do I keep my external or cutup my nice new case?

I just got a new case from my brother for my bday - yippee me!
it's this one -
ams1006 w/window
excellent case by the way.
here's a pic of my external -

I keep it in a closet on the other side of the wall. There is a small window in the closet that I keep open so the external is exposed to the Philly-freekin cold air.

here's my dilemma -

do I keep the external and just keep using it as is with my new case, mb, opty 148? Or do I cut up my new case and put all of it internally. If I did that I will make a new shroud of clear acrylic so it will match the front of the case.
I want to keep it as quiet as possible but with the rad I have I'll probably have to stay with 38mm fans(right?). here's a pic of the rad -

It's about 2" thick and pretty restrictive. I believe it's a 2-342 single pass. I got it on ebay - $8.

If I swap out the rad, what do you all suggest? again, I want it as quiet as possible. The blocks I'm using are diy 'Rotor' style pin grid copper blocks. Tubing is 7/16 Masterkleer and my pump is a mcp350 with inlet mod done.

lmk what you guys suggest.

Your external looks pretty good so if it were me I'de keep it, since if you kept everything internal it could get pretty crammed in there.

The external box looks good id keep that. Plus fitting everything in a midtower can be kind of a pain.

thanks to you both for the props.

inkfx said:

The external box looks good id keep that. Plus fitting everything in a midtower can be kind of a pain.

Click to expand...

it's actually a full tower but it's so clean I'd hate to cut it up. I have the tools to do it tho.

I think I'm going to make the acrylic dual shroud and see how it looks on top just for kicks.

VballCoach said:

here's a pic of my external

Click to expand...

I really like the external idea too.

How did you make that? I also want to make a nice external box for my setup but haven't figured out the best way to do it yet.

VballCoach said:

If I swap out the rad, what do you all suggest? again, I want it as quiet as possible.

Click to expand...

The Thermochil PA series rads are quite effective paired with low CFM fans.
Makes for a very quiet setup.

Otherwise, I'd just keep what ya got...the 342 is an excellent rad.

I would custom mount it internally A nice case always looks even better with a well thought out mod put to it

InTheFlow said:

I really like the external idea too.

How did you make that? I also want to make a nice external box for my setup but haven't figured out the best way to do it yet.

Click to expand...

I trash picked an old NEC case that was pretty wide. I cut it in half and took the base plate and re-riveted it to where I made the cut. I even kept the psu mount just incase I wanted to run it independent of my main psu. I cut the window out and put 1/8" plexi in it. I should have painted the front face but got lazy. I may still do that. I still can use the 3 1/2" and 5 1/4" bays if I needed.

diehrd said:

I would custom mount it internally A nice case always looks even better with a well thought out mod put to it

Click to expand...

That is the ideal thing to do and I agree. But then I'd have to spend more $$ for a PA and fans which I can't afford right now. Also, I'd be missing out on using the cold weather in my closet.

Well the closet may reduce noise and offer a bit cooler temps,,but unless the temps are a lot lower overclocks wont be affected by much if any at all.(ie) 35c load or 40c load.

I had a dual 120mm x 38mm 115 cfm fan set up on my bonniville rad,,One day 1 fan died and temps stayed the same So i switched to dual 120mm x 25mm 70cfm fans and got quieter with same temps .

diehrd said:

Well the closet may reduce noise and offer a bit cooler temps,,but unless the temps are a lot lower overclocks wont be affected by much if any at all.(ie) 35c load or 40c load.

I had a dual 120mm x 38mm 115 cfm fan set up on my bonniville rad,,One day 1 fan died and temps stayed the same So i switched to dual 120mm x 25mm 70cfm fans and got quieter with same temps .

Click to expand...

what fans were those? is your bonneville as restrictive as mine?

Antec Green LED 120mm fans .. And I am not sure how restrictive our rads compair..But unless you are making 300 watts of heat I would not be overly concerned.

Plus i dont view what you show as restrictive it appears to be a heater core right ?

diehrd said:

Plus i dont view what you show as restrictive it appears to be a heater core right ?

Click to expand...

It's not the water flow that's restrictive it's the rad matrix that's restrictive to airflow.
Extra depth and densely packed fins require a substantial CFM fan to work well which leads to more noise.

clocker2 said:

It's not the water flow that's restrictive it's the rad matrix that's restrictive to airflow.
Extra depth and densely packed fins require a substantial CFM fan to work well which leads to more noise.

Click to expand...

Then in that respect your rad and mine are = .. I have no problem running an x2 AT 1.67vCore and loading at 43c

I'm going to keep those aluminum 120mm muffin fans on there and see how it goes with the new opty. I'll post temps later. thanks for all the input.

Your welcome