Positioning of components

[Luke122]

Hey everybody, I'm about to start my first watercooled build, and I"m looking for suggestions.

I've picked up an Antec P180B (black) case, and I'm thinking about mounting the rad up to the top, using the existing vent. There's already a 120mm fan up there, so couldnt I just mount the rad up there, mount the fan to the bottom side of it, and have it blowing up and out of the case?

I've seen a lot of builds with the radiator on the top of the case, but I always wondered about bleeding the system; I was under the impression that the reservoir (or fill port) should be the highest point?

I'll only be cooling the CPU at first, but I'd like to expand to the GPU and chipsets later on. My primary objective here is "near silent" with the ability to still deal with heavy gaming sessions, and not run too hot.

Oh, and before anyone asks, I dont "plan" on overclocking just yet, but it's always a possibility. Oh, and I'll be going Intel for the CPU.

Thanks in advance for any information/suggestions.

-=Luke=-

**edited due to my stupidity**

[Silenced_Coyote]

I would have the fan mounted to the case and then the radiator mounted to the fan so that the fan draws air over the radiator.

[Luke122]

I would have the fan mounted to the case and then the radiator mounted to the fan so that the fan draws air over the radiator.

Thanks for the reply!

I want to make sure I understand this right..

If I was to mount the rad inside the top of the case (with a hole above it obviously), you are saying mount the fan to the case, and the rad to the fan?

ie: Case/Fan/Rad?

I was thinking Case/Rad/Fan, so the fan is forcing air through the rad, rather than drawing it through the rad..?

I dont imagine there would be a big difference either way as far as temperatures/airflow go, but I've never done this before, so that's why I'm asking for information here. :)

Also, am I right in thinking that the reservoir should be mounted higher than the rad? I've seen some systems where a drive bay mounted res. was used, but those look to be removable for filling.

Is there a recommended site where I can go to read up on watercooling design/theory?

Sorry for the noobiness. :D

[Luke122]

*bump*

[ambivalent]

hey, i have an antec p180 as well, and had it watercooled for a little while, but my pump died and im sick of messing with it all

i have a blackice gt stealth 240, i put it in the top above the drive bays with the fans pulling air out, NOT including the one that's already on the top... for 2 reasons:

1) if you put a radiator right there + 120mm fans, you'll eat up about 3-4 inches of the top of the case, and possibly cover the cpu itself and make it harder than it already is with such a small case (yes, i said small... this case's innards are TINY despite it's size).. if you ever have to remove ram for anything, you have to take your cooling apart.

2) im not sure if you've used a dremmel on this case or not, but it's VERY hard to cut through... the plastic on the top, front, and sides is about 1/4 inch thick PLUS 2 layers of steel on the sides, and one on top... getting a precise cut to match the premade hole is harder than using a template from radgrillz.

as for the question of case/fan/rad, or case/rad/fan, it's up to you, they both cool about the same, b/c both rely on the case's inner temperature, which is a downfall of the p180... one 120 intake and (in my case) 4 120mm exhausts

if you're interested, i can take some pics of mine with the radiator installed and upload them, and im also about to throw the blackice stealth, and my swiftech mini acrylic res on ebay, but if you want you can have first dibs... they're both brandnew but im tired of dealing with dangerden on this pump... back to air for me, just trying to cut my losses