Franken-Pooter Revisited: Rebuild in Deepcool Matrexx 70 case! I recently found myself needing to build a new PC for my son; as a result, I kicked my old RX580 and the Matrexx 55 RGB case down to him, while rebuilding my own rig with an Aorus Waterforce RTX2080 Super in a new
Deepcool Matrexx 70 case. A mid-build MB failure put this project on hold for ~6 weeks; I'm finally getting the last few bits together and buttoning it up.
I quite like the understated, minimalist design of this case; lots of smoked glass and flat panels. Improvements in this newer model include huge full-length air filter on bottom of case, all panels tilt-out including glass front, glass basement cover, and much more premium "feel" to fit & finish of top-side buttons & ports. The only thing it doesn't have that really bothered me is no top-side USB-C; this I resolved with an aftermarket USB-C socket hidden under the top magnetic filter.
I've gone with a slightly more evolved thermometer with probe in direct contact with the CPU; this version is backlit LCD with digital readout and a color-coded bar graph. I'm still deciding whether I actually like it better, or just like that it's something different after decades of the same simple 3-digit LED meter.
I've done some tidying up since my last iteration, where I just installed the Waterforce RTX2080 Super as it came; their horrible wiring of the fans with zip-ties over the braided hoses is now under some simple split-loom, and I covered the CPU hoses to match. I've bumped up to a full 32GB RAM now, and all the main power cables are now done with individually-braided cables to clean up the look & make them match.
This build is going full reverse-flow; all air comes in from the back and bottom, and exits through the top and front where the rads are. This means only ambient temp air inside the case; unlike direct air-cooled builds where CPU and/or GPU are preheating the air other systems are using for cooling.
PSU has its own airflow in from bottom and out the back, while reversed case fans pull fresh air in at upper rear of case and out lower front of case to provide crossflow ventilation for VRMs and chipset coolers.
A 3D-printed magnetic filter over the back fan ensures only fresh air coming in there, too.
At this point, I need to do some cleaning in the workbench area to get the space ready for it; I'll probably do that some time after Discord.
Enjoy!
mnem