Watercooling the Antec 900

[JD]

Yeah. You read that right, watercool the Antec 900. People around here have some mixed opinions on the case but I think it should be feasible. I've seen other people manage so I don't see why I can't...

I'm mainly just looking at watercooling my CPU as I don't exactly like having 65C load temps nor do I want to lower my OC, if anything I'd rather push it higher Perhaps in the future I could do other things but I'm not up to spend a fortune on it right now.

Silence is not totally a major issue, quiet would be nice but as long as it's no louder than it is right now (Antec Tri-cool fans on medium), I can live with it. Also have the rad mounted on the back is fine with me, I honestly don't expect it to fit inside.

Preferably I'd like to keep it around $200 total, just looking at things it seems possible. Probably 3/8" tubing (or smaller?) to try and not make my case just a box of tubing. Some pictures for space/setup: Picasa Web Albums - JD - Antec 900

Now I've never installed watercooling before but I've read quite a bit. I was hoping to have the pump and reservoir side by side in the bottom of the case (beside the PSU), but it seems like the res has to be higher than the pump.

I'm not going to buy it for a while still though, probably around December for Christmas, but I wanted to get some suggestions/ideas in advance.

Here's what I've been looking at so far:

• D-TEK Fuzion or Swiftech Apogee GT
• Swiftech MCR220
• D-TEK DB-1 Pump (any comments on this?)
• Clearflex 3/8" tubing (is Tygon worth it?)
• Swiftech MCRES-MICRO
• Swiftech MCB-120 Radbox
• Smartcoils 625 (I think I'm going to need some tight bends, so do these help?)
• And probably replace all the barbs with high-flow 3/8" ones from D-TEK or DangerDen (stock dependent) along with HydrX and black hose clamps.
• Fans? Seems like Yate Loons are the way to go?

Thanks for reading this long post and hopefully you'll have something to reply with.

[frosty]

Well my friend, I am kinda in the same boat as you.... I also have a Antec 900 and I am looking at water cooling the CPU & my GPU's........ I don't have much to say about your list, but I know they referred me to the D-tek Fuzion as well. I saw the photos you posted..... very nice. I am trying to find the time to mod the case for cable managment aswell. Was there any problems??? DId you find anything to be too short once you moved the cables behind the back of the case?? you did a really nice job on it!! Sometimes I regret havign a big-ass PSU unit on the bottom... I don't have the room you have, so I am going to manufacture an outside box to hold the watercooling kit, if it ever happens.... have fun with it!!!!

[cdn_Madrach]

It's definately not impossible... just that the 900 is far from ideal. Be sure to do a mock setup and plan your actual loop before you start. The less you have to improvise as you go the less headaches you will have. Heck ...maybe you can come up with an ideal setup for this case that will help others watercool their 900. Good luck ...and post some pics so as we can see how you did it

[JD]

Originally Posted by frosty

Well my friend, I am kinda in the same boat as you.... I also have a Antec 900 and I am looking at water cooling the CPU & my GPU's........ I don't have much to say about your list, but I know they referred me to the D-tek Fuzion as well. I saw the photos you posted..... very nice. I am trying to find the time to mod the case for cable managment aswell. Was there any problems??? DId you find anything to be too short once you moved the cables behind the back of the case?? you did a really nice job on it!! Sometimes I regret havign a big-ass PSU unit on the bottom... I don't have the room you have, so I am going to manufacture an outside box to hold the watercooling kit, if it ever happens.... have fun with it!!!!

Thanks. All my cables were fine, I already had an extension on the 4-pin CPU power plug. The only real issue was fitting back on the side panel. That took a bit of force I refuse to take it off unless I really really have to.

Originally Posted by cdn_Madrach

It's definately not impossible... just that the 900 is far from ideal. Be sure to do a mock setup and plan your actual loop before you start. The less you have to improvise as you go the less headaches you will have. Heck ...maybe you can come up with an ideal setup for this case that will help others watercool their 900. Good luck ...and post some pics so as we can see how you did it

Well my motherboard isn't as wide as standard ATX so I do have a bit more space. Definitely will post pics when I do it though. As for the mock setup, are you saying to do that after I buy everything or somehow do it before I have everything?

[SkellyBonez]

It is possible to cram everything you need into the 900 with some careful planning it is a excellent case for the money .

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by SkellyBonez

It is possible to cram everything you need into the 900 with some careful planning it is a excellent case for the money .

For the money its not an excellent case as you can spend $70 and get a way better case that would work way better for watercooling.

You can water cool a 900 but your gonna be really cramped for space.

[cdn_Madrach]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

Thanks. All my cables were fine, I already had an extension on the 4-pin CPU power plug. The only real issue was fitting back on the side panel. That took a bit of force I refuse to take it off unless I really really have to.


Well my motherboard isn't as wide as standard ATX so I do have a bit more space. Definitely will post pics when I do it though. As for the mock setup, are you saying to do that after I buy everything or somehow do it before I have everything?

Kinda hard to be sure that everything will fit without actually having the parts to try, but you could try and plan where everything can go before you buy.

[b1lk1]

If you have any trouble at all fitting a full loop inside the Antec 900 then you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. It would be extremely simple to do and with some very minor modding everything will fit inside with ample room. The ONLY flaw with the 900 is the placement of the PSU with regards to the 4/8 pin CPU power pin. Otherwise, this is a nearly perfect case for the money. Nothing else in it's size group comes close to the airflow. My only other gripe is the cheap feel of the side panels, but that isn't anything to care much about. Any loop will fit. Period.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by b1lk1

If you have any trouble at all fitting a full loop inside the Antec 900 then you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. It would be extremely simple to do and with some very minor modding everything will fit inside with ample room. The ONLY flaw with the 900 is the placement of the PSU with regards to the 4/8 pin CPU power pin. Otherwise, this is a nearly perfect case for the money. Nothing else in it's size group comes close to the airflow. My only other gripe is the cheap feel of the side panels, but that isn't anything to care much about. Any loop will fit. Period.

I'll say it again the CM 690 outperforms the 900

[SkellyBonez]

Originally Posted by enaberif

I'll say it again the CM 690 outperforms the 900

But does it come with a window? That is what I was really looking for when I went for my 900 or else I would have gone for the Antec P182 se. Everything will fit in the 900 except the rad in my case but I measured everything at least twice and changed things along the way. Definately make sure that ATX cable is long enough, I almost had to go buy a new one. I wanted to run it behind the motherboard but it was just a little too short, it put too much stress on the motherboard plug. I posted the pics in this thread.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...-thread-3.html

Also jdrom17 the smart coils really do help and I have never used Tygon tubing but the 7/16 tube I used on my 1/2 fittings worked great and only needed the smart coils on extreme bends. Smart coils are cheap and Tygon is really expensive.