Need case ideas for 2x360 rads..

[ch3w2oy]

So I got a great deal on a water cooling setup. 

 

Photon D5 270 Pump/Res V2

Radion VII w/ Bykski Waterblock

AM4 Waterblock. 

1x360 rad @ 35mm thick (XSPC EX360) 

1X360 rad @ 60mm thick (EK-Coolstream Xe 360)

Soft tubing now, hard tubing later. 

 

Cases I'm considering are the Meshify S2, P600S, PC-O11 Dynamic, and maybe the SL600M/Dark Base 700 (little on pricey side).

 

I really think I want the P600S as it seems to offer a lot of great features but I'm curious about your opinions on the topic of 2x360 rads. I actually got one of them for free and only paid $15 for shipping so I figured I would utilize it somehow.

 

Will everything work in the P600S? I think I like  this case as the reviews are great and the option for silence or airflow is just awesome, honestly. I realize the performance of the meshify and dynamic are probably the best but with 2x360 rads and a reservoir, I think I'll be fine with anything.

 

I plan to mount the pump/res either on the backside of front mounted rad or horizontally below GPU. 

 

Some cases require removing the HDD cage for a front mounted 360 rad but it looks like the S2 and P600S were well thought out cases and it seems I can still use my single 3.5 2TB drive. It's important to fit at least one 3.5" drive. 

 

1. If I mount pump/res to back of front radiator will GPU waterblock fit in whichever case you recommend? I might do vertical GPU mount so I'm undecided where to put the pump. 

 

2. Which case would work best with this cooling setup? 

 

3. Will this fit in the Meshify or P600S? 60mm rad +25mm fans is 85mm, I wanted push/pull on a rad that thick but if I can't then I can't..

 

4. Is the SL600M worth the price? I think if I had two 35mm rads I would go with the Dynamic but I'm OCD and don't think it will look good/even with different size rads on top and bottom..

 

5. Would the 85mm rad/fans work on the bottom of the PC-O11 Dynamic without interfering with GPU? 

 

This is why I need help, I don't know what will fit where and Phanteks is the only website that lists the exact thickness of what radiator/fan combo size can fit in the front/top..

 

Any help or advice is appreciated!! 

[Shimejii]

Gonna have to take off the front panel for proper airflow on the Phanteks Case. Also make sure you do NOT use a z170-z390 ASUS motherboard for silence, their Fan curves ramp up to 100% Fan speed at 75 Degrees CPU temps and that cannot be changed without custom bios.

[ch3w2oy]

7 minutes ago, Shimejii said:

Gonna have to take off the front panel for proper airflow on the Phanteks Case. Also make sure you do NOT use a z170-z390 ASUS motherboard for silence, their Fan curves ramp up to 100% Fan speed at 75 Degrees CPU temps and that cannot be changed without custom bios.

This is going to be my AMD build. Getting everything ready for Zen 2

 

The front panel on the phanteks p600s is designed to for air flow or silence. You don't have to remove the entire front cover, it opens up or easily pops off.. After my Entho Pro M I would really prefer the option to not hear anything unless I'm gaming  with my headphones, in which case I can open up for increased airflow.. I think this is a great case. Best of both worlds..

 

 

 

 

[Shimejii]

Just now, ch3w2oy said:

This is going to be my AMD build. Getting everything ready for Zen 2

 

The front panel on the phanteks p600s is designed to for air flow or silence. You don't have to remove the entire front cover, it opens up or easily pops off.. 

 

 

 

 

thats what i meant  You're gonna have to take it off for most of the time. The little sliver is not enough airflow and will cause the fans to ramp up. My brother has a the p400 TG case, and i Have the Enthoo Pro, and because of his case his fans are a hell of a lot louder (also due to the asus Motherboard  ) and causes temps to be higher then what i wanted for him.

[ch3w2oy]

3 minutes ago, Shimejii said:

thats what i meant  You're gonna have to take it off for most of the time. The little sliver is not enough airflow and will cause the fans to ramp up. My brother has a the p400 TG case, and i Have the Enthoo Pro, and because of his case his fans are a hell of a lot louder (also due to the asus Motherboard  ) and causes temps to be higher then what i wanted for him.

I edited my post. I also had the Entho Pro M. 

 

This is also another reason for water cooled.. I don't mind the fans running, I just don't want them full speed. I think for normal use I'll be fine with everything shut but if I'm doing more intense tasks like gaming, I won't mind opening the vents..

[TVwazhere]

10 hours ago, ch3w2oy said:

So I got a great deal on a water cooling setup. 

 

Photon D5 270 Pump/Res V2

Radion VII w/ Bykski Waterblock

AM4 Waterblock. 

1x360 rad @ 35mm thick (XSPC EX360) 

1X360 rad @ 60mm thick (EK-Coolstream Xe 360)

Soft tubing now, hard tubing later. 

This build SHOULD be doable in most of the cases you have listed. Her'es a reddit thread who did dual 360 rads (27mm and 60mm) in the Define R6 (basically the same as the Meshify S2 but more balance of airflow and silence focused)

 

I would also vote heavy on the PC-O11D, as it's an overall amazing case and will definitely show off your system the best (and it's the cheapest depending on sales) The fact that it can fit a 60mm wide RAD + fans on the opposite side and still fit a 120mm RAD on the top is awesome

https://imgur.com/r/watercooling/oQDxOaO

 

[ch3w2oy]

44 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

This build SHOULD be doable in most of the cases you have listed. Her'es a reddit thread who did dual 360 rads (27mm and 60mm) in the Define R6 (basically the same as the Meshify S2 but more balance of airflow and silence focused)

 

 

I would also vote heavy on the PC-O11D, as it's an overall amazing case and will definitely show off your system the best (and it's the cheapest depending on sales) The fact that it can fit a 60mm wide RAD + fans on the opposite side and still fit a 120mm RAD on the top is awesome

https://imgur.com/r/watercooling/oQDxOaO

 

 

I like the R6, you think it would be more silent than the S2? I don't expect to run the fans that high, honestly. I think the S2/R6 might be best, I like the way they turn out with water cooling setups. 

 

Do you know how long it takes the liquid to heat up to where the fans are needed? This is my first loop and that's why I thought the p600s would be a good option, to have the silent option. After my Entho Pro M, I don't want to hear anything at all during normal use, gaming is fine as I won't hear it anyway.. 

 

With the PC-O11, can I use the 60mm 360 on the bottom with a set of fans and the GPU in the regular orientation (without pump, I'll probably mount it in the same spot as the Pic you posted). 

[TVwazhere]

12 minutes ago, ch3w2oy said:

I like the R6, you think it would be more silent than the S2? I don't expect to run the fans that high, honestly. I think the S2/R6 might be best, I like the way they turn out with water cooling setups. 

The R6 and the S2 are essentially the same case. The major difference being the R6 has two different layouts where one can hold 11 hard drive bays, and the other is more open for watercooling. The S2 is just more open for watercooling, but has an extra 3.5" drive in the back and pump mounts on the cover plate. Performance wise they're nearly identical (both the stock fans and acoustics)

12 minutes ago, ch3w2oy said:

Do you know how long it takes the liquid to heat up to where the fans are needed? This is my first loop and that's why I thought the p600s would be a good option, to have the silent option. After my Entho Pro M, I don't want to hear anything at all during normal use, gaming is fine as I won't hear it anyway.. 

Usually I've see 10-20 minutes for fluid to reach "equilibrium" for temps. 

 

The P600S would be a good middle ground between a Define S2 and a Meshify S2. I actually did a blog post comparing the specs of all 3 cases (link in my signature). Since you can remove the front panel you can get more airflow, but if you place it back on, there's still decent side ventilation to allow air to come in from the sides. 

12 minutes ago, ch3w2oy said:

With the PC-O11, can I use the 60mm 360 on the bottom with a set of fans and the GPU in the regular orientation (without pump, I'll probably mount it in the same spot as the Pic you posted). 

You should be able to. I was able to find a couple of builds but wasnt able to confirm actual thickness (though if' that's not at least a 55mm rad I'll eat my hat)

 

https://ggflan.com/lian-li-pc-o11-dynamic-triple-360-radiator-build/

 

This one lists the rads as 56mm

 

[ch3w2oy]

36 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

The R6 and the S2 are essentially the same case. The major difference being the R6 has two different layouts where one can hold 11 hard drive bays, and the other is more open for watercooling. The S2 is just more open for watercooling, but has an extra 3.5" drive in the back and pump mounts on the cover plate. Performance wise they're nearly identical (both the stock fans and acoustics)

Usually I've see 10-20 minutes for fluid to reach "equilibrium" for temps. 

 

The P600S would be a good middle ground between a Define S2 and a Meshify S2. I actually did a blog post comparing the specs of all 3 cases (link in my signature). Since you can remove the front panel you can get more airflow, but if you place it back on, there's still decent side ventilation to allow air to come in from the sides. 

You should be able to. I was able to find a couple of builds but wasnt able to confirm actual thickness (though if' that's not at least a 55mm rad I'll eat my hat)

 

https://ggflan.com/lian-li-pc-o11-dynamic-triple-360-radiator-build/

 

This one lists the rads as 56mm

 

Awesome. I'll look at your post and check out some more builds. I appreciate the advice!

 

Can I ask you a question about fittings? The person I'm buying all of this from is sending me soft tubing, 3/8 ID 5/8 OD, with These  fittings. 

 

Can I use those same fittings with hard tubing? I just did a quick Google search (at work) and didn't see many, if any, options for that size tubing in rigid/hard.. 

 

I guess I can just use elbows (if no hard tubing) to make it appear a little cleaner, right? 

[TVwazhere]

2 minutes ago, ch3w2oy said:

Can I ask you a question about fittings? The person I'm buying all of this from is sending me soft tubing, 3/8 ID 5/8 OD, with These  fittings. 

Can I use those same fittings with hard tubing? I just did a quick Google search (at work) and didn't see many, if any, options for that size tubing in rigid/hard.. 

Though I am not an expert on watercooling hardware, I do believe that soft tubing fittings and hard tubing are different, but there might be fitting types that can utilize both. I would ask that question in the Liquid and exotic Cooling subthread, as they would be able to provide a better answer. The fittings provided there look like hard tube to me. In any case, I've heard that Bitspower fittings are the best from multiple sources (forum members, Youtubers, etc.)

https://linustechtips.com/main/forum/36-liquid-and-exotic-cooling/

[ch3w2oy]

18 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Though I am not an expert on watercooling hardware, I do believe that soft tubing fittings and hard tubing are different, but there might be fitting types that can utilize both. I would ask that question in the Liquid and exotic Cooling subthread, as they would be able to provide a better answer. The fittings provided there look like hard tube to me. In any case, I've heard that Bitspower fittings are the best from multiple sources (forum members, Youtubers, etc.)

https://linustechtips.com/main/forum/36-liquid-and-exotic-cooling/

I made a post, thanks again for the help!

[Ithanul]

In the case of bitspowers, you will need specific barbs for rigid tubing.  Their soft tubing barbs are not meant for rigid tubing.

 

A easy way to tell the difference, for soft tubing, the tube will go over a piece of the barb, and, in the case of compression barbs, a compression collar is then tightened down to add a better seal.  Rigid tubing on the other hand does not slide onto a part of the barb, but relies on the o-ring/s in the compression collar to make a seal.

 

For visual:

For soft tubing

 

For rigid tubing