[SOLVED] Best alternative position for Deepcool Castle 240 AIO (won't fit at top of my case) ?

[J_77B]

Hello everybody,

I've just purchased the DeepCool Castle 240 AIO and realized it won't fit at the top of my case because it's too thick.

I'm here to ask your opinion on what would be the best position for it (excluding the top section).

You can see below my case on the inside.

Options are:

1: At the front, removing the 2 top fans (otherwise I wouldn't have the screw holes to install the radiator actually occupied by the fans) positioning the fans on the top case, but in this case I would leave the GPU with less ventilation.

2: At the bottom, but here the AIO fans won't have any clean air to pull inside, plus it would make the PSU section hotter.

Option 1 could be the best, but not aesthetically, making from outside the front of my case fanless with the radiator exposed.

Thank you in advance.

 

[iPeekYou]

Do the nudges on the fan mount rail interfere with the AIO? If they do, you can use pliers to flatten/move them somewhat to get better clearance. Mount the AIO in push configuration afterwards. I had a case with similar mounting system and I managed to fit AIO in that configuration without using pliers, just mounting the rad normally. AIO inside, and fans as they are mounted now, on the outer side.

Alternatively, a janky way to do it is using zip ties (daisy chain if too short) to mount the fans and rad to the rail. Slip the ties through the fan screw holes up front, through the holes on the rad, across and out to the rad screw mount, then out the corresponding fan hole. Going sideways instead of across for "cleaner" look, across is more secure.

Don't put the rad on the bottom. No good reason to do so except for SFF cases like how NZXT does theirs. Air gets trapped in the pump in the long run, risk of noisy pump (from the air), and as you mentioned, there's no space for airflow to go through.

GPU temps won't really suffer from an AIO upfront. See Bitwit's video on AIO placement, he covers the open-style GPUs too and how they are affected by front mount AIO vs top mount. There's another fan on the bottom, and really you only need air to move. Intakes don't do a whole lot for temps, they're there for keeping flow instead. A fast airflow fan on the rear exhaust is good enough to help GPU temps. I saw 4 degrees reduction moving from a crap fan to an 110CFM Yate Loon on the rear exhaust.

Edit addition: not everyone's aesthetics, but you can go all in for the "fanless" look. Mount the rad and fans inside, and move the bottom fan inside as well. Personally, if I can't fit the AIO securely with screws due to the stupid nudges, this is what I'd do. Like the look and too lazy to flatten the rail.

Also, does that case have a space between the front and the tempered glass panel? If there's no space then it's choking the airflow either way. The fans will just recirculate warm air instead of pushing ambient air in.

Another edit, unrelated: Is it possible to route the 24-pin cable behind the side panel and out through the cutout right beside the motherboard? Looks cleaner that way.

 

[J_77B]

Do the nudges on the fan mount rail interfere with the AIO? If they do, you can use pliers to flatten/move them somewhat to get better clearance. Mount the AIO in push configuration afterwards. I had a case with similar mounting system and I managed to fit AIO in that configuration without using pliers, just mounting the rad normally. AIO inside, and fans as they are mounted now, on the outer side.

Alternatively, a janky way to do it is using zip ties (daisy chain if too short) to mount the fans and rad to the rail. Slip the ties through the fan screw holes up front, through the holes on the rad, across and out to the rad screw mount, then out the corresponding fan hole. Going sideways instead of across for "cleaner" look, across is more secure.

Don't put the rad on the bottom. No good reason to do so except for SFF cases like how NZXT does theirs. Air gets trapped in the pump in the long run, risk of noisy pump (from the air), and as you mentioned, there's no space for airflow to go through.

GPU temps won't really suffer from an AIO upfront. See Bitwit's video on AIO placement, he covers the open-style GPUs too and how they are affected by front mount AIO vs top mount. There's another fan on the bottom, and really you only need air to move. Intakes don't do a whole lot for temps, they're there for keeping flow instead. A fast airflow fan on the rear exhaust is good enough to help GPU temps. I saw 4 degrees reduction moving from a crap fan to an 110CFM Yate Loon on the rear exhaust.

Edit addition: not everyone's aesthetics, but you can go all in for the "fanless" look. Mount the rad and fans inside, and move the bottom fan inside as well. Personally, if I can't fit the AIO securely with screws due to the stupid nudges, this is what I'd do. Like the look and too lazy to flatten the rail.

Also, does that case have a space between the front and the tempered glass panel? If there's no space then it's choking the airflow either way. The fans will just recirculate warm air instead of pushing ambient air in.

Another edit, unrelated: Is it possible to route the 24-pin cable behind the side panel and out through the cutout right beside the motherboard? Looks cleaner that way.

Thanks for your reply.

Thing is there's no room at all for the radiator to be screwed on.

The rail is completely covered by the fans, only way would be removing them from the front rail, or as you said using zip ties and keep fans out and rad+fans in.

Fanless look could be a good option, you're right the 3 fans on the front are only recirculating because of the front glass, which can be removed though.

Thank you for the 24pin tip, will do that, yes can be done.

Agree with all you said, I'm gonna totally ruin the nice look of this case, but moving the 3 fans up and leaving the front for the aio is the best way to set it.

EDIT: I may keep the third bottom fan on the front, they won't fit on the top anyway, case too short.

 

[iPeekYou]

You can remove the top 2 front fans first, then reinstalling them with the long screws from the AIO kit. Use those fans as the push fans. Add the rad+fans it came with as pull, inside the case. This is the aesthetics approach.

Ideally, you'd want to use the 2 fans as push/pull, and use the AIO fans in the same way. Since the front fans are ring LED fans, I understand that that will look kind of janky.

If you're into DIYing a bit, get some spacers to give some space between tempered glass panel and the case. I assume once the glass is removed, the front panel is bare without filters or mesh?

Is there some ventilation or mesh beside the fans? I can see some sort of foam/rubber beside the fans in your picture in first post, but can't be sure of what those do. What case is this?

 

[J_77B]

You can remove the top 2 front fans first, then reinstalling them with the long screws from the AIO kit. Use those fans as the push fans. Add the rad+fans it came with as pull, inside the case. This is the aesthetics approach.

Ideally, you'd want to use the 2 fans as push/pull, and use the AIO fans in the same way. Since the front fans are ring LED fans, I understand that that will look kind of janky.

If you're into DIYing a bit, get some spacers to give some space between tempered glass panel and the case. I assume once the glass is removed, the front panel is bare without filters or mesh?

Is there some ventilation or mesh beside the fans? I can see some sort of foam/rubber beside the fans in your picture in first post, but can't be sure of what those do. What case is this?

This would be the most easier and convenient config as possibile.

I don't really have right now the specs of my front fans, do you think they would be ok for the radiator? I don't necessarily need the DeepCool fans for it?

So summing up:

Keep the front fans, add the radiator on the inside of the case screwed to the actual 2 top fans (they're already in push).

Place the radfans on the top in pull facilitating the airflow which will be pushed from the front fans and expelled from top(aiofans) and back(original fan) case.

This is great! Yes if I remove the front glass there won't be any filters or mesh.

Case is:

 

[iPeekYou]

This would be the most easier and convenient config as possibile.

I don't really have right now the specs of my front fans, do you think they would be ok for the radiator? I don't necessarily need the DeepCool fans for it?

So summing up:

Keep the front fans, add the radiator on the inside of the case screwed to the actual 2 top fans (they're already in push).

Place the radfans on the top in pull facilitating the airflow which will be pushed from the front fans and expelled from top(aiofans) and back(original fan) case.

As long as you keep the rad fans in pull behind the rad, it'll probably be fine. You're just giving the Deepcool fans a bit more static pressure with the case fans as push. You need as much as you can get, seeing the vents on the side are right beside the fans where they should be bit more to the front of the fans.

Deepcool AIO fans are quite decent, I have one from my Captain 120EX and they're about on par with high-tier fans. They're bit noisy if you compare them to Noctua, but those brown fans are hella expensive.

To reiterate: all you need to do is replace the screws on the front fans with the long ones from the AIO, inserted from the front, through the fans and rail, then into the rad.

Yes, basically either: 1) use the case fans as push and AIO fans as pull, or 2) pair the case fans and AIO fans each to push/pull.

Best of luck.

 

[J_77B]

As long as you keep the rad fans in pull behind the rad, it'll probably be fine. You're just giving the Deepcool fans a bit more static pressure with the case fans as push. You need as much as you can get, seeing the vents on the side are right beside the fans where they should be bit more to the front of the fans.

Deepcool AIO fans are quite decent, I have one from my Captain 120EX and they're about on par with high-tier fans. They're bit noisy if you compare them to Noctua, but those brown fans are hella expensive.

To reiterate: all you need to do is replace the screws on the front fans with the long ones from the AIO, inserted from the front, through the fans and rail, then into the rad.

Yes, basically either: 1) use the case fans as push and AIO fans as pull, or 2) pair the case fans and AIO fans each to push/pull.

Best of luck.

Thank you very much IPeekYou, great support I will post the work as soon as I receive the AIO (3105-0406) see you soon .

 

[Phaaze88]

There should be an option 3 to return the cooler.
Where's the airflow at the front?
A hybrid cooler needs access to air just as much as cpu and gpu air coolers do, otherwise you end up with higher liquid temperatures, which can accelerate wear and tear in the pump room.

You're just giving the Deepcool fans a bit more static pressure with the case fans as push.

I'm not sure it works that way...
With the front fans flush against the glass/acrylic panel, and air intake practically non-existent around them, we probably have a similar situation to the Bitfenix Enso where the front fans were recirculating already warmed air inside the chassis, because they had nowhere else to grab air from.
I'd bet those front fans also aren't very strong; preinstalled fans, plus they're RGB = static pressure low.
They're not going to do much together with the Deepcool fans other than add noise. When trying to do push-pull, the fans should at least be the same... I say, at least, because there is an alternative, but it wouldn't work well here.

EG Diamond ATX Tower Case
Not much info on this particular model.

I'll wait and see how things go.

 

[J_77B]

There should be an option 3 to return the cooler.
Where's the airflow at the front?
A hybrid cooler needs access to air just as much as cpu and gpu air coolers do, otherwise you end up with higher liquid temperatures, which can accelerate wear and tear in the pump room.



I'm not sure it works that way...
With the front fans flush against the glass/acrylic panel, and air intake practically non-existent around them, we probably have a similar situation to the Bitfenix Enso where the front fans were recirculating already warmed air inside the chassis, because they had nowhere else to grab air from.
I'd bet those front fans also aren't very strong; preinstalled fans, plus they're RGB = static pressure low.
They're not going to do much together with the Deepcool fans other than add noise. When trying to do push-pull, the fans should at least be the same... I say, at least, because there is an alternative, but it wouldn't work well here.

EG Diamond ATX Tower Case
Not much info on this particular model.

I'll wait and see how things go.

Yes you’re right, only intake is on both side of the third bottom front fan, you can find it on picture nr.2.

I hope that would be enough.

At the moment the 3070 goes from 50 to 70 celsius while gaming, pretty good I’d say.

If it won’t go under 60 with the AIO I will make te return probably.

What if I set the top AIO fans as push? there is a big grille on the top of the case, that would provide nice fresh air, but only back fan will be pulling.

 

[Phaaze88]

Fans draw in a funnel shape in front of them. Those small gaps on the left and right sides are almost, if not completely on the sides of the fans. How does that work?


What big grille? The pictures suggest there's just a 120mm grille up top. If the pictures aren't accurate, and it's larger than that:

What if I set the top AIO fans as push? there is a big grille on the top of the case, that would provide nice fresh air, but only back fan will be pulling.

It presents another problem: The typical air cooled gpu dumps its heat in the box, then that's going to clash with the top air intake... it's going to be worse for the gpu.

 

[DSzymborski]

Honestly, I'd return the AIO and use the money to upgrade the case instead. This case really looks like a nightmare thermally and your current cooling solution looks good; it's better to have a good cooling solution and a good thermal case than a slightly better cooling solution and this case. An AIO is a lot of additional money to not address the larger issue.

 

[iPeekYou]

I'm not sure it works that way...
With the front fans flush against the glass/acrylic panel, and air intake practically non-existent around them, we probably have a similar situation to the Bitfenix Enso where the front fans were recirculating already warmed air inside the chassis, because they had nowhere else to grab air from.
I'd bet those front fans also aren't very strong; preinstalled fans, plus they're RGB = static pressure low.
They're not going to do much together with the Deepcool fans other than add noise. When trying to do push-pull, the fans should at least be the same... I say, at least, because there is an alternative, but it wouldn't work well here.

I understand those ring LED fans are weak. Have some of those around for non critical airflow that needs pretty lights. Especially on the SP side. The Deepcool fans are decent for what they are, pressure wise.

My point here is that he asked whether the case fans can be used instead of the included AIO fans. I said use them in conjunction with the AIO fans.

OP will need all the pressure he needs. There are a few cutouts at the side of front panel. Not ideal, but not exactly Enso.

 

[J_77B]

Didn’t go well.

The front fans push the air through the radiator which makes an hot airflow inside the case.

In result the temperatures are not stable going up and down continuously, overall the GPU is hotter as you mentioned before.

I had my doubt placing the radiator inside and the fan outside pushing through it but now I have the clear proor that this doesn’t work.

I’ll ship it back tomorrow.

Thank you all

 

[DSzymborski]

Didn’t go well.

The front fans push the air through the radiator which makes an hot airflow inside the case.

In result the temperatures are not stable going up and down continuously, overall the GPU is hotter as you mentioned before.

I had my doubt placing the radiator inside and the fan outside pushing through it but now I have the clear proor that this doesn’t work.

I’ll ship it back tomorrow.

Thank you all

As above, you improve thermals by addressing the weakest component in terms of thermals. Your weak spot was easily the case. Intake AIOs work just fine in properly designed cases, but yours has similar airflow to someone trying to use a cocktail stirrer to go scuba diving. Already starved for airflow, the radiator couldn't be cool down easily and what air managed to get through the anemic vents and the radiator was very hot.

Use the money for the AIO after the return to address the actual problem: the case.