New case for water cooling. - Page 5

I can't tell what rad it is by looking at it on my Galaxy Nexus screen, but I can see that it's a 2x120. The ideal place for these, especially since a larger rad will be going up top (yes?) is to remove the bottom HDD cage (four thumb screws then pull towards you), then remove the metal plate that it sat atop which is held in place by 4 small Phillips screws (2 per side), once the screws are out just gently wiggle it while pulling upward. Now you will be able to see both bottom fan mounts, each having holes for 120 and 140 fans.
Ideally, you would then mount the bottom fans to the rad, then mount the bottom fans to the case (turn the case on its side, remove dust filters, and screw in from below using short fan screws). Then mount the top 2 rad fans, although you can do that before or after installing the radiator, whichever is easier.

Regarding fans, Newegg currently has the Corsair SP120 High Performance "Static Pressure Edition" 2pack on sale for $23, and on top of that they have a couponccode for 20pct off all fans! That's a great deal, as you can get four fans for just under the normal cost of two! They are not quiet fans but they are far from obnoxiously loud or anything, and the Quiet Editions are worthless underpowered and overpriced. Remember that you can always slow down a fast fan but you can't speed up a slow one.

I have to disagree with the list of quiet rad fans given a few posts back, as Noctua fans are NOT GOOD RADIATOR FANS AT ALL! Gentle Typhoon AP15s are decent but overpriced IMHO, and 2mmHg is hardly anything special. They simply have a decent noise: pressure ratio so people have crowned them Lord Typhoonius, Leader of All That Blow Air and Overvalue Themselves. That's not to say that they are bad, just that they aren't that special. Would I buy some? Yeah, if I felt the they provided something that I couldn't find anywhere else, but they haven't yet, so I haven't.

If you want great radiator fans that won't break the bank, here are some options:
- Koolance 120x25mm 2800rpm 107cfm/5.4mmHg $8
- Koolance 120x38mm 2800rpm 118cfm/8.4mmHg $8
- Swiftech Helix 120x25mm 1800rpm $9
- XSPC Xinrullian 120x25mm 2000rpm $7
- Bgears Blasters 120x25mm 103cfm/3.5mmHg $8
- NZXT FX120LB 120x25mm 1200-2600rpm 98.3cfm/4.4mmHg $12
*- Corsair SP120 High Performance Edition 120x25mm 2350rpm approx 65cfm/3.1mmHg (*while on sale for $23 +20p off)
- Rosewill Hyperborea 120x25mm $7 (20pct off too; essentially rebadged Akasa Apache)
- Akasa Apache 120x25mm $10
- Akasa Viper 120x25mm $11

That should get you started down the right path. Noctua fans are great on the Noctua Heatsinks, but for radiators they are a terrible and ridiculously expensive (not to mention hideously ugly... Look like fans after being stuck in the middle of a monkey poop-flinging war).
Cougar fans are great, but NOT IF THEY ARE MOUNTED BLOWING UPWARD!

Hope this helps

Gah, I can now see its a 3x120. Well, everything else still applies, but the lower HDD cage can stay. I would still remove the stuff though, and move the top-mounted 140mm fan to the other front intake. Then mount whatever fans you have lying around as bottom intakes. No need to add the obstruction of the drive cage if you don't need it, so remove it and get more airflow.

It's an MCR320-QP

The QP is a low-FPI thin rad so it's optimized for low speed fans and, in all honesty, doesn't have a whole lot of thermal dissipation ability. I would say it's probably equivalent to the UT60 2x120. I really do hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in my opinion you would be far better off returning the QP and ordering either the XSPC EX or Alphacool NeXXos UT60, as with the qp you will need another rad to cope with both which raises the cost above what a single 3x120/140 rad from either of the aforementioned companies would cost :/

The QP stands for "quiet performance" and while thick rads with 8-11fpi are typically good performers, when you cut the depth in half without changing anything, you sacrifice a lot of performance.

Just to let you know, the EX420 can be had for $69.95 @ Jab Tech, the EX360 is $7 less, and the Alphacool NeXXos UT60 is about $20 more than the EX per size.
With a 420 rad, you will have to drill 8 new fan screw holes, but it is simple if you have a drill, just remember to measure twice and drill once. I am a proponent of the 420mm radiator up top as it gives you slightly more surface area than an equivalent 480mm radiator. Basically, you would get a DeltaT of around 13-16C with the QP or 6-7C with either of the other radiators. That is a huge difference, and as you are just starting out, laying down a strong foundation will save you a lot of money and time down the road.