Water cooling solution for Antec Fusion (M-ATX) case with i7

Question

I currently have an ASUS Rampage II Gene M-ATX board with i processor in my HTPC. I would like to begin using watercooling mainly to keep the noise levels down, but also to overclock in the future.

The biggest problem is the case size, and I wondered if anyone knew of any good kits that would fit inside the antec fusion:

Please note - that isn't my actual machine, but an example of the fusion case. It has 2x 12mm fans on the right side of it, and some space above the DVD drive on the lower left.

I'm a noob to watercooling, so a complete kit would probably benefit me! and I'm trying to keep the costs down...

Answer 1

If watercooling breaks the budget, there are other ways to reduce noise.

Monitor temps or consider purchasing a fan controller to turn off or slow down the pair of 120mm fans. If they are the same as the antec 120mm in my case, it isn't the quietest out there and they connect directly to the power supply rails, so they arn't dynamically turned down.

Good alternatives for low cost would such as some of the scythe brand fans:

Slip Stream 120mm

I don't know if you're using stock intel heatsink like the photo, but passive heatsinks can work very well, especially with the airflow from the side fans. I've had excellent cooling and very very quiet operation off my Xigmatek s1283.

Ensure your fans are connected to the motherboard headers, and use fan-control software to spin down the fans when not necessary. Most processors can also lower clock rates to maintain cool temperatures.

Answer 2

Wow. Water cooling in that small a case is going to be tough.

As I see it you have two routes.

If you don't want to modify the case you will need to find a kit that has the pump and radiator external to the case.

This unit has high praise on lots of sites: http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=183

It is available here: http://www.xoxide.com/zalman-reserator-1-v2.html

Another Zalman product that seems to be well received: http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=185

If you don't mind some cutting and drilling, a unit designed to fit in a 2u 5.25 fitting could be adapted to your needs. Or something like this: http://www.xoxide.com/coolit-pure-cpucooler.html Thin radiator that will be easy to stick somewhere.

Lots of products out there. http://www.overclockercafe.com/ has a very active forum of folks that would love to help you develop a custom solution to your problem.

Answer 3

If you want something with a smaller footprint than the zalman suggested by TomB, the swiftech H2O 220 Compact or H2O 120 Compact with a Rad Box (the 220 kit includes one) are options as well. The pump is combined with the CPU block, the resivoir with the radiator, and the radbox allows them to be mounted on the back of the case at the location of a 120mm fan. I ultimately bought a larger case but used an earlier version of the swiftech kit with a radbox for about a year and a half. Unless you buy and heavily overclock a high TDP chip the smaller 120 kit will be sufficient.

The only gotcha is that since your case doesn't appear to have a 120mm fan on the back you might need to buy some additional tubing to make all your connections.