Full Tower case too small

JSimmons · 04-12-2003, 07:11 PM

That's right, my full-tower InWin Q500 case is too small for water cooling.

However, I have a plan. I'm trying to arrange the purchase of an identical case with no power supply, which will be grafted to the existing case, making one giant case.

I searched high and low (well, almost low) for a case of sufficient girth (height, depth, and width) to hold all my stuff, but it seems like all the ricers are controlling the market and most of what's available has something stupid like side windows, or some gawdy paint job, besides being only mid-sized.

Unless anyone's got any better ideas, I'm going ahead with my nefarious plan.

Graystar · 04-12-2003, 08:25 PM

you didn't mention what your WC components are. I have an old Q500. It's huge. You can fit tons of stuff in there.

JSimmons · 04-12-2003, 09:18 PM

I guess I'm not very creative then (or not thinking in enough dimensions).

I have a via aqua (that may be upgraded to something with more oomph) and a black ice extreme, and if i could think of a decent way to mount it, a bay-res.

I have:

1) A floppy drive mounted in the floppy drive bay at the top of the case (next to the on/off switch).

2) A CD reader, and a CD-writer mounted in the upper-most 5-inch drive bays.

3) A hard drive in a removable tray mounted in the next-to-last 5-inch drive bay.

4) A 2nd hard drive mounted in one of the internal 3-inch bays.

5) My cards are arranged so as to prevent IRQ sharing, so that means I have inserted the sound card in the next-to-last PCI slot. This prohibits decent placement of the pump.

6) An Enermax 430w pwoer supply that is REALLY huge compared to what originally came in the case.

The Black Ice Extreme radiator is too large to fit in the area just above the power supply without cutting the case, and even then, I'd be pulling warm air from inside the case into it.

With the fan attached to the radiator and placed at the front of the case on the bottom (and ignoring the fact that a fan shroud would be a damn good idea), the pump (even as small as it is) would be sitting too close to the radiator to put in the tubing without kinking it.

The way I see it, the whole setup would be too cramped to do any good at all (unless I'm missing something).

Szandor · 04-12-2003, 09:42 PM

Hello All, Sounds to me like you should have plenty of room. I have 2 x 5.25, 2 x 3.5 & 2 x HDDs, a Heatercore, Res and Hagen pump all mounted in a Chenming Aluminum Mid-Tower. Just play around with the components or use some graph paper, I'm sure you can make it work.
Regards, Szandor

Crosstrack16 · 04-12-2003, 10:12 PM

I agree with szandor, just play around. You may not get the exact configuration that you had in mind, but hey, if it works, why change it. Why not try to mount the rad on the top of your case, if you dont mind cutting a blow hole in the top and adding a grill to cover it.

Graystar · 04-12-2003, 10:27 PM

Have you considered putting the pump on top of the powersupply? You can place it up there sideways or even mount it upside down on that topmost frame part that the floppy drive attaches to.

Talik · 04-13-2003, 02:32 AM

I agree that you can probably find room in your case for the pump, but if you want a new case that's larger than a full tower, I recommend the Cogden S101, http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...+Model%23+S101

This is what I use and it is gargantuan. Comes to 25" tall, 22" deep, and 9 3/4 wide. holds my mobo, 6 hard drives, 3 cd drives, 1 hard drive bay, a floppy, power supply, 4"x4"x5" pump, a radiator air tunnel that takes up about 11"x9"x7". All my hard drives are in 5.25" bays so there's plenty of room between them to breath, and guess what? I still have a 5.25" bay free!

Mark Larson · 04-13-2003, 03:57 AM

You only have a BIX and you're running out of room?

Pfft. Try a 5.5"x7.5" heatercore in an Antec SLK2600AMB (17" by 16.5")

04-12-2003, 07:11 PM	#1
JSimmons Cooling Savant Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: 4-sided room with an exit going east, and an exit going south Posts: 392	Full Tower case too small That's right, my full-tower InWin Q500 case is too small for water cooling. However, I have a plan. I'm trying to arrange the purchase of an identical case with no power supply, which will be grafted to the existing case, making one giant case. I searched high and low (well, almost low) for a case of sufficient girth (height, depth, and width) to hold all my stuff, but it seems like all the ricers are controlling the market and most of what's available has something stupid like side windows, or some gawdy paint job, besides being only mid-sized. Unless anyone's got any better ideas, I'm going ahead with my nefarious plan.

04-12-2003, 08:25 PM	#2
Graystar Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 112	you didn't mention what your WC components are. I have an old Q500. It's huge. You can fit tons of stuff in there. Last edited by Graystar; 04-12-2003 at 08:35 PM.

04-13-2003, 02:32 AM	#7
Talik Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland Or Posts: 95	I agree that you can probably find room in your case for the pump, but if you want a new case that's larger than a full tower, I recommend the Cogden S101, http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...+Model%23+S101 This is what I use and it is gargantuan. Comes to 25" tall, 22" deep, and 9 3/4 wide. holds my mobo, 6 hard drives, 3 cd drives, 1 hard drive bay, a floppy, power supply, 4"x4"x5" pump, a radiator air tunnel that takes up about 11"x9"x7". All my hard drives are in 5.25" bays so there's plenty of room between them to breath, and guess what? I still have a 5.25" bay free! __________________ Reality is nothing more than the delusions of the masses.

04-13-2003, 03:57 AM	#8
Mark Larson Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: MN Posts: 67	You only have a BIX and you're running out of room? Pfft. Try a 5.5"x7.5" heatercore in an Antec SLK2600AMB (17" by 16.5") __________________ AMD Fanboy.

04-12-2003, 09:18 PM	#3
JSimmons Cooling Savant Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: 4-sided room with an exit going east, and an exit going south Posts: 392	I guess I'm not very creative then (or not thinking in enough dimensions). I have a via aqua (that may be upgraded to something with more oomph) and a black ice extreme, and if i could think of a decent way to mount it, a bay-res. I have: 1) A floppy drive mounted in the floppy drive bay at the top of the case (next to the on/off switch). 2) A CD reader, and a CD-writer mounted in the upper-most 5-inch drive bays. 3) A hard drive in a removable tray mounted in the next-to-last 5-inch drive bay. 4) A 2nd hard drive mounted in one of the internal 3-inch bays. 5) My cards are arranged so as to prevent IRQ sharing, so that means I have inserted the sound card in the next-to-last PCI slot. This prohibits decent placement of the pump. 6) An Enermax 430w pwoer supply that is REALLY huge compared to what originally came in the case. The Black Ice Extreme radiator is too large to fit in the area just above the power supply without cutting the case, and even then, I'd be pulling warm air from inside the case into it. With the fan attached to the radiator and placed at the front of the case on the bottom (and ignoring the fact that a fan shroud would be a damn good idea), the pump (even as small as it is) would be sitting too close to the radiator to put in the tubing without kinking it. The way I see it, the whole setup would be too cramped to do any good at all (unless I'm missing something).

04-12-2003, 09:42 PM	#4
Szandor Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Massachusetts U.S.A. Posts: 24	Hello All, Sounds to me like you should have plenty of room. I have 2 x 5.25, 2 x 3.5 & 2 x HDDs, a Heatercore, Res and Hagen pump all mounted in a Chenming Aluminum Mid-Tower. Just play around with the components or use some graph paper, I'm sure you can make it work. Regards, Szandor

04-12-2003, 10:12 PM	#5
Crosstrack16 Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Spring Hill, FL Posts: 169	I agree with szandor, just play around. You may not get the exact configuration that you had in mind, but hey, if it works, why change it. Why not try to mount the rad on the top of your case, if you dont mind cutting a blow hole in the top and adding a grill to cover it.

04-12-2003, 10:27 PM	#6
Graystar Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 112	Have you considered putting the pump on top of the powersupply? You can place it up there sideways or even mount it upside down on that topmost frame part that the floppy drive attaches to.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)