Suggestion for a WC case?

[Urian]

After my last computer bit the dust a couple of months ago(thank you very much, frikkin' thunder storm), I've finally decided to build a completely new rig.

I'll be using WC (CPU&GPU blocks, 120.3 rad, T-line) so I want a big case with lots of space. The case I've been looking mostly at is TT Kandalf (there's no major price difference, ca 10?, between Kandalf and Armor here), perhaps with the new 25cm side fan.
Another alternative is the TT Tai Chi. While it's quite expensive, the difference between iot and a Kandalf is "only" ca 60? so it might be worth it.

So, I guess the questions are basicly:
1) Is the Kandalf a good case?
2) Would it be worth it to get the Tai Chi?
3) Are there other, better suited cases for this?

 

[Zepper]

There are plenty of nice tower cases on these two sites: http://www.servercase.com and http://www.buildtoorderservers.com , but no way to tell if you could get any of them where you are. One would think that the YeongYang ( http://www.yycase.com ) small cube server case would be a nice WC housing. I sort of like the new Tt Eureka (not as riced out as a lot of their others) but I haven't really thought about its adaptability to WC.

.bh.

 

[Nirach]

I've managed to fit two W/C loops in a TT Armor (Full tower version), which is the same base chassis as the Kandalf.

I fit a 120.2 in my case, but only after some modifcation to the side, I didn't put it in the front..

I am, however, going to be doing my WC stuff externally now, in a YY cube (Funnily, the one Zepper mentioned ) because it'd be neater than having to try and fit the second dual 120 in there. As for the 120.3, I'm not sure (Looking at both cases here) where you'd get one without some serious thought and modification.

however, if space is your only concern, the Kandalf should be quite adequate. If I were you, though, I'd look at replacing the shipped 3-in-3 drive caddy with the 4-in-3 from Coolermaster, that too would require some modification on the drive bays, and would render it difficult to move the drives anywhere else. not that the 3-in-3 is bad, it's just a bit.. Wasteful on the space front

 

[Zepper]

The Lian Li 4-in-3 cage is prettier than the CoolerMaster but it costs more (perhaps not too much difference after shipping as the CM cage weighs a ton - some of the heaviest metal I've ever seen in a case accy).

.bh.

 

[Urian]

Thanks for the input!
Space isn't my only concern but it is a big one.
The 4-in-3 suggestions look really nice! I can get them both from a nearby dealer and the price difference is only 7?. Are there any other differences that the way they look (e.g. what fans do they use, do I have to mod the case to fit them in, etc ?)

As for doing WC externally; I've alse been thinking about that. If the radiator doesn't fit (it should according to the specs but I'm still somewhat doubtful) then I'll put at least that one outside/behind/on top.

 

[Nirach]

I've not seen the LianLi, but I know for a fact the CM one will not fit without a bit of tweaking. TT have fold out tabs on eac bay, as one would expect, but with the CM thing they get in the way, you may be able to get around that by removing the side plates (Unless that's an older version my uncle has, but he bought them recently.. not sure as to the cycles). I'd say the best thing to do would be to ask your nearby dealer if you could see what you're dealing with in the 4-in-3 things so you can decide if you will need to mod your case or not.

If you mounted the tripple 120 rad in the front you'd be left with two of the eleven bays free. You can mount hdd's in the back, next to the PSU (Where I have my rad), but I'm not sure how they'd cope with the heat. Good thing about that location is teh really quite well perforated top to the chassis, and the 92mm fan to blow/suck air over them, so they might be okay. If you were dead set on three 120mm cooling points you could use a Swiftec (I think) radbox and mount a single on the back, using the plastic 'hotswap' 120mm fan bracket that's supplied, a dual in the front and have space to manipulate your CD/DVD+floppy/powerswitches+3-in-3 bay that's shipped. http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e298/liratheal/ Although there's a lot of crap on there, near the bottom of the first page there's some pictures of what I did with mine radiator wise, if that helps, and a few crumby pictures of the HDD thing that's shipped with the chassis.

Also, if I were you, I'd consider your reservoir too. At the moment, mine sit on the rear and one in a drive bay, if you still like the idea of using the drive bays to mount a rad, then look at something similar to what I have on the back of mine, and see where you could work one of those into the loop. What were you thinking tubing wise? I had to use a fair few right angles and t-pieces in mine, I'm tempted to try some reinforced tubing to see what the stuff is like.

Also, on a similar note, check the prices of car heater matricies as oppose to 'official' pc radiators. the car ones are higher fin densities, and need more manly fans to get the airflow, but they're 35 kilowat coolers vs. half to one kilowatt devices, I picked one up from Motormania for £40, dual 120 in size, as oppose to the £50+ for the dual 120's. Just make sure it's half inch ID connectors (Most are) and they fit the gaps you've got

Hope that's of some help.

 

[Urian]

Yes, lots of food for thought

I'm not 100% set-in-stone decided to go with a 120.3 but they do seem to be nice (and, IIRC, TC PA120.3 (and BIX120.3?) outperform car heatercores when operating at fan levels where you can still hear an anvil fall). Wouldn't a 120.1 and a 120.2 add unneccesary flow restriction? Would I place the rad on the floor (slightly raised)? Since if I go with a Kandalf I'll probably get one with a 250 side fan so it'd probably add some good cooling to the rad, right?

Edit: Oh, right. I forgot to mention that I'll probably only need 1-2 5,25" drives.

 

[Nirach]

My biggest concern with putting the rad at the bottom would be the cards in the mobo, and their height interfearing with the rad, and the other thought for that is, where you'd mount the pump, the PA 120.2 is a lot fatter than the pictures make it look, I was surprised when I got it out of the box.

A 120 and a 120.2 would add more flow restriction, yes, I was just offering possible alternatives if you were set on 120.3, which you're not so no worries there

If you go external for the pump/fans then there's a certain amount of noise dampening you can do to kill most of the sound

Anyhow. As for the side fan, I'm not sure, it depends on your positioning of things really. Ideally, I'd be happier if the air was going through the rad and straight out of the case, rather than pushing warm air into the case. I'd say your best method deciding where to situate your rad would be based on tubing curves/right angles and block placement/reservoir placement. I'd have liked mine to be lower than it is, for example. It will be soon, but hey. I'd advise against moutning it horizontally above the case, for air bleeding reasons, I have enough trouble with mine being near the top

If you could construct a sufficient support, vertically from the bottom may be an option (Mechano is good for that, my Xbox and Gamecube swear by it ). If that comes into contact with the side fan area, you might be able to attach a fan on the opposite side to bloe in the same way as the side fan. I'd not want to go external on the right hand side of teh case (Looking from the front) because it's already pretty heavily biased to that side as it is.

If you planned it right, though, vertically a dual 120 in the front bays may be the ticket. It'd be quite possible to lose six bays and have the HDD's in the rear HDD area instead of the shipped cage, that'd also leave two spaces for future work, if you fancied modding the shipped cage to accept an 80 fan and two in two as oppose to three in three.

If you can, try drawing it, doesn't need to be to scale, unless you like it that way, it might give you more of a feel for the location of things, it helps me trial and erroring it with paper rather than a case itself Costs elss, too. One thing about mouning the drives at the back, because it's at the top, check that your chosen drive interface cables can reach, be it SATA or IDE.

Oh, one thing about the PA120.2 (Not sure if it's true of the other two sizes) the shipped screws will be FAR too long and will puncture the radiator without the gasket, which tends to rip (I've had two rip on me. Out of two.) I ended up using shome shorter, blunt, metal self-tappers I think mine were two mm shorter than the shipped screws, not exactly sure any more, I can check if required.

 

[Urian]

Hm, external or shorter tubes... I'll probably try to draw it before buying anything but since I'm building a complete rig from scratch I'm still not sure on what I'll include.
I'll wait for some reviews of the new side fans before deciding on where to mount the rad (ifI go for a TT armor/kandalf, that is). Hm, I wonder if it might be possible to use the door from a LCS Kandalf and switch the rad to a PA120.3? The position migt be somewhat awkward though...

I'll use a T-line, not a reservoir, so no need for drivers for that

 

[Nirach]

The thing you need to bear in mind when mounting the rad it is you'll need space for teh header tanks and the parts (Usually 35mm long at most, my TC barbs are about that.)

short of actually toying with some drawing, or the parts themselves, it's more difficult to work out what to put where, I spent about a day just moving the parts around to get the best placements without going external.

 

[Zepper]

Yes, with the CM 4-in-3, if there are support tabs between each bay, you'll have to bend them back or cut them off. The side plates are an integral part of the design that allow the drive cage itself to be isolated from the rest of the case by four huge rubber donuts. Used to be the Lian Li one would only work in L-L cases, but the version shipping now is supposed to work with many other cases.

.bh.

 

[Nirach]

Just looked at the Kandalf LCS. The door rdiator mount looks like a good idea, and would make it easier for you, but my biggest concern with that is the tubing size, because TT will probably be basing it on their 6.4mm tubing, rather than something like 1/2 inch. And Tygons wall thickness, while good, might make it difficult to fot half inch to the rad in the door. I'd wait for a review of it, and see what it's like before buying a case. It may well solve your rad mounting problems, with minimal modification.