjalchemist
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 253
I wanted to make a super small loop / system thats was almost self contained. The pump is idea there as it's waisted space between rad and psu. The rad fan will keep the pump cool. I want everything to look neat and stock as to bolting on to a £300 GFX. The shorter runs will offer a lot of flow so high cooling. Push and pull be nice but just a decent 140mm fan will do.
Yes a GTX 670, once WC'd it's the same length as the mobo
Interested to see your loop route then. Your build seems quite close to what I was planning, but I didn't think about a 140mm rad because I wanted to keep the optical and maybe the SSD tray underneath. But if you say the optical tray fits then I'm reconsidering
Pjalchemist
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 253
Interested to see your loop route then. Your build seems quite close to what I was planning, but I didn't think about a 140mm rad because I wanted to keep the optical and maybe the SSD tray underneath. But if you say the optical tray fits then I'm reconsidering
The 3 tabs you see that i broke off, 2 for SSD/2.5'' HD bracket and the other no idea what it's for allows the 140mm in. Just the base doesn't as the 120mm inset holes and cutout messes it up so a new plate is going in.It's in the car currently and hammering it down so i wont go get it to show sady, sorry
Haha, it was actually your reply to Tony Ou which I read back in 2009 when I was just a lurker!
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1034814074&postcount=369
Pjalchemist
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 253
Random
140mm fans anyway. It's an 140mm rad that doesn't with the optical drive etc in place.
670 block has arrived and im in the mist of converting it. I'm also about to make final cuts to the base to open up for a new plate to allow the 140mm rad in location.
An update: in the end, I decided to get a D5 pump (a.k.a. Swiftech MCP655 or Koolance PMP-450) and the Bitspower 150 res top upgrade kit for it:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...t_150_-_Ice_Black_BP-D5TOPUK150P-BKBKIBK.html
It's cheating a bit because once you put things outside the case, the sky's the limit on how big the components can be. However, I ran into problems decoupling my previous pump, the Swiftech MCP350, when I put it on top of my case. I decided to switch to the D5, which has built-in speed control. One unforeseen advantage was that I could now put the top cover back on the Silverstone case.
I also added some Acoustipack sound dampening foam (the 3-layer version) to the case doors:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7...yer_Professional_Sound_Dampening_APExtS_.html
And to the back panel as well:
The motherboard and 2.5-inch drive tray pretty much just rest on the foam. They're still screwed in, but there's no space underneath them. Luckily, the foam is quite compressible.
Here's the entire PC with all the components in, right before the case doors are put on:
A closer shot of the innards. It looks like there's a lot of room in there but it's not as much as you would think. You may be able to squeeze a smaller pump in the leftover space, but it's too tight for my comfort and will block too much of the radiator fan from cooling the motherboard:
The power supply cables, although modular and short, are still not short enough for this case. Luckily, you can tuck almost all of the excess below the radiator on the right side:
A close-up of the pump. I also used some sound dampening foam on the rubber feet, since the rubber feet alone weren't all that great at decoupling the pump from my table. Also in the shot is a Koolance water filter right before the intake (on the right) and the silver kill coil in the res. The kill coil has an added benefit of acting as an effective vortex stopper; if it rests right above the intake port of the pump head (like how it is in the shot), it will prevent water vortexes from forming. The filter is just for added insurance and is probably unnecessary.
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...l_999_Fine_Silver_Tubing_Reservoir_Strip.html
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...oolant_Filter_027mm_Particles_INS-FLTR03.html
Here's a shot with the case doors on but before the top is attached:
And after the top has been put on. Very clean, and you can barely see the hoses and power cable running out the left side to the pump:
So now I have 4 pumps, all which I've tried out with the system, and I've decided on the D5. Here's a quick rundown of how I feel about each:
Alphacool DC-LT: As far as pumps go, this is smallest pump you can currently buy on the market, but the plexi top and reservoir are cheaply made and not all that great. The reservoir doesn't really line up all that well with the plexi top, and it leaks unless you tighten down the screws so tightly, you feel like you're going to crack the plexiglass. I also had to use two o-rings on one of the plugs for an inlet because because no matter how much I tightened it with only one o-ring, it still leaked. As for performance, it's good enough, but this is not a quiet pump, not even on 7V. You can always hear a "VEEEEE" sound coming from the pump. On 7V, it barely has any flow in a totally unrestricted setup. I did run it on 7V in my setup, and although it worked, it did not really inspire confidence that it was doing a good job of keeping the water flowing. Apparently there's a new, thicker o-ring (which I didn't get) that's supposed to make the pump quieter because the impeller is actually grinding against the plexi top, but when I loosened the pump to the point where it started to leak, I could still hear the "VEEEEE" sound. I would not recommend this pump if your goal is flow rate and/or silence. The only thing going for it is that it's significantly smaller than all the other pumps out there.
XSPC X20 450: This is a pump that's built into a small-ish reservoir. I rather like the design, but one of the downsides is that there's not enough room around the pump to fit in a kill coil unless you cut it up or flatten it (and good luck getting it out). I also had a problem where water would leak out of the plug for the power cable if I tilted the pump. The pump produces quite a lot of vibration, and with the large area of contact, you pretty much need to decouple this pump. Flow rate is quite decent, even at 7V, but there's still an audible hum that you can hear in a quiet room. With some sound dampening, I believe the sound can be eliminated. Although this is a decent pump, I would recommend it only if space is a concern; otherwise the Swiftech pumps outperform it. Also, be aware that it might leak out of the power cord plug if you plan to use it in any other position than the one that it was intended for.
Swiftech MCP350 with XSPC res top: If you've been reading up on water cooling, no doubt you've come across this pump, as it's a great performer. The downside though is that it vibrates quite heavily and is a challenge to decouple. The XSPC res top also has a tube extending from the inlet port down to right before the pump. The idea is to prevent vortexes and improve performance (since water is getting pushed into the pump while the pump is pulling it at the same time), but it also means that 90% of the air bubbles in the system will just get sucked right back into the loop. It also performs quite well on 7V, but the vibrations are still there and is still hard to control. I would recommend this pump if you're looking for a small pump that performs well, but be warned that decoupling it for silence can be difficult unless you really pad the sucker. Maybe that's why companies specifically make silent boxes for the pump, like this one.
Swiftech MCP655 with Bitspower 150 res top: As you can tell from the above images, this is a fairly large pump, especially with the res top. One major, major advantage of this pump is that it has built-in speed control. The speed setting potentiometer turns smoothly without any click stops, but there are markings around it that go from 1 to 5, where 5 is the fastest. The pump is quite audible on 5, but is completely silent from 2 feet away on 2 (still audible from 1 feet away, though just barely). On 3, it produces a hump in sound level which makes it more audible than running on 4. So far I have it on 2 and I'm quite happy with both the flow rate and the lack of sound. And this is outside the case too, where I don't have any sound dampening material except for the ones on the feet. I haven't tried it on 7V because it has the potentiometer, and the vibrations are much lower than the MCP350 and thus much, much easier to dampen.
A word on pumps on 7V: I'm pretty sure some of you have seen the posts that say that pumps won't run on 7V because the manufacturer's website says that 9V is the minimum to spin the pump. It's a bunch of crap, these pumps run fine on 7V. I used to molex mod to get 7V.
Some image comparisons:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...t_150_-_Ice_Black_BP-D5TOPUK150P-BKBKIBK.html
It's cheating a bit because once you put things outside the case, the sky's the limit on how big the components can be. However, I ran into problems decoupling my previous pump, the Swiftech MCP350, when I put it on top of my case. I decided to switch to the D5, which has built-in speed control. One unforeseen advantage was that I could now put the top cover back on the Silverstone case.
I also added some Acoustipack sound dampening foam (the 3-layer version) to the case doors:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7...yer_Professional_Sound_Dampening_APExtS_.html
And to the back panel as well:
The motherboard and 2.5-inch drive tray pretty much just rest on the foam. They're still screwed in, but there's no space underneath them. Luckily, the foam is quite compressible.
Here's the entire PC with all the components in, right before the case doors are put on:
A closer shot of the innards. It looks like there's a lot of room in there but it's not as much as you would think. You may be able to squeeze a smaller pump in the leftover space, but it's too tight for my comfort and will block too much of the radiator fan from cooling the motherboard:
The power supply cables, although modular and short, are still not short enough for this case. Luckily, you can tuck almost all of the excess below the radiator on the right side:
A close-up of the pump. I also used some sound dampening foam on the rubber feet, since the rubber feet alone weren't all that great at decoupling the pump from my table. Also in the shot is a Koolance water filter right before the intake (on the right) and the silver kill coil in the res. The kill coil has an added benefit of acting as an effective vortex stopper; if it rests right above the intake port of the pump head (like how it is in the shot), it will prevent water vortexes from forming. The filter is just for added insurance and is probably unnecessary.
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...l_999_Fine_Silver_Tubing_Reservoir_Strip.html
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...oolant_Filter_027mm_Particles_INS-FLTR03.html
Here's a shot with the case doors on but before the top is attached:
And after the top has been put on. Very clean, and you can barely see the hoses and power cable running out the left side to the pump:
So now I have 4 pumps, all which I've tried out with the system, and I've decided on the D5. Here's a quick rundown of how I feel about each:
Alphacool DC-LT: As far as pumps go, this is smallest pump you can currently buy on the market, but the plexi top and reservoir are cheaply made and not all that great. The reservoir doesn't really line up all that well with the plexi top, and it leaks unless you tighten down the screws so tightly, you feel like you're going to crack the plexiglass. I also had to use two o-rings on one of the plugs for an inlet because because no matter how much I tightened it with only one o-ring, it still leaked. As for performance, it's good enough, but this is not a quiet pump, not even on 7V. You can always hear a "VEEEEE" sound coming from the pump. On 7V, it barely has any flow in a totally unrestricted setup. I did run it on 7V in my setup, and although it worked, it did not really inspire confidence that it was doing a good job of keeping the water flowing. Apparently there's a new, thicker o-ring (which I didn't get) that's supposed to make the pump quieter because the impeller is actually grinding against the plexi top, but when I loosened the pump to the point where it started to leak, I could still hear the "VEEEEE" sound. I would not recommend this pump if your goal is flow rate and/or silence. The only thing going for it is that it's significantly smaller than all the other pumps out there.
XSPC X20 450: This is a pump that's built into a small-ish reservoir. I rather like the design, but one of the downsides is that there's not enough room around the pump to fit in a kill coil unless you cut it up or flatten it (and good luck getting it out). I also had a problem where water would leak out of the plug for the power cable if I tilted the pump. The pump produces quite a lot of vibration, and with the large area of contact, you pretty much need to decouple this pump. Flow rate is quite decent, even at 7V, but there's still an audible hum that you can hear in a quiet room. With some sound dampening, I believe the sound can be eliminated. Although this is a decent pump, I would recommend it only if space is a concern; otherwise the Swiftech pumps outperform it. Also, be aware that it might leak out of the power cord plug if you plan to use it in any other position than the one that it was intended for.
Swiftech MCP350 with XSPC res top: If you've been reading up on water cooling, no doubt you've come across this pump, as it's a great performer. The downside though is that it vibrates quite heavily and is a challenge to decouple. The XSPC res top also has a tube extending from the inlet port down to right before the pump. The idea is to prevent vortexes and improve performance (since water is getting pushed into the pump while the pump is pulling it at the same time), but it also means that 90% of the air bubbles in the system will just get sucked right back into the loop. It also performs quite well on 7V, but the vibrations are still there and is still hard to control. I would recommend this pump if you're looking for a small pump that performs well, but be warned that decoupling it for silence can be difficult unless you really pad the sucker. Maybe that's why companies specifically make silent boxes for the pump, like this one.
Swiftech MCP655 with Bitspower 150 res top: As you can tell from the above images, this is a fairly large pump, especially with the res top. One major, major advantage of this pump is that it has built-in speed control. The speed setting potentiometer turns smoothly without any click stops, but there are markings around it that go from 1 to 5, where 5 is the fastest. The pump is quite audible on 5, but is completely silent from 2 feet away on 2 (still audible from 1 feet away, though just barely). On 3, it produces a hump in sound level which makes it more audible than running on 4. So far I have it on 2 and I'm quite happy with both the flow rate and the lack of sound. And this is outside the case too, where I don't have any sound dampening material except for the ones on the feet. I haven't tried it on 7V because it has the potentiometer, and the vibrations are much lower than the MCP350 and thus much, much easier to dampen.
A word on pumps on 7V: I'm pretty sure some of you have seen the posts that say that pumps won't run on 7V because the manufacturer's website says that 9V is the minimum to spin the pump. It's a bunch of crap, these pumps run fine on 7V. I used to molex mod to get 7V.
Some image comparisons:
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Actually, now that you mention it, I haven't tried the Swiftech Apogee Drive II yet, which a CPU waterblock + MCP35X pump combo. I initially passed on it because I thought that mounting it to the motherboard would make it impossible to decouple, but if I can run it on a low RPM, I may be able to get it silent. If it works, then it's just a matter of finding a small enough reservoir, but maybe using a T-Line is more practical in this case. We shall see.
I believe so if you use 45-degree or 90-degree fittings. On my current CPU block, the EK Supremacy, the right angle fittings clear the fan with a little room to spare. Judging from the images here:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._Combo_-_Sockets_11551366_APD2-1155-1366.html
It looks like the ports are at the same height, or slightly below the height of the fittings on the EK waterblock, so it should fit. If you can hold off for a day or two, I'll have the AD2 and can tell you for sure. Gonna order it sometime today with 1-day shipping.
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._Combo_-_Sockets_11551366_APD2-1155-1366.html
It looks like the ports are at the same height, or slightly below the height of the fittings on the EK waterblock, so it should fit. If you can hold off for a day or two, I'll have the AD2 and can tell you for sure. Gonna order it sometime today with 1-day shipping.
hot damn thats expensive. can that pump run a single thick 120mm rad and a gpu block also?
I don't see why not. The diminutive Alphacool DC-LT could run a double-thick rad, a CPU block, and a GPU block on 7V, albeit at a low flow rate. The Swiftech MCP-35X is PWM-controlled, so it can be made to go faster as components heat up. As long as the flow rate is enough to make the water pass through the blocks before its thermal capacity is reached, the temperatures should not change by much. Remember, a reduction in flow rate also means that the water spends a longer time in the radiator as well.
Knifeshade
n00b
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2011
- Messages
- 4
Anybody else using an Asrock motherboard in their build?
Have a problem with adjusting the CPU fan on my new build.
Using stock 3570K cooler. I've got it set to Automatic Mode (Level 3) and it idles around ~1000rpm which is fine. But it doesn't ramp up when I put some load on the cores. If I adjust to Level 7+ it'll just spin at ~1800rpm the entire time. But the funky thing is if I go back from 7+ to 3, it doesn't go back to ~1000rpm. It fluctuates from ~1500rpm to full bore.
Any help is appreciated.
Have a problem with adjusting the CPU fan on my new build.
Using stock 3570K cooler. I've got it set to Automatic Mode (Level 3) and it idles around ~1000rpm which is fine. But it doesn't ramp up when I put some load on the cores. If I adjust to Level 7+ it'll just spin at ~1800rpm the entire time. But the funky thing is if I go back from 7+ to 3, it doesn't go back to ~1000rpm. It fluctuates from ~1500rpm to full bore.
Any help is appreciated.
I'm using an Apogee Drive II with an ASRock Z77 Mini ITX board, I currently have these settings in eXtremeTuner for fan speeds:
CPU: Level 2
Target Temp: 60C
Cha Fan: Level 3
Target Temp: 60C
Seems to work best for me, ramps up during BF3 right around when temps get to 60ish, usually around 63C.
I did have to tweak the temps before I got that result, too low and it was high all the time, too high and it never ramped down.
Parts ordered today. They'll come in on Wednesday and I'll give another update then. I bought a bunch of stuff that allows me to make a T-Line, but I also picked up two reservoirs, one which I believe I can fit on top of the case and one which is a long shot, but maybe I can squeeze it inside the case.
I measured the clearance at over 60mm on the top. The cover has a lip that's lower than the case door 'walls', but if you can clear those, there's slightly more height available. I got the Bitspower Z-Multi 40, which is 60x60mm and cylindrical. I also got the FrozenQ FlexTank, which is 4x3x1.25in. I only have space in my case for something 1 inch thick, but maybe I can work it in somehow. If either reservoir doesn't work, I can always do a T-Line instead. I would just prefer a reservoir because it gives a good indication of how much fluid is remaining and adds a buffer zone before having to top off.
As for fill ports, I picked up 3 of them along with 3 T connectors. One of them is bound to work.
As for fill ports, I picked up 3 of them along with 3 T connectors. One of them is bound to work
.
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Just a quick update: I got the parts today and installed the Apogee Drive II. With the 80x25mm fan on the outside of the PSU, it BARELY fits into the system. There's less than 1mm of clearance between the fan and the top of the pump.
Also, the pump's damn quiet at ~1200 RPM (20% PWM). I'm running it now at 100% to try and bleed the system, but I think I now know why those res tops are so popular: it's taking forever to bleed this pump and I'm not sure if I'll ever get all the air bubbles out. With the res top, it was trivially easy to get all the air out.
I also managed to fit the Bitspower Z-Multi 40 reservoir on top of the case. It's sitting where the wireless antenna connectors and motherboard DVI port are, but since I'm neither using wifi or the Intel HD 4000, putting the reservoir there doesn't affect me. However, since the reservoir currently doesn't really help the pump bleed any faster, I'm wondering if I should have used the reservoir at all. But since it's already in place, I'll leave it there for now until I decide if I really want to switch to a T-Line or not.
The other reservoir I got, the FrozenQ FlexTank, is a piece of crap. It cost more than the Bitspower, but is super shoddily made. You can easily make out the tool marks on the acrylic and there's still a ton of shaven bits of acrylic stuck to the ports when they drilled it out. Also, I got the full acrylic version because I wanted it to be see-through from all directions, but it turns out that most of it is hazy except for one screw-on cover that's transparent. The cover doesn't even line up properly with the reservoir itself. What a waste of money.
The T connectors and fill ports are also much larger than what I expected. In the pictures online, they appeared to be no bigger than a standard 1/4" ID fitting, but they're much larger than that in real life.
I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them up. Too tired tonight to take care of it, and the pump noise with the air bubbles is driving me nuts.
Also, the pump's damn quiet at ~1200 RPM (20% PWM). I'm running it now at 100% to try and bleed the system, but I think I now know why those res tops are so popular: it's taking forever to bleed this pump and I'm not sure if I'll ever get all the air bubbles out. With the res top, it was trivially easy to get all the air out.
I also managed to fit the Bitspower Z-Multi 40 reservoir on top of the case. It's sitting where the wireless antenna connectors and motherboard DVI port are, but since I'm neither using wifi or the Intel HD 4000, putting the reservoir there doesn't affect me. However, since the reservoir currently doesn't really help the pump bleed any faster, I'm wondering if I should have used the reservoir at all. But since it's already in place, I'll leave it there for now until I decide if I really want to switch to a T-Line or not.
The other reservoir I got, the FrozenQ FlexTank, is a piece of crap. It cost more than the Bitspower, but is super shoddily made. You can easily make out the tool marks on the acrylic and there's still a ton of shaven bits of acrylic stuck to the ports when they drilled it out. Also, I got the full acrylic version because I wanted it to be see-through from all directions, but it turns out that most of it is hazy except for one screw-on cover that's transparent. The cover doesn't even line up properly with the reservoir itself. What a waste of money.
The T connectors and fill ports are also much larger than what I expected. In the pictures online, they appeared to be no bigger than a standard 1/4" ID fitting, but they're much larger than that in real life.
I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them up. Too tired tonight to take care of it, and the pump noise with the air bubbles is driving me nuts.