Can I put a radiator right in the middle of my case?

ThomasTheTankEngine · 30 Mar 2012 at 12:10

I've been planning on getting a watercooling kit for my cpu. I'm not gonna WC these graphics cards, but they'll be replaced soon and the new card/cards will be added to the loop.

My case is massive... but it doesn't really have anywhere I can mount a decent sized radiator near the edge. The HDD cage stops me putting a 2x140mm in the front and the two 120mm on the rear are seperate so if I use them it'd have to be two 120mm radiators. Not enough really.

I don't want to modify the case externally. I don't want top vents as I put stuff on the case, and the sidepanel is blocked by it's position under the desk.

This is the layout of my case. A lian li PC-A70F. (Photo is off the web, not my actual pc).

From what I can tell there are 2 options. Put the PSU on the top where that HDD case is, make holes + dustfilters in the bottom, and have a radiator running the whole length of the case sucking air through the bottom.

Second option would be just to stick it in that massive space between the drive-bays and the mobo tray. Vertical, facing front-back. This is the easier option (no case modding), however I'm not sure whether it'd be effective due to it's position right in the middle. I'd keep the 2x140mm fans in the front so they'd be blowing over the HDD's and into the radiator.

So..... is this a viable idea? Or would I be best abandoning it and modding my case to fit the rad underneath?

Thanks in advance.

Jokester · 30 Mar 2012 at 12:24

That'll work fine there, ideally you'll want good airflow through the case to ensure you don't get exhaust air being sucked back into the radiator, but I don't see it being a big issue.

pgi947 · 30 Mar 2012 at 12:35

Second option should work, afaik ek make stands for such situations.

ThomasTheTankEngine · 30 Mar 2012 at 13:23

Cool, thanks guys!

Will be easy enough to get plenty of airflow in the case, so it won't be circulating the same hot air constantly.

craarc · 30 Mar 2012 at 14:49

itll work as long as your case airflow is high enough cause what you are effectivly doing is putting exchanged heat into the case with it in that possition and that extra in case heat will have to be removed really well

it wont be as good as a rear or top mount rad ( or basically a rad on the edge of the case it could even be front mounted) as these remove exchanged heat directly to the outside ofcourse with only a little heat from the edges of the rads being dumped inside the case for removal the best option ofc is and external rad

but yes itll work as long as your internal case temp is low enough and your ambient is low enough

Bubo · 30 Mar 2012 at 15:51

I would mod the bottom myself, it is always going to perform better than the other method. Are you doing a cpu loop first then adding the gpu's later? If you do that then there will be a period when your existing cards will suffer from higher case temps, woudl probably have to leave the case side off in the mean time.

mjones1 · 30 Mar 2012 at 18:31

I have the a70 model.

There is plenty of space to play around with i have a gtx 480, thermochill rad, shroud & fans, but you need quite good airflow for it to work well, personally i would just mod the case.

craarc · 30 Mar 2012 at 18:36

as mjones1 said

Staffy50 · 31 Mar 2012 at 12:35

looks like theres room for some tight modding