HAF-X Watercooling Advice please.

[Tjj226_Angel]

Yes you can mount a ton of rads on the case, but it calls for some "adjusting". As long as we are talking about the same HAF X it does not accept a radiator natively. At least not like the silver stones tj11 or the corsair obsidian 800D. He simply would be better off selling the case, getting even the 650D, and have spots where he can natively mount radiators.

 

Now if you don't mind a bit of a challenge with your case, then for your price point you could probably squeak by with two loops and cool your cpu and graphics card. Again I would still go with the XSPC kits. These are actually fairly prices and halfway decent water loops. The one to stay away from is a koolance or a swiftech loop, because they aren't full water cooling loops.

 

I would get a 360mm rad for the top and then find a clever spot for a 240mm rad somewhere else in the case. Oh and make sure you remember, never, EVER put a radiator on a side panel. I did that once on a customers request. I told them no that is really dumb. They didn't care and when they had a hard drive go bad and tried to switch it out themselves, they ripped oppen the side panel and water went every where. Thankfully the coolant was non conductive and his computer was off, so we were able to clean it up. But let this be fair warning NO SIDE PANEL RADIATOR!!!!!

[bigball1]

Again.. WHAT ??!!

 

So the HAF X (only 1 HAF X Nvidia is just painted green) needs "adjusting" in order to mount a rad on the top, just like the 800D can. or on the back, just like the 800D can.

 

Wait a min... The HAF X can mount a rad every single same way the 800D "Natively" can. The Silver Stones TJ11 "Natively" cant hold 1 rad with out some "adjusting".

 

Now i know all 3 of these case can hold a crap load of Rads.

 

Now installing water cooling is called modifying computers, this is what we do here. If you cant handle some "adjusting" then..............

[olokul]

Oh and make sure you remember, never, EVER put a radiator on a side panel.

 

 

it can be done like mine but is very hard to work on the computer. i have to take the side panel off and prop it up agains something i did however know about this problem and that is way i have longer hose runs so i am able to take it off and do some work. i am how ever in the process of redoing the side so the rads are mount to the inside of the case and will hing out of the way. i pays to work at a cnc/fab shop, we also do carbon fiber work so that is how i got the rad box made. So like angle said if you can help it do not mount your rads on the side panel. I have a second Lain li full tower case i am working on to solve this problem. I hope to have it done by the time IB comes out to i can make a smooth switch over.

 

 

anyway back on task

 

I would stay with just cooling your cpu for now. unless your doing some heavy overclocking on your videocard they really dont need it. once you start going multi loops you have to start looking at room inside the case and maybe modding a few things. look through this http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=80390 at the bottom of the first post i a store list. i would look into a bay/pump combo to save room a 240 or 360 rad and good waterblock for the cpu. next is to decide if you want 1/2 or 3/8 id hoses then compression fittings or barbs. if you go with barbs the get hose clamps.

[Tjj226_Angel]

Again.. WHAT ??!!

 

So the HAF X (only 1 HAF X Nvidia is just painted green) needs "adjusting" in order to mount a rad on the top, just like the 800D can. or on the back, just like the 800D can.

 

Wait a min... The HAF X can mount a rad every single same way the 800D "Natively" can. The Silver Stones TJ11 "Natively" cant hold 1 rad with out some "adjusting".

 

Now i know all 3 of these case can hold a crap load of Rads.

 

Now installing water cooling is called modifying computers, this is what we do here. If you cant handle some "adjusting" then..............

 

Not what I mean, it can be done. No sweat. I am just saying its not optimal. See to me a full water loop would be a nice thick radiator, push pull configuration, and some large danger den reservoirs. The pump is optional. Now what I mean by native, is a place where you have a bank of fan slots with plenty of clearance for a radiator in push pull. For instance my 800D has 360mm fan bay. There is so much clearance around the mobo, it is practically begging for a radiator. Not only that, but since I have a ATX mobo, there is about a half a foot clearance for some mean reservoirs.

 

Basically my point is that even though he could do very well with water cooling, but the mods on that case is a little bit out of the way. The best way I can prove this is with some videos.

 

HAF X:

Sorry for the host. I don't know what to say. However, see how the rad goes into one of the bay's?? I just wouldn't do that. Of course that is just me. You could prefer to do it that way, it just isn't the best in my opinion.

 

Now compare that to this

 

See how the radiator is more well placed and it isnt interfeering with other stuff? Yes has has a lot of other mods, for reasons I don't fully understand.

 

But if you can block out the other nonsense and just see how the radiators are positioned. The 800D is what I would consider a native radiator mount. The HAF X isn't because you give up a drive bay.

 

I hope you now start to understand what I mean.

[bigball1]

i pays to work at a cnc/fab shop, we also do carbon fiber work so that is how i got the rad box made.

 

Can i be your new BFF

[Waco]

However, see how the rad goes into one of the bay's?? I just wouldn't do that. Of course that is just me. You could prefer to do it that way, it just isn't the best in my opinion.

Why does it matter if you use up a bay or two on the front of the case? It's not like you need more than three or four of them for a bay reservoir, fan controller, and/or an optical drive.

 

I use up the top two with my interior radiator (RX360 with push/pull fans) and still have 4 bays to use. One of them still sits empty since I don't run an optical drive:

 

 

Granted, my case is a HAF 932 and not the X, but from what I can tell they have the same basic setup inside with regards to placement of a radiator up top.

 

 

EDIT: Regarding that video you linked for the 800D - holy crap that's ugly up top.

Edited October 26, 2011 by Waco

[bigball1]

So you have obviously you have never seen a HAF X.

 

You dont really lose the top bay. Can you put a big old CD-ROM drive in there from 99. No. You put a nice new small one that is only as big as a dvd. OR you put a muliti card reader in there OR your LCD temp display, OR your SSD.

 

So with all these options, you dont really lose it now do you.

 

So natively speaking you can put the same rads in these 2 cases the same way.

[olokul]

Can i be your new BFF

 

for a small fee

 

 

 

thank you Waco. i was typing out a nice long post last night about loosing a bay or two for a rad but didnt want to get into a . match over it. if i didnt care about the looks of the inside of my case i would have only used 1 bay out of the 5 in my case but since i had the free space i used it. from bottom to top i run my 2 ssd and 2 750gb 2.5 drives in the first two bays then my dvd drive and on top of the drive sits the fan controllers and power button to the second powersupply. you can see the top three bays in the picture i posted on the first page.