Best water cooling cases

philip j fry

philip j fry

philip j fry

Associate
Joined
30 Jan 2009
Posts
379
Location
East Sussex
As per title realy just wondering what you think is the best case/s out there at the momment that are good for water cooling .

They must be able to accomodate at least 2 x 240 rads and not be to cramped looking when everything is inside, also needs to have room for at least 4 hdd's and at least 4 drive bays on the front.

Have had a look around and got some ideas but would be good to know from some people that have used certain cases.

Budget would be about £200 lets say

Thanks
 
I don't think the shinobi xl is great. It's good but not great.

Xigmatek Elysium is good. In the same price bracket the NZXT switch 810 is very good.

650D is mediocre.

If you can stretch to them:
Corsair 800D
Silverstone TJ07. Not sure when OcUK will get black ones back in stock but it is the absolute god of watercooling cases with a bit of modding...

kd
 
King Damager said:
I don't think the shinobi xl is great. It's good but not great.

Xigmatek Elysium is good. In the same price bracket the NZXT switch 810 is very good.

650D is mediocre.

If you can stretch to them:
Corsair 800D
Silverstone TJ07. Not sure when OcUK will get black ones back in stock but it is the absolute god of watercooling cases with a bit of modding...

kd
Click to expand...

This.

If the budget is tight than the elysium is an absolute bargain. If the budget is flexible then the 800D with a little modding can take a 360 & 240 (or 480 + 240 if you're feeling adventurous). The TJ07 is probably only bettered in the watercooling stakes than the TJ11, stunning cases.

The best you can hope for in a 650D is probably a slim 240 in the top and a 200 in the front, but its going to get cramped quick.
 
Have a look at my sig for a water-cooled Shinobi XL, using only one 360 rad but possibly room for 240 rad in the front or base. But you would need to remove the hard drive cage though which is a limiting factor on your hard drives :(

The Corsair 800d is good case to work with but some modding is required for extra rads.
 
I like the look of the shinobi xl but it looks to me that if i had 2 x 240 rads i would loose the hdd cage , dont know for sure just seems like thats the case ,also looks like it would be a bit cramped in there once i have 2 x 6950's and water cooling in there maybe someone could let me know.

The Xigametk elysium is plenty big enough :) just dont like the fact that they have put a big 200mm fan on the side pannel , if i've got got water cooling going on with plexi blocks i would like to be able to see them realy :(, shame cose the rest of the case is spot on.

The Corsair Obsidian 800D does look good has anyone who has done watercoling in these let me know what the temps get like inside ( same sort of spec as mine would be good so that i can compare ) is the air flow any good.

Also what about any sort of cases like the mountain mods range or that sort of thing if there's anything like that in my price range.

cheers for looking keep them coming :)
 
800D job done. :).

I have a pair of 5850's (1 watercooled) and an i7 950 (watercooled) and get good temps with a triple rad in the top!
 
MM are £400 I think.... But you might get a second hand one for a good price.

There's watercooling projects galore in 800Ds. If yeah you have the money that might be the better case. You kind of want 480mm+ I guess for your system. So a 360 in the roof of the 800d and I can't remember what else you put in.

kd
 
King Damager said:
There's watercooling projects galore in 800Ds. If yeah you have the money that might be the better case. You kind of want 480mm+ I guess for your system. So a 360 in the roof of the 800d and I can't remember what else you put in.

kd
Click to expand...

Without any modding the most you can fit in at a major major push is 1 x 360 (roof) 1 x 120 (rear) 1 x 140 (bottom).

With modding you're looking at either a 360 (roof) + 240/280 (bottom, remove HDD cage) or 480 (roof, cut mod) + 240/280 (bottom, remove HDD cage).

Currently debating moving all my cooling inside the case and doing a 480 + 280 mod :)
 
I'll never understand why people are still recommending the 800D for watercooling :confused: Yes it looks nice inside and out, has some nice features like separate compartment for PSU and hot swap drive bays.

But it's mediocre at best when it comes to cooling. One 360 without modding is hardly anything to write home about and getting a 240 in the bottom requires modding which is anything but straight forward :( Really for a case so big and heavy i expected more.

For me it's this ;)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-002-OE&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=2225
Or this
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-015-XG&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=1572

Yes the 800D is better looking but that's all it has going for it :D
 
So its the Corsair Obsidian 800D or the Xigmatek Elysium at the momment both have pro's and cons and it looks like whatever i choose i will have to mod one way or another to fit my bits in ( dont mind a bit of modding tbh ) .

Will still keep an eye out incase something comes up to fit the bill fully , as soon as i have made my mind up will do a build log so you can all see what i have decided.

Thanks for all your comments on this so far.
 
i got a could only get a 280 and a 200 in a 650d i could have gotten a 140 on the back not the best case for it but it quite a bit smaller then 800d and cheaper
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom