So I'm growing somewhat tired of perching on top of a pair of full tower cases and a UPS. In a bid to save my posture I've been eying up the smaller ARC Midi which could fit on my desk. I'm intending on a dual 120 radiator build which should fit with a little Dremel work + I've seen at least one other dual rad build in an Arc Midi so I'm pretty confident First off though some new tools are required as my three screwdrivers, one spanner and a hammer probably aren't going to cut it this time. A quick trip to B&Q sorted me out with a dremel some spare cutting disks an 18v Hammer Drill and a set of files. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 1 was to remove the HDD cage's as I'll be mounting 2.5" disks elsewhere within the case and needed the space for rad's pumps etc. I left a portion of the support on the left hand side to help reduce pump vibrations there's now plenty of room in the base to accommodate the radiator width. I used the part of the cage I’d just cut out to provide a more sturdy looking base for the pump shelf, this also conveniently covered up the rough cut edge. Cut away a portion of the base and drilled holes to allow airflow and mounting for the radiator. Conveniently there's already grilling for a 140mm fan so only a small amount of cutting work was required to extend this to 240mm. I choose the Phoyba G Changer radiator as I like the logo and they also come with 4 G1/4 sockets which allowed me to fit low profile temp probes directly rather than inline on the tubing. To attach it to the case I mounted it along with the fans to a 240mm grill, I then bolted the whole assembaly to the case. Using this arrangement does restrict your choice in PSU any extend length models aren’t going to fit. I placed my PSU in when I was lineing up the radiator mounting holes and I dont recon there was more than about 5mm clearance between the Radiator and PSU and even then I needed to align the modular plugs to sit between the radiator inlet/outlet. If needed you could remove the lower front 140mm fan and slide the Rad a little further forward. I mounted the pump (Aquastream XT Ultra), to the shelf using an antivibration pad. The M3 bolts go down through the whole shelf assembaly and hold everything in place. Some other bits of kit yet to be fitted; got a bit carried away with the camera (dont worry no home porn, totally safe for work)... ---------------------Reservoir ---------------------- The reservoir is an Aquacomputer Aquaduct in black, I have to admit I was really surprised by the quality, its outstanding, the entire structure is machined from a single lump of metal the only plastic on this is the Perspex lid and o-ring. I opted for the G1/4 inch version which is equipped with a total of six ports, three on the base and three on the side. Currently I have a temp probe, the Aquacomputer RGD lighting module which can change colour based on water temp and an Aquatube for the nice visual effect. --------------------Aquaero------------------------- More to follow soon! Cheers, Dphi
May 7th Update! Hi all, Managed to get some more done! As the only device going in the 5.25” bays was the Aquaero 5 Pro I had space to top mount the Aquaduct. Helpfully dead centre above the 5.25” bays is a grill to mount a 120mm fan; this was easily cut away as well as a section of the top mesh and filter to slot the reservoir in. The Aquaduct mounting plate nicely covers any rough edges. It is slightly wonky atm I'll fix that soon I did have to switch the temp probe to the side and add a second 90 degree compression fitting as the reservoir mounting plate would have had to be mounted back to front in order to get the 3 G/14 side fittings to be pointing backwards into the case. Didn't use Bitspower fittings for these as they wont be visible and my pockets aren't of infinite depth Fitted the Aquaero PRO and swapped the front plate for the optional black one. Used the Poweradjust mounting plate to fill the second 5.25” bay. I don't have any Poweradjusts this was purely for aesthetics as I didn't want to use the stock mounting plates and I like the Aquacomputer logo Cheers + Happy Bank Holiday! Dphi
