HTPC Water Cooling Project

[RJR]

As far as I can tell, the case has 4 fans, 2-80mm and 2-60mm, you may want to check out something like one of these, depending on your processor it should be all you need:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185129

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103084

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185097

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118062

[Drdeath]

I can think of a pretty good reason to water cool a HTPC- noise. Since it doesnt need to dissipate some rediculous amount of heat, a self-contained water cooling system (H50, ALC, H70, etc) if implemented with the right fans could potentially cut down on the noise and simultaneously provide better cooling. As was said earlier though, airflow is needed either way. Finding a way to increase the airflow inside the case should be your top priority. Afterwards, one of the above mentioned water coolers would probably be really nice and cost effective to boot.

 

 

Ahhh a good surround sound system will drown it out.

[wevsspot]

The OP didn't come in asking whether we thought he should water cool his HTPC system, he came in asking for advice on suggestions for doing it.

 

The two slimest rads I know of are the Black Ice GT 120 Stealth (29.60mm) and the Swiftech MCR120-QPK (34mm)

 

As far as tube size goes you should probably opt for 3/8 ID x 5/16 OD for space considerations, but the wall thickness on that tubing is pretty thin. If possible you could use the 3/8 ID x 1/2 OD instead. I've tried every type of tubing on the planet, and for the price you can't beat the Clearflex tubing. You can find it at Jab-Tech http://www.jab-tech.com/Clearflex-Tube-c-318.html or other supplier of your choice.

 

For further space and noise considerations you could probably go with a reservoir that has a built in bay for the pump. XSPC makes some good ones and they have models that fit both DDC and D5 pumps.

Edited November 8, 2010 by wevsspot

[sticknstone]

Hey guys I've had this Omaura TF8 HTPC for awhile now and I've upgraded it over time and now its getting to the point where I can only run it with the cover off.

 

So I searched around and found a pump and reservoir that would fit just fine but I cant seem to find some type of low profile Radiator. I found out that if I dremel some small brackets down I can fit my 2TB hard drive under my cdrom drive leaving a bunch of space for the pump reservoir and radiator.

 

But I've never put together a cooling set before so I was hoping what types of tubing you think I should use for use a such small case... or if that even matters... or any problems Id run into trying to set it up

 

Any help would be great

 

 

 

To start off, I have no idea what dimension the HTPC is however, I am thinking a thermaltake PW 850i would be useful. Also the installation would require some mod work. Here is my plan; Place the hard drives on their side close to the cd-rom. The bottom of the case could be used for the two screws on

that side and I'm guessing a fabricated bracket could support the top two screws. The pump and tank would fit in the far corner and go toward to PSU. The radiatior has the ability to be installed outside the case. I would cut a hole for the 120 x 120 radiator fan on the top of the HTPC. Here are the dimensions (mm)

for the PW 850i; L W H

water block 58 58 35

pump 75 70 75

radiator 153 120 28

luquid tank 86 66 110

application am2/am2+/am3/amd k8/ lga 775/1156/1366/P4

Myself I have this kit installed in my system. The rad fan has an adjustable resistor. It is pleasantly quiet. The pump however is a bit of an anoyance, however I placed it on my motherboards smart sys fan connector and found that it reduced the RPM favorably. To further reduce any pump/tank sounds I used

damping and the wire ties in the kit to hold the pump/tank in place. For damping I simply used a new utility blade and slice the foam packaging similar to slicing a piece of cheese. I place the foam sheet between the case and the pump/tank and tied them securely. If your motherboard does not have smart fan

control perhaps you could use and fan power extension cable and splice an adjustable resistor in the cable. That would give you control and keep your warranty intact.

[wevsspot]

Swiftech is making a new low profile water block that might help out with space constraints too;

 

http://www.jab-tech.com/Swiftech-Apogee-LP-Low-Profile-CPU-waterblock-pr-4701.html