Watercooling - why aren't radiators put outside the case? (like they used to)

[piokos]

I remember when watercooling became popular ~15 years ago. It was mostly custom made, often in very rudimentary way.
Living in a fairly poor, Eastern European country, I've known people who used gardening equipment (pumps, hoses) - actually with fairly good results (and just occasional leakages ;-)).

Thing is: right from the start it became obvious that the best place to put the radiator is outside the case. It wasn't pretty, but at that point PCs still weren't art pieces and we kept them under the desk.

Years went by. Watercooling became relatively popular, easy and safe. We got countless AiOs.
And everything was pushed inside the main compartment...
So we still need intake fans (effectively doubling what the CPU/GPU cooling actually requires).
And since the main airflow goes over the components, we have to use intake dust filters - greatly limiting the airflow (so the fans have to be more powerful and louder).

Why not a separate compartment for radiators?
We actually have cases with 2 compartments today (often with separate cooling). But these extra tunnels house PSU and drives - not exactly the most heat-emitting parts.

 

[jumpncrash]

Well when it comes to the all in one coolers, it would be kind of difficult to have them be mounted outside the case as you would either need a really big hole in the case to fit the pump through, or remove the hoses to run them through smaller holes, which would most likely void the cooler's warranty. A solution would be quick connect fittings that are approved by the manufacturer, but I doubt we'll see that. The whole point of these AIOs is to make it so that anybody can have watercooling without having to worry about leaks and bleeding air and whatnot.

I haven't really looked into too many custom loop watercooling builds, but if you are interested in putting your radiator outside the case, I don't think it would add any significant complexity to the whole system, might even make it easier to bleed if you have it up on the top of the case.

 

[piokos]

Well when it comes to the all in one coolers, it would be kind of difficult to have them be mounted outside the case as you would either need a really big hole in the case to fit the pump through, or remove the hoses to run them through smaller holes, which would most likely void the cooler's warranty. A solution would be quick connect fittings that are approved by the manufacturer, but I doubt we'll see that. The whole point of these AIOs is to make it so that anybody can have watercooling without having to worry about leaks and bleeding air and whatnot.

Well, this is the question, isn't it? If we have all these AiOs already, why aren't there more cases designed for putting the radiator outside?

I say "more" because I've just found some. Inwin makes exactly what I asked for: 901 (mITX) and 909 (ATX). Both have a separate compartment for the radiator that you can use in few ways.
Great stuff from such a small company... Sad.

https://www.in-win.com/en/gaming-chassis/901/
In 901 you can install the radiator either inside the compartment (I'll still suck from inside the case) or outside, like here:

909 has has a much larger compartment that lets you mount the radiators parallel to case side. It's just a matter of getting a panel that leaves this part open.
https://www.in-win.com/en/gaming-chassis/909

View attachment 5139

 

[aigomorla]

Why not a separate compartment for radiators?
We actually have cases with 2 compartments today (often with separate cooling). But these extra tunnels house PSU and drives - not exactly the most heat-emitting parts.

there are cases like that.
The Thermaltake Core x9 has the ability to stack itself and one of them can become a cooling compartment.

Mountain Mods came out with a line called Pedistool, to also do just that.

Thermaltake tower hides all the rads behind in its own compartment along with the PSU.

 

[EXCellR8]

My X7 has the "underneath" compartment for the radiator too... just looks cleaner than fully external units located outside of the case. I never really cared much for the look of tubing that exited the actual chassis. My very first AIO loop had a single 120mm on the back and it was an eyesore.

 

[chrisjames61]

Well, this is the question, isn't it? If we have all these AiOs already, why aren't there more cases designed for putting the radiator outside?

I say "more" because I've just found some. Inwin makes exactly what I asked for: 901 (mITX) and 909 (ATX). Both have a separate compartment for the radiator that you can use in few ways.
Great stuff from such a small company... Sad.

https://www.in-win.com/en/gaming-chassis/901/
In 901 you can install the radiator either inside the compartment (I'll still suck from inside the case) or outside, like here:

909 has has a much larger compartment that lets you mount the radiators parallel to case side. It's just a matter of getting a panel that leaves this part open.
https://www.in-win.com/en/gaming-chassis/909

View attachment 5139

Those are two nice looking cases. Expensive as all heck.

 

[piokos]

Those are two nice looking cases. Expensive as all heck.

Yeah. Price is quite high even compared to respected brands like Corsair.
But then again, you're paying for some fairly unique features.
And since these cases are aimed at watercooling, it's not like they'll house budget builds. $170 for the 901 doesn't seem that high if you put a $2000 build inside.
This guy did it properly: https://pcpartpicker.com/b/9YNQzy (he could work on the presentation, though...).