Operation "Wader" : Watercooling a BitFenix Raider

[BlueRaven]

Hi folks,

As per my recent BitFenix Raider Review, I said I'd be watercooling it so here is the log.

I'll be cooling a Phenom II X4 965 with an Apogee XT and 2 x HD5870's with (older, decent) EK nickel blocks.

WC parts I have lying around are:

- Laing DDC3.25 w/ EK X-Top V2
- Swiftech 240 rad
- EK 120 rad
- Assorted BP comps and adaptors
- Masterkleer 3/4OD clear tube

The basic plan is to fit this barely-acceptable amount of rad internally (mainly because I don't have anything big available and there just isn't the room in this mid tower case anyway) and see if the performance justifies the effort.


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Sticking a 120 in the rear location to imitate an AIO is an obvious first choice.
I decided to use this idea as a kind of proof-of-concept.
First of all I needed some 120 fan decouplers for the rad, but only had 140's. No problem.


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With the rad prepared, time to test a few things:


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Those are the Spectre Pro fans, and in push/pull they actually feel like they're moving a decent amount of air through the low-fpi rad.

Later on I might swap the rear 120 for an additional 240 up the top (once I figure out how to mount it neatly ).

Obviously a more elegant filling solution also needs to be worked out.


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Awesomely, there is just enough room between the cage and the front of the chassis to fit the 240.


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And the fan mounts just about line up neatly, though the photo's perspective doesn't really show it...
I'll still have to cut a slot in the base of the chassis for the rad's end tank though.


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But obviously the cages will have to come out and will require some modding to fit it, mainly this lip here.


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All taped up, ready to attack the rivets.


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Front panel done.


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Cages out...


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And reduced to component parts.


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Front panel masked and marked out.


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Bottom slot for rad clearance.


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Bits of the ODD/HDD cages masked up ready for cutting.
You can also see the M3 hex cap screws and nuts that I'll be bolting it all back together with.
I'll be able to remove the rad by undoing four screws and removing the HDD cage.
The ODD cage won't have to be removed to get at the rad.


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Cheap Dremel knock-off barely does the job, even with EZ-Lok discs.


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Not too bad after a bit of cleaning up with a file.


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Completed removable cage mod.


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ODD bay mods. You'll see the idea in a sec.


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Was going to use U-channel on this edge, but it tidied up ok with some filing and permanent marker.


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E violá.


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Front panel cutout completed. That's as far as I got before deciding to give my neighbours a break at about quarter to five.

Tomorrow, bottom cutout, fit the 240, refit the bays and finish it all off!

Feedback and comments always welcome, thanks for reading.

[zero_velocity]

Lookin good mate! subd.

[Saate]

Love the drive bay mod :)

I'm always amused at how often I catch myself reveling at the removal or modification of drive bays. Especially in cases (like my 800D) where they've catered for a ridiculous number of devices. It's that design/form attachment that harkens right back to the days of the beige box that I really despise I think. :p

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

Front panel cutout completed. That's as far as I got before deciding to give my neighbours a break at about quarter to five. :)

I know exactly what you mean about giving the neighbours a break. I always get nervous my dremelling is making too much noise :)

Looking forward to the rest of the pics tomorrow mate!

[BlueRaven]

Originally Posted by zero_velocity

Lookin good mate! subd.

Cheers dude, hopefully the performance will be worth it and it will turn out a nice-looking little mod.

Originally Posted by Saate

Love the drive bay mod

I'm always amused at how often I catch myself reveling at the removal or modification of drive bays. Especially in cases (like my 800D) where they've catered for a ridiculous number of devices. It's that design/form attachment that harkens right back to the days of the beige box that I really despise I think.

I know exactly what you mean about giving the neighbours a break. I always get nervous my dremelling is making too much noise

Looking forward to the rest of the pics tomorrow mate!

Thaks Saate, know what you mean about the drive bays.
It's almost like all manufacturers still feel a case is not complete without a bolted in metal scaffold at the top/front.
Luckily, this one was easily removed after drilling out 10 rivets, and the case still felt nice and sturdy after it was out.

The neighbours copped another earbashing this afternoon, i'll have a few more pics up shortly.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[BlueRaven]

Another little update.


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Bottom rad cutout. A bit rough with the file and the marker on this one, but it's not going to be seen so I don't care that much.


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U-channel glued in place with rubber cement to make a nice seal with the rad and hopefully provide a bit of vibration damping for the fans.


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Rad installed. These are the stock Spectre fans from the Raider, not really designed as rad fans but they are quiet.
I'm not expecting awesome performance from them, but if they are really terrible it will be easy enough to change them out for something with higher airflow/static pressure.


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This Swifty 240 has obviously taken a bit of a beating over the years, so I'll be stripping it back and respraying it.
I was originally going to make the bottom cutout much narrower, just enough clearance for the end tank.
But it occurred to me that by making it this size, I can get the rad in or out without needing to remove the drive cage.


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You can see the perfect fit of the rad between the chassis front and drive cage.
The cage is quite open, so hopefully it doesn't completely kill the flow from the bottom fan.

That's about it for now... I can't really progress further until I get hold of some rotary adaptors that I purchased off the forums, since I can't quite line up the pump output with the rad input.
More pics once they arrive next week!

[Saate]

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

U-channel glued in place with rubber cement to make a nice seal with the rad and hopefully provide a bit of vibration damping for the fans.

Nice work - I love how snugly the 240 fits in Is rubber cement how u-channel is usually attached? I've got some here for my Massively! build and to be honest I hadnt even considered how it would be attached (if at all) yet so any advice would be helpful.

[zero_velocity]

Originally Posted by Saate

Nice work - I love how snugly the 240 fits in Is rubber cement how u-channel is usually attached? I've got some here for my Massively! build and to be honest I hadnt even considered how it would be attached (if at all) yet so any advice would be helpful.

for small stuff some super glue usually works a treat too

[Creekin]

u channel doesnt need anything to hold it , if its the right size for the job.
perhaps a drop on the ends to stop them curling over time

plastic cement would work great on plastic but might destroy the u channel so i would probably use super glue.

nice work Ginger
love the name, reminds me of jonothan woss

[Jakusonfire]

Wow, that looks really cool. I just recently got a raider myself for my new build and the primary reason was all that space under the top mesh and and in front of the front fans.
I had very nearly exactly the same idea. I originally wanted to just put a 240 rad up top and leave it at that but after I got it and had a good look I realised it might be possible to fit a 360 up top and a 240 in the front. The main difference being I intended to put the rad on the outside of the chasis for the sake of convenience. I think a low profile model should fit under the front plastic panel with some minimal trimming. Seeing this has made me rethink it though.
Great work and thanks for posting all the great pics and notes. Its very helpful.

[BlueRaven]

Originally Posted by Jakusonfire

Wow, that looks really cool. I just recently got a raider myself for my new build and the primary reason was all that space under the top mesh and and in front of the front fans.
I had very nearly exactly the same idea. I originally wanted to just put a 240 rad up top and leave it at that but after I got it and had a good look I realised it might be possible to fit a 360 up top and a 240 in the front. The main difference being I intended to put the rad on the outside of the chasis for the sake of convenience. I think a low profile model should fit under the front plastic panel with some minimal trimming. Seeing this has made me rethink it though.
Great work and thanks for posting all the great pics and notes. Its very helpful.

Hi mate, welcome to OCAU!

I also considered mounting the 240 on the outside, but I tell you what... you'd need a pretty damn slim rad to make work. There's not too many out there that are slimmer than a Swifty MCR-220, it's about 35mm depth. 25mm deep fans will fit under there no worries, with clearance to spare allowing the filters to do their thing and minimising the inevitable choking of the airflow, but if you can find a rad that will fit in that space i'll be impressed!

I was already fairly committed to modding the drive cage in the planning stages and I thought this would work well within the overall design, so fitting the front rad internally seemed like the best bet. I'm quite happy with how that's all worked out.

I've no doubt that you could fit a 360 up top under the mesh cover by chopping out the necessary metal and utilising a suitable mounting scheme, but this Raider will eventually become my main gaming rig so an ODD is kind of necessary. I can't see a way to effectively fit a 360 up top along with an ODD in the bays, but if you can do without a disc drive it's definitely possible.

Glad you've enjoyed the log so far, I've been mucking around with rotary adaptors and tube configurations for a week or so now, hopefully I'll make a bit more progress and have some more pics up shortly.

[Huggy_Bear64]

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

I've no doubt that you could fit a 360 up top under the mesh cover by chopping out the necessary metal and utilising a suitable mounting scheme, but this Raider will eventually become my main gaming rig so an ODD is kind of necessary. I can't see a way to effectively fit a 360 up top along with an ODD in the bays, but if you can do without a disc drive it's definitely possible.

External or slot loading!
Or just stuck an ODD in your file server and transfer the images.

[Jakusonfire]

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

Hi mate, welcome to OCAU!

I also considered mounting the 240 on the outside, but I tell you what... you'd need a pretty damn slim rad to make work. There's not too many out there that are slimmer than a Swifty MCR-220, it's about 35mm depth. 25mm deep fans will fit under there no worries, with clearance to spare allowing the filters to do their thing and minimising the inevitable choking of the airflow, but if you can find a rad that will fit in that space i'll be impressed!

I was already fairly committed to modding the drive cage in the planning stages and I thought this would work well within the overall design, so fitting the front rad internally seemed like the best bet. I'm quite happy with how that's all worked out.

I've no doubt that you could fit a 360 up top under the mesh cover by chopping out the necessary metal and utilising a suitable mounting scheme, but this Raider will eventually become my main gaming rig so an ODD is kind of necessary. I can't see a way to effectively fit a 360 up top along with an ODD in the bays, but if you can do without a disc drive it's definitely possible.

Glad you've enjoyed the log so far, I've been mucking around with rotary adaptors and tube configurations for a week or so now, hopefully I'll make a bit more progress and have some more pics up shortly.

Hey BR .. thanks for the welcome

I have been looking at the black ice stealth series for the 240, only because they claim its only 30mm thick without sacrificing a lot of performance. I figure with a bit of grinding plastic low points there might be at least some clearance left in front but only having in hand and testing will tell huh ... either way will make me happy and in the end it might be useful to have removable bays and racks like yours in the future anyway.

With regard to the top rad I really hadn't thought I would have to do anything but mount the ODD a couple slots down to give some room to move but you have given me food for thought.

I haven't locked down any major components or layout configuration yet and am still researching as much as possible so your notes are invaluable.
I think I'm going to work on it with an evolutionary approach ... adding small parts and seeing what works and how much space is left. Your work has inspired me more and I'm itching to get started though.

Thanks again.

[BlueRaven]

Originally Posted by Huggy_Bear64

External or slot loading!
Or just stuck an ODD in your file server and transfer the images.

Good call, but won't DRM checks get stroppy with an image mounted via POwerISO or Daemon Tools? Never tried it, and can't be bothered stuffing around with NOCD cracks when I've got the media right here.

Also going to be somewhat limited on HDD space since I've reduced the rack down to 3 trays. Can't put all the pr0nz on the media server, GF is only allowed to see the stuff that I have carefully vetted...
Is there an ISO-mounting proggy that can mount images on a network share?

Originally Posted by Jakusonfire

Hey BR .. thanks for the welcome

I have been looking at the black ice stealth series for the 240, only because they claim its only 30mm thick without sacrificing a lot of performance. I figure with a bit of grinding plastic low points there might be at least some clearance left in front but only having in hand and testing will tell huh ... either way will make me happy and in the end it might be useful to have removable bays and racks like yours in the future anyway.

With regard to the top rad I really hadn't thought I would have to do anything but mount the ODD a couple slots down to give some room to move but you have given me food for thought.

I haven't locked down any major components or layout configuration yet and am still researching as much as possible so your notes are invaluable.
I think I'm going to work on it with an evolutionary approach ... adding small parts and seeing what works and how much space is left. Your work has inspired me more and I'm itching to get started though.

Thanks again.

Good call on the Black Ice stealth too... not the greatest in terms of performance (so I hear, never used one myself) but probably no worse than the MCR-220 and fine as long as you're not trying to cool a 980X and 2 x 580's or something. If anything will fit under the fascia, that will. Even if it doesn't, it will be nice and easy to fit inside.

You could definitely mount the 360 up top and move the ODD down to the bottom of the bays. Bear in mind that you need clearance not only for the fan but also the airflow that it'll be blowing straight down... don't want to choke it too much. My issue with doing this is that I want to mount the pump in the bays feeding straight into the ports at the top of the rad... it just seemed like that would simplify tube routing a whole lot. You could always stick the pump on top of the HDD rack or PSU I guess, but it would complicate the tubing runs a bit.

TBH I though this was going to be a pretty easy mod, but as always with custom loops in smaller chassis', things never quite line up the way you visualised it.

[Jakusonfire]

Originally Posted by Huggy_Bear64

External or slot loading!
Or just stuck an ODD in your file server and transfer the images.

Yeah ... I am actually used to doing without an ODD as neither of my laptops have them these days ... I just use lots of ISO's

But as BR says with his rig, this is going to be my main game machine and having to compromise on a desktop just doesn't seem right for some reason.

We shall see ... my 3570K and new Corsair fans arrives tomorrow so I'm sure once I get those integrated things will start moving more quickly ... I won't be able to help myself!!

Thanks guys!

[Huggy_Bear64]

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

Good call, but won't DRM checks get stroppy with an image mounted via POwerISO or Daemon Tools? Never tried it, and can't be bothered stuffing around with NOCD cracks when I've got the media right here.

I only buy things without intrusive DRM.
If it has DRM I pirate it

Also most things just use online validation, which generally doesn't give a shit.