Water cooling case recommendation

N

Nirad9er

2[H]4U
Joined
Feb 18, 2004
Messages
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So I currently have a Corsair 900D with a 480, 280, and 420mm radiator and I'm starting to not like the size. It's too big to fit under a desk and it's super heavy with everything in it. I realized this in a recent move plus everyone that comes over to my place is like WTF is that thing lol!? I was hoping I maybe do not need that much radiator for my overclocked 7820x and 2 x 1080ti's and look into downsizing while still keeping a custom loop.

What are my full tower case options that will house enough radiator to cool this setup and hold a couple HDDs while being decently smaller?

Can I get away with a double 360 or a 360 / 280?

I like classy looking cases and nothing super gamer or alien looking.

Thanks
 
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Same question...but...

The typical rule is 1x120 space on a radiator per device so 1 gpu plus 2 gpu would be a triple radiator then add one extra space for reserve i.e.extra cool g overhead so you need a 4x120.
 
^ That's not entirely accurate. Hotter items need more cooling area.

1080TI's are around 250W stock, more if OC'd.

7820x is about 150w TDP, again more if OC'd.

You want 650-700W of radiator space for that, minimum.


A good 360mm radiator can do that, with a high-powered fan. (Of course that negates any noise benefits of watercooling.)

You likely want a 360 + 280mm w good fans. (A Third radiator would help you keep noise down.)
 
tangoseal said:
Same question...but...

The typical rule is 1x120 space on a radiator per device so 1 gpu plus 2 gpu would be a triple radiator then add one extra space for reserve i.e.extra cool g overhead so you need a 4x120.
Click to expand...

That rule is ancient... no one goes by that rule. Even the leaders of the hobby like Martin throw 360mm per block at the problem and in his case its absolute silence while maintaining a good delta. Each of his components are at the upper end wattage wise, with each gpu hitting 300w in a game like the witcher. The 7820x overclocked will draw upwards of 100w more over stock putting it roughly into the draw of a ti. Thus that's 3 potentially 300w parts.

https://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graph...-Ti-Review/Detailed-Power-Consumption-Testing

I don't see how the OP is going to downsize his case, while downsizing the cooling and still receive the benefits of a good delta. Shrugs, if you're comfortable with large deltas you can do anything.
 
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1x120 is fine for most components if you are running stock clocks. If your trying to overclock, they will run a hotter loop or use a lot more fan than you'd like.

How much energy your rad can dissipate is a function of the surface area of the rad and the amount and temp of the air you push through it

Most people don't run custom loops to run at stock clocks though. You can make smaller rads work, but it takes a lot louder fan - just depends on how you wanna play that trade off

*edit*

Also, it's a pain in the ass when it comes to mobility, but it's not that hard to do external radiators, and allows you to do nice loops even on very small cases. Just something to consider.
 
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