Lian Li A05 + TC 140.3 - where to install it?

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Quick question - where would you guys install this big rad. Don't worry, it will fit.
Question is where:

  • on top of the case - with fans inside the case, pushing air throught the rad
  • under top panel - inside the case, with fans under rad, same, pushing air through it
  • bottom of the case - with fans under the case, sucking air from the case to outside, on the desk. Feet will be lifted of course...

One rad, three positions. Please help me out where it should be installed.
I need to go through it, what would be advantages of each position.
First of all, rad on top of the case - means that hot radiator will be outside, so will get rid of the heat that comes straight from the aluminium cover of the rad. Right? Fans would still pump the hot air from the case thou.
Top panel, but inside the case - huge space taken by this rad plus fans, hot rad inside the case. Of course I would install 120mm fans at the bottom of the case to suck cool air from the outside to blow through the case to top fans of the rad...
Third position - bottom fo the case - only thing fans blow downwards, so hot air from case going through the rad again... Plus some 120mm fans on top to pushing hot air out of the case through the roof case.

What do you guys think? Skip all the hardware installation issues and other stuff. Heat wise, think of mATX Asus Gene mobo with i7920@4GHz, one dual chip g card - like GTX295 or anything that comes out soon, like GT300 single, or dual chip in the future. Blocks - cpu, gpu and NB. Fans, 140mm Yate Loon or whatever comes in the future ( 2009/2010).
 
I think thats gonna be a hell of a hard job there!! Good luck with it whatever you choose!!

Looking at the choices you've suggested I would say bottom of the case with fans sucking air in. Wherever you put it though you'd be better having the fans sucking the cold air from outside the case through the rad. If you do it at the top with the fans blowing out, you will be blowing warm air through the rad... not ideal.

Only reason I say bottom of the case is the old heat rises thing so makes more sense to have intake fans at the bottom and exhause at the top.
 
I think thats gonna be a hell of a hard job there!! Good luck with it whatever you choose!!

Looking at the choices you've suggested I would say bottom of the case with fans sucking air in. Wherever you put it though you'd be better having the fans sucking the cold air from outside the case through the rad. If you do it at the top with the fans blowing out, you will be blowing warm air through the rad... not ideal.

Only reason I say bottom of the case is the old heat rises thing so makes more sense to have intake fans at the bottom and exhause at the top.

That is actually the bottom radiator issue I was thinking about - which would be better - to suck hot air from inside through the radiator and blow to the bottom of the case - or - suck cold air from under the case and blow it through the rad to the case. Radiator would get nice cool air to dissipate heat, but warmed air from the rad would get inside the case, heating up the whole air inside and all the parts. I know that physics say hot air goes up, but would that be fast enough to get rid of that hot air inside with those top fans sucking it to outside? Basicaly, air would go through the rad first and then through the case to out on top.
What version is better? hot inside air going through the rad, or hot air fropm rad going through the case up?
 
Id still say hot air from the rad going up through the case. The air doesnt heat up that much going through the rad compared to the heat of the air already in the case. The components in the case will heat it much more than the rad will
 
I just had another crazy idea, how about mounting two 120.3 same way they in TJ07? Air would pass through them from one side to another
That would make it mATX mobo only case:)

Assuming that the height of the case is 381mm, that gives 245mm for mobo installed at the top, rest will be enough for 120mm radiator on its side - 136mm left.
Now, PA120.3 is 129mm tall, XSPC RX360 is 125mm, Feser 360 is 123mm!!!
I think 381mm is a height of the whole case, that means with those crapy feet, which may have about 5-8mm with bottom panel thickness. That means any of those, prefferebly Fesers would fit in... I could use 123mm tall Fesers and cut them off with 3mm acrylic panel above them, between radiators and "mobo chamber":D
It would look like this:
picture.php


Now, imagine two of these stacked with fans on each side.. AND in the middle:)
That's 2x60mm+3x25mm = 195mm. Let's say 200mm, where case has 210mm of width.
There. Job done. Again, like a glove:)

From top, it would look like this:

picture.php


Each rad would have 3 fans.

I could add another 2 fans in front and back of the case to push in some cool air and leave that 35-37mm gap between rads to let them suck this cool air.

picture.php
 
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Haha, you definately are being ambitious here!! Going to have to use an MATX mobo or somthing though which wont give the best performance so the extreme watercooling seems a mismatch. What are you going for, big power or quiet pc? Would make sense for being quiet I guess.

Also you need to think where the PSU would go? Thats normally down there at the bottom
 
Haha, you definately are being ambitious here!! Going to have to use an MATX mobo or somthing though which wont give the best performance so the extreme watercooling seems a mismatch. What are you going for, big power or quiet pc? Would make sense for being quiet I guess.

Also you need to think where the PSU would go? Thats normally down there at the bottom

Well, PSU and other stuff is easy. PSU will go on top.
You see, you don't need to pass on performance when go with mATX - Asus x58 Gene is best mobo after Extreme for i7. I wil go with i7920@4GHz and GTX295. I can go away with 140.3 on top, but its good to know that 2x120.3 will fit as well:)
 
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