Build Advice Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 - Watercooled + Now with side window!

I had the Phobya res like that mounted horizontally in my old Cosmos 2 and it was pretty good, because it meant I could have some of the tubes going up the back panel with the cables instead, of through the case.

 

Dxtory is pretty good so the overclock isnt totally needed. But is good to have for video render. Will post my settings tomorrow if I have the time.

See what advice I can get.

 

Shortly after posting my build log for the Nanoxia Deep Silence I was super pleased to see that Nanoxia had reposted it on their Facebook page and on a few other forums around the web. I began chatting to one of the guys over at Nanoxia, and knowing that I was dying to show off the internals of the gorgeous rig I’d just built to the world, he very kindly offered to send me over a prototype side panel! What a result.

Two working days later a not-so mysterious package arrived from me from Germany, where Nanoxia are based.


IMG_6214 by Penderyn, on Flickr


IMG_6215 by Penderyn, on Flickr

Inside was, of course, the prototype side panel with a built in window.


IMG_6218 by Penderyn, on Flickr


IMG_6219 by Penderyn, on Flickr

The idea of the Deep Silence 1 with a side panel is an interesting one. On the one hand, it’s clear from its no nonsense styling that the case isn’t necessarily aimed at those who like to show off. On the other, what with the cases great watercooling potential, it seems such a shame to hide away a gorgeous custom loop. Selling a separate windowed side panel is a bit of a no brainer then.

Naturally the colour of the panel matches the rest of the case exactly. In that respect its identical to the stock side panel. However, aside from the window, where the new panel differs from the old is in its weight. The old panel is substantially heavier, and this is purely down to a lack of sound dampening material on the inside of the new panel.

This is a little bit of a shame in my eyes. Obviously, installing a window compromises the sound deadening abilities of the panel straight away, but any sound dampening foam is better than none. Admittedly though, it’s possible that Nanoxia tested this, and with the window, in place, adding dampening material around it made no difference to noise levels. I had some acoustipak dampening material spare, and added my own, which at least made the panel a little heavier and less prone to vibrational noise.

The actual window is very nicely inset into the panel, unlike some manufacturers who mount the window on the outside of the case.


IMG_6220 by Penderyn, on Flickr

Due to this design, Nanoxia have achieved a very clean looking window, in keeping with the rest of the case (as much as a side panel can!). The acrylic used for the actual window is perfectly clear, with no colouring – that is left up to you.

For users with tall heatsinks its worth knowing how far the window intrudes inside the case, as this can sometimes be an issue.

IMG_6223 by Penderyn, on Flickr


The placement of the window is perhaps the most important aspect of the side panel. As previously mentioned, a lot of case manufacturers design a great looking case, but let themselves down by placing the window in strange places, showing off parts of the case that builders don’t necessarily want on show, such as the 5.25” bays. Nanoxia have sensibly focused purely on the motherboard area, with the top of the PSU showing, along with a reservoir (if mounted on the rear), the GPU and CPU.


IMG_6229 by Penderyn, on Flickr


IMG_6231 by Penderyn, on Flickr


If you use a 60mm thick radiator it the roof, like we have here, the two fans (assuming they are mounted on the bottom of the rad), will also be on show, so you had better choose some ones you like – Corsairs SPs with their customisable coloured rings might be a good choice. We used Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1850s with black fan guards which match the motherboard and look great. For users of 40mm radiators, the bottom of your fans will likely line up perfectly with the top of the window.


Untitleddd by Penderyn, on Flickr

So, with the side panel on , we can subjectively say that there is a very small increase in noise from the case (remember though, I’ve added some acoustipak foam), but nothing that detracts from the fact that even with the side window, this is still a very, very quiet case.

With the case window installed, the system obviously needs some lighting. We ordered a Phobya RGB light kit from Scan. For those unfamiliar with this, it really is truly excellent. As well as extremely high density LEDs, the kit comes with an infra red remote, allowing you to change the colour/brightness/pattern of the light strip without digging about inside the case. What a revelation – I really should have owned one of these forever. Review incoming!

As you can see below, despite offering all colours of the rainbow we settled on boring old white, on the second highest brightness level. This showed off the gorgeous UD7 motherboard, the Ballistix Tactical Tracer DDR3 and its own running lights, and the Mayhems Orange that we added to the distilled water, and created a frostly looking black/white/blue/orange theme which in my opinion shows off the rig, without looking like a mini Las Vegas.


IMG_6277 by Penderyn, on Flickr


IMG_6239 by Penderyn, on Flickr

If nothing else, Nanoxia’s willingness to address critics and customers responses to their first case should be applauded, and is a good sign of things to come for the company. So, get your dyes and lights out Deep Silence owners – it’s time to show off all that hard work.

 

Veeery nice

 

nice. Nice res placement and foam/rubber for the pump too. You cant see it with the window on (at least in the pics)

 

You need a ring of white LEDS within the case to evenly light it up. Probably affixed to the back of the side panel so it shines inwards --> reflects off the motherboard/hardware --> you see the innards through the case window without seeing the LEDs.

Wrong board, but have to say it looks great!

Did you buy the anti-vibration pad for the pump or..? It's the best I've seen.

 

Thanks dude! Its certainly nice having the res on show like that. I'm going to pop two white LEDs in the top to illuminate it today. Will update with pics.

I agree, the lights are the Phobya RGB LEDs controlled by remote (so you can change the colour at will, or even turn them off altogether), so I need to get another chain - will do so on my next Scan order.

Thanks for the kind words Bindi, I would have totally used a ROG board if I could have got my hands on one (and actually asked here as the GB was giving me some jip), but sadly none were forthcoming - you can't blame people for holding onto them!

The anti vibration pump is a Shoggy Sandwich (nostalgia alert?) - I've had it for years but only got round to using it for this build. I'm sure you could fashion your own, but it really does make the pump utterly silent. Its held up at an angle by an EK 90degree radiator mount, that just so happens to fit the DDC pump perfectly - love it when a plan comes together.

 

Now with awesome.

 

Great build Parge, inspiring! Good to see Nanoxia helping out the fans, definitely don't see that very often. If I go WC I'm gonna have to get creative cramming it into a Fractal R2

 

Nice work.

 

Absolutely perfect, Tom.

I've been thinking about the DS1 ever since the Bit-tech review, and I'm considering a similar layout; with two 240 rads, but using the inboard 3.5" drive cage and mounting my D5 atop it fed by a 5.25" drivebay reservoir.

Nice work, and thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks dude.

I actually swapped the lighting strips about last night, so they now sit behind the reservoir and light it up. Because of the anti corrosive glycol I popped in, it’s almost like a Mayhems Aurora effect, looks awesome. The downside is that it lights up the IO ports. I need to mod some matt black acrylic to cover them up.

What I would say regarding the above is to be careful the Pump on top of the HD rack doesn’t clash with your GPU – unless you are using a short 670 (mine is a 670 but 680 PCB) then I’m not sure it’ll fit.

You could get a bay res with space for your D5 if you really do want one? Or you could just go with a similar setup to me, either way the case is great, and I'd really love to see what some other people do with it.

 

Yep, I'm running a reference 670 and mATX mobo so there should be enough space.

I'm not keen on pumps being directly coupled to drivebay reservoirs - it makes them harder to isolate, and the D5 bay reservoirs are appallingly expensive - If I cough up for one of those, I can't afford the DS1.

I've picked up a cheap single bay res, which will serve adequately.

 

I totally agree - and thats why, although easy and elegant, I've totally moved away from bayres/pumps combos now.

On that subject, Monsoon have released a new D5 Bayres that supposedly isolates vibrations, but being Monsoon, it is of course over $100!

 

Knowing Monsoon, it's probably gorgeous too.

Just waiting for pay day, and then I'll pull the trigger on a DS1. My Lian Li V1200+ has served me well, and undergone several operations, but I'm looking for a quieter case. Believe it or not, I'm not that struck on the external appearance of the DS1 - it's a bit too close to looking like the P180 clones - they aren't ugly, just a bit too minimalist, but the feature list has won me over.

Just a quick one - do the doors fold back against the side panel? I completely forgot to check that detail.

 

It is a looker, and has some nice features, such as built in G1/4 holes for premium Monsoon silver bullets.

I'm not 100% sure on the doors as mine open towards the wall so never get further than 90 degrees. Off the top of my head they fold 180 degrees rather than 270, but I can check for you later!

 

I'm entering this thread a bit late (In fact more than one year after the thread was started, and nearly one year since the last post), but since it's so similar to what I am planing to do I was best of asking here for some pointers.

The last year or so I have been dipping my toes in water cooling in the form of AIOs, but I recently upgraded to a Nanoxia Deep Silence One as my old NZXT H2 was far from optimal to run water cooling in (I only barely fit my X40 in it). When I ordered my case I also ordered myself another AIO to cool my GPU (Corsair H105) and so far it's showing me good results. I am however at a point where I figure I might as well take the step to a full custom loop, especially as the case is so well built for it.

I am planning to use a dual 5.25 reservoir paired with an Alphacool VPP655. I will be using this setup as I have a blueray drive I will be using and I want to mount my 2 3.5" HHD and 2 SSD's in the bottom of the case. Your build has given me some pointers that will help me on the way to a quieter case. I am however pondering about placing a thin 140mm rad in the back of the case as well just to top it all off. Do you think that would be a possibility or would that just be a total waste? also would the 5.25 res be a problem to set up in this case or would it be just as simple as your build?

PS: I'm gonna go with the Alphacool Monsta in the front so...