2 choices of case for watercooled project...which one?

GinG

GinG

GinG

Soldato
Joined
22 Jul 2006
Posts
7,719
Ok peeps,

Come xmas day I will have access to my watercooling goodies and 4850 gfx card.

I want to mount the rad internally if possible so will have a bit of a project log for it.

I have 2 cases to choose from in my posession. But which one should I use?

The choice...

Antec P180
NZXT Blackline Lexa

Thanks
 
I have a P182 and I much prefer the looks of it over the NZXT.

What size rad were you looking to fit inside? As long as the 4850 is not too long, you could mount the rad in the bottom section of the p182 (partitioned from most components) and have the top hdd cage in, with some extra fans, that could work quite well. It might be worth a look on the builds thread for the p182s and see what others have done there. Overall it's a very well-built case, very quiet too. My only gripe is the slightly flimsy front door, but it's not that much of a problem.
 
as the above poster has said, what size of rad do you want to use. A 120.1 will fit one way or another in any case (as its normally east to fit it on your rear exhaust fan one way or another). 2 and 3 fans become more complicated.

the LEXA wouldn't be a very good choice, not much space at all, and really bad airflow as standard (espically when using long graphics card like the GTX260 etc), espically if you are using a 2 fan rad, a 3 fan rad wouldn't fit in the case at all (assuming you want it all internal)

i have seen someone fit a 120.2 in the top of a lexa, but i think you would need a standard length PSU and you are going to loose at least 2 opitcal drive slots, will also require a lot of modding, and you will still need to find space for pump, res etc.

haven't really looked at the p180, so can't comment. (btw, i have a lexa myself)

a good watercooler with-out to much hassle and cheap would be a antec 300, 2 fan rad in the front, and you could either use a mixture of HDD mounts and opitcal drives in the 3 remaining opitcal drive slots, or just use the HDD mount and that gives you space for 3 HDD's.
 
the radiator being used is a tfc xchanger 120.2.

Waiting on someone sending a pic of how they fitted one inside a lexa.

Waiting on a reply from antec about some replacement side panels due to the plastic clips snapping and now the panels not sitting flush :(
 
If I did WC I would want to see my work and so a window would be a must, but from what I've heard, things can get a bit cosy in the lexa.
 
mmm, interested

send pictures to my email address please (its under my post count as the little person icon (msn address, but this is my email address too). Dunno if i'm meant to post my email address in forum posts, lol

Cheers
 
I was planning a water building into a P182, but it was getting tight for space.
New plan is a Lian-Li V2010b, similar to the TJ07 in size and layout.
Did you buy this one in the end?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom