New watercooling setup

[OVerLoRDI]

I will probably be piecing together a water cooling rig this Christmas and I wanted to start researching parts. I already read the sticky on water cooling, which is what interested me in this project. My main problem at this particular moment in time is a case.

The case I have is an old Pentium II server case. The advantage of the case is that it is freaking huge and has lots of 5.25" bays but it isn't exactly designed to handle the heat production of a modern computer, which is why I have to run it with the side panel off. It also isn't very wide, so my cpu heat sink sticks outside the case making it impossible to put the side panel on without removing the cooler. So transportation is a serious issue.

That being said I need some recommendations on some preferably big cases that are water cooling friendly. The bigger the radiator I can comfortably fit the better, I would like atleast a 2x120mm radiator. I do not want to do any silly external radiator junk as I do need to move my computer a few times a year for lan parties/holidays.

This is what I will be placing in the cooling loop:
Phenom II X4 940
Northbridge (maybe, it is passively cooled already so might be a waste of time)
XFX 5850
Geforce 9600gt

Overclocking is not a huge priority, noise is. My computer used to be in a separate room but now my desk is in my bedroom so noise has become an issue.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[aigomorla]

what is your budget on the case?

Watercooling cases can get costly...

And i mean the real ones which are water ready.

 

[mhouck]

I have the Cooler Master ATSC 840 and it is great for water cooling. Its Full Tower, comes w/ brackets to mount a 3x120 radiator in to of the case and other really supberb features that make working in its breeze. It's been a dream for me.

I haven't looked at prices on it lately but it ran from $180 to $200 when I was looking around April this year.

Like Aigomorla said, it does get expensive. But very much worth it. Good Luck!

 

[RockinZ28]

Just got done rebuilding my rig in the Corsair 800D case and adding a cpu water cooling loop. Was my first water cooling experience, think the case made it a lot easier.
Doesn't come cheap though, probably $240-300 last I looked.
120x3 rad fit perfectly in the pre-made top holes, and with 1000rpm fans it is extremely quiet even with the side panel off. Can't wait to do the gpu as well when I rebuild all the computer hardware, should be very quiet.

 

[daw123]

Just got done rebuilding my rig in the Corsair 800D case and adding a cpu water cooling loop. Was my first water cooling experience, think the case made it a lot easier.
Doesn't come cheap though, probably $240-300 last I looked.

This is about right for a single, CPU only loop using new parts.

 

[RockinZ28]

This is about right for a single, CPU only loop using new parts.

Oh I was referring to the cost of the 800D case alone. But you are right, the cpu loop cost me about $300 as well. Obviously adding NB and GPU(s), like the OP wants, to the loop or a another complete loop will make things much more expensive, which I plan to do when a few pieces of hardware are released so I can make a whole new pc.