120.3 rad in a mid tower (lots of pics)

[calvin]

Goal was to find a mid tower with space internally for a 120.3 rad, since space in my desk where the case resides severely limits my height options.

Mid Tower Case, Chenbro SR107, 16.7 inches of cooling goodness :thumbsup:

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/SR107_front.gif

Triple rad, Black Ice GTS360 XFLOW:

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/radmb_800x600.jpg

Pump, MCP350 (18w), Alphacool Top

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/pump_640x480.jpg

Desk shot, an inch or so to spare :cool: :

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/Front1_640x480.jpg

Behind the door, 3x5.5, 1x3.5, 8x hdd. Res is Alphacool Repack, plastic body (very nice IMO).

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/front_bays.jpg

A few learnings with this project:

Have seen questions about DDC plus pump noise. Well I can advise the pump is dead silent when mounted rigidly. Have mine secured with two 1/4x20 socket cap bolts, nylon insert nuts, underneath the pump is a micocellular urethane gasket. I honestly cant tell whether its running or not, first few days kept looking at the res to confirm the water was circulating - which it is, really fast :D.

Tubing is Primoflex. Before I had 7/16 Tygon. Its flexible and seals great. I applied clamps on the two blocks but could have saved myself the effort. No clamps elsewhere and every connection is leak tight. Fortuneatly I didnt pay much for the clamps as they were on sale LOL.

Despite the comments re the Xflow rads performing poorly compared to single pass versions - all I can say it manages my current hardware just fine. I dont ever plan on dual gpu so the routing benfits XFLOW provided me was more benefical. So please dont slag me. :nono:

Chenbro make a sweet case. :clap: Fit and finish is excellent. Can buy optional hot swap back planes as well :woot: Down the road when funds allow.

Thanks for visiting, if you made it this far --> :toast:

[creidiki]

Too bad you chose X-Flow, good old dual-pass outperform them in every way, they dont even have less flow restriction :(

[eXa]

nice! looks cool with the pump inside that chamber!

[calvin]

Too bad you chose X-Flow, good old dual-pass outperform them in every way, they dont even have less flow restriction

LOL yes I went against popular wisdom. But to be honest it works great and for the heat load my system generates the XFLOW in triple format is just fine. I see this as more of an issue with smaller rads.

[creidiki]

popular wisdom? no, popular wisdom in less-informed cicrles is that theyre worth buying, what we have is hard data.

but yeah, looks nice apart from that, good work.

[Nanometer]

Amazing that you fit that in there. It looks great as well.

[InTheFlow]

I was surprised that you were able to do that...good job!

[voigts]

There isn't THAT big of a difference between single and dual pass. We really do like to split hairs sometimes. A triple rad is going to provide more cooling than most of us are every going to need anyway regardless if it is a triple single pass or triple dual pass. If it works better in his system and provides for a more efficient tubing routing, then he made the right choice for his setup.

BTW, just because your tubing seals tight right now when it is new without clamps doesn't mean it is going to stay that way. I don't know about Primoflex, but I have had Tygon work loose over time. I would at a minimum use zip ties. I use the smooth lined clamps from mcmaster on every connection and have never had a leak yet in a year and a half on various different setups. I just don't see the sense in not using $10 in clamps as a safety measure when a single leak can fry expensive components.

I must say that is a very original way to mount the rad. Good job.

[nealh]

does the rad get enough air??

[calvin]

Voigts, you're spot on. I knew going to a triple it really wouldnt matter which model in terms of absolute performance. I wanted a super clean look and the XFLOW simply afforded me an opportunity to manage the tube runs more to my liking.

I take your point about possible aging of tubing over time so will add those extra clamps. The PrimoFlex seems like very nice tubing, amazingly easy to work with considering the 3/4 OD size.

As far as the rad mounting I used some left over mb standoffs that always accumulate over time. The thread length is perfect, stopping short of the fins. They also act to stand off the rad from the fan mounting plate I bolted that rad to, which helps promote more even airflow over the rad. Its a very solid mounting arrangement, I like the way it turned out. Maybe I'll post some more detail close up shots later if there is any interest.

[Shpoon]

So is that 7/16 tygon, or 1/2 primo? 5/8 wall?

[nealh]

yes more pics...nicely done

[l2obert]

Looks great, very clean. I believe you have more room left than I do in my stacker! :clap:

I wonder what else I can add....:wasntme:

[Shift]

Wow judging from your first pic I thought you had no optical drive:p:

That's great, you didn't need a huge oversized full-tower case to fit the tri-rad.

[InTheFlow]

As far as the rad mounting I used some left over mb standoffs that always accumulate over time. The thread length is perfect, stopping short of the fins. They also act to stand off the rad from the fan mounting plate I bolted that rad to, which helps promote more even airflow over the rad. Its a very solid mounting arrangement, I like the way it turned out. Maybe I'll post some more detail close up shots later if there is any interest.

Now, that is a great idea...yes, more detailed pics on that please.

[qdemn7]

Damn that is one clean setup. I am very impressed. :slobber:

[JoeBar]

Although i hate small cases, your work is really nice! :)
Too bad for the x-flow rad...

[calvin]

OK some more shots:

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/Panorama.JPG

Close up of rad mounting using mb standoff. (4 places)

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/rad_lower_area.jpg

Fans that came with the case, Delta branded. One on the right is 38 mm, model AFB1212HE. Other 2 are 25 mm. model AFB1212SH. My fan collection box has some new additions!

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/Fans1.JPG

Hard drive bay. Each bay has spot for 92 mm fan for drive cooling and grommeted mounts. They are accessible from the front which I'm finding is convienient.

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/HDD_BAY_1.JPG

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/2_hdd_bays_in_case.JPG

Closer shot of Primoflex 1/2" ID tubing x 1/8" wall

http://home.cogeco.ca/~legarep/HotSwapMama/vidblock.JPG

Anyway thanks for all the comments. And you never know, some day I may just change that rad. ;)

[creidiki]

I doubt many other rads would fit in there, tbh. PA would way too tall, and everything else apart from another BIGT or an MCR would be a sidegrade or a downgrade.

Btw, what CPU block is that?

Neat little case, do they make non-lilliputian versions?

[phelan1777]

looks like a G4?

[septim]

is it me or do i see his case top and floor is slightly bended where the rad is standing...

[Got Chow]

I think that is just distortion from the camera. Wide angle lenses typically do that a little.

[calvin]

looks like a G4?

Yeah, little piece of water cooling history. Original Storm G4 from Little River in Australia. Not many were ever made, only a couple small batches. Nice workmanship reflected in those blocks.

[UnreaL]

Yeah, little pirce of water cooling history. Its an original Storm G4 from Little River in Australia. Not many were ever made, only a couple small batches. Nice workmanship reflected in those blocks.

Oh he made a fair few G4s, a G5 though - now were cooking :D - still both are fantastic blocks :cool:

[calvin]

G5 is in the realm of a collectors item, congrats on having one.

[calvin]

BTW, just because your tubing seals tight right now when it is new without clamps doesn't mean it is going to stay that way.

Good advice evidently. I take the side off once a month for a good cleaning with a can of compressed. Its been about 3 months now since I assembled this system. Last week pull off the side and notice one of the connections, at the pump, has backed off to the point where maybe 1/8" of tube at most is hanging onto the barb, on the verge of letting go. With a ddc plus it would have been like cranking the garden hose on full :eek:

All connections are duly clamped now.

As Voigts warns just because looks good today, down the road if not careful :caution:

[hopper]

nice... i had that case... i had the hot swapable sata bay that fits in that space in the front, kinda useless unless you need it i never use it "hot" only to switch main drives


a side window kit would be cool if you can get the beast out of that desk cave, nice system

[Modzilla]

ooo is that a 5U case, I've been looking for a good buy on one of those for awhile. Nice work. as others have noted: enough airflow? especially being in the desk cubbyhole, and with full side and front panels on. Did someone say small case? those are short, but they are wide and long, lots of room inside. again, nice work.

[p0tter]

Looks awesome.

[Polizei]

Never thought getting a 120.3 in a midtower would be that hard... evidently it is. Good work. :clap:

I like that case.... I wish it had a side window, that would make it so much better.

Is that a fan controller on the front, on the left of the drive bays?

[Jochenp]

Personally, I would have mounted the rad onto the innertop of the case (if you get what I mean) and I would have moved the PSU, would give you more room for cables and such.
Still beautiful and original though.

[pancito]

Personally, I would have mounted the rad onto the innertop of the case (if you get what I mean) and I would have moved the PSU, would give you more room for cables and such.
Still beautiful and original though.

I Did this with a RaidMAX Ninja, Rad on top, moved DVD Drive to bottom, change my single HDD to FDD space, put Pump at buttom, T Line right next to the RAD.

Removing the stock heatsink in my X1900XTX that left enough clearence to mount the PSU at the bottom, tight fit but it works. The only problem, is i DESTROYED MY CASE!!!

Had to cut Lower part so PSU can vent to the outside, had to cut the top for Rad to get fresh air. and a few other cuts here and there, other then that is all inside in a mid tower.

[Bun-Bun]

all I have to say is... WoW!!!

Good job. So clean...

[clokker]

Lovely job, nicely integrated and well thought out.

I'd lose the fan grills on the rad though...they really protect nothing and look restrictive for no good reason.

[MaxxxRacer]

popular wisdom? no, popular wisdom in less-informed cicrles is that theyre worth buying, what we have is hard data.

but yeah, looks nice apart from that, good work.

quoted for popular wisdom ;)

[calvin]

Is that a fan controller on the front, on the left of the drive bays?

Correct. I'll share my experience - be very cautious if considering a Pwm based controller. These are the type that pulse a fan to regulate fan speed, versus rheostats which lower voltage. The one in the pic is by Mitron. Problem with Pwm circuits is they can generate unpleasant harmonics. The fans supplied with this case are high power deltas and do require some form of speed regulation. But this controller is not the right solution. Noise levels actually increase the more I lower the fans. :rolleyes: I tested several brands of 120's, Papst, Panflo, Delta, and Vantec. Vantec was OK, but none of the others.

After a couple of weeks I had to disconnect it, the only time the hum wasn't objectionable was when the fans were at 100%. I recently ordered a Vantec rheostat style model and hoping for better results.

'd lose the fan grills on the rad though...they really protect nothing and look restrictive for no good reason.

Thanks, will consider.