Now I've pretty much finished the build in my sig it's time to move onto SandyBridge. I figure as IB won't be out til 2012, and it'll be backwards compatible, I may as well go SB now while my x58 stuff is still worth something.
It's going to be watercooled, but this time I'm going to cool cpu and motherboard, and have the potential to add two gpus into the loop. That means a lot of radiators. And there's no mid-sized case on the market that can hold more than a single 240mm rad (I'll be damned if I'm going full tower
).
I'm looking currently at the Corsair 600T and the Arc Midi, both of which fulfil the following criteria:
(1) they look good
(2) painted internals that match the overall style (powdercoating bare metal never looks quite as good imo)
(3) excellent cable management facilities
(4) enough space between mobo and top of the case to mount a rad + fans
I reckon with a bit of modding, you could fit the following in and also have room for res, pump and an HDD bay.
600T: thin 360mm rad in roof, 200mm rad in front, 120mm rad in back.
Arc Midi: thin 360mm rad in roof, very thick 120mm rad in front, thick 120mm rad in floor, 120mm rad in the back.
Arc Midi first:
top rad - as you can see below, there is room between the top of the case and the mobo for a thin rad and a normal thickness 120mm fan. Note that the rad mounting holes are actually offcentre to allow the use of thick rads - this means the fans will overlap with the mobo but will be above it and won't block anything.
Obviously with a triple rad, one end of it will have to go into the 5.25 bays. Luckily, the entire top of the case is already meshed, and there are fan holes already cut in the 5.25 bay area! This is where you could put a triple 360rad. Just needs a few extra mounting holes towards the back of the case:
For the back of the case, the 120mm rad would have to mounted externally, with fittings facing inwards. By cutting a couple of holes in the case, you could fit the fittings through there and just have the fan on the inside.
The other 120mm rad would simply go where the top HDD bay would be. Overall the rads and the fans would look something like this:
Disadvantages: obstructing top 5.25 bay; 4 rads, 4 waterblocks + fittings are pretty restrictive (though I understand you can get pretty powerful pumps).
Please do suggest alternative cases and water-cooling ideas. I got a few months to do this build and I won't be able to do another for a long long time (finals + job) so I want to make it good.
Stay tuned for 600T plans
.
It's going to be watercooled, but this time I'm going to cool cpu and motherboard, and have the potential to add two gpus into the loop. That means a lot of radiators. And there's no mid-sized case on the market that can hold more than a single 240mm rad (I'll be damned if I'm going full tower
).I'm looking currently at the Corsair 600T and the Arc Midi, both of which fulfil the following criteria:
(1) they look good
(2) painted internals that match the overall style (powdercoating bare metal never looks quite as good imo)
(3) excellent cable management facilities
(4) enough space between mobo and top of the case to mount a rad + fans
I reckon with a bit of modding, you could fit the following in and also have room for res, pump and an HDD bay.
600T: thin 360mm rad in roof, 200mm rad in front, 120mm rad in back.
Arc Midi: thin 360mm rad in roof, very thick 120mm rad in front, thick 120mm rad in floor, 120mm rad in the back.
Arc Midi first:
top rad - as you can see below, there is room between the top of the case and the mobo for a thin rad and a normal thickness 120mm fan. Note that the rad mounting holes are actually offcentre to allow the use of thick rads - this means the fans will overlap with the mobo but will be above it and won't block anything.
Obviously with a triple rad, one end of it will have to go into the 5.25 bays. Luckily, the entire top of the case is already meshed, and there are fan holes already cut in the 5.25 bay area! This is where you could put a triple 360rad. Just needs a few extra mounting holes towards the back of the case:
For the back of the case, the 120mm rad would have to mounted externally, with fittings facing inwards. By cutting a couple of holes in the case, you could fit the fittings through there and just have the fan on the inside.
The other 120mm rad would simply go where the top HDD bay would be. Overall the rads and the fans would look something like this:
Disadvantages: obstructing top 5.25 bay; 4 rads, 4 waterblocks + fittings are pretty restrictive (though I understand you can get pretty powerful pumps).
Please do suggest alternative cases and water-cooling ideas. I got a few months to do this build and I won't be able to do another for a long long time (finals + job) so I want to make it good.
Stay tuned for 600T plans
.
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