Help knockin´ a case on its side.

For my next build I would like to bite way more than I can chew (copper tube watercooling and wrecking a case). The thing is, I can´t choose a case.

My case dilema:

I really like builds where you can see everything inside. Thats why the format where the board is horizontal really appleas to me. For example I like the way that you can cut a window on the side of the Corsair 250D to see the GPU and enlarge the top window. I also like the HTPC format since everyting is seen top-down, however I haven´t found one of theese cases that I like and has the GPU all the way on the side like the 250D so that I can cut a window for it. Many of the watercooled HTPC builds have radiators outside of the case which I don´t really like. Also there are lots of 250D builds on the web, and I would like for you guys to follow along on a build that is unique.

What I would like to do:

I want to take one of those top mounted PSU mATX cases that are relatively narrow since they dont have a second section in the back for cable management and knock it on its side. Therefore, if you now look at it from the front the PSU will be in the back right corner, the IO will be in the back (duh), and the GPU will be on the left. However, the GPU isn´t that close to the left if I use an ITX board to put a window on the left (what used to be the bottom of the case if standing up). The top panel (what used to be the left side is now the top) would go away and I would add a whole glass window. What is also a pain is the feet on the side. Adding feet to the new bottom wouldn´t be and issue. As for the refrigeration I would cut out all the drive cages in the front and add a PHAT 360 mm radiator with push-pull in the front. Depending on the case I´m assuming that I would have to add usb, audio, and pwr/reset buttons somewhere else. It may be a good chance to cut out the protrusions that some cases have on the left where the old feet used to go and put that there.

Overall, I don´t really know if i´m getting way over my head on this or if I should just find an HTPC case that works for me and forsake the beauty of modding. It would be nice if you could point me towards certain cases or mods that have gone in this direction. Right now nothing is concrete since this is only in the process of brainstorming and soaking up the inspiration.

Thanks in advance!

So, basically, you want to take effectively a slim case, and turn it on it's side, and mod windows and watercooling into it? I assume you want something that will support a full length/width GPU, correct?

Will something like the Fractal Design Core 1000 or 1100 do for you?

I definitely think it's doable, but doing it and making it look good might be difficult. The FD Core 1000 is only $30 though...

Hello and sorry for the late reply

The FD Core 1000 is 355 mm tall and wont house a 360 mm radiator. The idea is to cut out the drive cage and the drive bays and place it vertically on the front panel.

The FD Core 1100 is 358 mm tall and still wont house a 360 mm radiator. It also adds the nuissance of relocaten the power switch and the USB ports in the front panel.

I have a Corsair 230T where I could get away with cutting a big rectangle along the whole front pannel and covering it with honeycombe mesh. That is where I would place the radiator where the drives and optical drives would go. I´m pretty sure that I could still fit a full length GPU in there since the radiator with fans on both sides is not thicker than the drive cage that would be cut out. However, the symmetry of this case does not really allow for it to be truned on its side (So much for the original idea). Plus, it is orange

The Corsair 200R however does look good on its side, but the PSU is bottom mounted. The original idea was to cut a window there to see a watercooled GPU. This also means buying a mATX motherboard. It´s not like the blue ATX that I have will look good with anything but...

So right now I think that I´m giving up on the "forced HTPC" format thing... Nothing is planning out right now. I have a blue motherboard which is ATX and will just look empty and an ORANGE case. ORANGE. What was I on when I bought it?

As soon as I fix this thrid world problem of my components not matching colors or if I just loose it and start cutting holes in my 230T I´ll post back. In the meantime I´m still open to suggestions. Nothing would be far-fetched right now. If anyone has any ideas just post them and I´ll do the meassuring. Let them spill!

Thanks!

Just to think outside the box, since you essentially need a custom for factor (or at least want something specialized), why not use a case for donor panels and make a frame to support them. This could be wood or another easily worked material. If you have the side, switch assemblies, MB and power supply frames, this takes care of the more difficult sections to fabricate. There are more than a couple of custom cases in the alt modding section, some made with exceptionally low cost.

This could also help from someone who is very accomplished with these things:
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/173336-Custom-Case-Building-101-(basics)

Top mount PSU cases are hard to find these days. You pretty much are limited to the more "budget" minded cases. That's not a bad thing, but metal thickness is generally thinner and you may not get all the bells and whistles of a top end case. At any rate here are my suggested possibilities.

Xion 160P Potential issue - May have to relocate Front panel I/O. Bonus feature - ODD plates are vented. (I own one of these and they're pretty decent quality. I modified the ODD bays to add fans for additional front air flow.)

DIYPC M88-BK Potential issue - May have to relocate Front panel I/O.

It might be a good suggestion to go with a 240mm rad up front as many cases are already set-up for that. I'll keep looking, but this is what I've come up with so far.

Sounds to me like it may be simpler for you to find a good test bench you like such as the Dimastech, and then build a casing around that, as in my mind for what you want it allows the motherboard to be up top, front and center with the possibility of watercooling components visible through a plexi top portion of this project.

Xaotic said:

Just to think outside the box, since you essentially need a custom for factor (or at least want something specialized), why not use a case for donor panels and make a frame to support them. This could be wood or another easily worked material. If you have the side, switch assemblies, MB and power supply frames, this takes care of the more difficult sections to fabricate. There are more than a couple of custom cases in the alt modding section, some made with exceptionally low cost.

This could also help from someone who is very accomplished with these things:
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/173336-Custom-Case-Building-101-(basics)

Click to expand...

I like the idea of scrapping a case for the parts that have to be machinned in metal, but I really do not like working with wood or plastic. I have a dremmel and a drill but no way to solder. Perhaps I could set everything up and have things welded toghether at a car shop, but I don´t know how much it would cost. This would be cheaper if I found some sort of enclosure from some device that more or less has the right size. I think this is a little bit too much but will take it into consideration as a last resort. Thaks!

Blaylock said:

Top mount PSU cases are hard to find these days. You pretty much are limited to the more "budget" minded cases. That's not a bad thing, but metal thickness is generally thinner and you may not get all the bells and whistles of a top end case. At any rate here are my suggested possibilities.

Xion 160P Potential issue - May have to relocate Front panel I/O. Bonus feature - ODD plates are vented. (I own one of these and they're pretty decent quality. I modified the ODD bays to add fans for additional front air flow.)

DIYPC M88-BK Potential issue - May have to relocate Front panel I/O.

It might be a good suggestion to go with a 240mm rad up front as many cases are already set-up for that. I'll keep looking, but this is what I've come up with so far.

Click to expand...

True, theese cases are much cheaper. If I find a case that I like I have no problem relocating the front I/O or using one from another case. The hard part is the inside. I also don´t care at all for the looks of the front panel since I'm going to cut a 120 x 360 mm hole and cover it with honeycombe mesh.

Xion 160P: The rad will fit in the front with some cuts here and there for sure. Also, my motherboard suggests that I put my GPU in the uppermost PCI slot, so even if the PSU is top mounted, it would be too far away from the side (old bottom) to have a window of its own right there. The thing is that, if the case were to be shorter having an ITX or mATX motherboard (thus bringing the GPU closer to the edge) the front would not fit a 360 mm radiator. There is my dilema. I would need an ITX case with a top mounted PSU and a huge gap between the PSU and the MB to make it taller (or wider if the case is on its side) and stretch the whole thing out in order to fit a 360 mm radiator. Obviously no manufacturer makes an ITX case that has 360 mm in any direction except for thermaltake:

Thermaltake Core X1

This case is ITX (I would have to buy a board and dig myself into a hole even more) and can fit ANYTHING. I had no idea that this existed. Do you know of any similar cases that support enthusiasts like this? However it has the ugliest front I have ever seen. It just makes me want to put my foot throug it. I´ve seen 30 € cases with more tasteful aesthetics. What the hell are tose rectangles behind that crappy mesh? Seriously, all the money on designing this case went to the inside. It is very versatile.

Anyhow, even if it is ITX, its huge. I hate this give and take of being compact and being able to enjoy the looks of a rig that is worth two paychecks.

Thanks a lot for your input!

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sobe said:

Sounds to me like it may be simpler for you to find a good test bench you like such as the Dimastech, and then build a casing around that, as in my mind for what you want it allows the motherboard to be up top, front and center with the possibility of watercooling components visible through a plexi top portion of this project.

Click to expand...

Will look into it. I´ve never owned a test bench and have no idea how they work. Thanks!

Easy fix is to buy a second GPU and X-Fire/SLI them. Also just because the manual says to mount the GPU in the top slot doesn't mean you have to. It will reduce performance but it should run in any of the slots. The better option though is to go SLI with the mATX board.

LOL thanks. An even better solution would be to buy a 900D and go quad SLI but I cant afford another GPU. Right now im looking at the EVGA superclocked 970 and putting the EK block on it. I´ts a shame AquaComputer does not make a 970 active backplate because it looks really cool. Would you happen to know how well that card overclocks? Could I go past the factory OC that it comes with? I´ve heard that its not worth watercooling low power cards like that.

EDIT: I have never overclocked anything (except for a TI calculator). Stupid questions that I could google incoming ;D. No just kidding, I´ll do my homework.

Silicon lottery aside, they're great cards from all my readings. I don't own one but have read many good things. Some brands tend to OC better than others but usually it's more dependent on random luck of the lottery. As far as water cooling goes I think it's only truely beneficail if you're running a heavy overclock and under heavy load for extended periods. Basically if you can hit the thermal protection point you should water cool. The average Joe gamer will not need it.

Have you looked at any HTPC style cases?

I think the Hadron Hydro is one of the only HTPC cases to have any real water capability (more than 120mm anyway). I've actually been working on a new project when things are slow here for a big water SFF HTGPC case. Maybe I'll post one of the rendered images and see what you guys think.

ATMINSIDE said:

Have you looked at any HTPC style cases?

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Yeah.... And i´ve seen a lot of mods where the radiators are on the outside which I really don´t like. Do you know of any that may satisfy my needs?

I made this quick paint with the rectangle tool to try to portray more or less how I want this to look without you guys having to read my everything.It is top down and the lime green is where windows would go:



EDIT: Yes, I am a ******. And yes, the GPU is not touching the back.

You mean this case? It´s not very horizontal, and I can not fit 360 mm radiator on it. Will 240 mm radiator cool both CPU and GPU QUIETLY? I really like the 360 MONSTA radiator for its low restrictiveness and good cooling at low RPMs Review here/

Gee I don´t wanna join the Corsair 250D club like everybody else

This is what I was referring to btw as far as repurposing a test bench, images attached of a user's setup on XtremeSystems. Gives pretty much what you want, and you can craft a shell around the top portion or leave it open if you so chose.

Check out Silverstone, they have a lot of horizontal cases for HTPC duty that you could likely repurpose.

Yes that's the Hadron hydro. One of the few SFF cases to support water which it what started my desire to design one. (Also I found out that our local high school has a CMC machine)

Blaylock said:

Silicon lottery aside, they're great cards from all my readings. I don't own one but have read many good things. Some brands tend to OC better than others but usually it's more dependent on random luck of the lottery. As far as water cooling goes I think it's only truely beneficail if you're running a heavy overclock and under heavy load for extended periods. Basically if you can hit the thermal protection point you should water cool. The average Joe gamer will not need it.

Click to expand...

I´m no average Joe

Then I believe you've answered that lol.