• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

Upgrading to PA120.3 - Placement and Size

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.
TheSonOfX51

TheSonOfX51

Disabled
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Location
Edwardsville, IL
I currently have a Black Ice GT 120x2 and I want to upgrade to a PA120.3 so I can have silent fans running on it. I want to do a push/pull on it and use shrouds.

In order for me to better plan for the rad, I need to know how large it is complete with fans and shrouds on both sides. Anyone that has the rad, please reply so I can better plan.

I have a CM Stacker and I want to mount the rad on either the top or the bottom and I would like for it to be completely internal.Also, if anyone has an suggestions for the placement of the rad (can't be mounted up front, I need that area for drives and accessories), they are welcome! I am more than willing to cut up my case.
 
i like the bottom placement myself... and if you feel like gettin rid of that GT120x2 for a good price let me know
 
I don't think you need extra shrouds, Fans on pa radiators are 10mm raised from the surface while on black ice gt they lay right on it.

Here how it goes in demension wise
fan shroud rad shroud fan
25, 40, 61, 40, 25 =191 mm, that's 2 fans on both sides, with two shrouds, it's like 8x25mm fans stack on each other
 
Even without the shrouds, the rad will extent up and cover one PCI slot if mounted on the bottom. I may go mounting it above, taking out the power supply cage and making one shroud+fan external and then having the radiator inside with another shroud and fan.

If anyone has any data on how much the shroud helps, it would be appreciated. If it doesn't help very much, I would just go without.

If all else fails, I will just wait until they get here and play around with it.
 
I've got the shroud and the 120.3. I'll try to find my ruler but have no idea where it went. Will report back if I can find the dam thing. IIRC it was 102mm from extreme end of the radiator exhaust to the extreme end of the shroud (thickness from left to right) and 17" tall. Mine is in a CM Stacker standing upright behind the intake filters, leaves on enough space for 2 open bays at the top.
 
Cant you mount the rad on the front of a Stacker? I never owned one, but I believe I have seen it.

Also, since I also have a PA on the way, I was wondering as well, how much a shroud for it helps.
 
You can mount a rad in front of the stacker, but it will only leave you with one or two drive bays. Not a big deal if you don't use a lot of drives. I am currently using a stacker, but I will be moving to a MM UFO when I install my PA120.3.
 
I have 2 cd drives, the front power and a fan controller to plug in. I also need some way to mount my hard drive cage. Any ideas on how to place things in order to have room?

This is why I wanted to either mount it on the top or on the bottom.

The front looks like a great idea though because I could just use the included fan filters to make zero dust.

My cdrom drives can go up front (someone said that 2 fit) and then the power button and usb ports can be modded into the top along with the sunbeam fan controller.
 
Last edited:
I cut a retangle just to the side of the top mounted fan. I can either mount that power/usb pannel there or my fan controller. The 2 top bays are being used by whatever I choose. My 2 hd's are where the top psu is supposed to be located with exhaust fans blowing the heat out of the case. The actual psu is mounted on the bottom. I can't find my ruler, sorry.
 
quote by Cathar from XS
I personally found that with the PA series, the best fan setup was push, over pull, by around about 2%, tested at ~200W input heat loads. The difference between using a shroud vs not using a shroud was also around 2%, however I was using the slower speed fans which have a fairly small fan hub and the in-built 10mm shroud of the radiator appeared to be sufficient.

i.e. If you're running your low-speed fans at 5v, and overclocking like crazy under full load, we're talking about a ~0.3C difference (or less) between the "best" configuration of shroud in push-mode, vs "worst" configuration of no shroud in pull-mode.

My advice is to just mount the radiator and fans in whatever way is most convenient to do so. If using a shroud is convenient for mounting, then do that. If not, don't worry about it. Run the fans at 0.2v higher on your fan speed controller and you won't know the difference.
Click to expand...

I knew I had read this somewhere when I bought my PA120.3. It took me a few minutes to find it.
 
That helps me out ALOT! Thanks for that. :clap:

I will just put it on either the top or bottom with fans in a push/pull config without shrouds and it should fit just fine.

Can anyone recommend some fan filters since the rad will be pulling air off my carpet (so lots of dust) that don't hinder the fans too much?
 
I use black mosquito netting from Lowes for fan filters. It doesn't catch the really fine dust, but it really does work well enough without being restrictive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mtdewcowboy
Adding a second radiator
Replies
8
Views
402
Al_bundy
Al_bundy
Railgun
External twin MO-RA 360 planning and setup
Replies
1
Views
244
Railgun
Railgun
Nebulous
bitfenix Spectre Pro All White LED 120mm fans
Replies
3
Views
420
QuantumCookie
QuantumCookie
Railgun
TRX50 blocks
Replies
7
Views
344
Railgun
Railgun
D
Modernizing my WC
Replies
0
Views
405
Dolk
D
Back