Is it possible to fit watercooled setups in midi-sized tower cases? or is it real cramped?
And on most cases do you have to cut holes for the radiators or do they bolt right in?

Thanks,

Pete

It can easily be done with a mid tower.

as for the radiator, it depends on the radiator. you can get some that bolt right in, but you'll have to do some cutting to fit the best radiators.

It depends on the amount of hardware you have in your case beforehand. If you're not using a floppy, two optical drives, and only one HDD, fitting everything will be easier.

As for the radiator, you are going to need to have some fun modding if you're going any bigger than the fan holes in your case. If you get a mid tower with a 120mm fan hole, this would be ideal since you are able to get quality and the size you'll need for a good system. 80mm radiators exist, but to get at least some high performance cooling you'll want a bigger rad.

If you want all the space in the world to deal with, go with a full tower. They can be found just as cheap as mid's, or just a bit pricier but worth it.

Yeah 120mm dual rads look nice but I don't see where you can put them on most cases as they don't have two 120mm fan holes next to each other. Does this call for modding? And how much lower are the temps from rads mounted outside the case? Do the fans on those draw air through the rad from the inside of the case? I like the idea/look of internal mounting....

Pete (learning)

Going dual 120mm rad style will definitely call for modding, and the most common place to put such a contraption is on the top of your case(underneath the top is what I mean, although mounting it externally on the top could give you a cool factor look if done right).

Depending on many factors, temps could usually only get better if mounted outside the case. How much better depends on the airflow situation that is in place beforehand. If you have plenty of intakes for fresh air to make its' way quickly to the rad, it will cool almost as well as if it was outside the case. If you do mount it on the top, look into cutting some side panel fans that blow air underneath to the rad fans.

Having two fans sucking air out of the case (placed on TOP of the rad, so Rad-->Fans-->Top of Case mounting system) and out the top is the best idea, and if the side intakes are placed correctly then you won't need any fans pushing air onto the rad.

BTW, look through the galleries and the Extreme Cooling sub forum to find many examples of what people have done. To search for anything specific, just type in what you're looking for in the "Search" box, select "Forums" and you should get a wealth of information comparable to Billy Goat's riches.

Quote: Originally Posted by SYNERGY Is it possible to fit watercooled setups in midi-sized tower cases? or is it real cramped? And on most cases do you have to cut holes for the radiators or do they bolt right in? Thanks, Pete

I fit inside my Lian-Li PC60 a DVDBurner, 2x Seagate 120 SATA disks, a dual 80mm radiator (Black Ice Micro II), a Swiftech MCP600 pump, and a single 5 1/4" Bayres.

Yeah, it's a bit cramped. But, it does all fit. Totally selfcontained.

The BIM-II In fact attaches to the already present dual 80mm intake fans in the front of the case (well, it attaches to one, the other doesn't line up quite right, but it's pretty secure in there).

It might be less crowded if I didn't have an Audigy in there, I could move the pump back a little.

Performance perhaps isn't all it could be, with a bigger rad, but it's pretty good. I run my 2.8C @3.5 at around 40C Load. and Ambient is warm in here usually. I also have the intake fans on my case at the lowest level for noise reasons. I've also rheostat'd my pump, so It's not at full flow.

For my next system, I'll definately go with a full tower, or maybe one of the mountainmod monsters. I'm waiting for BTX, though, I'd hate to drop a few hundred bucks on a new ATX case right now (since I already have one that works nicely)

If you are looking to buy a new case, I'd suggest one that has a 120mm intake or exhaust, as that will make fitting a radiator/heatercore easier. I already had my PC60 when the WC madness struck me, so I made it work. Might have been easier had I gotten a new case, as well.

Quote: Originally Posted by SYNERGY Yeah 120mm dual rads look nice but I don't see where you can put them on most cases as they don't have two 120mm fan holes next to each other. Does this call for modding? And how much lower are the temps from rads mounted outside the case? Do the fans on those draw air through the rad from the inside of the case? I like the idea/look of internal mounting.... Pete (learning)

120mm dual rads in a midi tower would probably have to go somewhere likethe case panel or inbetween the PSU and optical droves - ofcourse unless its a decent case there may not be sufficient room.

Almost all midi'd have an 80mm exhaust or 2, so you dont have a problem for rad space. The reservoir could be fitted either outside the case for easy refill, or in the spare 5 1/4 bays. The pump can go underneath the hard drive bays, ofcourse all these components are size dependable - you can get very samll setups, the most obvious dissadvantage being performance.

ok so it can be done but it sounds easier to work with a larger case. The thing I don't get is that the case specs i've seen don't really tell you about fan configurations? or have I only seen some bad examples?

Pete

The Antec SLK3700AMB has both 120mm fan holes in the front and rear, it is the case i am using and have been very happy with it. it is heavy, as it is all steel construction. but the quality is by far the best part of it. It can be found on Newegg HERE for about 62 bucks.

EDIT: It even comes with a decent 350watt PSU....

Quote: Originally Posted by SYNERGY ok so it can be done but it sounds easier to work with a larger case. The thing I don't get is that the case specs i've seen don't really tell you about fan configurations? or have I only seen some bad examples? Pete

Evidently so, Shop at www.newegg.com they show you plenty of angles and give you all the dimentions you'll need.

erm, BTX? new standard?

Pete