Storage issue with custom loop

[KillSwitch87]

So I'm preparing to build my first custom loop and it's turning out to be a real B****. I did my research or so I thought and now BAM. Nope.

My case is NZXT's Noctis ROG, which I was assured everywhere supports custom loops - perhaps not out of the box but a few extra holes here n there and you're good to go. What I wasn't informed of, anywhere, is that sure you can put up to a 360 radiator in the front (well that's what they say anyway but I don't see how) but if you do, you can't keep ANY of the HDD bays. I got a 260 radiator and figured even if I put it in the front of the case, which btw was the plan, I can keep at least one HDD slot on the top with my storage drive. WRONG. The rad ONLY mounts to the top part of the front panel effectively making it impossible to keep any of the bays. There are no mounts at the back either, so with that configuration I'd be stuck with 2 SSD's and or M.2 drives, both of which are wayyyy out of my league budget wise with the storage capacity I want/need. (around 4T so far not counting the OS drive)

 

So, this might be a stupid question but I see a lot of people taking out all the drive bays from their water cooled builds...where the Hell do they keep their storage??? External? Doesn't that slow the drives down even further? Don't even get me started on NAS, the ones available on the market are either crap or cost a fortune too. 

Bottom line,now I'm stuck with mounting the radiator with ugly Noctua fans (because I thought they'd be hidden in the front anyway) to the top of the case and the reservoir either in a horizontal position right on top of the PSU or somehow mounted to the HDD bays and above the GPU (I'll have to check for clearance on the later), neither one is particularly appealing to me though tbh

 

Does anyone have any experience with this case and how to make this work in the most reasonable manner?

 

(WC parts: Black Ice Nemesis 280GTS, Bitspower Water Tank Z-multi 150, EK X-Top Revo D5, Aquacomputer Cuplex Kryos Next water block and primochill tubing - 3/8x5/8)

[Damascus]

In regards to storage, I bailed on my drive bay (though I can probably cram it back in) as I don't need it.  Put an m.2 ssd on the mobo and a couple of 2.5mm ssds/hdds under a psu shroud or something.

[Damascus]

If you didn't know already you can get 2.5" hdds (ssd size)

[Leonard]

The top can accept a 360mm radiator too, so why don't you try your configuration on the top of the case instead of the front, this way you can keep your storage bays if you really need it.

 

You have two 2.5" bays on the PSU shroud, if you have one SATA SSD you can put it there for the OS then put the 3.5" disks in the removable front slots and place them under the shroud with some double sided tape and stack them. If your MOBO supports m.2, which i see you mentioned you can use one m.2 as the boot disk, that will go on the MOBO and then use the 2.5" as storage but you will need more drives in the future once you horde data as most of us do.

 

[KillSwitch87]

Thanks for the replies guys. I know there are 2.5 HDD's but I'm trying to not swap out my drives because they're perfectly fine WD red pro's and I could only afford some cheap sh*t atm.

Originally I wanted to convert my old PC into a NAS (for non-game stuff) but remembered that when everyone's home even having the toaster and microwave on at the same time rubs the circuit breaker the wrong way NOW, so probably can't get away with that

 

Atm I'm considering mounting the reservoir in a horizontal position on top of the PSU shroud so i can keep all but the bottom 1-2 HD bays. Is that a bad idea? I currently have 1SSD as boot but both my other 2T disks are 3.5 HDD's and almost full. I can mount one under the shroud if necessary but not the other because of the pump, and if I put the res right above the pump I'm pretty sure I'm back at square one and have to take out all the bays.

 

(for the record, I know what the specs say but I don't see how the top could fit a 360 radiator. The front part is so narrow.)

[baconborn]

I personally ally only use M.2 nvmes for my storage, but a well designed modern case should have storage options outside of a traditional cage for 3.5" drives like behind the motherboard

[KillSwitch87]

13 hours ago, baconborn said:

I personally ally only use M.2 nvmes for my storage, but a well designed modern case should have storage options outside of a traditional cage for 3.5" drives like behind the motherboard

 

Uuuh yeah, which one exactly because the only one I found (2T) that would be semi viable if I had 2 AND didn't accumulate more data costs a 1000 bucks

 

Some cases have storage behind the mobo but this one doesn't unfortunately. Was too busy checking for rad space to check for additional drive bays. My bad

[0ld_Chicken]

I removed all my drive cage locations and just ended up mounting one of the drive sleds to the back of the motherboard tray and my SSD is covering the rear fan spot.  Basically just get a little DIY on it and find a spot that fits!

[KillSwitch87]

2 minutes ago, 0ld_Chicken said:

I removed all my drive cage locations and just ended up mounting one of the drive sleds to the back of the motherboard tray and my SSD is covering the rear fan spot.  Basically just get a little DIY on it and find a spot that fits!

Not sure if it'll fit in the back of the mobo but it does under the shroud. Can I just tape the drive bays where I wannaput them?

[Damascus]

4 minutes ago, KillSwitch87 said:

Not sure if it'll fit in the back of the mobo but it does under the shroud. Can I just tape the drive bays where I wannaput them?

Yup, 3m double sided tape.

[0ld_Chicken]

4 minutes ago, KillSwitch87 said:

Not sure if it'll fit in the back of the mobo but it does under the shroud. Can I just tape the drive bays where I wannaput them?

SSD's definitely, they're light and don't damage as easily as HDD.  HDD are heavier too so I'd only tape them if they're already sitting flat on a surface. 

[KillSwitch87]

2 minutes ago, 0ld_Chicken said:

SSD's definitely, they're light and don't damage as easily as HDD.  HDD are heavier too so I'd only tape them if they're already sitting flat on a surface. 

 

Just so I get this straight (because I don't usually have backups so don't want a dead drive ) if I mount the HDD to the tray and tape the tray to the bottom of the case say under the shroud or somehow on top of the shroud that's ok? How much airflow do these things need anyway?

[0ld_Chicken]

1 hour ago, KillSwitch87 said:

Just so I get this straight (because I don't usually have backups so don't want a dead drive ) if I mount the HDD to the tray and tape the tray to the bottom of the case say under the shroud or somehow on top of the shroud that's ok? How much airflow do these things need anyway?

yeah as long as the tape is working with gravity and not against it, you'll also want to make sure to not get crazy while moving the PC or just remove the drive when you do.  

 

They don't need much airflow, as long as they aren't completely sealed off they should be fine.  My 3tb 7200rpm barracuda stays under 40c while between the mobo tray and case back panel with no additional venting or fans whatsoever 

[KillSwitch87]

Thank you for the help everyone, guess I'll be sticking drives all over the place whether I like it or not