Simple 120mm Radiator Mount Mod

So, I was very unsatisfied with the performance i was getting from my Corsair H50. (yea, i know it might as well be an air cooler, but this will work for any 120mm rad.) So, i decided to see what i could do to improve it's performance.

When i first got the H50 i mounted the rad under my rear fan with the fan turned around as an intake. well, my first thought was that the air behind my case, which it was pulling into my rad, was very warm from the exhaust of my video cards. i knew that it would help to get cold air from the front of my case to flow through my radiator.

My first thought was to buy something like the scythe kama bay mounted at the back of 3 of my 5.25" bays. however, when i went to order one i could not find them in stock anywhere.

I then stumbled upon another Scythe cooling product that sparked my interest. the Bay Rafter, which is intended to be used as an HDD cooler looked in my mind to be the perfect radiator mount. :-)

i also had read that a shroud could also improve the airflow through a rad by eliminating the dead spot beneath the fan motor. so i ordered one of these as well.

when i received the order and went to put everything together i realized that nothing is perfect. The screws that came with the shroud were not the right thread for the H50 so i could not use the shroud, and the spacing for the screw holes that mount the rafter in the bays were not spaced to be used upright across the bays.

i temporarily installed the radiator in the front of my case without the shroud and saw a small drop in temps, however not nearly what i wanted. so, i ordered some of the right screws and put my mind to work.

looking at the rafter it does not have the best airflow design for a 120mm fan:





so i improved by removing the grill from over the fan:





i then noticed the screws i bought were slightly too short because of these raised pieces:





so i removed them:





then, i drilled some additional mounting holes in the bay rafter so that i could mount it vertically:





i then assembled everything:





and mounted it in the case:






I have seen a dramatic drop in my CPU temps since mounting my radiator in this manor. this should work in any case that has a mesh front like this:






Let me know what you think!

thanks shadow! it was way cheaper than one of the Kama bay type things too.

I was getting temps around 75 degrees under load, now they are down to around 63 with my i7 940 c0/c1 OC'd to 3.6 ghz.