Case Design for Liquid Cooling

[3Z3VH]

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1. the front intake fan is hrm .. too large .. somehow i looks bit rude and the circular mesh doesn not suit it .. how bout make it 120mm with the grill-like look added to the mesh?

Hehe, the original design he had for this had a 120mm in front and people suggested it get changed

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5. i think the ventilation is going to be a problem ... intake 140mm .. outtake 120mm? maybe you could incorporate another 120mm at the top of the mobo?

If you are watercooling the machine, the only source of heat in there will be the hard drives and possibly the chipset. I doubt even a pair of 120mm fans is inadequate for that, and this already does better

6. the PSU slot .. the bottom suspending the psu .. i think it should be splitted to 2 bars only placed parallel side by side left & right (not front back) .. you might not know if you wish to place the psu bottom air intake

Very true, I also had suggested this gets turned 90 degrees to allow people to stuff extra cabling in the cavity, your idea would work better than mine !

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Then there are people who would look at your 2 500GB raid0 storage volume and cringe at how there is not some form of redundancy there.

I have a RAID0 stripe of two 500GB drives ? Mind telling me where it is ? because I never knew I had one.

Separating it all into two devices wouldn't save me anything, the HDD's themselves don't use much power at all.

Except that a large storage machine is kept up all the time to allow all the users on the network to access it. Which takes less power, a small dedicated NAS box, or an overclocked, triple SLI, watercooled, machine with a dozen fans and lights and such ? My point was that you could now shut off the 180Watt power hog of a gaming machine, and leave just the 35Watt NAS up and running.

[Mick64]

Mick, you might want to come up with some kind of method for mounting SSD's, whether it be mounting them by means of some simple brackets to your current HDD mounts or removing it a swapping in another "special made" mount. SSD's are just taking off and when the price drops to reasonable levels on more realistic capacity's...look out Concorde.

This seems like a good idea. As I've said, I was planning on making the HDD rack removable anyway, so to be able to replace it with a rack for SSD's wouldn't be too much of a problem. Perhaps this could be an optional extra?

i hope you don't mind .. but i find you design is not desirable .. well let's say your design has rooms for improvement and thoughts

1. the front intake fan is hrm .. too large .. somehow i looks bit rude and the circular mesh doesn not suit it .. how bout make it 120mm with the grill-like look added to the mesh?

2. the start/reset button can improve .. it's best to place in the area which is easier to access .. either top or bottom of the front fan intake and those usb ... use a less conspicuous area to place the usb/firecable/esata/audio ports as well ..

3. i think the top 5 1/2 slot ... you could pry out 2x 5 1/2in slot to place a LCD screen

4. since i suggested the top section to have another 5 1/2in slots ... then the back of it should have have an output as well .. in case of an additional PSU .. or a grill with 2 80mm fans outtake

5. i think the ventilation is going to be a problem ... intake 140mm .. outtake 120mm? maybe you could incorporate another 120mm at the top of the mobo?

6. the PSU slot .. the bottom suspending the psu .. i think it should be splitted to 2 bars only placed parallel side by side left & right (not front back) .. you might not know if you wish to place the psu bottom air intake

7. this is an alternative idea .. how bout getting 1x 120mm fan for the hard disk section ... and another 120mm fan for the bottom .. section .. means 2x 120mm fan .. try to make it with an adequate spacing .. and with a nice grill look ... i think rounded vertical gaps is quite sexy


i hope you don't mind those comments .. i just speak what's in my mind

1. I actually like the larger fan, which was increased from 120mm to 200mm after it was suggested in my computer cases thread.
2. I'm not entirely happy with the position of the switches, etc. and I am thinking about repositioning them. Just not sure where as yet.
3, 4. Not sure about the PSU or fan idea, but I am thinking about adding one or two optional 5.25 bays in the top section. However, these two bays will only be shallow to allow the installation of a display or fan controller.
5. IMO, by keeping the 200mm fan, there will plenty of ventilation.
6. As far as I know (please correct me if I'm wrong) but the fan on a PSU blows into the PSU enclosure and vents out of the back of the PSU. This is why I have included the hole above the PSU to increase air flow through the case.
7. Not sure about your fan ideas, to be honest I'm happy with the fans the way they are.


Thanks for your input...

[Mick64]

A few more refinements. Let me know what you think, good or bad....

[Mech0z]

The new design is nice if your using the new Typhoon III

[Alex Suraci]

Indeed, a nice 2x bay reservoir could go in that separated part.

Not sure about having the I/O panel at the bottom, though - how many people will have a case this big on their desk? That'll probably be volatile though.

[MrToad]

A few more refinements. Let me know what you think, good or bad....

I like the 5.25 bays on the top. You could fit a res, or a big display, or a fan controller, or w/e there. Valuable addition.

And I like the positioning of the Power/Reset buttons. However, I'd ditch the LEDs and use buttons with integrated ring/dot (like the black aluminium ones that have become so common for instance).

If whoever is interested in your design has a production run long enough in mind, Apem makes a piezoelectric switch, in black anodized aluminium, chamfered and with blue dot that personally I think looks fantastic. Tried to source those for my current build, but they don't stock them, they manufacture them on-demand, and they weren't very keen on adjusting all their tooling to make 2

You can find the specification sheet here, scroll down to the third page, model PBAR6AF (pictured)

I don't like the port placement though. I've seen far too many front ports smashed because of plugged thumb drives/cameras/etc. + kids/pets/clumsy people.

[generics_user]

front ports in the top are much more useful than in the bottom, else you have to bow down to access these ports

aditional 5.25" slots are great but you might want to remove those leds and use illuminated bulgin power switches

[Mech0z]

Maybe make 2 of the harddrive bays for 2.5" drives? (Veloci or SSD drives)

If this case is below 2k DKK then I am selling my Lian Li and buying it^^

Edit: Unless its a noise machine by default

[miptzi]

Just to make sure that you MUST watercool the vga and chipset in this case.
I think the airflow is poor in the chance of a simple loop for cpu...... still lots of heat inside.

But great render, man. No doubt

[Quad-Damage]

I like the USB ports and sounds ports in the middle, if it's near the bottom. The cable will be very long and ulgy it would have to been run below, if u can do that and price it under 300

I would buy it

[Mick64]

Not sure about having the I/O panel at the bottom, though - how many people will have a case this big on their desk? That'll probably be volatile though.

I don't like the port placement though. I've seen far too many front ports smashed because of plugged thumb drives/cameras/etc. + kids/pets/clumsy people.

front ports in the top are much more useful than in the bottom, else you have to bow down to access these ports

I like the USB ports and sounds ports in the middle, if it's near the bottom. The cable will be very long and ulgy it would have to been run below

Just an idea, but what if I put the ports in a 5.25 sized panel and added a shallow 5.25 bay at the bottom. That way you could mount the ports in any of the available bays, top, middle or bottom, or omit them if you preferred. Of course, the case would be supplied with 5.25 blanks to cover any bays that were not being used.....

[generics_user]

Just an idea, but what if I put the ports in a 5.25 sized panel and added a shallow 5.25 bay at the bottom. That way you could mount the ports in any of the available bays, top, middle or bottom, or omit them if you preferred. Of course, the case would be supplied with 5.25 blanks to cover any bays that were not being used.....

similar to this lianli blank: BZ-U01 great idea, perfect solution for those who put their pc onto the desk and those who have it on the floor

[zoob]

That front fan mount is begging for a PA160 adapter!

IMO USB ports on the bottom of the case are too difficult to reach. The top mounted ports on my Rocketfish are way more useful than I thought they'd be.

[MrToad]

Just an idea, but what if I put the ports in a 5.25 sized panel and added a shallow 5.25 bay at the bottom. That way you could mount the ports in any of the available bays, top, middle or bottom, or omit them if you preferred. Of course, the case would be supplied with 5.25 blanks to cover any bays that were not being used.....

It is an idea. One I didn't think on, so it must be bad

Silly jokes aside, I see your point. But again, who would sacrifice a 5.25 bay just to have a couple of USBs, the front audio and perhaps a FW400 or eSATA?

TBH I like the ports either on the top hidden under a lid or in the front above the newly added 5.25 bays.

Not being deliberately obnoxious, just voicing an opinion

[evian_26]

I think the psu should be top and radiators down, will keep noise down since fans are further away from you, assuming its in the floor
and how about some gfx card holders, blocks are heavy these days
nice design overall

[l33t p1mp]

Needs more and/or bigger exhaust fans. Also, you could put a removable intake fan up top for those that aren't putting the rad there.

[Mick64]

Needs more and/or bigger exhaust fans. Also, you could put a removable intake fan up top for those that aren't putting the rad there.

If your not putting a rad there, this isn't the case for you! This is a case for LIQUID COOLING, the 200mm intake fan at the front and the 120mm exhaust fan combined with the PSU fan would be more than adequate for air flow through the center chamber....

[MrToad]

If your not putting a rad there, this isn't the case for you! This is a case for LIQUID COOLING, the 200mm intake fan at the front and the 120mm exhaust fan combined with the PSU fan would be more than adequate for air flow through the center chamber....

I agree with you on this one. If you only want one rad, there are plenty of alternatives to choose from.

[l33t p1mp]

If your not putting a rad there, this isn't the case for you! This is a case for LIQUID COOLING, the 200mm intake fan at the front and the 120mm exhaust fan combined with the PSU fan would be more than adequate for air flow through the center chamber....

True but still, some people might be using this waiting for the right time to buy a water cooling setup or something. You should just make it be an add-on that you can choose if you buy the case.

[Mick64]

Made some changes to the front panel after some discussion in the computer cases section. Any thoughts?

[bentleya]

100 times better
great work mick.

[matsjuw]

I'd keep the ports at the bottom tbh
since nothing else will fit down there if there's a rad installed

[Eddie3dfx]

If you put the usb, firewire, and whatever port on the bottom, you have to make sure the back of the cable doesn't hit the radiator, since those usb things stick out about 1-1/2"

There is something about the big fan in the front that I don't like. If you could change the grill somehow, it might look cleaner.

[Sadasius]

Made some changes to the front panel after some discussion in the computer cases section. Any thoughts?

Yeah....I want it NOW!!! Go into the shop and stay in there till it's finished! Seriously this is a damn awesome case and if people have certain little things they don't like they can always mod the damn case like what most of us do anyway. Now get back in the shop.....GO!!!

[Mark90]

That front fan mount is begging for a PA160 adapter!

IMO USB ports on the bottom of the case are too difficult to reach. The top mounted ports on my Rocketfish are way more useful than I thought they'd be.

I agree, the front as a 160MM radiator would rock.