QuantumPion
Diamond Member
I think it's about time I got into water cooling. My current setup is an i7 920 and 285gtx in a p182 case. I think I've been having some overheating problems lately and I was going to get an H50 but decided what the heck, might as well go all the way.
My current idea is to get an Antec 1200 case, and use a 3x120mm fan radiator internally in the front. I haven't seen a lot of info on how to do this, but of the one or two people I've seen with that set up, it is fairly easy. From what I can tell, it is possible to simply remove the hard drive bay cages and attach the stock case fan and grills directly to the radiator and plop it right in. I only have 1 hard drive and dvd drive so I should have enough space left over. I haven't decided on what radiator to get yet because I don't know what will fit yet, but so far I'm eyeing the swifttech QP radiator.
For pump, I'll go with a swifttech mcp650. I'll stick it on the floor of the case behind the power supply. I will only be water cooling the CPU for now, and for that I'll get a swifttech apogee-XT. When I'm ready to upgrade video cards, I'll get one with a factory water block and add that to my loop. I'll also use a reservoir of some sort somewhere, but I don't know which one or where to put it just yet. If the radiator isn't too big and I have a 3rd 5.25 slot still open, I could get a bay reservoir. Otherwise I could get some sort of small reservoir and clamp it to the side of the case.
I'd prefer to not have to do any hard modding (i.e. drilling/cutting). I have the budget so I think I will use compression fittings although I'm not exactly familiar with the different types of fittings and how they work but I've heard that compression fittings are easier to use if you are willing to pay for them.
So how does my plan sound? Any recommendations on parts or assembly? My main concern is how easy/hard it will be to mod the front grills to hold a radiator and how well it will fit. Maybe there is a better case to use altogether for this purpose that I'm not aware of.
My current idea is to get an Antec 1200 case, and use a 3x120mm fan radiator internally in the front. I haven't seen a lot of info on how to do this, but of the one or two people I've seen with that set up, it is fairly easy. From what I can tell, it is possible to simply remove the hard drive bay cages and attach the stock case fan and grills directly to the radiator and plop it right in. I only have 1 hard drive and dvd drive so I should have enough space left over. I haven't decided on what radiator to get yet because I don't know what will fit yet, but so far I'm eyeing the swifttech QP radiator.
For pump, I'll go with a swifttech mcp650. I'll stick it on the floor of the case behind the power supply. I will only be water cooling the CPU for now, and for that I'll get a swifttech apogee-XT. When I'm ready to upgrade video cards, I'll get one with a factory water block and add that to my loop. I'll also use a reservoir of some sort somewhere, but I don't know which one or where to put it just yet. If the radiator isn't too big and I have a 3rd 5.25 slot still open, I could get a bay reservoir. Otherwise I could get some sort of small reservoir and clamp it to the side of the case.
I'd prefer to not have to do any hard modding (i.e. drilling/cutting). I have the budget so I think I will use compression fittings although I'm not exactly familiar with the different types of fittings and how they work but I've heard that compression fittings are easier to use if you are willing to pay for them.
So how does my plan sound? Any recommendations on parts or assembly? My main concern is how easy/hard it will be to mod the front grills to hold a radiator and how well it will fit. Maybe there is a better case to use altogether for this purpose that I'm not aware of.
