Best Case choice for water cooling build.

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Hello Forum, I am planning to craft a watercooling build this summer and can not decide on my case and general water cooling components. My Build is a 780 ti (maybe 2 if budget is enough), 4930k, dominator ram, and rampage IV extreme black edition. My 2 case options are the NZXT H440 or the Corsair 750D or 900D. I just can't decide. In the H440 I would want to run 2 360 rads (one in front and 1 on top) and maybe a 140 rad in the back. It states that 2 360 rads fit but I read some stuff that said it would be a tight fit. The 900D would allow me to fit like billions of rads and I havent done my research yet so I dont know about rad options for the 900D. I am aware that the H440 doesn't accept EATX mobos but I saw someone make it fit so I decided I would do it. Thanks for reading and any critism would be greatly appreciated. I want this build to be as good as possible.
 
Solution
Having been down this road just a few months ago, I can tell ya that the 1st two are a bit small and the last is a bit big.... the Goldilockscase that is just right for twin 780 Tis and the RIVEB MoBo is the Enthoo Primo. If you are not going to use more than two cards in SLI, then I see no advantage to the 4930k and RIVEB and I'd drop to the MAximus VI Formula. If you are new to water cooling, you might wanna look at the 780 Posiedon which is comparable in performance to the 780 Ti..... The savings with the M6F MoBo and 4770k will easily pay for the 2nd Poseidon.

Easy Twin GFX SLI Build

$220 Enthoo Primo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854001

$290 Asus Maximus VI Formula w/ WaterBlock...

Dark Lord of Tech

Retired Moderator
Corsair 750D

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/obsidian-series-750d-full-tower-atx-case


1zbdkpg.jpg
 
Having been down this road just a few months ago, I can tell ya that the 1st two are a bit small and the last is a bit big.... the Goldilockscase that is just right for twin 780 Tis and the RIVEB MoBo is the Enthoo Primo. If you are not going to use more than two cards in SLI, then I see no advantage to the 4930k and RIVEB and I'd drop to the MAximus VI Formula. If you are new to water cooling, you might wanna look at the 780 Posiedon which is comparable in performance to the 780 Ti..... The savings with the M6F MoBo and 4770k will easily pay for the 2nd Poseidon.

Easy Twin GFX SLI Build

$220 Enthoo Primo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854001

$290 Asus Maximus VI Formula w/ WaterBlock
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132038

$190 16GB Mushkin DDR3-2400 w/ 10-13-18-28 timings
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226417

$600 Asus Posiedon w/ WaterBlock
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121869

$77 Radiator @ Case Bottom - Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper Double 140mm Radiator 324 x 144 x 60mm (Radiator Watts at 10C, 1250 rpm = 206)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/16825/ex-rad-426/Alphacool_NexXxoS_UT60_Full_Copper_Dual_140mm_Radiator.html

$85 Radiator @ Case Top - Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper Triple 140mm Radiator 468 x144 x 46mm (Radiator Watts at 10C, 1250 rpm = 302)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/16830/ex-rad-431/Alphacool_NexXxoS_XT45_Full_Copper_Triple_140mm_Radiator.html

$73 CPU Water Block - EK Supremacy Universal CPU Liquid Cooling Block - Clean Plexi (EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ) - No Circles [3830046990808]
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/19628/ex-blc-1442/EK_Supremacy_Universal_CPU_Liquid_Cooling_Block_-_Clean_Plexi_EK-Supremacy_Clean_CSQ.html?tl=g57c603s1912

If ya need any help, let me know..... I went with 780's and EK Water Blocks / Backplates on the GFX, Swiftech 35x2 dual pump and EK Res-3 250mm .... I used rigid acrylic tube and Bitspower fittings rather than flex tube.

If ya dead set on twin 780 Tis, then the Asus ones with the EK waterblocks / Backplates would be my choice.

Again, I wouldn't go to LGA 2011 unless ya intend on 3 or more GFX cards but if ya do EK now has a WB for the RIVEB.

See both RIVEB and M6F builds in the Enthoo (white one arrives at newegg in a few days BTW) here:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1418637/phanteks-enthoo-primo-owners-club

Post #9 review will tell ya why the Enthoo came home with Case of the Year award from Comdex. I had chosen a 900D tho was kinda hesitant cause of the size..... the Enthoo was perfect. I planned on the 420 + 280 in push / pull for the Twin 780s (25% OC) and 4770k (4.6 Ghz) but started out with only push .... my delta T (ambient air to coolant) is only 8.4C at fan speed of 1200 rpm .... I usually rin with fan speed control from 325 to 850 rpm....fans just get barely audible at 900 rpm.
 
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Thanks for the really in depth and quick response! I have decided on EVGA 780 ti with the hydro copper water block, but not sure if 1 or 2 yet. I eventually want to go Triple Sli but thats in the future. Im gonna go with Haswell-E when it comes out. The Enthoo Primo is a pretty good case but is just not sexy enough for my eye. The reason I like the H440 is mainly for the Quietness and the cleanliness of it. However I was just thinking that Watercooling is already quiet so sound isn't really a concern anymore... I think. The issue with the case is that the way my room is setup. The Monitors are on the other side from the Tower itself, so I would like a sexy case such as the H440 or the 750D or 900D. The Primo just doesn't appeal to my eye. After looking at the 750D, the 750 and H440 are not my 2 options. The 900D was just too massive. I guess my question is, What Rad setup would be best for a H440 or 750D, and what case would you reccomend other than the 750D and H440. Thanks again!

 
Watch the review by extremerigs on youtube....the Hydrocopper (aka EVGA / Swiftech) did extremely poorly. Ridiculously priced and the worse performing block they tested, especially with regard to VRM and VRAM temps.....the Titan, 780 and 780 Ti all use same Waterblocks so the review is applicable to all these cards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDyYliSo-Hw
Go to 22:30 mark

EVGA Hydrocopper 11C hotter on VRAM than the EK Block ..... the Hydrocopper is 29C hotter than the EK Block.....33C versus 62C !!!!

Ya lost me on the sexy thing :) .... I find the 900D sooo mundane and plain. Case labs makes great cases but again, rather mundane..... the Primo on the other hand appears, to me anyway, stylish, has nice accents. lighting and excellent brushed aluminum finishes. Best case I have ever used for hiding cables (no effort required actually ... res bracket hides most everything) ..... one of the few cases I have used that even hides the PSU entirely. But yes, I have to say I think white makes both cases look better. Newegg had it there last Sunday advertised for sale as of the 10th but pulled it. Word is Phanteks needs time to fill it's pre-orders before it goes on sale at newegg
http://www.phanteksusa.com/collections/cases/products/phanteks-enthoo-primo-white

3150



But case aesthetics is a very personal thing so there is no right / wrong answer for everybody ... to each his own kinda thing. But I will say.... looks in newegg pics and looks on ya desk are two very different things..... the look and feel of brushed aluminum for example won't come across in a pic.

The 440 is sharp looking in a clean way and I recommend it often for air cooling..... or AIOs if ya into that kinda thing .... but to my eyes it just appears too small for water cooling twin GFX cards. The 750D is very tight but doable.... but the 440 is considerably smaller (only 75% of the volume of the 750D) With 8.67" x 20.08" x 18.71" where do ya fit everything ? I don't see much space for a cylindrical res in there; my guess is ya will be relegated to pump / bay res combo which hands ya both noise, and vibration issues not to mention potential seam leakage. My other concern is ruggedability....the H440 (21 lbs) is half the weight of the Primo 9.84" x 25.59" x 23.62" (40 lbs).

Not sure where ya coming from on the noise issue....what kinda fans you thinking of ? I have the case sides off with the machine sitting 2 feet from my head, it's dead silent. Using 1200 rpm fans controlled to operate between 325 and 850 rpm..... Cases don't make noise, fans do. If you are gonna stuff 1800 rpm fans in there, there's no way around it, it will be noisy. Fan noise *can* be a larger concern in highly overclocked water cooled rigs that are short on rad space as the fans blow air thru a radiator .... the static pressure and "wind" going thru the rads when at rpms > 900 creates noise. As with air cooled rigs, better to have lotta fans going slow than less fans blowing fast.

As a minimum, for 2 GFX cards, you'll want at least a 280 + 420 rad in push pull or a 480 + 360 if ya go with 120s ...... using the 440 I just don't see it all fitting with a 60mm diameter res, at least not with 11+" GFX cards.

Take a look at the Owners Club builds and see what peeps have done with them

http://www.overclock.net/t/1430077/corsair-750d-owners-club
http://www.overclock.net/t/1430677/the-nzxt-h-series-h630-h440-h230-club
http://www.overclock.net/t/1418637/official-phanteks-enthoo-primo-owners-club

I read the last 10 pages or so on the 440 thread and saw frequent complaints about air flow.

As for alternates.... if ya thinking 440 / 750D, the Luxe is equivalent but again, doable but kinda tight for water cooling two cards. Other than that I haven't really found anything that tickled my fancy.
 
I'd guess his system's been up and running for about 6 months by now but I remember that case fondly. That case was one of those that really got the ball rolling for water cooling .... today it's a bit outdated (no 140mm rad support for example), a bit tough to fit on ya desk and no specific WC features other than "lotta space" (i.e. built in reservoir mounts, pump mounts, fan controllers) but many of today's case features I think wouldn't be here if not for designs like those back in the day.