I have a question before I finnish the inside of my case. If the motherboard and graphics cards are water cooled, should the compartment they are in have ventilation? The motherboard below is just for mock up purposes and the tape I put on to give me an idea of how it will look powder coated. There will be a EK-150 res going here on the rear panel otherwise I would have an 80mm fan In the top of the case I have a clear acrylic panel that I don't really have the tools to cut nice straight slots in. even though the heat will be carried away by the cooling blocks will there still be residual heat building up inside?
I'd believe so, but that can be dealt with easily by a low CFM exhaust. You could put a bit of mesh or drill holes in the acrylic roof- remember, hot air rises naturally so by placing a low RPM fan in the roof, it'll still be silent.
You've got to have some air flow cooling the ram and the mobo. Dosen't matter how you get it there as long as it's there.
Yes you do need ventilation. Anything that is an electronic component heats up to some level. While if you have the memory, and processor of a component cooled off in water cooling, everything will look fine.. but after long usage it might still overheat and break despite showing low temp reading due to a lack of sensory everywhere on the component (GPU, SPU, motherboard, etc..)
For nice straight slots with minimum tools. Draw three lines one center and the other 2 for the width of the slot. Drill the first and second hole on the markings that make the total length of the slot. Use center line to drill holes as close as possible together. Clam a "L" shape aluminum on both sides of one of the out side lines and file till you hit the alu. do this with the other outer line as well. now all that is left is sanding. Do try it out first on a bit of plexi other then ur window. Testing it to see if your comfortable with it and see a result May take a while to make a slot but it is doable with a file and drill and straight pieces of alu.
I do have a router with a 5mm bit, however, it's a one shot deal getting it correct. with that in mind, I have made a couple of sketches and would like some input as to which I should try to cut. Left, Middle or right?
I think left will be best, the angle of it should dissipate better- it also looks the best. I still know that you'll need a low cfm fan somewhere on that.
I'll put a fan somewhere on this panel, maybe near the bottom. I'll cut a series of slots similar to the acrylic panel and mount a fan behind it, I don't want to ruin the clean look. cool air will be drawn in through this intake in the front, through into the main compartment and out through the vent in the roof.
This is a nice looking, low CFM, low noise fan that perfect for a roof exhaust: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120m...er-bearing-super-silent-11-dba-batwing-blades These also come in 140mm: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/140m...er-bearing-super-silent-15-dba-turbine-blades And if you want, manual fan control: http://www.scan.co.uk/search.aspx?q=enermax+t.b+silence
Left and middle will be susceptible to bending due to the long length of each unsupported strip. Right is the only real choice.
Nobody ever achieved greatness by taking the easy option I've made a modification to the left hand version, maybe that would work better
That is the attitude. And i think the change will help against the bending. The extra fan in the compartment will give movement of air needed inside the case, providing the cool air pushing heated air out the top. And there is a fan on the back plate to isn't there?
there won't be a fan on the back plate as I will be placing a EK-150 res there. The fan I plan to put on the inside panel will draw cool air from the front into the main chamber and it will work it's way out the top. thanks for your comments
So, I decieded to go ahead and make some slots in the acrylic panel. Now, another question, how can I polish the inside edges when the slots are only 5mm wide?
Came out nicely but you should have done both sides from the middle support in one go, so u had twice as much work
I think he meant to have drawn the line one end to another. fix your guide of the router and route both lines on either side of your middle support in one go. Instead of doing one half and then do the other half. Been twice the work now... But looking really nice mate. thumbs up.