Highspeed bottom mount to WC topmount mod

[sswilson]

I was getting a bit tired of dealing with my current bottom mount highspeed techstation... NCIX.com - Buy Highspeed PC Large Original Tech Station FAST-ACCESS E-ATX Computer Case Black - Tech_StationLRG-BLACK In Canada. so off I go to NCIX to order a new topmount... NCIX.com - Buy Highspeed PC Standard Top Deck Tech Station Fast Access ATX Computer Case Black - TD-Tech_StationSTD-BLACK In Canada. .

As luck would have it, rather than dropping in price one week after I got new gear (my usual curse... :) ), they simply ran out of stock. :(

While bemoaning (fancy word for complaining....) the fact that my new testbed case was on backorder, somebody suggested that I should just order a case with a motherboard tray and mod that.... well says I... maybe I'll find a use for that old lian-li PC60 case I've got kicking around. :) (Should have thought of it myself, but it was too obvious.... :) ).

While I'm at it, I'm going to swap out the H2O 220 kit for an Apogee GT / chipset cooling, and slap a pile of heatsinks onto every possible hotspot on my Dark. :)

[Cptn Vortex]

Looks like a fun mod!

[sswilson]

This is actually a very simple mod, but is a good example of why we should never throw anything out.... :)

Here's the motherboard tray out of my old lian-li case. The case top has been cut up (was planning on a top mount rad w/ plexi window on top to view inside but never finished) and it uses 80mm fans so I wasn't sure what to do with it.....

Bottom mount techstation with everything removed, and fans moved from the bottom to the top. One thing I did notice was how great the deck material was to work with. I've heard many a complaint about the high price of "a few pieces of plastic" when purchasing this case, but, this stuff is great for drilling and tapping screws in the holes you've drilled. You wouldn't be able to do that with lower grade material.

Motherboard tray mounted to the top... all I did was drill 4 holes through the tray into the top deck, and secured them with self tapping screws.

Starting on the WC.... I was concerned that using just 2 screws to secure the rad might give way over time, so I built up a third mount to secure to the side column.

Rad secured to the case... 2 screws up top, and 2 on the post seems to make it rock solid. I know I'm giving up a bit of airflow having it installed that way, but it is going to be a push/pull, and mounting it completely up top would have made the case fairly top heavy.

That's it for today.... I've got the motherboard / pump / tubing left for tomorrow.

[BrainEater]

Awesome !

I recognize that mobo tray.

I love my Lian-Li's.....

[3.0charlie]

Remember that my HSPC station used to hold 2 rigs, the lower setup being water-cooled... and I concur that the plastic is great to work with.

[miggs78]

Hey sswilson, I was almost like joking about using a mobo tray in another thread, not saying you did what I said, but nice to see you seeing that post (I probably inspired me :P)... But that looks neat, nice way of mounting the rad..

[sswilson]

Originally Posted by miggs78

Hey sswilson, I was almost like joking about using a mobo tray in another thread, not saying you did what I said, but nice to see you seeing that post (I probably inspired me :P)... But that looks neat, nice way of mounting the rad..

Heh.... after you posted that, I looked down at my feet and there sat my old lian-li not doing anything..... :)


Ok, I've got a question that I think I know the answer to, but I'd be happier if somebody could confirm it for me.......

When using the swiftech res/rads, am I correct in assuming that the top level of fluid in the rad is considered the res WRT feeding the pump?

I've always tried to keep the pump at least close to the same level as the barbs of the rad, but as you can see above I'd like to mount the pump to the bottom of the top rack which would put the inlet about half-way up the rad.

I suspect that the water level in the tubing would naturally raise to the same level as the top level of the rad, but I'm not completely sure.... anybody out there that can put my mind at ease??? :)

[jay51]

looks awsome,better than what one can buy..great job :)

[3.0charlie]

Originally Posted by sswilson

When using the swiftech res/rads, am I correct in assuming that the top level of fluid in the rad is considered the res WRT feeding the pump?

...

I suspect that the water level in the tubing would naturally raise to the same level as the top level of the rad, but I'm not completely sure.... anybody out there that can put my mind at ease??? :)

That would be correct - communicating vessels.

[magictorch]

I really like the look of the tech station builds, all the better that you could move the MB tray over. Looking forward to the updates to get some ideas.

I think watercooled tech-station is where I'm going to go after I've worn this old case out. Can barely get two loops in it.