finding the right case

[MystD]

I’m happy with my current water-cooling setup but its wall-mounted and very clunky. I’m moving into another flat which is directly under the roof and it can get very hot in there when the sun hits the roof. I also have access to the basement so I’ve decided to get my hardware off the wall and put it into a portable case and just work in the basement when its too hot. Thus Ill be switching between the basement and flat a lot. Sadly I couldn’t find any portable case that fits my needs. The only one I could find that was kinda fitting is the Fractal Design Define R5 White. But I have some beef with it: 1. its not portable, I could drill holes in it and add handles but Id rather not mess with a 100€ to 200€ case. 2. I have to use my 360 rad at the top which eliminates the soundproofing and dust-filtering. BUT it has 2 optical slots and enough hard-drive-cages. I need that. I’ve got 6 HDDs: 3x 2.5 and 3x3.5, one optical drive and one HDD quick exchange that fits 1x 3.5 and 1x 2.5 HDD which uses one optical slot to mount.

I also need to add a reservoir and pump. I currently use a submersible pump in a huge external diy glass reservoir. To make everything portable I’d need to change this. But I’m not sure what res to get. A slim res&pump combi would be best. But I have problems finding one, most are cylindrical and look like they wont fit in with all those HDDs. The slim and stealthy ones I’ve found take up an optical slot which isn’t available.

 

[MystD]

Ive been looking at about 300 cases now, Im pretty much forced to moddify a case to make it portable. Its hard to figure out where to put handles because the 360 rads are always mounted at the top. Many cases espacially the soundproof ones also destroy the optical drive space when a 360 rad is mounted at the top. The only "soundproof" one I could find that has enough space is the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe which has a window that completely destroys the soundproofing. Those that have enough space are not soundproof but would have the dustfiltring intact: like the LC-Power Gaming 978BG Tank-Buster or Phanteks Enthoo Pro. There still is the problem with the portability though.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

That sounds like a tall order for a small case plus custom water cooling. Are you just looking to take your existing setup and just move it to a new case? If so, have a look here that was graciously put together by one of our senior members to see which case you feel will fit the build. You might have to order a new res/pump combo and rads to make a good fit in the smaller but portable cases.

Also, give us a run down list of your PC components and loop to get a better visual what were dealing with here. Some images would be nice as well.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

What about the cooler Master cosmos 2?

Expensive but looks like it has all the features (incl. Handles) you need...

 

[MystD]

400€ is way out of budget. For that price Id rather buy a mig welder, metal sheets sound insulation mats and build one myself. Im looking for one thats 100 to 200 max.

 

[MystD]

Picture is currently not possible Im not at home. I can make one at the weekend. Im ok with a bigtower it doesnt need to be a midi as long as I can carry it Im good. If everything fails Ill just have to get a case that isnt soundproofed and buy an xbag to carry it around. When I have enough money for tools Ill make a custom case anyway. If it wasnt so huge Id go for the Phobya WaCoolT UltraBig. But that thing isnt really portable.

Yes I have to use my existing stuff. Dont have too much money I can spend. Buying new rads just to fit them in a new case is too expensive. I also need to add more rads someday. The gpu is currently still aircooled.

That list is nice but not really usable for me because I cant see which space is occupied by the hdds.

Ive got:

Block: Watercool Heatkiller IV Basic AMD Acetal
Connectors: XSPC Connector 1/4" to 13mm
Radiator: MagiCool Xflow Copper Radiator III
Pump: WPDC-10.8L-4.8M-24
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX (on of the older ones)

 

[Alaric]

Corsair C70? https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139015

They come in black or white too, I think.

 

[MystD]

Niice Im not too much of a fan of the military look but everything would fit in and it has handles. I wish it had a dustfilters everywhere not just at the bottom.

Damn it the 360 rad doesnt fit, Id have to mod it on...

 

[Alaric]

Niice Im not too much of a fan of the military look

In black http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengeance-c70-mid-tower-gaming-case-gunmetal-black#

And a $90 refurb, in white. http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengeance-c70-mid-tower-gaming-case-arctic-white-refurbished

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Alaric, it needs to be a case that can support a 360mm, preferably at the top so the front and bottom area have support for a lot of drives and possibly some room for a small res/pump combo.

I should note knowingly you have different circumstances, I don't know if I could trust moving a custom liquid loop often. I think the vibrations and movement could spring a leak but that's just me being too paranoid than. I think a custom rig should be a set and never pick up other than for maintenance.

Maybe you should just stick with AIR or AIOs for now.

 

[MystD]

I had leaks several times and it even dripped on the graphics card and motherboard but since I use destilled water nothing happened. But Ive started using hose clamps on all ends since then. With those nothing spilled so far. Ill just have to do good maintenance and check the setup. Ill prob go for a cheap temporary case, nothing Ive found is a perfect fit so far and there is too much compromising involved. I want to diy a 0 noise case from copperfoam someday anyway but copperfoam is really expensive and only availabe in huge quantities. So I have to wait till I got the finances.

 

[Alaric]

Completely wiffed the pitch on the 360. My bad. That's a lot of water overall to be "portable". I'm thinking about picking up a portable air conditioner this summer. $200 would not be a bad deal for me. I live in the desert and have a swamp cooler, so temps are an issue a good part of the year.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

I think you just brought up a good point for the OP Alaric. OP, why not find a affordable cooler instead of spending the funds on all this other stuff. Should keep you nice and cool when needed.

 

[MystD]

A cooler costs a ton of money on the long run. A new case is nothing compared to what a good cooler costs. Id rather invest that money into a better insulation but its not my home so Ill have to make do with what Ive got and can do.

Ive decided to go with the Sharkoon VS4-S. Its cheap and it holds all my stuff and Ill just mod handles and the 360 rad on it. Its got 3 optical slots that way I can use a reservoir there. Is there a good res&pump combi that can be filled from the front?

Dang the drivebay res&pump combi are really expensive. I think Ill go for the MagiCool DCP450 it looks small enough to fit in somewhere. It might not work with my 13mm tubings though. Maybe its better to just diy a reservior with my current pump. But then again to diy it is gonna be risky...

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Ive thought hard about it and Im going for the modded case with diy reservoir. My pump doesnt need to be inside the res so Im just gonna mount the pump somewhere inside or outside. Ill use a T tube connector and connect the tube to the top of the case. That tube is going to be the reservoir and can be easily filled. I also cheap out with a total of 70€ including shipping. For the handles Ill look at a local hardware store, good handles shouldnt cost more than 5 to 10€ a Piece. Later Ill then soundproof the pump and add dustfilters.

 

[JeremyCT]

Does it have to be internal? For your needs you might want to consider an external rad setup with quick disconnects. Hang it off the side/back of the case in a quickly removable fashion. Easier to move because it's in two parts and there are lots of cases with tubing pass-throughs to accommodate this.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Does it have to be internal? For your needs you might want to consider an external rad setup with quick disconnects. Hang it off the side/back of the case in a quickly removable fashion. Easier to move because it's in two parts and there are lots of cases with tubing pass-throughs to accommodate this.

I think that's a great idea. External setup with less worries internally where things count.