AIO in Front case fans - Question??

[Hagar]

Hi,

I have a Ryzen 1700 in a Crosshair VI motherboard. I want to fit an AIO to the case (Lian Li PC-7H).

The space at the top and rear of the board is very limited and only has room for the 25mm thickness of the fans.

I have 2 x 140mm front fans and am thinking about placing an AIO right at the front of the case, removing the lower drive bay to do this.

The main question is are the tubes in a typical AIO long enough to reach from the front of the case to the normal position of the CPU?

If the answer is yes, is there a best solution to this, make , model.

The tubing would be roughly horizontal in the case from the top of the AIO to the CPU.

These fans would intake through the CPU and be exhausted at the top of the case.

Thanks for your response.

andy.

 

[Danny75]

Hi,

I have a Ryzen 1700 in a Crosshair VI motherboard. I want to fit an AIO to the case (Lian Li PC-7H).

The space at the top and rear of the board is very limited and only has room for the 25mm thickness of the fans.

I have 2 x 140mm front fans and am thinking about placing an AIO right at the front of the case, removing the lower drive bay to do this.

The main question is are the tubes in a typical AIO long enough to reach from the front of the case to the normal position of the CPU?

From looking at the details and photos for the PC-7H, and taking into account that the typical tubes length of 240 AIOs is 315mm, it would seem so, yes.

If the answer is yes, is there a best solution to this, make , model.

The tubing would be roughly horizontal in the case from the top of the AIO to the CPU.

These fans would intake through the CPU and be exhausted at the top of the case.

Thanks for your response.

andy.

Lian Li PC-7H chassis depth - 490mm

From looking at pictures, safe to say the front fans mount at least 25mm from the front. Add the radiator thickness to the fan thickness and to the space between the fans and the front panel. You can measure yourself as you already have the case.

Estimate a safe 120mm from rear of case to centre of CPU socket (ATX boards are 244mm wide). Like most cases, not all, the I/O & PCI slot edge of the motherboard actually starts 15-25mm from the rear of the case. The PC-7H appears to as well (rear fan "sticks out" to the edge of the case/motherboard is in-set a little).

Deduct 135mm + previous figure, from 490mm.

So it could be something like 275mm tubes needed, maybe less, depending on the precise measurements and whether the tubes align more or less horizontally to CPU as you've estimated. Most 240 AIOs have 315mm, a few rare ones may have less, some more (I've seen the CoolerMaster MasterLiquid has 358mm tubes).

Most AIOs do state their tubes length, so I'd stick to those that quote 315mm or more in your case (for cases not as deep, say 450mm or less, it's pretty safe to go with any but never hurts to check).

 

[doyll]

If you want to use Lian Li PC-7H I would suggest using an air cooled CPU cooler. Mounting a radiator in the only intake vents in a case that only has one component water coolers means all the other components will be using hotter air to cool them .. not a good idea. Also a top tier air cooler costs less, cools as well, is quieter and will last a lot longer without the chance of pump failure (most common problem with CLCs).

 

[varkanoid]

Little tip if your pipes do not reach the front of your case. One option if your front case fans are 140mm and the radiator is 120mm buy a 140mm to 120mm cowel and it gives you an extra inch or so width. Or vice versa. Can also work with dual radiators.
Another tip is get couple of very cheap 140/120mm fans depending on which size you need and the width you need to extend or if you have some old ones floating about use them. Then rip out the inner fans and mountings, sand the internal frame down so its nice and smooth. You then have your very own "cowls" to extend the reach to your radiator. Seal any gaps with electric tape and you've got your very own intake tunnel. I used to have pictures of when I did this for me GTX 580 and an AIO mod but the images have now gone. Works a treat though.

 

[doyll]

OP could make cowls with old fans, but the only double 140m fan to double 120mm adapter was like £35 and now out of stock.

 

[Pocah]

Little tip if your pipes do not reach the front of your case. One option if your front case fans are 140mm and the radiator is 120mm buy a 140mm to 120mm cowel and it gives you an extra inch or so width. Or vice versa. Can also work with dual radiators.
Another tip is get couple of very cheap 140/120mm fans depending on which size you need and the width you need to extend or if you have some old ones floating about use them. Then rip out the inner fans and mountings, sand the internal frame down so its nice and smooth. You then have your very own "cowls" to extend the reach to your radiator. Seal any gaps with electric tape and you've got your very own intake tunnel. I used to have pictures of when I did this for me GTX 580 and an AIO mod but the images have now gone. Works a treat though.

Ha! I didn't think anyone else used the "stripped down fans" to use as ducts!! An extremely handy way of coping with short pipes. It also serves to distance fans from grills and so. People may ( or may not ) have noticed that fans sometimes get far louder if they are directly against a grill. Spacing them can massively reduce noise.