Case Mod & Water Cooling Questions

[vietbboibrave]

Ok, I'm looking at trying my hand at water cooling this summer, but I don't want a behemoth of a case (full tower).

That said, I'm looking at the Lian Li V1200. My questions are:

1. Would a Black Ice Xtreme 120.1 radiator put in the place of the front 120mm fan be enough cooling power for a CPU and GPU block? In the xtreme systems sticky the guy suggests at least a 120.2 for cpu and gpu but maybe with high CFM fans it would be ok?

2. Otherwise, where would be the best place to try and put a dual 120.2 radiator (e.g. Swiftech mcr220)? Is there enough clearance on the bottom (between the wheels) or would you have to put it on the top towards the front of the case, or is there anyway to put one on the back? Or heatercore inside by the 5.25" bays? I dunno, lol..

3. How hard is it to mod a case? i.e. put in a window on the side and possibly cut holes for the radiator? I haven't researched much about putting a window in there but I believe with a RadGrillz the modification for the radiator wouldn't be too hard.

Thanks for any help guys!

 

[HardWarrior]

1. You've got the right idea. You can compensate for minimal surface area with a lot of air, to a degree. Will it work in your case? That depends on what you're trying to cool. If your CPU and GPU are something modern I doubt if it'll work very well. Your coolant temps (and FRU's) are going to be on the warm side, which doesn't give you much margin for an overclock or if the ambient spikes for some reason. Also, your rad would be a real dust magnet. If you can find a way at all, I'd suggest a 120.2.

2. This I wouldn't know for sure, but IMO the next places to look are the back and top of the case. For a back mounting, with minimal drilling you can mount a rad to a radbox. I've seen rad mounted to the plate that's part of the HD slots, but I have no idea how much work that would entail.

3. I can't help you here because I measure and cut like a girl. The last case I had modded was done by the people I bought the case from. That's a great looking case, BTW.