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Originally Posted by Chew_Toy
If you are going to use the CM Stacker I believe you have a couple places you could install rads like the HE120.2 or BIP2. The front drive area would accept either and leave room for about 4 drives yet and the bottom area would also have the room for those or even the triple fanned rads also (you would have to have it on castors or small feet to give clearance for air flow tho) and with a triple there you would only lose 2 drive bays.
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I didn't realize this before, because I couldn't tell from the pictures I had seen, but after digging deeper, I've finally determined that the grating on the bottom of the case is indeed a vent clear to the outside. I don't know the exact dimensions of it, but there should be no trouble rigging up a 120x2, probably even a 120x3 radiator there. I might have to cut the case a bit, but since it will be on the bottom panel, I don't have to worry about making it look pretty from the outside. Also, it seems the case comes with casters. (A FAQ on CoolerMaster's website says the casters can be removed and replaced with feet which come with the case, so this even makes it seem like the casters are mounted standard.)
I do need clarification on one point: Should the fans on the radiator be pulling in air from outside the case across the radiator, or is it the other way around?
With a 120x3 radiator, I would only need to have just that one radiator, so I can abandon the idea of two smaller radiators. For example, the hwlabs Black Ice Pro 3 is rated at 1732.5 kCal/h, whereas the combined ratings of the Black Ice Micro and BIP is only 614.6, little more than a third of the BIP3. (I realize these ratings may not be representative of what I get in the real world, but they help to compare different models from the same brand, I'm thinking...) Now, if I go with a 120x3 radiator, will a single row unit (BIP3, for example) be enough, or would I really need the extra capacity of a double row unit (BIX3, for example)? My understanding, from what I've read in other threads here, is that to really get any benefit from a double row radiator, I would need to use more powerful fans, which means more noise. Is this correct, and just how much more noise are we talking about? Bear in mind the system I have now, with a total of 5 80mm case fans, a double-fan Antec PSU and an Intel HSF. With this watercooling setup, I would have 5 120mm fans (2 case and 3 radiator) and an 80mm case fan, no HSF, and a water pump.