Water Cooling Versa H22

[Luchr1s]

Hello, I have a Versa H22 case and I'm thinking about getting a custom water cooled loop. However I am not sure if my case will be compatible with the custom parts i need. Do you think I need a different case, or is it fine. Also is there any website where I can pick out water cooling parts and check compatibility? Or do I have to make measurements to my case and check the parts online?

 

[coozie7]

It won't support a full sized radiator internally, if you keep it you'll either have to mount the rad at the rear or on the top.
A great deal will depend on your own modding skills and how tidy you want the final build to look. If you're not too bothered about looks, keep the Versa if you want a cleaner build, you'll need to look elsewhere, externally mounted radiators often have a Heath Robinson look I, personally, don't like, so much so that when I went full liquid myself I opted to get a more suitable case rather than adapting the existing Corsair Spec 03 that previously housed my rig.
We need to know where you live before we can offer links!

 

[Luchr1s]

It won't support a full sized radiator internally, if you keep it you'll either have to mount the rad at the rear or on the top.
A great deal will depend on your own modding skills and how tidy you want the final build to look. If you're not too bothered about looks, keep the Versa if you want a cleaner build, you'll need to look elsewhere, externally mounted radiators often have a Heath Robinson look I, personally, don't like, so much so that when I went full liquid myself I opted to get a more suitable case rather than adapting the existing Corsair Spec 03 that previously housed my rig.
We need to know where you live before we can offer links!

Thank you for the tips, but why do you need to know where i live to send me links?

 

[coozie7]

Not making myself clear, not exactly where you live, just your country, Toms is international so it'd be pointless of me to offer you UK links (where I live) if you're in India.

If you elect to swap cases be a little careful which one you choose, there is several out there that have no 5 1/4" drive bays, while others may not support a thick radiator.
Probably the best way forward would be to select the cooling loop parts then a case that is suitable. If you purchase a case like the Phanteks Enthoo for example, you won't be able to use a bayres (reservoir and pump in one unit that fits into one or two 5 1/4" bays) because the Enthoo has no 5 1/4" bays.

 

[Luchr1s]

Not making myself clear, not exactly where you live, just your country, Toms is international so it'd be pointless of me to offer you UK links (where I live) if you're in India.

If you elect to swap cases be a little careful which one you choose, there is several out there that have no 5 1/4" drive bays, while others may not support a thick radiator.
Probably the best way forward would be to select the cooling loop parts then a case that is suitable. If you purchase a case like the Phanteks Enthoo for example, you won't be able to use a bayres (reservoir and pump in one unit that fits into one or two 5 1/4" bays) for example because the Enthoo has no 5 1/4" bays.

Oh, I live in the United States

 

[coozie7]

I hoped someone else would pick up on this, I'm not exactly an expert in liquid cooling-even though my rig is under a custom loop.

So, a few questions:

1: What part/s do you want to cool?
2: Do you use the 5 1/4" bays? Or, more importantly, can you live without them?
3: What is the budget? A full loop for CPU and GPU is going to be expensive-it could easily go over $400!

 

[rubix_1011]

I built a full CPU+GPU loop into a mITX case - it can be done, much of it depends on how much space you still have to work with.

1: What part/s do you want to cool?
2: Do you use the 5 1/4" bays? Or, more importantly, can you live without them?
3: What is the budget? A full loop for CPU and GPU is going to be expensive-it could easily go over $400!

1 - Yep, the 2nd most important question here
2 - Yep, might have to go with a 5 1/4 pump/res drive bay (EK makes a DDC single bay one - I use it)
3 - The most important question, all else is dependent on this.

Can you give some details to coozie7's questions and maybe post a couple photos of your build so we can get an idea of what you are looking at?

 

[Luchr1s]

I hoped someone else would pick up on this, I'm not exactly an expert in liquid cooling-even though my rig is under a custom loop.

So, a few questions:

1: What part/s do you want to cool?
2: Do you use the 5 1/4" bays? Or, more importantly, can you live without them?
3: What is the budget? A full loop for CPU and GPU is going to be expensive-it could easily go over $400!

I built a full CPU+GPU loop into a mITX case - it can be done, much of it depends on how much space you still have to work with.

1: What part/s do you want to cool?
2: Do you use the 5 1/4" bays? Or, more importantly, can you live without them?
3: What is the budget? A full loop for CPU and GPU is going to be expensive-it could easily go over $400!

1 - Yep, the 2nd most important question here
2 - Yep, might have to go with a 5 1/4 pump/res drive bay (EK makes a DDC single bay one - I use it)
3 - The most important question, all else is dependent on this.

Can you give some details to coozie7's questions and maybe post a couple photos of your build so we can get an idea of what you are looking at?

1: I want to cool my CPU and GPU
2: I only used 1 of 3 external bays for my optical drive
3: I'm going for a $500 budget

Also I'm having trouble getting pictures onto my thread, I'm trying to use Instagram

 

[rubix_1011]

You're first going to want to figure out what your loop TDP is going to be and then determine what you will need in terms of radiator space.

 

[coozie7]

^ Sort of leading up to that 'please give us full system specs' question-probably should have requested this critical info earlier.

@ Luchr1s: From what I can see the Versa H22 won't be suitable for your plans, unless you intend to make some fairly...interesting, modifications to it.
There's no space in the front or under the front panel to install a radiator. Even if you remove the HDD cages there seems to be no way to attach the rad and fans to the front of the chassis because TT locates the front intake fans on a plastic carrier frame that clips into the front and from what I can see there's not enough space between the floor and the top 5 1/4" bays anyway.
There's no space in the roof, although there is a large vent there it's not pierced to accept either fans or a radiator and there's no space between the roof and top fan/motherboard either.
The only viable internal location is the one TT support: In the rear fan location but a single 120mm rad isn't going to be enough to cool an entire system unless it's very low powered.
Personally, I think a more suitable case is in order.

Depending on the parts you want to cool, it may be better to go for improved air cooling rather than going for a water loop, but that will depend on exactly which parts are installed in the system ATM.

Bear with us here, this is an expensive question, and a complex modification, with many possible pitfalls.

 

[Luchr1s]

^ Sort of leading up to that 'please give us full system specs' question-probably should have requested this critical info earlier.

@ Luchr1s: From what I can see the Versa H22 won't be suitable for your plans, unless you intend to make some fairly...interesting, modifications to it.
There's no space in the front or under the front panel to install a radiator. Even if you remove the HDD cages there seems to be no way to attach the rad and fans to the front of the chassis because TT locates the front intake fans on a plastic carrier frame that clips into the front and from what I can see there's not enough space between the floor and the top 5 1/4" bays anyway.
There's no space in the roof, although there is a large vent there it's not pierced to accept either fans or a radiator and there's no space between the roof and top fan/motherboard either.
The only viable internal location is the one TT support: In the rear fan location but a single 120mm rad isn't going to be enough to cool an entire system unless it's very low powered.
Personally, I think a more suitable case is in order.

Depending on the parts you want to cool, it may be better to go for improved air cooling rather than going for a water loop, but that will depend on exactly which parts are installed in the system ATM.

Bear with us here, this is an expensive question, and a complex modification, with many possible pitfalls.

Yea, didn't think my case would be suitable, but I will give you my specs:
CPU: AMD FX:6300
GPU: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X
MOBO: MSI 970 Gaming
Operating System: Windows 7 64 bit
PSU: EVGA 500 Watt 80+ Bronze Certified
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9300 AT

Also If this is the case will a Full Tower case be suitable for water cooling? Any suggestions?

 

[rubix_1011]

I still think it's possible, but you're going to need to know what your loop TDP is going to be...what is the load your CPU and GPU both at 100% load? Hint: Google is your friend, here. Also, I have a spreadsheet linked in my signature below that can help estimate radiators you may need for your loop.

 

[coozie7]

^ Only if the OP mounts the rad externally, there's no room inside for one, except for a single 120mm unit in the rear exhaust fan location, at least that's what it looks like from the review and specs I have found.

 

[rubix_1011]

Looks like there is also 2x120 in the top? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133249

Is this the same case?

 

[Luchr1s]

Looks like there is also 2x120 in the top? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133249

Is this the same case?

Yep, this is the exact case I have.

 

[Luchr1s]

^ Only if the OP mounts the rad externally, there's no room inside for one, except for a single 120mm unit in the rear exhaust fan location, at least that's what it looks like from the review and specs I have found.

Yeah, that case has some bad reviews, when I get the time and money I will get a larger and better case so I can fit everything nicely. Also thanks to you and Rubix for helping me on this, I appreciate it.

 

[coozie7]

@ Rubix_1011: It's the same case and I thought the same as you: Easy problem, just put the rad in the top but if you check the interior photo you'll see there's no clearance between the top of the case and the motherboard and/or the rear exhaust fan.
Same for the front: It'll accept dual 120mm fans but they clip onto a plastic bracket which, in turn, clips into an aperture the case front, which is blocked internally by the HDD cages behind it.

If the OP is happy to mount a rad externally, it won't be too hard to mount it over the top grille, depending on internal clearance he could put the fans internally with the rad outside the case, and cut holes in the case top to pass the hoses and fittings through (sounds bad but with the rad over those holes and a pair of auto bulkhead wiring grommets it's not too untidy), this is how I got a big rad onto my Spec 03 BTW. And no, front mounting wasn't an option: Dual HDDs meant I had to keep the HDD cages in place or it would have gone in there nicely.

So, Luchr1s do you want to swap cases or get the drill and Dremel out and adapt the current one?

 

[rubix_1011]

@coozie7 - It is a little difficult to tell (I didn't look as closely before), but I see what you are saying about the internal clearance - there really isn't much room, even for fans.

 

[Luchr1s]

@coozie7 @rubix_1011 I will get a new case, I honestly think that i will mess up if i try to mod my case, I'm probably going to go with a fractal design case, but any other suggestions I will take a look at, thanks guys.

 

[rubix_1011]

Nice job by coozie7 for looking at the details.

Man, I need to get my eyes checked or just drink more coffee.

 

[coozie7]

^or just drink more? 😉

 

[rubix_1011]

I brew my own beer and have around 30 gallons at any one time in my kegerator.

 

[coozie7]

^ YIPE!

@ Luchr1s: Did you mean to select me? If not I can deselect the reply and effectively reactivate the thread.

Sorry 'bout the delay, things happened after my last reply.
Like I said Fractal Design are great quality parts but not very well suited to liquid cooling although several companies do make cases that are very well designed for this: Deepcool, Thermaltake, Phanteks and NZXT all make excellent parts the Phanteks Enthoo and TT MasterCase are particularly good but styling is always going to be a personal choice, so I won't make more than these general suggestions.