Case for a PA120.3

[BMS]

Hi

Does anyone know of a case that would easily fit the above radiator with little or no modding. Or does anyone have an example of one fitted neatly to the ouside of a case that looks good.

Budget not really an issue but lets not get too carried away

Thanks in advance

 

[Rugger]

For the Rad you're going to need a full tower or a large mid-atx. The Stacker 830 would probably take it in the bottom of the case. There is mesh ventilation that might be long enough to accomodate the 120.3, but I would make sure to do some measurements. Take a look at:
1. Height of rad plus fans - the 120.3 is a thick rad.
2. Placement of motherboard and possible conflict between GPUs and rad/fans.
3. Think about where you want to place the pump and noise absorption material.
4. Reservoir placement if going that route instead of a T-line.
5. Take a look at the forums over at www.xtremesystems.org. There is a lot good watercooling gouge there, too.

What type/size of tubing are you planning on using? What's the reason for water: high performance or low noise?

 

[BMS]

I'm intending on using 1/2" tubing. Hopefully gonna be quite a good setup using good parts. I have read that the PA series seem to be the best radiators and i'm also gonna include the D-TEK fusion CPU block, the MC655 Pump etc. I'm hoping to have a well overclocked machine but still run pretty quiet. The PA120.3 apparantly works well with low CFM fans so it seems ideal although if needed, i could add another PA120.1 in middle of loop if needed.

I've read a bit of the Xtremesystems forums and they are excellent but i can't find a post that answers my question

i've looked at a lot of cases and posibilities...

The Antec P182 or 900 and mounting rad outside (on top)

The Thermaltake Armour and mounting the rad outside (at back)

The stacker 810 and posibally mounting it on inside at top

Or a Lian Li and mounting it somewhere on inside

 

[Rugger]

When you put a 120.3 - or any 3-fan rad - inside a case you are likely to have to do some modding to get it to fit and still get good airflow and cool air going over the rad. I personally like watercooling to be inside the case. I think it looks better and is neater, but that is a matter of personal aesthetics. One mans trash heap is another mans palace. What components are you wanting to put in the system? How high will you actually OC your rig? Are you going to push it to see how much it will scream or moderately OC it to get more value from good components? We all want a good balance between price, performance, and noise and your answer to those question willl drastically impact what is a good recommendation for your needs and system usage.

 

[BMS]

Well ideally i'd like to be overclocking my e6600 to 3.6GHz and also slightly overclock and watercool an 8800GTX. Possibly even add the Northbridge in too if I can manage it.

I too would prefer it in the case but if it's going to be a lot simpler and cost effective, I wouldn't mind mounting it on back/top of case.

Thanks for the replys so far

 

[Rugger]

If you're going to constantly run that OC and want to add that 8800, then I do think that water is the best route. You can get a higher OC and keep it cooler, quieter than air solutions over a longer period of time. To balance quiet and cooling I would go with the PA160 and a Laing DDC+ with a modded top like the Petra Top. The PA160 will come with a shroud for a 120mm fan and will nearly equal a PA120.2 performance while minimizing the need for fans. Get some good quiet fans and put them on a fan controller like the Zalman ZM-MFC1. I like the ability to switch a couple of fans between 5V/12V and 4 others with finer tuning. The modded DDC+ should give better flow/head, be as quiet or quieter, and smaller than the Laing D5. To top it off, the change in rad/pump will make it much easier to fit the system inside the case. JMHO.

 

[BMS]

Thanks for the advice mate.

Would a PA160 be able to keep them cool enough (including the NB)? I was opting for the PA120.3 as I thought I would need the extra cooling but if the PA160 can handle it all the better

 

[Rugger]

I haven't had that exact setup running, so I can't say definitively that it will work and you will have XX temps. I would expect that the PA160 would keep the temps within 10C of the 120.3 assuming that the rest of the rig setup was the same. You will have a much easier time placing it into a case and routing the tubing. One other suggestion is to use 7/16 Masterkleer. You can use it with 1/2" fittings, it will not appreciably affect flow, and will be much easier to bend/route than 1/2".