Best placement for rads on Armor+ case and advice on parts...

[DTH]

Hey people,

I've recently upgraded some components of my PC but the wife says I can either buy a new high res monitor or a new case so I'm going with the monitor.

I've recently bought the XSPC RayStorm 750 RS360 kit. Thing is I have the rad mounted in a very, very bad place at the bottom of my case where I can only put 2 fans on it:



Needless to say it is not cooling as efficiently as it should. What I want to do now is add watercooling for my GTX 770 oc Windforce 4GB. Question: Does anyone know if this will fit http://www.xs-pc.com/waterblocks-gpu/razor-gtx-770 and if it doesn't what will?

Also, should I run a single or a double loop? From what I've read, the pump I have is average at best, if I run a single loop would I need to add another pump?

Now my biggest question is, where the heck should I mount the rads? I'm more than willing to drill/cut holes. I want to get another 360mm rad for the GPU. I was thinking about mounting them on the right hand side of my case? Pic for reference:



I've searched everywhere for pics of the Armor series with side mount rads and I can't find anything. All I can find is rear or top mounted one's. Rear would get in the way and I don't like the look of top mounted... Is there any negative aspects to side mount?

Thanks in advance. It's great to have a community of enthusiasts at hand to bounce ideas off.

 

[DTH]

Bump

 

[Lutfij]

Please be patient while waiting for an answer and please don't bump a thread that is merely one day old.

Back to the topic, you seem to have a tricky case however the other aspect about watercooling is that now solution comes straight out of the box, rather they depend upon your creativity and resourcefulness (as motopshojdn would put it) so I applaud your intention to mod the case

Regarding the GPU, have you taken a look here? If it isn't then the blocks aren't compatible. You could look toward another manufacturer but as previously stated you'd need to check their compatibility. IF all else fails go for a full reference card when your GPU shopping or look for a non reference pcb design that has support by waterblock makers.

Your XSPC kit, which version is it? Is it the 750L w/ Rev.4 pump or the one before it? The prev gen is a lil weak but it's capable of powering a RX360 rad+ CPU block and a GPU block(irrespective of card version)

I'd suggest going for a hang off the back approach with your existing RS360 rad via stand offs or a rad box(swiftech and koolance make one) and you'll see significantly better temps as you're feeding the rad with cooler ambient air instead of the pre-heated air recirculating in your case into your loop and onto your cpu again.

If you're going for the rad hung off the side of your case panel - be warned you'll end up with a right side heavy - opening the side panel will then become a challenge, unless you don't manage cables at all, which would make my point moot

the other option that you can explore although you dislike it is to have the rad mounted outside of case but the top panel - this allows you to yet tap into the cooler ambient air instead of the internal top rad approach where you also recycle hot air. Now the advantage over the other two mentioned above is that your tubing runs can be limited instead of snaking around and causing undue stress on your pump as you've already discovered it becomes the weakest link in your loop since its the heart of it all.

Would you ind if I ask where you hail from? Where you'd like to purchase your gear if you're looking for a turn around on your watercooling project?

you don't have a machine with 3/4 cards in sli/ crossfire, dual loops are for monster like builds in monster like cases - where one pump would be futile and going parallel isn't an option. Thus going a separate loop for each side: e.g: CPU+Chipset+ram in loop 1 while 4 titan's(or 7950's) in loop 2.

Lastly, you haven't read the watercooling stick though as you seem bent on getting another 360 when you have alot of cooling potential in that rad which isn't being used. So please take a look at the watercooling sticky in my sig.

We can move on from here if you'd like.

My 2 cents

Lutfi

* Edit: thought I'd give you some inspiration with rad placements.

courtesy of AMS build log

 

[DTH]

Hey,

Thanks for your answer and sorry for the premature bump.

A 4gb gtx 770 is listed there, however I don't know if it will fit mine, probably not?

Yes it is the 750 pump. It makes a very high pitched sound every now and again...

I'm from Auckland, New Zealand. I have no problem in shipping in parts from overseas.

I had skimmed over the wc thread but evidently I need to give it a better read

Busy wondering if I can talk the wife into letting me get a 900d...