New h20 cooling project - looking for advice *pics*

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xoliverx

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Hey gang. Long time lurker/reader, 1st time poster.

I am a 8 year h20 cooler. I went from an ugly but effective ford radiator/panaflo home made block combo (tbird 1200) to a koolance exos-al (amd xp 2800+). My new h20 cooling setup is an evga 790i ultra, evga 280 gpu, e8400 wolfdale @ 3.6 ghz.

As such, my poor old Exos-AL can no longer keep up with all this overclocking and commotion.

I am the proud new owner of a thermochill pa 120.3 radiator and will be using an old Lian Li v2100 case to be its host. I'll share some pics and try to explain my predicaments/problems and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Option 1 ;

cam156.jpg


Here is the how I am considering mounting the radiator/fan combo... in the bottom compartment, it would go case/rad/fans. In my mind, the wheels would provide enough space for the fans to pull in some good cool air.

Option 2 ;

cam157.jpg


case/fans/rad. This would be easier provided the metric screws provided by Thermochill but is less aesthetically pleasing to me. Can anyone comment on any performance advantage to be had in either configuration?

Furthermore, I am very nervous about attacking this case with my jigsaw as nothing so beautiful has ever seen its blade. Anyone have any tips for making the perfect cuts on the bottom to mount this bad boy? I'm particularly concerned with lining up the screw holes. :eek:

----------------------------------

Next potential issues ;

The below pic shows a mockup config of the pump and PSU bracket w/ fans in the back.

Eheim corporate claims the pump orientation as seen is a non issue and will not affect performance. One thing bugging me tho is, if the only outbound airflow from this soundproofed bottom compartment is on the bottom of the flipped PSU bracket and below the top of the rad, this could be a bad thing eh? I'm looking to have this setup as quiet as possible and avoid a fan wind tunnel but perform like the thoroughbred that it is. What do you guys think?

cam160.jpg


Another thought ;

cam162.jpg


Another pump config that eheim claims would work fine provided it is wet. Has anyone found out different?

Thanks in advance for any help. I hope to get this project off the ground and will post more pics of my progress.

-oli
 
Use the third pump orientation (IE: on the bottom of the subfloor) as it looks the best IMO (Just make sure you fill the loop as much as possible before turning the pump on).

case/fans/rad. This would be easier provided the metric screws provided by Thermochill but is less aesthetically pleasing to me. Can anyone comment on any performance advantage to be had in either configuration?
Click to expand...

No quantifiable advantage either way. Do whatever you like the looks of :)

Furthermore, I am very nervous about attacking this case with my jigsaw as nothing so beautiful has ever seen its blade. Anyone have any tips for making the perfect cuts on the bottom to mount this bad boy? I'm particularly concerned with lining up the screw holes.
Click to expand...

Have any chalk? Mount fans to the radiator using a bit of sticky tack or double sided tape, then COVER the outward facing fan side with a thick layer of chalk. Press it onto the outside of the case, where you want the rad to go. This will leave a template, in chalk, which you can draw over in sharpie marker.

The fans can be removed and washed under hot running water (yes, even in the electronics, as the bearings are sealed) and dried however you want.
 
Thanks for the reply arcy. The chalk idea sounds like a good one.

What do you think about the only hot air exhaust in the lower compartment being the 2 fans mounted below the top of the rad + psu exhaust?
 
xoliverx said:
Thanks for the reply arcy. The chalk idea sounds like a good one.

What do you think about the only hot air exhaust in the lower compartment being the 2 fans mounted below the top of the rad + psu exhaust?
Click to expand...

Not going to cut it, IMO.

It's too bad you can't mount the radiator on one side, blowing out one of the case side panels (perhaps the rear panel) ala TJ07...

Bottom mount rads have never been my preference.
 
Looks nice! I think mounting the pump on the sub-floor is the best location as it makes more room for other stuff. Just remember that computer pumps will not run unless you have water in them.

Was cruising around recently and came across this link that might be helpful in cutting your case for a radiator.

Make sure you see how your PSU is going to sit in the case. Some PSU's have holes in the top of their case and it looks like your going to be mounting it upside down.

Another place to put your pump would be in the extended ATX area, just to the left of your MB.
 
Figured I'd update my progress and get some thoughts/opinions.

An overall shot, radiator placement, akasa soundproofing mockup. res mounted, pump in mockup placement.

P1000182.jpg


120mm blowhole made up top w/ ac ryan radgrill...will house a scythe g 1200rpm.

P1000186.jpg


Here you can kind of see the 114mm fan intakes. They will of course be covered w/ dust filters.

P1000187.jpg


One more generic shot. Cut up the 120mm exhaust for improved airflow on rear of case, will be an intake.

P1000189.jpg


One thing I'm very concerned with is the res placement...I might have to find a place to relocate it due to the length of my mobo (evga 790i ultra) + vid card (280). Damn the man...it will be close, if it doesnt fit, anyone have any ideas as to how I could keep the res mounted in its approximate location? i.e. move it 1/2 inch? Would only then have 2 screws holding it in...perhaps fabricate a metal piece to extend the mobo tray? *shrug*

Let me know what y'all think and I'll keep you posted.

-oli
 
A possibility for the res placement if it doesn't fit with the mb installed. You can use a male to male fitting, attaching your res directly to the pump. This might give you a bit more flexibility - e.g. moving it over so it isn't actually attached to the mb tray.
 
Finished the project...a few minor setbacks with cabling not being long enough etc but all in all its great.

CPU/GPU cold as all get out overclocked the wolfdale e8400 to 4ghz w no problem.

Thanks for all the help...

General shot ;

P1000195.jpg


Top Compartment ;

IMG_0060.jpg


Bottom ;

IMG_0059.jpg
 
xoliverx,

Great outcome, I was watching your thread here with interest because I happen to have the same original V2100. Absolutely love the case...

Have a question for you, I was thinking about moving my psu to the upper part of the case as you've done here, is there any mod you had to do to the bracket to get this to work? I noticed you appear to have the psu upside down and then right side up in different pictures...

Last night, I tried this and the only way I could get the psu properly aligned with the holes was to install it upside down, but then the divider would cut off air flow to/through the psu.

Turned out to be quite a project when I thought i just needed to flip the panel, I tried about every configuration of flipping/turning the panel conceivable...do I need to drill new holes or something?

Any tips?

Best,

Liquid Cool
 
hey liquid, sorry for the late reply. You're right the psu was in the wrong position in the earlier pics.

I put the whole thing together without realizing the problem...fired it up and got a couple hard lock ups as a result of the toasty PSU (i think).

To remedy this, I flipped the PSU bracket, removed the little riveted PSU holder and literally drilled new threaded holes in the back of the PSU housing. I removed the components of the PSU prior. It was fairly time consuming but worth it given the predicament of bottom mounting the rad.

If you do it, just make sure to remove the psu guts and go slow :p

I'll try and take a pic for you this weekend as I'm going to rip the thing apart and make some tweaks w/ tubing, wires, and adding an HDD fan.

cheers,

-oli
 
In the pics it's primochill 3/8" ID, 1/2" OD.

I would not recommend this tubing to anyone though because at one point, coretemp was showing 55 degrees celsius...I popped it open and found 2 ugly kinks in relatively straight lines.

Replaced it this week with Tygon 3603, same ID/OD and it seems great so far.
 
Laing DDC-3.2 (18W) pump w/ XSPC Top.

Got from Petra's Tech Shop. Great online retailer.
 
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