Monoblock for H11DSi/H11DSi-NT

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grsychckn

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Feb 26, 2019
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I ordered 3 Hybrid-Cooling monoblocks for the H11DSi but none of them ever came. So when I found @MrCake117 selling one on E-bay, I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, the quality is pretty lacking. For the price it's fine, but the VRM heatsink is over 4mm away from the controllers and the jet plates have very rough and sad fins (not to mention that the contact surface is small - I think they used AM4/2011 plates). Now, the unit I have I think was a prototype so maybe they changed the final design but I'm afraid I'll never know.

Now that I have it in my hands though, I don't think it's worth taking the time to design a loop around. So I designed my own. I'm looking here to see if anyone is interested in a group buy to help me reduce my costs of getting a few because I have two systems that could use a good monoblock.

I'm including pictures below. Areas where my design splits from the HCM design:

1. CNC'd copper cold-plate for the chokes & MOSFETs. Only 1mm clearance between the MOSFETs and the cold plate, larger area of coverage.
2. Reuses the Bykski V1 TR4/SP3 cold plate as I had three of these in my possession and they are relatively cheap. It looks like I can't get more of the V1 blocks like I have now so I'll have to modify the design for the latest version. I'll be reusing the plate, o-rings, and mounting hardware so the cost of just the cold plates is expected to be around $100/monoblock ($50 x 2).

The main body will be Acetal and the cold plates will be nickel plated copper. The VRM heatsink will be copper. I have identified an o-ring supplier that I hope can provide me with the width/length o-rings I need (Viton, 90 durometer). I have a laser cutter so I'm hoping to be able to cut the two smaller acrylic panels for the top myself.

Pictures
Second picture below shows the 0.9mm gap between the MOSFETs and the copper heatsink. The last picture shows the VRM heatsink rotated so you can see the fins that are inside the monoblock.






Price: At least $250US. That gives me approximately $20 margin (excluding development/prototype costs) and I don't expect to produce more than 50 or so. To keep it in perspective, I'm going to pay somewhere around $1200-1500 for the prototype. I'm clearly not interested in making money, just want a good solution for the H11DSi.

Lastly, I cannot offer a warranty other than the parts free from defect from shipping. If there is enough interest, I will sell them on my website (SALVO STUDIOS, LTD.) or on my Etsy page for international customers (stupid VAT). However, in both places they will be listed as for display purposes only - use at your own risk as I will not ensure the protection of $10k+ hardware when I'm not making a dime of profit. Should I produce these for sale, I will stand behind the product and help anyone that needs it (with parts, modifications, etc.) but I do not want the responsibility of replacing hardware because something leaked. For that reason, I would figure out a JIG that would allow for some form of leak testing (probably pressurized and then monitored to see if pressure changes).

If you're seriously interested, let me know by replying to this thread. Thanks for reading and if you have questions please let me know.
 

grsychckn

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Feb 26, 2019
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Update: I tossed the Bykski blocks in favor of some BarrowCH blocks I purchased that also included an OLED screen. I updated the model for the new cold plates and screen mounts, then 3D printed a prototype for hole locations. Everything seemed right so today I ordered 5 of these monoblocks to be manufactured. I plan on using at least 2 and although I don't have the H12DSi, it would seem these to be compatible with that motherboard as well. Pictures of the printed samples below.

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grsychckn

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Feb 26, 2019
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That is a baller build man.

Any pics of the gpu side?

I might have gone with Optimus for the plate tho.
First off - thanks!

I don't have any picture of the other side. You can check out my build thread if you want to see what it looks like though. I'll be placing the GPU on the mainboard side and using either my own 240/DDC res combo or the EK Quantum 240 DDC combo on the rear with my PSU.

As for the Optimus - I agree that it's probably the best in terms of quality, but I had 5 of these monoblocks made and I managed to get the Barrow units for VERY cheap (closeout). They also included the temp screen which I thought was cool.

I'm working on wiring up the screens today but I just realized they are 5V so I'll have to adapt to a molex unless I want to buy a stepdown converter.

I also want to polish all the copper plates (20 in all) which is going to take a while. There's also the choice of whether I want copper tubing and black fittings, or copper fittings with black tubing. I'm leaning towards the latter because I already have the black tubes, but that's the least expensive thing so I'm open to any thoughts.
 

grsychckn

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Feb 26, 2019
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I managed to test the monoblock today finally. Prime95 running on a pair of ZS Rome 64-core CPUs with the Rome Overclocker set to "best of both". Managed to sustain 2.8GHz for 30 minutes on both CPUs.

CPU1 Max Temp: 89.7 (Tdie/avg)
CPU2 Max Temp: 89.1 (Tdie/avg)
CPU1 VRM Max Temp: 79.0
CPU2 VRM Max Temp: 75.0

I used Tdie/avg because on CPU2 the Tctl/avg is constantly reporting 71C. That value on CPU1 seems to be working but I don't think I trust it completely.

I have an aggressive fan curve on my dual 280mm radiators. I use a Aquatuning Quadro usb fan controller for my pump and my fans and it accepts temperature input from any temp sensor you can wire to it. I've got an inline water temp sensor that I'm using and spent only about 15 minutes tweaking the curve before running the test.
 

Leo Atreides

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Dec 23, 2020
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What do you get with high-multicore ? I have 2 AIO watercoolers that I need to make a chassis for the same board and chips and curious about potential performance outcomes.
 

grsychckn

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Feb 26, 2019
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What do you get with high-multicore ? I have 2 AIO watercoolers that I need to make a chassis for the same board and chips and curious about potential performance outcomes.
Sorry, I can't run the high-multicore numbers as I have to ship it out to be reviewed. When I get it back I'll do some more in-depth testing.
 

esses

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Mar 12, 2018
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Just adding I also ordered an H11DSI-NT waterblock from Hybrid-Cooling. Said it shipped in September and then..nothing. No tracking number, no response to query (even though my French is abysmal) on their website.

So.. consider yourself warned.
 
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grsychckn

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Feb 26, 2019
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Just adding I also ordered an H11DSI-NT waterblock from Hybrid-Cooling. Said it shipped in September and then..nothing. No tracking number, no response to query (even though my French is abysmal) on their website.

So.. consider yourself warned.
Oh, I'm very familiar. I spent over $2800 on parts and blocks from them in an attempt to be a US reseller for some of their products in early 2021. Never saw any products but some of the G1/4 plugs I ordered. Even then, the box arrived destroyed and opened with some of the plugs missing.

Supposedly, Killian (my contact) is going to issue me a refund but I haven't seen it yet and it's been too long for me to request a refund from PayPal. He claims that he's not a thief, and I'm sure that's not their intention. But they do have awful logistics and suppliers that can't meet their deadlines. TBH, I think their suppliers are too cheap and they are getting what they are paying for.
 

grsychckn

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Feb 26, 2019
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Looks nice! Is it possible to order? I'm also curious about how to watercool my H11DSi-NT..
Thank you! Yes, you can order them now and I am only waiting on the shipping materials to arrive before I can pack and ship them.

 

gsrcrxsi

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Dec 12, 2018
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thanks! I ordered one. finally the perfect solution to watercool these boards. and this is a great price too.
 
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grsychckn

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Feb 26, 2019
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Well, I wish I had seen this a lot earlier.

Seems you are sold out. Any plans to restock?
Unfortunately, I'm not planning on having any more made. Perhaps I underestimated the potential market as well because the 3 I had available to sell sold out within a few days which is very quick for me. I would consider producing more but a few major challenges prevent me:

1. Liability if a monoblock fails. This could significantly increase the financial liability because 1 failed block could mean 10s of thousands of dollars of damages.
2. Price. I don't see how I could produce anything less than 100 units while keeping the price at or below $300. The 3 units I've sold were well below my costs (I didn't think they'd sell so quickly).

Alternatively, I might be open to sharing the models if users want to pay to have their own fabricated, but unless you have a CNC milling machine it's going to be around $300-500 for just the main Delrin block to be machined (at qty 1 unit). Not to mention that a different cold plate will require a new design.

I'm open to your thoughts & ideas, so please share!
 
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gsrcrxsi

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Dec 12, 2018
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I definitely think that even though the market is small, there are still many users who want to water cool this board. The CPUs really aren’t in dire need of water cooling, but the CPU VRMs are with high power CPUs. And the odd size/shape/placement of the CPU VRMs on this board makes it difficult to do with OTS parts. A monoblock is a very elegant solution. there was a French company that was supposed to make a monoblock, but it was vaporware and/or a scam and never materialized.


I think you’d still get some buyers if you designed and offered a custom VRM only block at least. Lower costs, but mounting might be a challenge without using the CPU Mount points. But at least some people could cool the VRMs with water and use OTS waterblocks for the CPUs or just use air coolers.
 

Leo Atreides

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Dec 23, 2020
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Something like this is ideal for Kickstarter, I think you can charge more that 300, but if you wanted to go for 100 then you can say thats the minimum you need for it on the listing. You have already done everything you need to sell a few, and your photos and story can come from your pics and posting here. You could list it for 400usd with 50 min sales ( ie $20k ), if your MOQ is 100 then you can keep the surplus and sell it off from stock.
 

gsrcrxsi

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Dec 12, 2018
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FYI. I got my monoblock! I’m geographically close to the OP though. Probably will be a few weeks before I have time to install though.
 

Spartus

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Mar 28, 2012
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Toronto, Canada
I could foresee as many as 6-8 in my future, but it wouldn't be immediate commitment at that level, so yeah scaling will be a problem.

I would be interested in the model, there is someone who might be able to help with fab.