Custom case idea

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Rusty4560

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 24, 2007
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I've never done water cooling before so I'm not sure if what I have is enough for the system.

Let me know what you think. Ideas are welcome.

UPDATE: I think I'm going to go with this idea.

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I require some parts to help with this build I have created a WTB thread here:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1682567


BUILD LOG:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1038601291&posted=1#post1038601291
 
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Looks cool. Possibly a little tall, considered laying the tower/rad sideways? Drive bays also restricting airflow a littlle. Are those meant to be 3.5 bays? ....


Like the 2nd one better, possibly more space between the rad/cage? cabling could be a problem if you push pull otherwise?
 
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The rad will probably be 3-4inches from the back of the drive bay section. Should it be farther? I am only going to have the fan in the PSU, and the radiator. I want inside of the case to be nearly air tight as to get the least chance of dust. I'm not going for overclock or anything.
 
I'd take the #2 render and flip it over 180 degrees, with the frame being extended to account for stability also. Aside from that, it looks pretty snazzy :)
 
What did you use to make that rendering....looks really cool BTW
 
PM_DMNKLR said:
I'd take the #2 render and flip it over 180 degrees, with the frame being extended to account for stability also. Aside from that, it looks pretty snazzy :)
Click to expand...

What do you mean by extend the frame? Where and why should it be bigger?
 
Your still gonna need an amount of airflow across the motherboard and other parts of the video cards that aren't covered by the waterblocks. It's not gonna need to be a lot but still needs to be there. A couple near silent, low speed 120mm fans one on each side doing push pull for airflow doubled over with air filters would keep that part of the case quiet and dust free and only require an additional 55-60mm in length. I agree with the above poster though that the second design looks better.
 
Rusty4560 said:
What do you mean by extend the frame? Where and why should it be bigger?
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If you take the 2nd render idea and flip it over 180 degrees, there isn't enough support to keep it from tipping backward, however if there were posts/legs behind the radiator, extended from the outside corners of the other half of the case (where the main components are), then it'll provide some nice extra support. Main reason I'd say to flip it that way, is in the off chance a leak could happen when you're unaware, until it's too late. If the water naturally falls with gravity, it's best to have it falling away from the pc components, rather then onto them. Another big reason I'd say to flip it over, is because the water will stay cooler for longer if it is below the warm components, rather than above them. Heat rises, cool falls, and it won't hurt the pump or anything either.
 
PM_DMNKLR said:
If you take the 2nd render idea and flip it over 180 degrees, there isn't enough support to keep it from tipping backward, however if there were posts/legs behind the radiator, extended from the outside corners of the other half of the case (where the main components are), then it'll provide some nice extra support. Main reason I'd say to flip it that way, is in the off chance a leak could happen when you're unaware, until it's too late. If the water naturally falls with gravity, it's best to have it falling away from the pc components, rather then onto them. Another big reason I'd say to flip it over, is because the water will stay cooler for longer if it is below the warm components, rather than above them. Heat rises, cool falls, and it won't hurt the pump or anything either.
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What if I rotate onto its side 90 degrees or flip it over 180 degrees and do 2 water loops. One for motherboard components, memory, cpu and another for the gpus? Would that allow me to eliminate the need for fans inside the case itself and only put them on the radiators?
 
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I'd like to have 0 fans where the motherboard is. I want to do everything with water cooling, The only fans I would like to have are on the rads and the one in the PSU.
 
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Can someone tell me what would need to be cooled with more than just a heatsink?
 
As I had said earlier, your going to need some sort of ventilation/air movement in that motherboard area. The motherboard can probably run just fine in normal conditions passively but your wanting to stick it in a sealed container which is most likely going to cause heat issues with extended use. There are also the other parts of the video cards that are not covered by the waterblocks that may need some sort of air movement to keep them cool. Also, even though your throwing a waterblock on the GPU(s), the blocks themselves get warm to the touch which adds additional radiant heat inside the box. Even a single, low db 120mm fan on one end and just a slotted opening on the other end would provide ample cooling.
 
USMCGrunt said:
As I had said earlier, your going to need some sort of ventilation/air movement in that motherboard area. The motherboard can probably run just fine in normal conditions passively but your wanting to stick it in a sealed container which is most likely going to cause heat issues with extended use. There are also the other parts of the video cards that are not covered by the waterblocks that may need some sort of air movement to keep them cool. Also, even though your throwing a waterblock on the GPU(s), the blocks themselves get warm to the touch which adds additional radiant heat inside the box. Even a single, low db 120mm fan on one end and just a slotted opening on the other end would provide ample cooling.
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agree with this, as I know some parts of the mobo can heat up if no air flow around it.

can't wait to see what happens next
 
What really helps with the design process is deciding beforehand what your goal is. Do you want something as small as possible, watercool X amount, as silent as possible, all of the above etc.

Right now I have a hard time figuring out what you're going for but keep it up. You never get it right at first try. Iterate, iterate, iterate.
 
I'm going to toss around a few more ideas. I made another 2 renders and starting breaking down an old case for parts.
My main goal is a dust free environment and by setting up water cooling + "chambers", I figured I would be able to do that.
 
Something is going to get dust though, if not your external radiator. In saying that...

I toyed with this idea a while back and maybe someone has done it, but not that I have seen. Feel free if I am the first to suggest, to use my idea, but basically I considered a sealed design like you have and a mostly dust free case, but planned on using the watercooling system to also keep the internal case cool. Basically use the water system to take all the heat out of the case and seal it completely.

Essentially you can build a system like you are doing, but then put another radiator in the same loop inside the case with a couple of fans blowing inside, but only using the air in the case and not drawing any air from outside. This essentially would raise the temperature of the internal radiator and blow cooler air out of the other side of the radiator and allow the motherboard to cool from air that would never be hotter than the water loop. It's link to outside would only be the water tube which could be insulated and sealed. Not forgetting that of course you would seal the connection points. My idea stemmed from a much more elaborate reason for doing this, but that I will keep for myself. The idea to cool the inside, you can use. I know it would work and of course the GPU and CPU would also sit in the same loop.

Only dust you would collect would be on the radiator externally. In saying that, would you want the radiator to sit behind the system so the air would not basically blast air with dust in it, across the face of the PC.
 
Dust free in the motherboard compartment is what I'm looking for. I like your idea and I'm going to play aroudn with a few others and see what I can come up with.
 
That would probably keep the temps down well enough though its not going to be ultra efficient, that chamber will still operate at elevated temps....worth experimenting with I guess, would be interesting to see how well that works.

Center a 120.3 over motherboard with three fans blowing down onto the motherboard through the radiator. That would allow a kind of convection current to occur and give an even mixture of air throughout the box.
 
Mickey21 said:
Something is going to get dust though, if not your external radiator. In saying that...

I toyed with this idea a while back and maybe someone has done it, but not that I have seen. Feel free if I am the first to suggest, to use my idea, but basically I considered a sealed design like you have and a mostly dust free case, but planned on using the watercooling system to also keep the internal case cool. Basically use the water system to take all the heat out of the case and seal it completely.

Essentially you can build a system like you are doing, but then put another radiator in the same loop inside the case with a couple of fans blowing inside, but only using the air in the case and not drawing any air from outside. This essentially would raise the temperature of the internal radiator and blow cooler air out of the other side of the radiator and allow the motherboard to cool from air that would never be hotter than the water loop. It's link to outside would only be the water tube which could be insulated and sealed. Not forgetting that of course you would seal the connection points. My idea stemmed from a much more elaborate reason for doing this, but that I will keep for myself. The idea to cool the inside, you can use. I know it would work and of course the GPU and CPU would also sit in the same loop.

Only dust you would collect would be on the radiator externally. In saying that, would you want the radiator to sit behind the system so the air would not basically blast air with dust in it, across the face of the PC.
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Is this what you meant. Having the outside rad cool the air on the inside raid. and having the motherboard chamber sealed.

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I also was thinking of making a small outlet on the opposite side with a 45 degree pitch facing upward, so that it wouldn't really let anything in and only blow out hot air as well as try to keep the air pressure possitive.
 
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So this would be the top "level" of the case, if this idea would actually work.
2 120's cooling outside rad
2 120's pushing air off of inside rad
2 40's pushing air out.

Since there is no air coming from outside I have a filter on the outlet of the 40's
In theory this should keep it "sealed" from outside elements.
I would obviously have a pump between the 2 of these rads, most likey on the lower level. If I can fit everythign I would like to do 2 levels but I may need 3 to fit everything.


Questions, concerns, comments, criticisms?
 
I don't think this concept is going to work. Without an intake I'm not sure what will happen. Also this would make negetive pressure inside the case, no?
 
I did some research and I think I am going to attempt to integrate a 94% filteration electorstatic filter to the outside of the rads.
I know I'm fucking crazy but that's what keeps things interesting.
 
Wow, that last case is really creative. I haven't seen anything like that. That would look absolutely great on display on a desk.
I need to practice my sketchup skills. I have an upcoming build I'm planning and it would be neat to be able to plan it in sketchup- but every time I use it it just takes too long for me to get the design the way I want it and I lose interest and go back to good ole paper and pen lol.
 
Well that last render set confuses me, lol. Soon as I get a chance, I can probably do a little sketch on paper to show u what I was talking about. Those last renders just go in a completely different direction.
 
The last set was a new idea. The one for your idea was the render at the top of the page.
 
So I purchased the metal I need to start this project so expect a worklog soonish. However I don't have a lot of money so I won't be able to get the water cooling components right now. Unless someone has used parts for cheap.
 
If I do a loop for my 2 video cards from one radiator and then a loop for my cpu from another radiator, do I need 2 reserviors? Or can I get away with 1 large res.
 
Rusty4560 said:
The last set was a new idea. The one for your idea was the render at the top of the page.
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I almost forgot to comment on this one, but just so you know, rad stacking is inefficient and pretty much pointless. I was still saying to keep the rad on the outside, as far as one on the inside, I believe both of us were talking about a small one, such as the size as is used with the Corsair H50 setup. In all actuality, however, having a rad on the inside will just keep a warm ambiance circulating inside, and that's no good. To keep the inside cool, you'd be best to have a small condenser coil + fan setup, but nothing super powerful. It would likely be more pointless than one would think it. Ambient temps of the mobo won't affect the cooling loop(s) as much as you'd expect.
 
Thank you for being so helpful. I should be getting the aluminum today after work. If time permits I'll be starting the frame today.
 
No problem, it's what we're all here for, to both help and to be entertained, lol. Looking forward to the mod log too. Soon as I get done with our move, I'll be able to get back online and check for it, lol. Make sure to post a link to the thread in here :)
 
Might be a little late for suggestions, but when I see the back of that case where you have the 2 rads side by side with empty space all around, I just think of one of those 3x3 mora rad units. Then again, might be complete overkill, but just seemed like it could fill out that panel.
 
Tiporaro said:
Might be a little late for suggestions, but when I see the back of that case where you have the 2 rads side by side with empty space all around, I just think of one of those 3x3 mora rad units. Then again, might be complete overkill, but just seemed like it could fill out that panel.
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I would not be opposed to such a thing however if it is 3x3 120s I would not be able to fit it. The case will be fairly large as is and I would not like to at another 5inchs to the back which would then increase the "hypotenuse" side if you will.

I got the metal yesterday and went to get a new miter saw blade so if I have time to start it I will tonight. Don't get your hopes up too much guys. This is my first scratch build. Teaching myself as I go along.
 
Rusty4560 said:
I would not be opposed to such a thing however if it is 3x3 120s I would not be able to fit it. The case will be fairly large as is and I would not like to at another 5inchs to the back which would then increase the "hypotenuse" side if you will.

I got the metal yesterday and went to get a new miter saw blade so if I have time to start it I will tonight. Don't get your hopes up too much guys. This is my first scratch build. Teaching myself as I go along.
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Best way to do it and as long as you take your time and don't settle it will turn out pretty good. My first custom build (though not from scratch like you) turned out a lot better than I thought it would cause I took this approach.
 
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