CM 690 top mount rad mod

[Babrbarossa]

A friend of mine came over to my place on the weekend to add another radiator to his loop. He is starting out with a PA 160 cooling an e8400 and an 8800GTS 640. Some might argue that the PA160 is enough cooling but he wasn't getting the temps he wanted and after several tries at resetting his waterblock, I decided I'd donate a HW labs BIX 240 to his cause. He came up with an interesting idea to top mount the 240mm rad into the top panel of the 690 so that it was set down into the cavity between the top screen and the actual metal ceiling of the enclosure. The results look great, and I almost feel like if it were me I'd ditch the PS160 since the tubing routing is awkward and upsets the neatness of the water loop- although withthe great temos he's getting now we're both pretty happy with it.
As you know this is a thick rad, and by countersinking it, the profile looks much better- with a low profile rad, teh top would be nearly flush.

This is what we're starting with with the front and top panels removed:

Here we've removed the screen cover from teh top panel- his place is very dusty as you can see:

Here we've placed a quarter inder the tabs to drill the holes out to fit the screws we will be using for the mount without damaging the fins:

Now we're cutting out the hole for the rad in the palstic frame of the top panel:

Once we cut the plastic, we cut and replace the screen, and then bend the tabs into the hole we've created in the plastic panel. And then the moment of truth- does the radiator fit in the hole we've cut? YES

A closeup of the rad mount- very tidy!

Another couple of closeups:

Here is the overview from the side with the cover off:

with the side panel on:

 

[Dwayne]

Very nice work. I see fan grills but no fans... is this rad just working passive or are there fans inside the case blowing up?

 

[Babrbarossa]

Yup- we mounted fans on the underside blowing up- lining up the holes was somewhat tricky so we only put in two screws per fan- this pic is pre cable management- there are quite a few fan wires still around.

 

[MrDeodorant]

I'm the guy who came over. A few things I'd like to add:

Folding that mesh down evenly is really hard. At the front of the radiator, by the barbs, we should have cut and folded it at an angle, so that it would meet the radiator flushly. Also, the radiator is wedged onto that top cap... and my audio jacks don't work. I have to carefully unwedge it without compromising the fan mounting in order to fix it.

I'm actually not terribly thrilled with the temps I'm getting. With my e8400 at 4.0 GHz, my temps hit 70 degrees (measured by Speedfan) under Orthos, from an idle temperature of about 38. That's the same range my e2160 at 2.8 GHz had with the PA.160. The peak temperature went down to 60 when I dropped to 3.8 GHz, which is still a decent overclock, but I had hoped for a little better.

No matter how good an idea it seems, or how fast you want to get it done, think before you blow into your tubing to get the water out. Automotive distilled water contains a bittering agent, and let me tell you, it tastes AWFUL.

The chrome of the fan grills looks great on the glossy black radiator, but the matte black of the CM 690 case is dull beside them.

The day will come when I have the spare cash on hand to buy a new video card. On that day, I'll either ditch the PA160 and keep the stock cooling on the video card (yeah, right) or buy another 240 mm radiator and mount it on the back. If I do it right, I should be able to mount it with the barbs on the bottom, install some 90 degree barbs, and just cut the existing tubing down to length. It'll be much neater. On the other hand, the tubing out the back reminds me to leave plenty of room for my radiator to blow into, so it's not all bad.

Even with a pair of Scythe S-Flex fans blowing through the radiator, there isn't much airflow over the Northbridge or RAM. I should get one of those spot coolers, or better yet, make a windowed side panel with some fans on it.

 

[Dwayne]

Very sweet mod, just a little tweaking left. Thanks for the update on where the fans were...We have a CM-690 and I am always amazed at how people come up with ways to use cases.

 

[Bapadaboopy]

Very good mod. That answers my question on whether a rad would fit on the inside of the top.. that answer is no, but thats a good alternative.

 

[Babrbarossa]

I'm actually not terribly thrilled with the temps I'm getting. With my e8400 at 4.0 GHz, my temps hit 70 degrees (measured by Speedfan) under Orthos, from an idle temperature of about 38. That's the same range my e2160 at 2.8 GHz had with the PA.160. The peak temperature went down to 60 when I dropped to 3.8 GHz, which is still a decent overclock, but I had hoped for a little better.

I guess testing in a 15 degree basement works wonders- How low could you get your voltage after clocking down to 3.8?

 

[Realityshift]

You can fit a rad on the top of the inside of the case and mount fans in the top under that mesh as well with a little modding to the fans. Ive seen that done a few times but you could only do it with the thinner rads.

 

[AdoP]

nice mod

 

[Akai]

You can fit a rad on the top of the inside of the case and mount fans in the top under that mesh as well with a little modding to the fans. Ive seen that done a few times but you could only do it with the thinner rads.

I did something similar with my CM690... you can mount the MCR220 inside the case, there is enough clearance between the MB and top of the case. Then i cut out the 120mm holes in the case with a dremel to allow better air flow and removed the wavey plastic underneath the mesh. That leaves enough room to mount some 20mm Yateloons between the case top and the mesh no fan modding needed

But looking good :thumb: