Any opinions on the BEST case for watercooling?

Goose · 9 Mar 2020 at 11:24

I'm just wondering if there is any consensus on what case is the best for a water cooled build? I know Caselabs used to be regarded by many to be the best but since they no longer exist i'm curious to know if another company has picked up where they left off.

Thanks

Alex h · 9 Mar 2020 at 11:27

Phanteks do a lot of cases for water cooling also lian li do some decent cases for water cooling builds

BriT · 9 Mar 2020 at 11:52

What size do you want and how many rads?

MikeTimbers · 9 Mar 2020 at 12:11

Too subjective a criteria. Water-cooling is just one parameter and there are so many others to take into account.

Really need to know what you're trying to cool and whether you're concerned about aesthetics, performance or silence (or any combination of those).

Glanza · 9 Mar 2020 at 13:20

Phanteks are my go to these days after selling my Case Labs.

Mcnumpty2323 · 9 Mar 2020 at 13:23

Hard to beat phanteks 719
At sub £200
Of course if you have a huge budget
Then there are probably other
Contenders
Is this hypothetical?
Or you actually want to buy a case?

Goose · 9 Mar 2020 at 14:32

Mcnumpty2323 said:
Hard to beat phanteks 719
Is this hypothetical?
Or you actually want to buy a case?

It's mostly hypothetical at the moment as I have a Lian Li 011 that suits my needs. However, if I want to upgrade to some monster setup with 4 rads (including 480mm rads) i'd need a larger case.

Mcnumpty2323 · 9 Mar 2020 at 15:25

Goose said:
It's mostly hypothetical at the moment as I have a Lian Li 011 that suits my needs. However, if I want to upgrade to some monster setup with 4 rads (including 480mm rads) i'd need a larger case.

Can just get 2 x 480mm in the enthoo 719
Though second one will only have
Fans on one side

Goose · 9 Mar 2020 at 15:51

The 719 looks like it wont have very good airflow with those solid panels?

Mcnumpty2323 · 9 Mar 2020 at 15:56

Goose said:
The 719 looks like it wont have very good airflow with those solid panels?

Airflow is great
Those panels have roughly an inch or so gap all the way around them
If I turn my fans up the air coming out
The top is crazy

RRhoads · 9 Mar 2020 at 21:58

I like the O11 Dynamic XL. Good place for two 360 radiators, and you can possibly fit three with no problems. Looks good too.

One Vision · 18 Mar 2020 at 23:06

Depends on how many rads you want to run, depends on your case. The Corsair graphite although old is a good case for any setup from what i remember. Old build here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brhK0dh51-s

My early caselabs project from 2011, i was one of the first in the UK to have a Caselabs.

https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/build-log-caselabs-project-overkill.350481/

petedread · 31 Mar 2020 at 21:40

@Mcnumpty2323 I have the 719, I want to Finnish buying my water cooling parts tomorrow (hope you see this in time) but I can't tell if I will be able to fit a 360 in the top and a 360 in the bottom along with the 480 that is 38mm thick that I have already bought for the front. Well, I think they will fit but I want to have my fans for the 480 on the inside of the case so that I can keep the dust filter. Do you know if this is possible?

Mcnumpty2323 · 31 Mar 2020 at 21:43

petedread said:
@Mcnumpty2323 I have the 719, I want to Finnish buying my water cooling parts tomorrow (hope you see this in time) but I can't tell if I will be able to fit a 360 in the top and a 360 in the bottom along with the 480 that is 38mm thick that I have already bought for the front. Well, I think they will fit but I want to have my fans for the 480 on the inside of the case so that I can keep the dust filter. Do you know if this is possible?

Will fit
Though the bottom rad you have to be careful of the width
Not the thickness the size from side to side
Standard width fits but is tight due to door hinge
Something like an xe I think it is will be slightly wider and won't go in

petedread · 31 Mar 2020 at 22:07

Thanks for the heads up. I had noticed the width space in there, It seems to be 120 and a half mm. I won't use the XE, probably a PE or maybe another brand. So just to clarify, my 480 38mm thick rad in the front. I can put the fans on the inside and still fit a 360 top and bottom?
Thanks for the help.

Mcnumpty2323 · 31 Mar 2020 at 22:24

petedread said:
Thanks for the heads up. I had noticed the width space in there, It seems to be 120 and a half mm. I won't use the XE, probably a PE or maybe another brand. So just to clarify, my 480 38mm thick rad in the front. I can put the fans on the inside and still fit a 360 top and bottom?
Thanks for the help.

heres mine
thats 480mmx 60mm in push/pull on the front
i could just squeeze a 360mm on the bottom too though was tight
but changed it to a 240mm as wanted to mount the pump/res there
as didnt have the bracket to mount it on the rad handy

petedread · 31 Mar 2020 at 22:52

Ah brilliant, thanks for the info. The 719 is such a great case and it is so cheap for what you get. This will be my first hard tube build. This will keep me occupied while I am off work due to the covid19.
Haven't built a rig since the 5930k was released and I am disappointed that I can't spend hours and hours testing overclocks now that Nvidia GPU's and AMD CPU's don't OC very much.
Perhaps, when I get the GPU block on I may get a bit of an OC.
Thanks again.

Mcnumpty2323 · 31 Mar 2020 at 22:58

petedread said:
Ah brilliant, thanks for the info. The 719 is such a great case and it is so cheap for what you get. This will be my first hard tube build. This will keep me occupied while I am off work due to the covid19.
Haven't built a rig since the 5930k was released and I am disappointed that I can't spend hours and hours testing overclocks now that Nvidia GPU's and AMD CPU's don't OC very much.
Perhaps, when I get the GPU block on I may get a bit of an OC.
Thanks again.

You're welcome
Enjoy your build

tyler_jrb · 1 Apr 2020 at 15:41

Goose said:
It's mostly hypothetical at the moment as I have a Lian Li 011 that suits my needs. However, if I want to upgrade to some monster setup with 4 rads (including 480mm rads) i'd need a larger case.

Corsair 900D or 1000D?

I’ve had a 900D for a number of years now. It’s looking a bit tired in places but it is an excellent case for both modding and watercooling. Plenty of custom parts on coldzero for it. Mid plates, backplates, covers windows, mounts etc.

with a bit of fiddling my previous build had 2x 480mm’s and a 240mm. Although I’m pretty sure you can get a 240/360 in the front of the case as well.

Old 900D system:-

WJA96 · 2 Apr 2020 at 12:31

Mountain Mods were there before Caselabs and they have a flexible configuration that allows a literally unlimited amount of cooling. You just have to decide how tall you want it to be...