Liquid Art: From Mini P180 to infinity...

There will be, i am currently considering whether to mod this case to fit a 240mm rad at the top or get a new case altogether.

Cases i'm looking at are:

Fractal Design Arc Mini
Fractal Design Arc Midi


Both look identical, just one takes micro atx only.


What do you think i should go for? New case or stick with current one and mod the crap out of it?


I watched a video on the Arc Mini by MNPCTECH where they did a BF3 theme to it and i just love the Camo theme he did. Would love something like that on this case but at the same time i'm quite fond of the plain styling and sleek dark colours and contrast. I've e-mailed them aswel about doing one for me but they have yet to reply back to me.


I'm also thinking about maybe an extended window to really show off the front 2 radiators as they're abit excluded at the moment and all you see with the side panel on is the compression fittings.



My only problem now is, if i fit a 240mm rad up top then that would mean i would lose my DVD drive which i use a lot at the moment. I already have my HDD's externally and don't really want to have more stuff externally. Although having a 240mm up top will effectively increase the cooling potential of this case significantly over what it is now. It would have to be a slim radiator though so i can still fit a rear fan for exhaust. This also brings me to the roof of the case which only has vents for a 200mm fan so with that in mind i would need to mod the roof to take the 240mm radiator and allow it to pass air through.



From how i see it, the new case option seems the way to go with minimal modifications needed to fit the watercooling equipment i need. However it's less fun of course and i would probably get bored of it very quickly after it's done before wanting to move onto the next mod or case. New case would defo need a side window like i did with this one and would also consider different colour optiosn so more than likely powdercoating.



What do you think?
 
Jamsames said:
mod the crap out of this case.

if you dont like it then get the fractal midi. it will be easier to w/c in
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If i mod i will have to vacate my current hardware out of the case and sit it on a box for a few weeks lol. I haven't seen many people try to fit modern watercooling into this case as all the current threads are from about 4-5 years ago when watercooling still looked pre-mature. So whatever i do now will be a one-off never done before scenario with barely or no support (this makes it quite exciting aswel! Would consider sponsorship maybe?)

Apem said:
Keep the antec and mod it m8 see so few of them about anymore.

Have you thought about a better 200mm fan and the phobya 200mm rad for the top? Can you mount the hard drives below the mid plate where you have the psu and pump?

Love this build so much considering getting a matx amd board and getting one.

Would be doing aircooling at first what 120mm fans would you recommend for intakes at the front?
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I have i looked at that exact radiator and been looking in my case to where it would fit. After some measuring i would still need to remove the top drive bay so which leads me back to a 240mm radiator if im going to remove the drive bay anyway.

I cannot, that place is currently occupied by a drive bay reservoir, tubing and also a fan controller. Considering getting rid of the fan controller though and getting one of those smaller units that stick to the back of the motherboard tray (can't remember the exact name of them). My Hard drives currently sit in a caddy behind the rig out of site but as you can imagine, its quite dusty there. The SSD however sits on the mid plate beneath my GPU.

For intake fans i have tried, GELID 120 UV, Enermax Magma twister fans, Enermax Cluster Fans, Sharkoon SE Golf style fans, Cooler master Sickleflow and out of all those i would recommend the Gelid 120 UV for quietness but the Enermax Cluster Fans (White LED version) for performance.


If you have money to throw i would also consider the Silverstone Air Penetrators for front intakes as they blow air directly into/onto the GPU and CPU coolers. Exhaust doesn't doesn't really matter aslong as its quiet enough.


For anything watercooling with this case, feel free to ask me and i will try and help any way possible.
 
Actually as i recall, a 200mm radiator wouldn't fit with or without the 5.25" bay removed because it would still hit or be too close to the motherboard especially if your motherboard has a top heatsink which mine has as shown in the pictures.
 
Apem said:
I thought you used the ek pump and res is it the 2.2 version instead of a bay res?

Looked at these fans Enermax 12cm PCGamesHardware Special Edition T.B.Vegas Fan they give according to the specs 900rpms 63cfm for 17db's.
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Nono i changed out my EK pump and res combo for something stronger as i was planning an upgrade at the time so i got a swiftech DDC pump instead and opted for a bay res for more capacity. It works better tbh, the combo was way too big for this case.

The specs lie a little, they don't shift that much air at all. I'm sitting next to mine with the same RPM and it doesn't move the same amount of air as the spec says. I used my Gelid UV wings as a benchmark as they're more renown to give decent confident specs.
 
Apem said:
Hehe thats why I said according to lol.

Ahh thats why I thought you had your hd's down there then could see them in earlier pics :)

TBH I liked it how it looked more with the rad on the back exhaust slot than at the top.

How was did the ek pump and res combo work in the set up you had before was it ok?
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Haha, sorry i misread that bit. Yea i did but i needed room so i thought best option would be to move them out altogether. I didn't realise how hot they get aswel, glad i moved them out.

I don't like it as much, i think it blocks the motherboard too much and it's too close to the cpu block for my liking. Maybe if i had a thinner radiator there then it would work but as it stands i might just leave the top radiator for now. Just gonna consider fitting a 240mm up there and see if i can get away with fitting 2 fans on it aswel without getting in the way of the top 120mm radiator located at the front if you know what i mean?
 
PROJECT 12


Right so im naming this Project 12, the second part to my gaming rig.


First thing first, lets talk about fitting a 240mm radiator to the top of this case shall we? To do this i will sacrifice the top DVD drive and 5.25" drive bay to enable me to fit the radiator there.


From this picture:

IMG_1763.jpg




I can assume that i can fit upto a 280mm radiator in there but lets not be greedy now and stick with the 240mm for the time being... unless i start feeling imaginitive haha.


I'm currently looking at this radiator, mostly because it's thin and i need thin right now to enable me to fit 2 fans underneath it and to be able to squeeze it between the gap thats above my front 120 radiator at the moment.

Black ICE GT Stealth 240
OR
Black ICE GT Stealth 280


Next problem to solve would be mounting it. As there are no holes up above apart from the small amount of mesh, i have 2 options:

1. Cut a small hole out where there is no mesh
2. Remove the roof entirely and replace with full mesh or perspex


IMG_1764.jpg




The materials are cheap so thats not a problem but cutting these pieces out will be and especially getting everything to line up aswel will be a huge problem without the necessary tools.
 
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Apem said:
Maybe a crossflow rad would be suitable with the space being tight?

Might be a idea to have the double rad on intake and use deciflex double rad filter?
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I would go for the Xflow version but i'm worried whether the ports would be blocked by the front radiator or not.

I need to do an image of how i would route this aswel. Feel free to advise on the loop changes etc and draw plans if you want to. I will consider everything if it's viable.



By the way, they do a white version of my case that's still available in some places ;)
 
Apem said:
Only ever seen the black version of your case.

How about having the duel rad and 1 single rad wouldnt that be enough cooling for the cpu and gpu then you could add the middle HD cage back in with a intake fan in front of it?
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It would, it would be exactly the same as i have now having 3 x 120mm rads in. The middle cage would be able to go back in however routing the tubing would be slightly harder then. Also i wouldn't be able to fit an intake fan in front of it because it's either a hdd caddy or fan, can't have both unfortunately.
 
Apem said:
Dam thats a shame thought you could fit a fan in front.

Really looking forward to seeing this m8.
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Me too, just looking at other fitting equipment aswel and rad holders. Looks like i will be putting the dremel into good use this week ;)


My Basket so far.. i have other bits ordered just not but they're from a competitors site due to lack of stock on ocuk.


basket2.jpg


Also:
Another Enermax 120mm Cluster Fan
XSPC RADBK120 Radstand Mount for 120mm


That's it for now, will update when parts arrive
 
Some early progress...


Decided to go ahead tonight and get things done now rather than later, so tonight i started off by removing the mid plate that is sandwiched between the 2 x 120 rads. I did this so i could get rid of the U-Bend and instead fit 2 x 90 degree angle fittings in there instead (Makes it look much much neater). Removing the mid plate was much easier than i thought it would be! Didn't have to remove any components either. I used painters tape to circle around the rivets so any debris that came out would be stuck to the tape and not end up all in my case.. this by way works really really well if you're not wanting to remove components out from your case.


IMG_1767.jpg
IMG_1766.jpg



Next is to remove the top 5.25" bay so i can fit a 240mm radiator up there... the next challenge will be removing the roof and making a makeshift vented top (probably fancy mesh) to allow for airflow to pass through it.
 
Preparation work complete:



Finally removed the top 5.25" bay and my god was it a mission! For anyone who wants to consider this it's held on by a crap load of rivets! Just not worth it unless you're patient and handy with a drill in tight corners.

Anyway the bay is out now and there is a heck load of space for a top mount radiator to go in :).

Just awaiting for parts to come in tomorrow we can crack on with the project again.


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More updates to come tomorrow.. ;)
 
Blame the courier for the mix up! OCUK did me a great favour though, so thanks to them :).


I removed 2 fans today from the front of the case, figured it was abit of overkill. Running a little quieter now and performance hasn't changed at all.
 
Project 12 first big update! 240mm radiator fitted!



This went much much easier than i thought it would be! The radiator slotted in just fine, no problems at all! Infact i reckon i could have gotten away with an even thicker radiator instead of the black ICE GT stealth ones. The thin density on these are crazy, so i think i might need some better fans to accompany them.. maybe some GT's or AP's.


Anyway here are some build pics and close ups.


Stripping out the big 120 radiator to begin with...


DSC_0129.jpg





Then matching up the mounting points from where i would fit the radiator...


DSC_0131.jpg





Then comes fitting the fans and fittings to the new 240 radiator...


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Now all plumbed in with some rather tight fittings in the corners...


DSC_0141.jpg


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DSC_0148.jpg





Now that it's all up and running i just need to sort out a few cable issues and purchase another 120mm fan to sit in the rear for exhaust.


DSC_0150.jpg
 
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Plan now is to work on the case itself, i'm thinking of vinyl wrapping the case (possibly carbon white) and also sort out the front door for some more venting as at the moment it's solid with very little ventilation for the front fans to intake (gaps too small).


Once prices come down abit for the gtx 680 i'll think about SLi'ing with a new motherboard and ofc adding it to my water loop
 
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