internal watercooling setup in an external box

Perfect_Chaos · 9 Jan 2007 at 09:35

how would this perform?

might be interested in getting one, if it can perform as well outside of the case as it does inside the case then it would be great. All id have to do is have the tubing going thru the back of the pc slots.

Really would be much easier to do this than buying a big expensive case imo, could even buy a cheapy case and it wouldnt matter!.

the benefits are clear here though, no cluttered up case for one.

it would be a triple rad with all the best stuff..

would it be better than current external boxes like the coolance exos + asetek xternal kit?.

I think id rather go for this over air cooling as it would be tons better, at least i hope. So just need some advice here

of course i just need to find someone who would fit it all in an external casing or whatever

pastymuncher · 9 Jan 2007 at 10:33

This is what i have done even though i have a huge Thermaltake Armour. The only bits in the case are the blocks, plus of course the inlet/outlet pipes. I also run the w/c rig off a seperate 200w AT switching psu so that it is completely independant of the pc. I built a soundproofed box to house the psu, pump and it also has the XSPC passive res mounted on the front. I could have put the triple rad in there as well, and that was the original plan, but i wanted maximum cooling and built another box just for the rad and mounted it on a windowsill. The box has the window side cut out and has a filter mounted there. The rad has a shroud that i also made to eliminate any deadspots from the fans. It all works a treat. The rig in my siggy gets temps of 18 degrees idle, 32 degrees after 8 hours of Orthos.

Watercooling is only really worth it if you are going to clock your components a lot or you really crave silence. To do it properly you are looking at around £250 for decent components.

Perfect_Chaos · 9 Jan 2007 at 10:36

pastymuncher said:
This is what i have done even though i have a huge Thermaltake Armour. The only bits in the case are the blocks, plus of course the inlet/outlet pipes. I also run the w/c rig off a seperate 200w AT switching psu so that it is completely independant of the pc. I built a soundproofed box to house the psu, pump and it also has the XSPC passive res mounted on the front. I could have put the triple rad in there as well, and that was the original plan, but i wanted maximum cooling and built another box just for the rad and mounted it on a windowsill. The box has the window side cut out and has a filter mounted there. The rad has a shroud that i also made to eliminate any deadspots from the fans. It all works a treat. The rig in my siggy gets temps of 18 degrees idle, 32 degrees after 8 hours of Orthos.

Nice, wouldnt having the rad inside the external casing not cause temps to rise though? afterall, it was originally meant to go inside the case of your pc.. and it would be warmer in there.

pastymuncher · 9 Jan 2007 at 10:45

Not really. You make a rad shape cut out in the roof panel so that the rad sits snugly in the cutout. Mine sits on rubber lugs. That way with the rad mounted in the roof of the box with the fans on the outside sucking air through the rad from the inside (always recommended to have rad fans sucking) it should stay nice and cool in the box. It would also depend on the pump as some have a far higher heat dump than others. This mainly goes into the water though. You will also need to have a cutout somewhere in the box to allow air to be sucked through to the rad.

Perfect_Chaos · 9 Jan 2007 at 11:31

pastymuncher said:
Not really. You make a rad shape cut out in the roof panel so that the rad sits snugly in the cutout. Mine sits on rubber lugs. That way with the rad mounted in the roof of the box with the fans on the outside sucking air through the rad from the inside (always recommended to have rad fans sucking) it should stay nice and cool in the box. It would also depend on the pump as some have a far higher heat dump than others. This mainly goes into the water though. You will also need to have a cutout somewhere in the box to allow air to be sucked through to the rad.

and it would all be better than an already made external watercooling system?

if it can cool down nicely and not reach 50c load even in the warm temps of summer, id be happy.

u know any people who would do this for me?

weescott · 9 Jan 2007 at 13:18

Perfect_Chaos said:
u know any people who would do this for me?

I know but I can't tell you. Your question is bordering on asking for a competitor.

pastymuncher · 9 Jan 2007 at 14:40

It is really easy to do. If i can do it then anyone can. Do it yourself and save some money. All you need is a drill, jigsaw, screwdriver, dremmel (but not essential), ruler and pencil. Most of the stuff for the box can be got from the likes of B&Q. It will take you a day, tops, to put the box together.

Yes it will be better than a ready built external system such as a koolance. Especially if you chose decent components and use 1/2" tubing and fittings.

Take mine for example:-
Pump= Aquaextreme 50z. Extremely low heat dump and superb head height which is essential for restrictive blocks. £54.99 inc vat.

CPU Block= Aquaextreme MP-05 Pro Limited Edition. Superb block and looks good too. £38.99.

GPU blocks x2= Aquaextreme MP-01. Near enough identical to the DD Maze 4 and has identical performance to it and the MCW60. £25.99 x2.

Radiator= Alphacool NexXxoS Xtreme III triple 120mm radiator. £29.95.

Reservoir= XSPC 250mm passive reservoir. £26.99. Extra cooling and looks good with the led in the bottom.

3x Thermlatake Thunderblade 120mm blue led fans. 78CFM. £3.95 x3.

15 feet 7/16" Masterkleer tubing. Very slightly thinner inside diameter than 1/2" so make for a better seal. £1.07 per foot.

Optional psu to run the watercooling independantly= 200w AT switching psu, £2.50 brand new from the bay.

No doubt people will say something like a 120.3 rad would be better and that you don't need a reservoir. Having a res make filling and bleeding a hell of a lot easier than not having one. As for the radiator, with temps of 18 degrees idle and 32 degrees load, i am more than happy with my setup.

Perfect_Chaos · 9 Jan 2007 at 16:02

cheers pasty muncher..

though i am useless with tools so i dont think id be able to make the box myself, i could try i suppose.

Ill see if i can get someone to make the box cheapish.. and i'd go for a PA 120.3 rad definately

pastymuncher · 9 Jan 2007 at 17:06

If you really can't do it yourself, get all the components and lay them out on the floor. Such as pump, rad, res etc. Group them together to see how much space you need between them (don't forget to allow for the tubing) and measure from the back of the backmost part to the front of the foremost part to get a rough idea of size of box you will need. Don't forget the rad. I should imagine you need a box something like my original one was before i cut it down. That was 450mm long, 200mm wide and 300mm high. You may want to add a bit onto the width, because if you will be soundproofing it the stuff takes up quite a bit of space and makes the inside considerably narrower. If that's big enough for you get a carpenter to make you up the box. It should'nt cost too much, depending of course what wood you want it made from. Chipboard would be cheapest but won't look that good. MDF maybe and then paint it? You will probably have to let him have the rad so that he can draw around it to get a good rad sized hole. You want it nice and snug. Then just mount it on some rubber lugs fastened to the inside of the lid of the box. Tell him you need the lid to be removable.

Let us know how you get on.

MikeTimbers · 9 Jan 2007 at 20:36

If you have an old case lying around, you really have nothing to lose. If you don't, second-hand cases are ten a penny. The only thing you need that's different from using one case is extra tubing.

Like this.

Perfect_Chaos · 10 Jan 2007 at 10:03

MikeTimbers said:
If you have an old case lying around, you really have nothing to lose. If you don't, second-hand cases are ten a penny. The only thing you need that's different from using one case is extra tubing.

Like this.

Hmm.. not bad, is it possible to make the case smaller though? i was hoping for something near the size of already made external kits such as koolance, something around that size or even a tad bigger would be fine.

Like able to put it on top of my pc tower or below my tower.

I'll be wanting a PA 120.3 in there, hopefully i can actually get a cheap case to cut down to fit that in. Already found a place that will do it for me anyway and fit the parts in.

is it actually worth it though? i only think of it as less hassle, would longer tubing = worse temps?..

say if temps go to 28C ambient this summer (since we are expecting another scorching summer) how would load temps be? anyone with a rough estimate?, maybe on a dual core or quad conroe overclocked, along with a video card (maybe r600) connected to it.