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Watercooling + LAN machine + Lian Li mid tower= help, advice needed

S

Sir Jman

Banned
So I'm thinking of building a new system to repalce my current setup. right now i'm using a Lian Li PC-75, though huge and has the ability to hold tons of watercooling gear, it is too big to move around.

For my next build (budget around $2000), i'm planning to make a more portable system. I would like to use a Lian Li case unless there is something else that would be alot better, but I am very loyal to Lian Li. Now, I need suggestions on which mid tower will be able to accomidate the largest radiator possible, along with all of the other components as well. My other question is whether to use a T-line with fill port, or a small reservoir- considering this may get moved around...

This will be an amd 64 system of course, possibly going sli in the future.

For watercooling:
I was thinking either a swiftech apogee or danger den tdx block(the pin holes on the storm make me nervous)
Black ice xtreme 120mm or larger
D5 pump
T-line or small res
1/2" id tubing
possibly one of the full 7800 water blocks from danger den if it falls into the budget but doubtful

Also, does anyone know what chipset blocks will fit on a dfi lanparty sli-dr without interfering with the graphics card?



 
If this is a lanparty box you should go with a T and fillport, if for no other reason than decreasing overal weight. If I were you (being a Lian Li person too), I'd consider a steel case. As sweet as Lian Li's are they're still fairly thin aluminun, which is prone to dents and scratches. In terms of case selection, there a far more knowledgeable people here when it comes to that.

The Apogee, from what I understand, is a fine block with a fairly annoying flaw: You have to clean it of cooper shards (left from the manufacturing process) to avoid them finding their way into your loop and possibly fouling your pump. As for the TDX, it has an annoying side as well: the neoprene gasket (attached with an ADHESIVE pad) has been known to come loose. This may or may not be a problem. I guess it depends. As for the jets used in the Storm, I wouldn't fret TOO much over it. Just make sure your loop is glass-clean and that you use the right coolant mix.

As for the BIX, you should keep in mind that it requires a powerful (noisy), 120x38mm fan to function at its designed best. Perhaps a PA160, or a BIX with a PWM-based controller on its fan? The D5 is a great pump, BTW. I've got two running in a test loop right now and these babies are whisper-quiet and everything the D4 was, and more. I keep touching them to make sure they're on. 😉
 
Yeah, I was thinking of a T line because having a reservoir sloshing around kind of worries me that the system would be more prone to leaks, but that could all be a misconception. Also, the AL on my PC-75 is pretty thick, it may be different on the mid towers though. Cleaning the apogee of shards shouldn't really be too much of an issue... just blowing it out with an air compressor should solve that. Its seems like the best option to me so far as it has good flow and performs close enough to the storm as far as i'm concerned.

As far as the BIX is concerned, I was planning on using silenx fans all around and I think they have adequate flow, but I may be wrong. What other radiator alternatives are there? My main concern is fitting an adequate radiator setup in a normal sized case... I've seen alot of setups with the radiator in front of the case with warm air blowing in, which I want to avoid.
 
Secure your barbs like your life depends on it and you don't have to worry about leaks. 😉 I've got a second gen 75b and I'd never test it's resistance with hard knock. It just isn't THAT thick or durable. Sure, you can run any fan that suits you, but the BIX is MADE for high perf fans. It actually UNDER performs a BIP using the same low-speed, low-static pressure fan. I tried to low-ball a BIX with a quiet fan. I replaced it with a thick, high-speed Panaflo and lost 4c from my operating temps. That's nothing to sneeze if such things are important. 😉 As far as cleaning the Apogee, it's going to take more than some compressed air. You have to get in there with a tool and "floss" out the shards. So many people have complained about the situatation that Swifty MAY have corrected the issue.

Alternate rads? The BIP is good if you want a little quiet with your water. From what I understand, the TC PA160 is a real star, with ANY fan, though it's kind of big (HxWxD = 214x166x50mm (90mm inc shroud)).

PA 160

BIP

 
Hmm that is very interesting about the fan/ radiator combos. As for a reservoir, would you reccomend a small dual floppy bay reservoir or similar, or just use a T line? What cases come close to Lian Li in quality but are more durable?
 
Yeah, the interaction of rad design and fans is starting to be very interesting. Expect even more down the road. For a lanparty machine I would say a T. In this case simpler, and lighter, is better. As for cases, maybe someone else could off some information in that area.
 
I still keep coming to some variation of a lian li pc 60 case... I just can't find anything else that meets my criteria. The silverstone cases are nice, but they have some design issue I am not fond of. Coolermaster also has a couple of nice cases but again, not exactly what I want.

I will probably get a Lian Li PC-7B
http://www.crazypc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=81328B

Now as far as radiator positioning, I guess I can fit a dual 120 radiator in the top frontal position of the case taking over the top 5.25" bay. I have seen this on a few other cases and it seems like the best bet. I was thinking of making a sheet metal duct to go over the underside of the radiator which would draw air in through the top most 5.25" bay (I would mod a bezel to accomidate a filter and attatch to the duct) keeping the air flow for the radiator seperate from the rest of the case, and blowing the warm air from the radiator out of the top.


 
That's a pretty nice price. 😉

That sounds like a plan. Make sure you post some pics so I can steal your ideas if I want. 😀
 
🙂 I see this one has the 120mm exhaust fan which isn't on some of the models... It's also a gread deal for $110. So for a radiator, if I were to use a 120mmx2 black ice xtreme, what fans would I need to use, and would it be possibly to keep them pretty quiet while still having good cooling capacity?

I am planning on usuing an amd 3700+ san siego and overclocking to fx-55/57 speeds, I also made add in a gpu cooler into the circuit like I had mentioned. For the board i'm looking at (dfi sli-dr) I don't think it would be possible to fit a chipset block in without interfering with the graphics card/slots. I would like to add one in if anyone has used one that fits.
 
You could try 4x120x25mm fans on it, in push-pull configuration. I haven't tried this on such a large rad, but some people think the idea is sound. Something like these perhaps? Many water-cooling folks swear by these if the overall design goal is a bit of quiet. If the DR has the same mag-lev fan that the Expert does you may have to replace it if you want your top x16 card to lock down all the way. I've been looking at the Maze4 if I decide to WC my chipset. It looks small enough not to interfere with video card replacement.
 
Originally posted by: HardWarrior
You could try 4x120x25mm fans on it, in push-pull configuration. I haven't tried this on such a large rad, but some people think the idea is sound. Something like these perhaps? Many water-cooling folks swear by these if the overall design goal is a bit of quiet. If the DR has the same mag-lev fan that the Expert does you may have to replace it if you want your top x16 card to lock down all the way. I've been looking at the Maze4 if I decide to WC my chipset. It looks small enough not to interfere with video card replacement.
Click to expand...


Those fans look very good... I did some research and they are some of the best fans. i was looking at the maze 4 for a chipset block, and I was thinking of getting the expert board as well. I am very curious to see if it fits.
 
The funny thing about Yate Loon's is how cheap they are. You'd think that with a rep like theirs you'd be payng twice as much. I guess there are some good deals still out there. 😉 I've got the Expert and the 2 GTX's, so I guess it's time to see if the top card will fit correctly. I'd kind of like getting Maze4, but it everything seats correctly I won't bother this trip.
 
Originally posted by: Sir Jman
Also, does anyone know what chipset blocks will fit on a dfi lanparty sli-dr without interfering with the graphics card?
Click to expand...

if you must change the chipset cooler try one of the Evercool VC-RE it is quiter than stock and copper

WC the chipset would be the lowest of my priorities

for a portable unit I would definetely NOT use a reservoir

why not try one of the newer V1000 cases? the rad would fit quite nicely in the front after taking out the hard rive cage
 
There's no problem with mounting GTX on the Expert, Sir. I was able to remove the part of the SB fan casing that that MIGHT keep the video cards from seating all the way. It's a very easy procedure in that DFI decided to make the fan out of two parts. I'm stripping the stock coolers and installing the NV78's now, which is going to suck because blocks don't come with instructions. I'm planning on being done with everything sometime early tomorrow. Wish me luck.
 
BIX series need 120x38mm fans with high cfm (100+) to work properly. If you are looking for a big quiet rad look into the thermochill PA120.x series. They need 120x25mm fans with around 86cfm. This is what i would recommend for the setup you are looking for:

Thermochill PA120.2 or PA120.3 radiator (you can probably fit a PA120.2 in the 2 120mm fan slots in your case)
DD Maze4 Acetal GPU Block (its very slim in case you decide to go sli later on)
Swiftech Storm (if you can find one) or Cooltechnica MP-05
AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12 pump (best pump for restrictive systems after the Iwakis)
T-line

If you are going SLI later on then a PA120.3 rad would be your best bet.
 
Thats what I did with my PC-V1100. I took out the front drive cage, leaving the one in the back for my HDD, removed the stock fan. Mounted 2 120x25mm Fans in a push-pull setup on a single BIX. I even had room to squeeze in my pump and both of my inverters for my CCFLS. It looks so sweet without half of the clutter found in most computers.
 
Everything's up and running, gus. To say I'm pleased would be an understatement. 😀 My X2 is hovering around 22c idle and my GTX's idle at 33c and 35c (the second card is always just a bit warmer), and this with an ambient of 20c. This is with two of my 120x38's running instead of three on my HE120.3. IMO, a PA120.3 is a nice rad from everything I've heard, but having one isn't going to make a lot of difference, even with SLI. BTW, I've gotten Q4 and F.E.A.R running and they both scream in terms of performance. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: HardWarrior
Everything's up and running, gus. To say I'm pleased would be an understatement. 😀 My X2 is hovering around 22c idle and my GTX's idle at 33c and 35c (the second card is always just a bit warmer), and this with an ambient of 20c. This is with two of my 120x38's running instead of three on my HE120.3. IMO, a PA120.3 is a nice rad from everything I've heard, but having one isn't going to make a lot of difference, even with SLI. BTW, I've gotten Q4 and F.E.A.R running and they both scream in terms of performance. 🙂
Click to expand...

Sweet man what kind of OC did you get? Also got some pics?
 
So far, 520/1350 on the GTX's. I haven't touched the X2 yet. It's running so well that I don't feel the need to experiment. 😉 Yeah, Id be glad to post some pics once I stuff all this sh1t into my case. It looks like I'm going to have to ditch the res and go with a T so I can free up some room. 🙁
 
Yeah there is no way im fitting my iwaki and BIX3 into my case so now im going to build a wooden box to house everything and set on top of my case. At least now i can also add a shroud to my rad for a bit cooler temps.
 
There's a user named Crimedog at overclockers who swears by a rad/pump box. He's friendly too, if you need some advice.
 
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