Watercooling setup in a V1100 - suggestions?

[Cyprio]

Well, she sure is a beatuful case. Smaller than i had imagined but the build quality exeeds anything i have seen before. I can see why people dont go back after buying Lian-Li.

Anyway on to the pics.

Inside the V1100. Looks roomy - well maybe for an air setup. Water is going to be tight!



Moving on - removing those pesky drive bays...

Before:



After:



Maybe one of these could go here?



Or maybe the pump?



But more importantly how the hell do i fit the PA160 in there...



I have tried rotating it but it is slightly too wide for the case sides to close.

I might have to modify the shroud or mount the rad lower. Oh, dont worry, i wont be running it on my bed! There is at least 1/1/2" clearance when you put the case on a firm surface. There is roughly an inch clear between the rad's shroud and the aluminium separator in the case. I was thinking about mounting the fan INSIDE the shroud (Still pulling air though the rad) to save space?

Any ideas welcome as to what i can try differently. As i said this is my first water setup.

Cheers

Cyp.

Edit: Over on AU forums Cathar recommended removing the shroud and having the front fan creating the suction to draw air up through the base. The case sides have quite nice foam in them and create a tight fit to that aluminium band across the middle of the case.



This is what it might look like:



Any problems with mounting your pump on its side like that or upside down above the rad on the left?

[bobkoure]

You certainly picked a difficult case for your first watercooled system.
I'd have looked at the product multi-angle pictures on newegg and given up on fitting a PA160 in it right off.
Now that you actually have the case, you might also look to see if the PA160 will work mounted to the side cover or the top of the case.
And before you modify the shroud for that case floor location you were considering, see if the fan will fit inside the shroud. You will give up efficiency either way, but changing the fan mount is a reversible mod (not to mention lots easier to do).
The floor mount has the advantage of being potentially very quiet (if your PC is on carpet, there's built in high frequency noise absorption before it gets bounced to your ears) and the potential of drawing the coolest air in the room (unless you're using radiant heating, of course).
Good luck!

[bobkoure]

Originally Posted by Cyprio

Any problems with mounting your pump on its side like that or upside down above the rad on the left?

Typically you can mount centrifugal pumps in any orientation you like, with the possible exception of having the inlet pointing directly down.

[Cyprio]

Side or top of case is pretty much out of the question. I selected this case as i love the layout, the quality of build, relative size, and twin 120mm fans. I had considered the PC series but after looking at Marci's mounting of a 160 i decided that it was too tight.

I also want the case to look as close as possibe to the original i.e. i dont really like holes in the top or sides etc. Silence is a priority hence why i have gone for the single PA160.

Any comments on mounting the pump upside down?

Thanks

Edit: Ignore question about pump as you beat me too it! I was hoping to have the outlet go straight down into the rad and then out to the water block etc. Then i need to think about were to attach the T-Piece and the fill port....

[Marci]

Derivet and re-bend the divider panel over the edge of a desk... so that it's bend begins where the fan begins (from back of case to front of case).

If I had one here I'd do it and show ya, but I haven't at the mo... will likely get me mitts on one next week and take a look tho...

Right now I'm working on a MountainMods Twice7 (the baybee cube), which is absolutely SIMPLE to get everything in.... even with an internally mounted ThermoTube... will have pix/guide for that next week at a guess.

[Cyprio]

Originally Posted by Marci

Derivet and re-bend the divider panel over the edge of a desk... so that it's bend begins where the fan begins (from back of case to front of case).

You mean to create an even smaller space above the rad? ie. move the bend to the left more?

[Marci]

No, to the right more... along the pink line... invert the fold that's already there. Should be plenty of clearance at edge of mobo to make it doable looking at position of screwholes in pic...

[Marci]

Altho no reason why a simple card shroud or similar couldn't be knocked up to go from rad to fan on front of case... alleviating the need for PA160 shroud altogether.... alongside Cathar's suggestion.

[Cyprio]

Thanks for the pic. Would that be to keep the shroud on?

Just asking as it would be a lot of work to take it out and refit it. Would their be any great benefits of doing it that way rather than without the shroud?

[HammerSandwich]

Originally Posted by Cyprio

Edit: Over on AU forums Cathar recommended removing the shroud and having the front fan creating the suction to draw air up through the base.

That might be okay for a V1000, but I wouldn't try it on a V1100. Where would the air go?

[Marci]

Yep, that'd allow you to keep the shroud... as to benefits... better airflow thru the rad basically as fan is "sealed" to it via the shroud... whereas without shroud performance MAY not be as good due to air leakage in that lower section.... ie: Your front fan would be pulling ambient air from top of case AS WELL AS air thru the rad... you get better performance with a dedicated fan on the rad... if you get what I mean (Cathar would likely be able to explain better)

Wouldn't necessarily need taking out... If mobo tray is removeable, take it out, a brief slice on where the divider folds down at the edge where you want the upwards fold to begin, then 2 bits of 2x2 wood or summat to give an edge then bend it in situ.

[Cyprio]

That might be okay for a V1000, but I wouldn't try it on a V1100. Where would the air go?

Yeah thats my worry too.

[Marci]

That might be okay for a V1000, but I wouldn't try it on a V1100. Where would the air go?

er.... out thru the front of the case.... ( ? ) As you can see in his pics above, the front lower 120mm has been reversed to blow out rather than pull in... or am I missing your point somewhat?

[Cyprio]

Originally Posted by Marci

er.... out thru the front of the case.... ( ? ) As you can see in his pics above, the front lower 120mm has been reversed to blow out rather than pull in...

Yeah but there is only a small gap at the bottom Marci. The area in front of the fan is solid aluminium. That might be what is being referred to.

[Marci]

Ah righty... in which case cut a blowhole in the solid front and finish it with a neat grill...

I suppose the BEST solution keeping the rad where it is would be to plonk 2x 120mm fans on either side panel so that once the panels are on the fans are in that lower front section where the rad is, both pulling air out of the case... that way you'd have effectively 2x120mm fans pulling thru a PA160, which would allow you to run them even slower at say 5v and therefore quieter than a single fan of the same brand at 12v... or summat like that anyways!

[Cyprio]

Originally Posted by Marci

Ah righty... in which case cut a blowhole in the solid front and finish it with a neat grill...

I suppose the BEST solution keeping the rad where it is would be to plonk 2x 120mm fans on either side panel so that once the panels are on the fans are in that lower front section where the rad is, both pulling air out of the case... that way you'd have effectively 2x120mm fans pulling thru a PA160, which would allow you to run them even slower at say 5v and therefore quieter than a single fan of the same brand at 12v... or summat like that anyways!

Tempting... the only problem with that is that there isnt enough space for the fans! You might be able to get away with 92mm ones though.

Keep the suggestions coming!

[Cyprio]

OK - another thought.

Remove the front fan to create some space, shift the rad over to the left so that the fan shroud is OK.



Then i could do some cutting above it: (a) to let the air go up and be drawn out the back 120mm fan and (b) to have the pump outlet tube come down somehow.

Pump somewhere up here (would make routing the tubing from the gfx easy too):



Using bits and bobs that i have just taken out of the case you could even create something like this as a frame to hold the pump above the rad. and cut a nice big hole there for the air.



BTW am I right in thinking that my loop should look something like this:

Pump > RAD > CPU block > GPU block > Pump.

Is there a best place to have the T-piece and fill port?

Thanks.

[kaotic504]

i think you can take off the black front w/ the barbs and turn it so that you can get your outlet at a different angle. just to let you know you have another option.

[Cyprio]

Thanks for the info - that would be very useful actually. Anybody else know if this is poss. before i void the warranty? Its an AquaXtreme 50Z Pump.

[bobkoure]

Originally Posted by Cyprio

void the warranty?

You can do the change no problem, but it's up to whoever's supporting the warranty to decide if that voids the warranty - so maybe ask the company you bought the pump from(?) They'll either say yes/no or refer you to whoever actually does support the warranty.

[kaotic504]

it's just plastic, i don't think they'll really be able to tell you took it apart and turned it 90 degrees or which ever way you want the outlet to point. it's your pump, if you have a problem w/ it, simply turn it back the way it was and let them deal with it. i don't think you'll have a problem though, Swiftech turned theirs so that the outlet would be on the side instead of on top in their pictures.

[mad mikee]

Yank out out everything underneath the divider (Cyprio, your not done yet, still one piece left

First thought that comes to mind: Do the bends like Marci said, make a duct to join PA160 to fan @ 90degrees and route the air out one of the sides (Barbs get in the way of the front). No matter what you need a barrier under the case (foam?) to keep a circular recirulation from forming (place it on the side where the fan exhausts).

You could try sealing the chamber and using that as a duct but that would require seals around tubing also.

I might seriously consider top-mounting (nearer the front). Or if you have the room in the back, just suspending the thing and running the tubing through 1-2 pci slots?

Oh, yeah, upside down it bad since its the one way bubbles have a REAL HARD TIME escaping.

/Edit 2: is teh spacing between rad (need 1/16" underneath to put SOME noise deadening/seals (weatherstrip) and the top of the bulkhead 120mm? Looks like the idea w/ the 2 side mounted fans (extension of my other thought) would fit w/ a custom duct w/o pulling the bulkhead (practice w/ cardboard first and DONT CUT THE CASE!!!! until you get a perfect fit). Fans would mount to (and be supported by) the outside of duct and then you just match up and cut holes in side (s) of case (is this going against a desk/wall, think b4 designing). Mount grills to case outside. and some more weatherstrip for inside seals/ shock killing, thus removing need to mount fans to sides of case! (Can remove sides on a whim instead of unscrewing stuff first ) I am going to do this w/ my system except I am using a 150mm Papst @ 5v (Trying to find a PA160 in the states but not getting there Marci , so will prolly use a 2-342 instead.)

And will fans go above lower / front inside case side support pieces (this is a MUST)
Out w/ teh front fan (blocked anyway) like in one of your lower pics. Also I am going to mount a spare drivebay assembly like you are thinking and stick a fan in front of it (If $$$ not problem, Get EX-34 from LianLi (EX-23 is another option) and you get extra air in the case also). Or take drive holder and place up 1/2 - 1" on its side so you can use the drives heat differential to set up cirulation between drives as hot air rises of drive. (haven't really thought about this to much )

[kronchev]

im really digging the inverse ATX cases now (what format is that called, WTX?) too bad i dont use cases any more

[BRiT]

Originally Posted by kronchev

im really digging the inverse ATX cases now (what format is that called, WTX?) too bad i dont use cases any more

I believe it's BTX.

[Marci]

(Trying to find a PA160 in the states but not getting there Marci , so will prolly use a 2-342 instead.)

Try ordering from one of the UK sites - should work out about the same price anyway afaik...