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[Project] HAF Envy - Water Cooled HAF 922

248K views 303 replies 92 participants last post by  XtachiX 
#1 ·
As one of the first members to watercool a HAF 922 (fired up Oct 2009), I hope my efforts can help others with their designs. That is why this build log continues. I will continue to tweak my system and add to this log as I do so (and answer questions).

LATEST UPDATES:

Jan 25, 2012: FINALLY added SLI, HX1050 and H80

Oct 13, 2011: EVGA GTX 580 Upgrade nomnom
Sep 30, 2011: SSD Stacker Time!

This project work log will document the "fun" as I work through creation of a water cooled setup in the HAF 922. I plan to do testing and benchmarks on stock air components first (to get my baseline) and then will do my modifications. After the modifications I will be implementing the water cooling and doing the exact same benchmarks again for comparison.

I will post updates to this top level item describing project status as I go. I'll try to remember to include dates for larger updates in the first few notes postings.

Posts of interest:
Post 5 - ==== MotM 2009 System Photo Shoot ====
Post 6 - Temperature Testing
Post 29 - Top Panel Overlay
Post 36 - Side Panel Window Modification
Post 40 - Side Panel Window Custom Frame Fit Tests
Post 43/44 - Powder Coating
Post 48 - Sleeving
Post 51 - 200mm Fan LED modification
Post 55 - Water Cooling Installed
Post 61 - More Water Cooling Photos
Post 88 - Spot Cooled Chipset with UV Fan
Post 90 - 3.5in Bay 4-Channel Fan Controller. See post 91 for my custom cabling for this controller setup.
Post 94 - DVD Drive Stealthing
Post 102 - UV Reactive Coolant
Post 110 - SATA Power Connector Modification
Post 175 - Top Panel Overlay Template PDF

Post 176 - Cooler Master front badge replaced with ENVY
Post 255 - SSD Stack Setup - SATA Power Cable Mod
Post 261 - EVGA GTX580 Ready for Install... soon.
Post 266 - GTX 580 Installed and new Interior Photo

Post 277 - SLI GTX 580, HX1050 & H80 Installed and new Interior Photo

End goal: HAF 922, water cooled CPU/GPU with all internal radiators

Modifications:
- Disassemble case for Powder Coating of everything
- Customized top panel for radiator installation
- Customized side panel with new window frame assembly
- Custom lighting scheme (not red, not blue, something else
)
- Sleeving of all visible cable sections
- Modification of cables to shorten or reposition connections

Next Stages:
1.) Disassembly and case modifications (DONE)
2.) Painting (actually Powder Coating - DONE)
3.) Reassembly, touch-ups and component installation (DONE)
4.) Water cooling configuration (DONE)
5.) Water cooled benchmarks and testing (DONE) (Results in Post 6)
6.) Drain distilled water and put in UV Acid Green Feser 1 coolant (DONE)
7.) Replace already dying Logisys UV Cathode (DONE)
8.) Additional tweaking depending on benchmark results (always doing this!)
9.) Further case modifications - ie: Finish up custom case logo (ooo logo?), research some additional lighting ideas (edge lit things - I have a crazy idea but need to get in some parts first)

Why is the project is called HAF Envy? Well that will become more apparent as the project progresses.
Easy Hint - Green - that and some people already want my case


HAF Envy
 
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#2 ·
Well as other 922 owners have already noticed, the space in the case is pretty decent. The top position where I plan to put the double radiator is a bit tight which is why I have gone with a thinner radiator (and yes you could pop a triple up there if you were so inclined to cut more metal and drill holes)

Why so tight? The Gigabyte EX58-UD5 board has a Mosfet heat sink right at the top of the motherboard that is close to the top of the case and has enough height off the motherboard to get in the way. This is not to say you can't put a radiator up there, you just have to be a little inventive in your positioning. By moving the radiator over to the case door side, I'll be able to leave clearance to that Mosfet location. As far as memory location goes, I have enough room there and have already dry fit the radiator to be sure with 25mm fans. Use a thin radiator and go with low profile fans that should give you enough room to work up top with minimal if any modifications. Don't expect to stuff a big thick 60mm thick radiator up there without running into problems.

Here is the system in the ultimate of stock form (boring) but up and running
Ignore the cabling, that was just done quickly to get the system up and running for component testing and air benchmarking.


Here is the top with the Swiftech (34mm thick) radiator and a 25mm fan - as you can see it ends up right on top of the heatsink for the Mosfet location. By moving the radiator over to the one side of the case (towards the camera), I'll have clearance there and there is enough room to clear my big tall Dominators so we should be good to go. If things aren't working well, I'll put low profile fans on the rad.


Here is another shot on an angle into the case showing the eventual position of my radiator and the clearance I will have to the mosfet location. Adding a set of water cooling blocks to the chipset/mosfets will be tight in this spot but I'm going air for now so I'll worry about that some other time.


Here is a top down view showing how the Swiftech radiator holes don't match the existing fan mount holes on the top of the case. Since I need to move it over that won't be a problem (and since I will actually be cutting the top panel and putting my own custom piece up there, even less of an issue
) You can see the Mosfet heat sink fins at the middle-left of the image - if you don't move the radiator over to the side, you will hit that unless you use low profile fans. So you can leave the top panel alone but you may need to move the radiator over a little with thin radiators.


This image is to show where I plan to put the single radiator in the bottom. There is a lot of space here and if you are really into modifications, you could easily nuke that drive cage in the bottom and put a double down there (after you cut ventilation in the bottom of the case). Obviously Triple-SLI fanatics will run out of room here very fast but a single board has lots of space and I believe even SLI will be fine. With 2 GPUs, I probably would end up taking out the bottom drive bay and putting in a bigger radiator down there.


We'll see how this all works out once I get rolling on this project. There may be delays in progress as I do have that pesky thing called life that interrupts my projects on a regular basis.
 
#3 ·
Sep 5: I did a quick check of the LED fan switch at the top of the case. It is a double throw, double pole switch with one pole ready to be used for something else. The possibilities of what I could do with the stock switch get my mind buzzing (use the double throw to switch between different lighting setups or other interesting effects).

Sep 6: Well, here is the layout work for my top panel modifications. First, lets have a look at the top panel itself - as you will see, the perforation/fan section is raised so I had to think - how do I deal with this raised panel area? (You can see the radiator in the spot where I want it if you look closely)


Then the solution hit me - just make an overlay panel that follows the contour of the raised section so I can cleanly hide the newly cut opening underneath it. A benefit of this overlay design... down the road I can easily make a new overlay to move my radiator position if I need to or for new designs up top. Just cut and bolt on a new overlay without messing with the case any more
. I like!


Sep 12: Here is the fabricated top panel after I finished building it (see Post #29 for an angled shot showing the countersunk screws)


Sep 18: Side panel modifications are under way... I'm building a framed window design that will allow me to bolt the 200mm fan directly to the frame so I can keep blowing air into the case right onto the memory and chipset heatsinks if I want to. Or go with a solid window - I'll have more options with this frame design. Here is where I am thus far.. see Post #36 and Post #40 for the full sequence of getting to this point.
 
#4 ·
Here I plan to discuss different things as far as the water cooling setup goes with this case design and how I get around issues.

First off as you saw above in the System Design Notes, the radiator position in the top of the case is a bit tight depending on your motherboard design. If you are doing a ton of water cooling with really thick radiators, you might want to go with the 932 instead.

The Danger Den MC-TDX water block for the CPU doesn't come with a backplate for the motherboard. They sell an acrylic backplate for this block but I opted to go with a nice solid metal EK Waterblocks plate instead (nice thick strong). I do like the CPU access hole in the back so I can change out coolers without removing the motherboard.

Two 1/2in ID - 3/4in OD Straight compression fittings do NOT fit side by side on the MC-TDX CPU water block. I have heard the HK 3.0 has the same problem. Make sure you have a couple extra fittings (45 degree ones for example) just in case the port positions are too close together.

Pump position may be in the 5.25in drive bays or not because I ultimately de-riveted the bottom drive cage for coating. Might put the pump in the bottom. I bought the replacement EK-D5 X-Top so I have more flexibility with my tubing runs.

I'm going to use all compression fittings and found some really nice TFC rotating 45 degree fittings which I'll use for some of my tighter postions. Going to have some thick tube in there - 1/2in ID 3/4in OD.
 
#5 ·
Ok, I have this system in what I now classify as "Basically-Final" status. I redid the photos due to changes to the case and posted at 1024x768 so they are better detail. "Envy" is officially up and running, water cooling is working great, most of my cable management is complete and I'm pretty darn happy. Still have tweaking to do and a couple other modifications but those I can do over time.

Here we go - interesting photos for you to enjoy

What the case is supposed to look like (from Cooler Master site)



And the nasty thing that was the original air cooled installation for testing my components to make sure they actually worked:



And now my customized, completely re-powdercoated and water cooled version of it... also known as the money shots...

Front view - Stealthed DVD drive and Fan Controller installed...



Rear view - seldom seen but still nice to look at...



Side offset radiator installation and custom top overlay panel design with fill port of course...



Custom side window cut out and custom frame mounting...



Full interior shot in green glory with UV coolant loaded...



Close up shot of the upper half of the case...



Lower section of the case with bottom radiator and hidden cabling...



OCT 16 UPDATE!!! I replaced that dying UV Cathode, got my camera to cooperate - let there be night shots!!

Shot of the tower with the office lights on...



Now with lights off...



Side view with the panel off, office lights on...



And of course lights off once again...



What it looks like looking through the window...



And finally a shot for the fun of it showing how the UV coolant is visible through the clear acrylic top of the CPU Water Block...



That is some yummy looking green wouldn't you say?
 
#6 ·
Well as I mentioned earlier, I wanted to do some basic benchmarks to see the overall impact of going from Air to Water.

Instead of filling up my top level page with duplicate information, go to the Water Cooling thread where I have posted the test results I had originally put here in greater detail over there. Thread link --> HERE

This way, I can share the results in a topic area that makes more sense and will be seen by more poeple than in my build log. Also, it allows discussion about that specific set of tests in a separate thread away from the build itself.
 
#8 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ModMinded View Post
You've been busy! Can't wait to see the difference with WC.
Me too, that is why I am doing that burst of tests. Once I clear off some of my work projects I'll be diving into the case modifications so I can get the system back up and running on water. It is so nasty having this nice fast machine sitting there taunting me knowing full well I have to put it out of commission for quite some time while I modify the case *sigh*
 
#9 ·
I haven't seen a WC 922 yet, GL with the build! It's looking nice so far.
 
#11 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by snipes23 View Post
what brand is that black and green fan?
That would be a GELID Wing 12 UV Reactive Green Fan - 1500RPM, 25dba, 64CFM - going to give those a shot

GELID Solutions Web Site - 120mm Green Fan

Oh yeah one neat trick with these... you can just pop the fan blades out of the special bearing super easy - ahhh cleaning fans will be so much easier now. They also come with sleeved cables so you don't have ugly wiring to look at.
 
#12 ·
Hi There, as your modifying a 922, I've been looking for a dimension for ages, but can't find it anywhere.

I'm also thinking of modyfying a 922, so could you tell me the distance from the top fan grill, to the top holes of the motherboard fixings... ?

So I can determine what thickness fan and radiator combo I can get away with...

As you know radiators come from about 29mm - 65mm and I also don;t want to interfere with any mother board components

I'll be following your posts closely to see how you get on..

ps. if you have any other meaningful dimensions you care to pass on, they may be helpful too..

Good luck
 
#13 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Swagman View Post
Hi There, as your modifying a 922, I've been looking for a dimension for ages, but can't find it anywhere.
When you look at the photos, I'm working with a Swiftech MCR-220 34mm thick radiator which I will be able to fit up top with "just" enough room to my Corsair Dominator memory which sticks up pretty high off of the motherboard. Any thicker with a 25mm fan and I will hit those DIMMs even with the radiator shifted to the one side. Now if you are using a different board then you may have more clearances to play with up top depending on your component locations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swagman View Post
I'm also thinking of modyfying a 922, so could you tell me the distance from the top fan grill, to the top holes of the motherboard fixings... ?

So I can determine what thickness fan and radiator combo I can get away with...
Measuring from the bottom of the fan in the case (30mm thick fan), I have 20mm to the top of the motherboard itself and 26mm to the middle of the top ATX screw hole. So in effect, 50mm to the top of the motherboard and 56mm to the middle of the ATX screw holes (plus or minus a mm). Keep in mind that the top panel has that raised perforation area so you have bumps to contend with as well. The screw holes are dimpled down so they can hide the countersunk screws flush to the panel which brings that 30mm fan down a bit but I would consider that to be basically where your radiator will end up too.

I haven't made a lot of measurements so far because I have all my parts in hand and actually put them in the case as I size things out. There is a fair amount of room to work with throughout the case but that top panel area is definitely tighter and won't handle thick rads without hitting something on your motherboard.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the speedy response, I saw from your photo's it was a bit tight, and with about 55mm to play with, unless I fabricate a new mesh top grill, the 29mm rad and a 25mm Fan will work.

Of course it may be nice to cut out a oblong portion of the current mesh grill / top of the 922, and create a 25mm raised mesh box, that the rad could slot into, and have a 55mm Rad


I suppose the options are endless.


Anyway thanks for some precise measurements, it makes my kit research that much easier...

Cheers
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Swagman View Post
...Of course it may be nice to cut out a oblong portion of the current mesh grill / top of the 922, and create a 25mm raised mesh box, that the rad could slot into, and have a 55mm Rad


I suppose the options are endless.

Actually, there is another problem with the 922 top panel... the radiator is actually a bit longer than the raised section when you add the fitting chambers on the one end. It actually goes past the raised panel section so building upwards will not be so simple if you are trying to move the radiator up (the plastic bezel on the front of the case will get in your way now). The black lines are my custom overlay design, the red lines are the Swiftech MCR-220. You can also see where I'm going to squeeze in my Danger Den fillport so it doesn't hit the motherboard backing panel (dashed lines are the fillport, solid line is the 1in hole).



Now if you want to build a raised section for fans on top of the radiator, yeah that will work and you could have a push/pull set of fans for more oomph. Now if Cooler Master had not made that little fancy angled raised area at the back of the case and made the raised section go straight across, we would have lots more options for space and could stuff the radiator entirely in the raised panel area.
 
#16 ·
Because of the thickness of the aluminum sheet metal I bought for the top overlay (aluminum is easier to work with when thicker), I believe it will be more than rigid enough to "clamp" down to the top panel with the 4 radiator screws and the fillport. Basically, the radiator and fillport will hold the overlay panel in place so I have very few exposed screws on the top. If it is too loose in the top right corner (see image above), then I'll put one more screw location there to tighten things up a bit (or a tiny bit of double-sided tape). I want this top panel to look pretty clean with minimal visible mounting points.

I may even experiement with dimpling the top panel material so I can use countersunk screws for the radiator. I don't have a dimple-die set so I may just rig something up for the whole 4 screw dimples I would want to make. You have probably done that on your own by accident... screwing a countersunk screw into something too hard and mooshing the metal - that would be my cheap man dimple trick. Countersink a piece of material, put my metal over it, put a countersink screw through the hole and then tighten it down a lot until I make the dimple I need.
 
#17 ·
5AM (my time), can't sleep so I worked on a couple more ideas (of course now making MORE work for me to do on the case
). Anyway, I am looking at that Cooler Master emblem in the front and thinking... hmmm... custom "Envy" logo... yeahhhhh
.

Ok... too many ideas and not enough execution. Later today I'm going out to visit a couple shops to nail down a few odds and ends and will hopefully begin modifications this week.
 
#18 ·
Sigh... somehow I knew by going out to those shops today I'd get myself into some kind of chaos. First stop was basic, got some sleeving from my local electonics supplier - 1/4in for thin wires (fans, etc) for 33c a foot and 3/8in (which fits over SATA cables) for 44c a foot. Got to love buying only what I need cheaper than buying a "Sleeving Kit".

Next stop started the overall chaos... I went to a coatings shop to see what it would cost and what prep the case would need to have it powder coated. Basically for what it would cost me in spray cans (Primer+Paint) I can have this thing powder coated (quoted about $60 to $70 for their "Flat" black which basically matches the current black on the case). Bad news... I would have to get the prepared form of the case to them by Thursday afternoon/Friday morning because that powder coat they don't do often and are doing a run of it Friday afternoon for another job (with no future runs for a couple weeks after that) I'd have to have all my case modifications finished in the next two days


They don't do prep work there so they directed me to a place they work with nearby called "U-Blast" - a sandblasting shop where you can have them sand-blast your stuff or you can do it yourself with their equipment (how cool is that!). Since I haven't fully decided on paint/powder... I didn't want to test blast the black side panel I had with me to see if the black comes off easily or not. The black has to be removed off of the side panels in order for the powder coater to do them properly to have the insides of those black too.

Sigh... I have to make up my mind pretty darn fast to get this case dismantled, modified, sand-blasted and to the coaters by Friday if I am going to do Powder coating (and I have a TON of real life work to do with my actual job
). On the plus side, I'd have my powder coated case back early next week and can move forward with my project that much sooner.
 
#19 ·
Well, the modifications have begun on the case. I took the system apart today and put the components back into their respective boxes. I then put all the case pieces into ziploc bags to keep them all in one place and organized. So today's plan was to get the top panel cut. Here is the top of the case with everything removed but I have not drilled out any rivets so the case shell is still fully intact:



I then masked up the area I wanted to cut out of the top panel so I had nice easy lines to follow when I went out to start cutting. There is a reason why I masked this specific pattern which I'll talk about later in this post:



So I then proceeded to go out to the garage, set up my work bench with tools of mass construction, grabbed my Workmate and clamped my case to it. I hung my Dremel on the work bench with the flex extension attached and my reinforced cutting wheel loaded. Flex extension
- made life so much easier for doing cuts - just don't bend it too much or it heats up a bit at the bends if they are tight (and take a break once in while - good for you - good for your tools)

I slowly worked my way around the cut lines with the cutting disc - ahh the noise and sparks and smell of metal. Here is a cutting tip... leave a couple tabs of metal keeping the piece attached so you can continue using the area in the middle to rest your hands on. When you are done the major cuts, cut those little tabs and your piece comes out easily.

So I filed all the edges smooth, cleaned up any rough spots and here is the end result:



So why did I leave those top two corners intact?
  1. Less material to cut - I just cut the little tabs on the hex in that area because the radiator will be on the squared out side (bottom of image)
  2. I am drilling a fill port hole in the top right corner of that raised area so having case material there will make it more solid when I mount it
  3. That whole area will be under my custom overlay so you won't see it anyway
More to come as I work through this modification - I still need to cut the overlay piece but it is already after midnight and sleep is a good thing.
 
#20 ·
Wait, you can definitely fit a 360 rad into the top of the HAF with no issues whatsoever. In fact, I fit the largest Rad possible, the Feser 360 Xchanger, which is 65mm width, plus 6 25mm fans in push pull. It doesn't even hit the mobo, and there's even space if there was a vreg sink sticking out.

Take a look at my sig link to see.
 
#22 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by i7bigrig View Post
Ah nvm, disregard previous post, I didn't know you were using the 922.
No problemo
I think the fact I'm using the 922 is what will make this a rather unique build. Hopefully some of the ideas I come up with can help others if they are crazy enough to try and squeeze water cooling into this case too
 
#23 ·
Hi,

I'm still looking at perhaps fitting a 3 fan rad in my 922...

Could I bother you to get me another dimension?... (or two)


From a point as far to the back of the case as possible, and perhaps another dimension from the existing rad mounting holes (closest to the back of the case), at what point through the wedge shaped front I/O would 397mm come too.

I am thinking of trying to fit in a Black Ice GT Stealth 360 with dims of 397x133x29mm.

I could loose most of the front wedge but just make the rear of it look good with a backing plate, as long as it doesn't destroy it all
as the actual buttons are quite a way forward.

Sorry to keep bothering you, but like you said, not many people are trying this, and as you have the dimensions to hand, your a great help.

excuse my poor attempt in paint to indicate at which point the 397mm may hit the I/O...

LL
 
#24 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Swagman View Post
Hi,

I'm still looking at perhaps fitting a 3 fan rad in my 922...

Could I bother you to get me another dimension?... (or two)


From a point as far to the back of the case as possible, and perhaps another dimension from the existing rad mounting holes (closest to the back of the case), at what point through the wedge shaped front I/O would 397mm come too.
Good thing I didn't cut out the fan holes on the one side hahaha - I dug out the top panel part and put it back on the case to check your dimensions (my case is stripped down at the moment).

If you pushed the 397 all the way to the back minus 25mm for spacing due to the rear 25mm fan and the I/O panel sheet metal which will get in your way, you would be exactly where you drew that red line, on that black edge in the flat spot of the bezel. Now you have to remember the tank portion the fittings go into so your actual fan area is 360mm (if they are butted against each other on the rad) so you could do it if you move the rad towards the back.

You won't be able to use the existing fan mount holes as that will move the radiator another 60mm towards the front putting it closer to the I/O than I think you want to be.

I saw in another post, I can't remember where and will have to look later when I have some time, a guy is doing something similar with the 932 top bezel piece and a quad rad setup. He is cutting those gaps between the plastic fins at the back of that bezel piece to allow the airflow out from under that plastic piece with minimal cosmetic impact. Considering it is 1.5in tall at the very peak by the logo, I don't see why that wouldn't work for the 922 with a triple pushed to the back of the case. Put a small wedge piece underneath to direct air out those fins and so you don't cook your front panel I/O and it probably would work.

The dimensions are plus or minus but I think you could do it if you move the radiator. My only concern is that raised panel section at the back, you'll be cutting more material out of the top which might look kind of funny back there depending on how you did it.
 
#25 ·
Cool,

Thanks once again, I think then I will go with a 3 fan rad setup, should be interesting if nothing else... lol.

I'll probably produce cut out in the top panel, then block it up round the edges very slightly, and lay a honeycomb grate over the top, if I made the hight of this raised section as high as the hight of what is left of the I/O front wedge, and butted it up with that, it may look almost as if it was supposed to be there..
.

Thanks again, and can't wait to see yours finished.
 
#26 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Swagman View Post
Cool,

Thanks once again, I think then I will go with a 3 fan rad setup, should be interesting if nothing else... lol.

I'll probably produce cut out in the top panel, then block it up round the edges very slightly, and lay a honeycomb grate over the top, if I made the hight of this raised section as high as the hight of what is left of the I/O front wedge, and butted it up with that, it may look almost as if it was supposed to be there..
.

Thanks again, and can't wait to see yours finished.
Here is a top view image for you of my case with the bezel shifted over to the side so the tape measure lays flat. I noted where I think you could easily cut out the plastic bezel part to make custom venting from under that panel area if you didn't build a raised panel and mounted in the case - this of course means moving your radiator to the back of the case.


If you raise the top panel like you describe, you could probably cut the plastic fins right out to the beginning edge of the Cooler Master logo spot (left edge). Your fitting area for the rad would be underneath the Cooler Master logo on the plastic and the fans from the fins back on your custom top. For reference the fin area is 132mm (inside recesses - top to bottom on image above) and 150mm to the inner part of the chamfered edges (basically the width of that flat part the Cooler Master logo is on).

Thanks, I am looking forward to progress on my case as well. The powder coating place ran the black I wanted early so I have a bit of time before they do another run of that black. This is good for me really because 1.) I can focus on my actual job and get real work done (you know - income), and 2.) I can slow things down a little to spend more time tinkering with the finer detail things
 
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