performance computer logo

SSUPD Meshroom S Build Guide & Review: LOBO + QDT Edition

This is the first part in a series we will be doing on the SSUPD Meshroom S SFF (small form factor) computer case. In this build we will be featuring an Intel Core i9-13900K + an RTX 3080 for a workstation build. In Part 1, we will be custom water cooling the CPU and GPU with a 280mm radiator using only a CPU pump block combo unit with no internal reservoir. This will be accomplished by using Koolance’s latest QDT quick disconnects in combination with the Modultra LOBO CPU block + pump heatsink. In Part 2 we will add a second radiator, with the goal of it being a 2nd 280mm radiator if we can manage to fit it in the case.

The Meshroom S is the direct successor to the Meshlicious which has been to date, our favorite mini-ITX case. It is nearly identical in design however there have been several updates. Improvements to the original design include support for ATX and mATX motherboards, a bracket to mount a 2nd radiator (240mm and 280mm supported) on the side and an additional USB Type-A port at the front. Because these cases are so similar, we’ll skip straight to building this time.

ssupd meshroom s build guide and review

To begin, we installed our two M.2 SSDs into the ASUS Z690-I Strix motherboard. The process is the same as the Z490 version we used in our Meshlicious, unscrew the M.2 heatsink and put one drive on the top section and one underneath. This board has a tool-less, screw-less lever to secure the M.2 drives which is far better than the tiny screws that we’ve used in the past. Next, we installed the CPU.

asus rog strix z690 i 13900k

Modultra LOBO CPU Waterblock + Heatsink Installation

The next component is by far one of my favorite parts of this build: the Modultra LOBO (low boy) CPU water block + heatsink. This is a completely custom, incredibly well-made CPU block that has some really interesteding features. It’s designed to house a DDC pump (not included) and it’s the only product of its type that simultaneously cools the pump and CPU! First, we’ve got the pump top/heatsink, its screws and a thermal pad with our DDC pump in the background.

modultra lobo heatsink thermal pad screws
Y

ou’ll need to remove the original pump top which is secured with four torque screws.

modultra lobo ddc pump

Next, remove the plastic pump housing by popping the pump out of it with a flathead screwdriver. Be sure not to lose the pump’s O-ring.

ddc pump disassembly

Place the pump into the LOBO, O-ring side down. Next, use the Kapton tape included with the LOBO to cover the solder joints and pump wiring like this.

modultra lobo ddc pump installation

Place the included thermal pad over the pump circuit board in the correct orientation.

modultra lobo ddc pump thermal pad installation

Finally, secure the heatsink in place with the four included torque screws.

modultra lobo review

Here it is installed on our motherboard. Again, this CPU block is in a class of its own. It’s made of solid brass and you can feel every ounce of it. This is a part that you can carry over from build to build indefinitely. The block uses a Cerakote coated finish which has a very premium feel to it and is extremely resistant to corrosion.

modultra lobo installation

It also looks awesome. The solid metal finish. The machined holes on the sides and its low-profile design make it a really cool looking piece of tech. Add in the fact that it actually cools a DDC pump, eliminating the largest drawback to DDC style pumps, this is a huge breakthrough and cannot be overstated.

modultra lobo ek torque fittings

The only area for improvement would be the backplate. It comes with four standoffs and four O-rings which are a little difficult to install perfectly without the O-ring slipping out of place or being squeezed to one side. It was also a little difficult on our ASUS motherboard because the standoffs on the backplate did not penetrate through the holes on the motherboard, so we had to hold it together while screwing in the mounting screws on the CPU side. This was made worse by a metal bracket that ASUS uses on the back of the motherboard to hold secure the CPU socket.

We’ve been told by Modultra that they have additional products in the works, and we very much look forward to seeing what they pull off next!

GPU Waterblock Installation

The next order of business is to install the GPU waterblock which is easy if you’ve never done it before. Simply remove the backplate which is held on by about 12 screws. Then separate the GPU heatsink from the GPU itself. Be patient with this step as the old thermal paste can be a surprisingly strong adhesive. On this model GPU there are four wires which also need to be disconnected. Again, take your time and be careful here. Once the heatsink has been removed, a naked GPU is revealed with lots of old thermal paste and pads to remove.

evga rtx 3080 xc3 ultra disassembly

We used a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol to remove the thermal paste and clean the GPU die (the shiny part in the middle).

evga rtx 3080 xc3 ultra cleaning

Next cut and apply the included thermal pads to the GPU. Add some thermal paste to the die and place the block on the GPU.

evga rtx 3080 xc3 ultra thermal pads

Turn it over and use the included washers and screws to secure the block to the GPU.

ek water block installation on evga rtx 3080 xc3 ultra

Done and I’ll give EK credit, they still have the best-looking GPU blocks out there. This looks clean and industrial at the same time. This is the plexi version so you can see the water going through the block after you fill your look and run your pump.

evga rtx 3080 xc3 ultra with ek waterblock installed

To make things easy for a double radiator build, we will be using a rotary 90° terminal fitting on our GPU block. First remove the included terminal by unscrewing the three black torque screws.

ek rtx 3080 waterblock

Then install the terminal fitting, making sure the O-rings are in the correct position. Now, we have two 90° fittings coming right out of the GPU, giving us more flexibility on the GPU side of the case to run tubing.

ek rtx 3080 rotary 90 terminal fitting

In ATX builds, this doesn’t matter but in ITX sandwich style cases like the Meshroom S, a terminal fitting like this can make all the difference in the world.

ek rotary 90 terminal fitting

Here’s the Meshroom S stripped down, without any side panels. I like the new power button placement. It’s very clean and hardly noticeable which is a pus to me. The first thing we did was move the spine into 4-slot mode so there will be more room on the GPU side of the case to accommodate a future 2nd radiator.

meshroom s pc case

We installed our Corsair 280mm radiator and the two 140mm Noctua chromax fans. Having installed both custom liquid cooling systems as well as AIOs in cases like the Meshroom S, Meshlicious and FormD T1, I can tell you it is so much easier to install the custom water cooling systems. You can just slide the radiator in without having to deal with the non-removable tubing and CPU block, making working around the radiator far simpler.

meshroom s 280mm radiator

An improvement from the Meshlicious is the addition of a GPU hold down bracket which is very sturdy when installed.

meshroom s gpu installation

You secure the GPU from underneath.

meshroom s gpu mount

Here’s the motherboard installed.

meshroom s itx motherboard

Koolance QDT Quick Disconnects

Next, we started planning our tubing runs and working with the Koolance QDT3 quick disconnects. I’ll admit I was initially skeptical of using quick disconnects for several reasons. There’s a lot of talk on Reddit and other forums about how they reduce your flow, leak and are bulky and difficult to deal with. Koolance recently released their sixth generation of quick disconnects called QDT so I figured I’d take a chance with them.

koolance qdt quick disconnect packaging

I was initially set on using black colored QDs (quick disconnects) but the new QDT series is only available in nickel. They are also use hose clamps instead of compression fittings. Between the color and the hose clamps I was starting to think these would be a pain to deal with and would look terrible in my build. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, the hose clamps were so easy to work with, I would gladly swap all the EK compression fittings I’m using to these clamps, they are that much easier to work with…

koolance qdt quick disconnects

There are two halves to a Koolance QDT quick disconnect: male and female. Each half has a barbed fitting on one side to which the included hose clamp will secure your tubing. The other half is a special fitting which plugs into its opposite (male-female). The way these work is you plug them in together and you hear the most satisfying click noise when they connect. To disconnect, you simply pull down on the female end while holding the male end, they break apart and literally one miniscule drip of coolant escapes. That’s it!

koolance qdt quick disconnect assembly

To connect the male and female ends, first align them.

koolance qdt quick disconnects connected

Then push them together.

koolance male female qdt quick disconnects

Here’s a close up of what they look like.

koolance quick disconnect hose clamps

These quick disconnects have 3/8” barbed fittings. If you are using EK ZMT tubing, you will need larger hose clamps which Koolance makes and we have linked below.

koolance quick disconnect barbs

As for the nickel color, I think it goes great with the GPU block and adds some much-needed color to this nearly all black build.

koolance qdt zmt tubing

These things are my favorite part of the build and I’m so glad I took a chance on them. Koolance has made some incredible parts here. They have a great feel to them. You can tell these could be used on machines in a factory every day and still last forever. The team at Koolance was also extremely friendly and helpful when it came to choosing these fittings. They make them in several sizes and in threaded variants which can be directedly connected to parts such as radiators or distribution plates.

koolance qdt installation

The QDTs make the sometimes-difficult task of filling the loop incredibly easy because I simply connected an external D5 pump/res combo unit and ran it on its own while my main pump was off. Here is the external setup before I connected it to the rest of the loop.

koolance quick disconnect ssupd meshroom s
koolance quick disconnects nickel
meshroom s modultra lobo build

Here is the external setup before I connected it to the rest of the loop.

meshroom s external reservoir filling

I disconnected the QDs from my main loop and connected them to tubes that will be installed on the external pump/res.

meshroom s external d5 pump reservoir

Here’s everything connected, ready to be filled.

meshroom s quick disconnect reservoir

I used Koolance’s LIQ-702 High Performance Liquid Coolant in this loop which is a glycol-based coolant. First, their coolant bottle is brilliantly designed. It comes with a tube you connect to the bottle and then you squeeze the bottle to fill your reservoir.

koolance 702 coolant

Every other manufacturer wants you to buy a separate billing bottle. My favorite quality about it though is the fact that you can run this same coolant in your loop for up to 3 years without changing it. They don’t put a bunch of crap in the coolant to make it unstable, this stuff is actually made for water cooling components and simply works well. I prefer clear coolants but it’s also available in yellow, red, blue, green and purple.

koolance 702 coolant clear

I love the way the quick disconnects stand out in the loop, they add a very industrial look which demands attention!

meshroom s 3080 watercooled build

These are very short tubing runs but working with the ZMT tubing and EK torque compression fittings was not easy in such a confined space. I can’t imagine working with these in a smaller case like the FormD T1.

meshroom s watercooled build

There is a temperature sensor is located on the bottom radiator port on the GPU side.

meshroom s rear io

We’ve also added an Aquacomputer Octo to this computer. It is hidden in the GPU chamber on the back side right above the GPU cable hole cutout. The temperature sensor connects to the Aquacomputer Octo along with the pump and both radiator fans. If you’ve never tried an Aquacomputer Quadro or Octo, you absolutely must. The level of control they provide through the Aquasuite software is unparalleled and I now have a completely silent workstation system because of this amazing little circuit board. It is well worth the money if you are custom water cooling.

meshroom s aquacomputer octo

Here’s the front 280mm radiator and two Noctua NF-A14 140mm fans.

meshroom s noctua nf a14 chromax

One last shot of the front with the Modultra LOBO. Along with the QDTs and Octo, the LOBO is definitely one of the highlights of this build.

meshroom s 13900k watercooled build

Rear I/O shot.

meshroom s power button

We also tried the SSUPD braided DisplayPort 1.4 cable.

ssupd braided displayport cable

The cable is very thick and feels great. It’s angled so you can install it through the GPU cable hole for a clean look.

ssupd braided displayport cable review

It’s 6.5’ length is perfect for my build which will sit on my desk next to my monitor.

ssupd displayport cable

Temperatures

We haven’t had much opportunity for benchmarking but for now with the current cooling setup, our temperatures are as follows. These temperatures are with one tempered glass side panel on the CPU side and no panel on the GPU side. The only component currently overclocked is the RAM to run at 5600MHz via an XMP profile.

Idle:

Load (45 mins – 1 hour of Witcher 3 at max settings on a 60Hz monitor):

Conclusion

This is by far my favorite build to date. I love ITX cases and packing as much power as I can into a tiny footprint. The Meshroom S while very similar to the Meshlicious, includes several meaningful improvements and there’s no reason to choose the Meshlicious over its successor. We still believe that the Meshlicious/Meshroom are the best SFF cases for custom water cooling. They’re small enough that that they can fit on your desk while large enough to support 280mm radiators for adequate temperatures and low noise with high TDP parts.

The one thing I don’t like about the Meshroom is that the side panels are very difficult to remove compared to the Meshlicious. I felt that the Meshlicious required the perfect amount of pull to remove its side panels.

We will be doing a Part 2 where we will push this case to its limits by adding a 2nd radiator as well as trying out the SSUPD aluminum case feet.

Computer Parts: (Purchase On Amazon)

Watercooling Parts: (Purchase On Amazon)