Streacom DA6 XL open-frame ITX case gave me an idea for a PC build that is different than anything you have probably seen. With the help of Alphacool, we created an ITX PC with incredible cooling potential, in still quite a small form factor.
The PC uses popular components easily available in online stores, so if any of our readers are interested in something similar, then they can recreate it at home. It won’t be cheap, but it’s possible without problems.
I wish to thank Alphacool and Streacom, who provided most of the build components.
General specifications
| Processor | Intel Core i7-13700K |
| Motherboard | MSI MPG Z790I Edge WiFi |
| Graphics Card | Powercolor RX6800XT Red Devil 16GB |
| RAM | G.Skill Trident Z5 32GB DDR5-6800 CL34 |
| PSU | Lian-Li SP850, 850W 80+ Gold SFX |
| Storage | Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB NVMe SSD |
Cooling Components
Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge (black digital RGB), two NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper X-Flow 280mm radiators, Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-A (as one of not many blocks that fits our RX6800XT Red Devil graphics card), a set of eight Rise Aurora 140mm fans, Laing DDC310 pump, and a set of fittings, brass/black hard tubes and cutting tools
| CPU block | Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge Black Digital RGB |
| GPU block | Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-A RX6800/6900 Red Devil |
| Radiators (x2) | Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper X-Flow 280mm |
| Fans (x8) | Alphacool Rise Aurora 140mm |
| Pump | Alphacool Laing DDC310 |
| Reservoir | Alphacool ES 1U – DDC version |
| Hard Tubes | Alphacool 13mm Deep Black |
| Coolant | Alphacool Eiswasser Crystal Clear UV-aktiv |
| Fittings | Alphacool Eiszapfen Pro 13mm |
| Additional tools | Alphacool HardTube Metal Cutter 3-25mm, Eistools Strong Guy Rohr |
All listed components, and many more, can be purchased from Alphacool Shop.
Cooling Components – A Closer Look
The Final Build
As you can see below, the build is vertical, which was much easier for the form with two radiators. Light components in the center with white PSU as the main idea was to use white light. Everything looks great in purple, yellow, or red, too.
Test Results
As far as the i7-13700K CPU couldn’t overclock much higher than on the 360 AIOs, then it was possible to set fans at a much slower speed of 600-800RPM without a significant temperature difference. The CPU was still boosting about 100MHz higher on single cores than on a 360 AIO cooler from ASUS or Deepcool, and its temperature was about 6-9°C lower, depending on the test. What we gained here is mainly the low noise under full CPU load.
More impressive results are related to graphics card performance and temperatures.
The RX6800XT Red Devil graphics card temperature dropped by 30°C! (for both the GPU and the hot spot). Even at the maximum power limit and raised voltage, its temperature was barely higher. The difference between auto and overclocked temperatures were only 2°C. Only GPU power draw was up to 323W, so in total, the Alphacool water block was handling about 360W. Assuming the cooling on the CPU and GPU could handle about 600W translated into heat. There was still a headroom.
Alphacool cooling provides great results and is cheaper than competitive products, so it’s hard not to recommend it.
I hope our PC builds inspire our readers to design original, dream PCs, and we keep publishing articles like this one. Keep visiting us and if you wish to present your own PC, then feel free to do that in the Mod-my-Box section.
