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Help needed: looking for a small case for WC, about to give up

post #1 of 12
6/11/12 at 10:15am
Thread Starter 
Hello OCN,

I can't seem to find a good, reasonably small case with serious water cooling capabilities. I spent countless hours looking for one, but, quite frankly, everything seems to suck.

Some requirements/info:

1. No plastic tops / fronts (sorry, Fractal Design). Preferably aluminum, but not too picky.
2. Must support mATX motherboards (4 expansion slots). Extra expansion slots will do neither harm nor good.
3. Black powder coated interior (out of the box) is a must.*
4. Support for 4x 120mm radiator sections internally (in total, could be split into several rads) in some shape or form. Cutting / modding the case is absolutely not a problem, as long as it's not ruining its looks too much.
5. 300 mm graphics card, 190 mm PSU support.
5. HDD space is pretty much irrelevant, I only have one 1x HDD and 1x SSD, so I'll find a place to put them.
6. Chassis height ≤ 450 mm.
7. Having a window is a BIG bonus.

Most small cases seem to have no space for radiators. For example, Lian Li PC-V600FX is almost an ideal case, but, unfortunately, there isn't enough space at the top for a radiator mount, so it's stuck with a 2x120 at best. frown.gif

Please help! I am ready to order all the components, but I'd be stuck without a case. There must be something! mad.gif

364

* I currently own a Lian Li PC-P80; I got it powder coated at a local company, and its white plastic anti-vibration grommets melted, which f'd up the side panel installation. So I'd rather not ruin another case.
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post #2 of 12
6/11/12 at 11:18am
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http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_1016&products_id=30983

Only case I can think of off the top of my head is the 650D.
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post #3 of 12
6/11/12 at 11:25am
How about the NZXT Vulcan? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146065 thumb.gif
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post #4 of 12
6/11/12 at 2:38pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your input! thumb.gif
Quote:
Originally Posted by mongoloid View Post

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_1016&products_id=30983
Only case I can think of off the top of my head is the 650D.
Well, to be fair, it's almost as big as TJ07, and I wouldn't exactly call it compact... Would have quite a bit of wasted space with a mATX board in it. Looks nice, though. smile.gif
Quote:
Originally Posted by z3r0_k00l75 View Post

How about the NZXT Vulcan? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146065 thumb.gif
Sorry, not my cup of tea I'm afraid. Too much plastic stuff.

More ideas are welcome!

Slightly OT: another pretty cool case - Xigmatek Gigas. Lots of 120mm fan openings, but not enough space around them to actually fit a radiator. Epic fail...
Edited by zalbard - 6/11/12 at 2:44pm
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post #5 of 12
6/11/12 at 2:46pm
hello,
coolermaster storm scout

video link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK_elZ0sxAE

can mount a h100 closed loop rad in the side.
(on thinking about this,have to remove rad each time access the mobo,not a good idea.)
the haf is also nice.
Edited by MrPerforations - 6/11/12 at 3:09pm
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post #6 of 12
6/11/12 at 7:04pm
I don't see why the TJ08-E wouldn't work...anyone care to chime in on that one?
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post #7 of 12
6/11/12 at 7:13pm
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how about http://www.origenae.co.kr/en/htpc_s21t.htm take a little modding and its super sweet
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post #8 of 12
6/11/12 at 7:22pm
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That is a really specific list and I can tell already you will have to give some if you want to have a case at all. First, I would do away with the 4x120 requirement depending on your hardware. It is possible in an mATX case but you've ruled out nearly every single one that will do it based on plastic parts. I would shoot for 2x120 and a 140 which is much more likely to be found in a case that fits the rest of your reqs.

What hardware are you putting in there? If its not a SB-E +CF/SLI then you will likely be fine with 360mm of radiator space. Temps will not be awesome, but you can't really expect that so I'm assuming you're going for "looks cool" and "quiet". Honestly, I think your best bet might be a TJ08 with a180mm+120 on the back if you're unwilling to heavily mod a case, and add a side window yourself.
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post #9 of 12
6/12/12 at 12:50pm
Thread Starter 
I'm going for an overclocked 3770K and an overclocked GTX 690 that are going to be water cooled. And yes, I do want it to stay quiet, otherwise why water cool it?

Honestly, my demands aren't that crazy. I can get a 550mm case that's can fit 6x 120mm sections (TJ07), I go down 100mm to drop from ATX to mATX and I have trouble fitting 4...

I was looking at those cube cases, but they are so poorly designed. There's usually enough space for some fan openings, but radiators usually don't fit, even thin does.

Cutting a few holes is absolutely not a problem (not sure if that qualifies as "heavy modding"). However, no cases seem to be really worth cutting. Lian Li A05N is a good call, but I'd have to make two cuts, paint it, and make a window by myself, which sounds like too much trouble for what it's worth. And it's under 400 mm tall, while I can go as high as 450mm, so there shouldn't be any space issues.

It appears to me that the selection is just very poor. We need something like BitFenix Prodigy, but for mATX.
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post #10 of 12
6/14/12 at 3:42pm
How about the new Lian Li PC-V700?

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=611&cl_index=1&sc_index=26&ss_index=69&g=f
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