Idea: The little wtf box

[jibz]

An idea I had for fun that will cost so much more than it's worth. The end result goal is to have a portable MATX system that somehow ended up beast mode with watercooling.



The idea is to cut fan/mounting holes in the side panel of a fractal core 1000 matx case and fit a 360 rad in the side panel.

Since this is a silly project I want to keep tabs on the cost to make sure I feel bad about spending money.

The junk:
120.3 used rad with some chips and bent fins but very much usable. $20
used apogee xt cpu block $25
used switch micro res v1 $10
broken but functional MATX 1155 b2 mobo $20
1 4gb kingston dimm $20
1 used msi gtx 465 golden modded to 470 w/ wb $150 (cool find circulating in BST)
used i3 2100 $85
new Fractal core 1000 $38
4 inch bi-metal holesaw $9.99
1 broken pump $20 + $2 replacement PCB from ebay
1 used corsair tx950 (because it's sitting in my room without a home)
1 used 640gb WD black ($42) have another I might use for raid1

What I still need to get:
WC:
3/8 flexible tubing
3/8 barbs & hose clamps

MNPCtech wishlist:
3 120mm modder's mesh honeycomb grill ($4.99ea)
6ft uchannel ($3.99)
360 rad template ($3.99)
black pair of casehandles($19.99)

This will be my first majorish mod using a holesaw to fit a 360 rad into a matx case.

Also
inb4

[enaberif]

Putting a rad on a side panel isn't worth the trouble. You either gotta run extra long lengths of tubing or use quick connects.

[jibz]

It's the only way I can get the rad in the box and I figure hinging the door and flexible tubing would work just fine. Just a minor inconvenience.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by jibz

It's the only way I can get the rad in the box and I figure hinging the door and flexible tubing would work just fine. Just a minor inconvenience.

You would be better off putting the rad on the OUTSIDE of the side panel then you wouldn't have to do any mods to the inside :P

[jibz]

I gave that a thought but I really dislike external radiators. And the goal is to add handles and have this thing small and mobile.

[enaberif]

Well for a case that big I'd say a 120.3 maybe too big. A 120.2 could work perfectly fine and you could even get it mounted internally I would think. But I would need more specs and dimensions on that case.

[jibz]

Core 1000 - Fractal Design
There is no room in the top because of the PSU, and no room in the bottom due to GPU. Only place I can think of fitting it is on the side pannel in the center.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by jibz

Core 1000 - Fractal Design
There is no room in the top because of the PSU, and no room in the bottom due to GPU. Only place I can think of fitting it is on the side pannel in the center.

Mount rad to front of case. Put hard drives on bottom of case.

[Chubs]

Why not move both your SSDs down to the case floor and you HDD into the lower 5.25 slot which would give you the entire front area to mount the rad internally?

[jibz]

Originally Posted by Chubs

Why not move both your SSDs down to the case floor and you HDD into the lower 5.25 slot which would give you the entire front area to mount the rad internally?

Case is MATX height and the front intake is only fit for one 120mm. The case is really really small.