Cases with isolated chambers (p180)

it seems to me the best setup for a watercooled computer is to put the radiator and pump(s) in an isolated chamber (like the antec p180). This way the hot air from the rad doesnt raise case temps. Kinda like an internal external setup. what other cases out have these chambers?

err, i looked around and couldnt find anyone doing what i was talking about. everyone with a p180 puts their rads up top or in front, none keep them in the bottom chamber. is this because of space limitations? check this picture, can anyone tell me if theres room for a dual 120mm rad there? what about a rad plus pump(s)?

Some people would cut a hole out of the top and put a nice looking grill to cover it up. I could imagine you can fit a 3x120mm rad up there, definitly 2. The bottom easily 2 if you cut. If you remove the HDD bay, and do some cutting to the 5 1/2 drive bay you could fit a rad. Then again, the front bazel closes so...no air flow or strongly restricted.

I found the best way to WC with the P180 without modding was 2 120mm rads at the the top and rear exhausts. Urfortunately that means all the hot air from everything else goes through the rads.

There just isn't enough room in the lower intakes to fit rads without extensive modding.

The airflow coming in from the front is not that bad actually, even with the door closed. They were smart enough to make side vents.

i'm talking about cutting a hole in the side of the case at the bottom, check the green rectangle again. so air comes in through the front and out the side. doable?

Why not make two holes in the lower chamber... And have the air flow across the rads from right to left or left to right.

If it is isolated, i dont see that hurting the rest of the cases airflow at all.

that looks like it would work, but it will be a tight fit and you will have to cut out that center support beam and remove the lower hard drive rack. you also should consider reversing the flow from the outside, through the radiator and out the power supply and front fan. If you don't, you will need to reverse your power supply fan.

It actually looks like a really cool idea. I have been looking at that case for a while now and it looks pretty much perfect for my needs. Its suppose to be perfect for a near silent case (according to SPR). If you choose to get it, be sure to update with pics!

l3ored said:

This way the hot air from the rad doesnt raise case temps.

Click to expand...

The "hot air" exiting the rad is typically 1-3C over ambient- i.e., not very hot at all.
Using this exhaust air to cool other internal components is usually a good thing, not a problem to be solved by isolating the rad.

Ah OK, that would be easier to mount it on the side. I couldn't see the pic before, it's blocked at work. It should be fun cutting that side panel lol. Three layers, aluminum>plastic>aluminum.

TheSonOfX51 said:

Its suppose to be perfect for a near silent case (according to SPR).

Click to expand...

And it is. It's by far the most quiet case I've ever used and I'll probably be using it for many upgrades to come. Even the difference in noise from just taking off the side panel is huge. It does a excellent job of quieting the hard drives too, my Raptor is more quiet than a normal 7200rpm drive in any other case.

clocker2 said:

The "hot air" exiting the rad is typically 1-3C over ambient- i.e., not very hot at all.
Using this exhaust air to cool other internal components is usually a good thing, not a problem to be solved by isolating the rad.

Click to expand...

That's assuming you've got good airflow. The air coming from my rads is a good 20c over ambient, because the fans are so slow they push less than 10cfm I estimate.

clocker2 said:

The "hot air" exiting the rad is typically 1-3C over ambient- i.e., not very hot at all.
Using this exhaust air to cool other internal components is usually a good thing, not a problem to be solved by isolating the rad.

Click to expand...

Normaly the airflow you get inside the case from doing this means it is worth using slightly warmer air to cool off the inside of the case.
But if your fans are that slow... things might not work that way. Personaly if i were to use fans that slow, i would be going for quiet... and would have abandoned hope of good case airflow / temps long ago. Its a conflict of prioritys that i feel dont nessisarily match up.

damarble said:

Ah OK, that would be easier to mount it on the side. I couldn't see the pic before, it's blocked at work. It should be fun cutting that side panel lol. Three layers, aluminum>plastic>aluminum.

Click to expand...

aww damnit, you're right. well if the air temp from the rad is really that low (1-3) i'll just scrap this idea and go with a cheaper case.

Or you do as I am doing and literally build an addition to the bottom of the case...
You do that and the planets align and the galaxies spread open before you with endless room and no interference from anything.

Ok a little dramatic, but in my case (literally) I am using a Micro case with two WC circuits.
I will have the rads and stuff on the lower plate with holes cut in the bottom of the actual case for pulling air out of upper portion through rads, then blown out the lower. Then some more holes for the vertical reservoir's and hose protrusion's.

Quickie side view...

Green = Rad
Orange = Shroud
Dark Blue = Pump(s)
Light Blue = Reservoir(s)
Violet = Fans

The design is to have them side by side, mirrored layout. I plan on having the rads just about sealed in own compartment, with mesh for the in/output, then the pumps and res'. solid walls.

not that my ISP is not screwing up... here is that layout thing...

P180 with watercooling installed

Below is how I opted to install the watercooling system. Hope it helps.
I could not use the bottom because I have a 3ware 4 disk raid in the drive cage. I opted to use a high flow panaflo fan to cool the pcpower supply and the drives.