Water-Cooled Small Form Factor PC

[Pat Logsdon]

Yes, you read that correctly! I've been wanting a Small Form Factor case for awhile now, but I've always held off for several reasons. First is the noise factor. While I've been known to stand a box fan next to an open case containing an overclocked chip, I find that I'm less tolerant of constant noise now than I was 5 years ago. I've also not been very impressed with the AMD-friendly MBs the SFF manufacturers are putting out, AND it annoys me that in most cases, you're tied to the MB they give you.

That said, I bought an Antec Aria SFF case, (http://www.antec-inc.com/us/pro_details_enclosure.php?ProdID=15130) popped in my own Biostar Micro ATX MB (http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/mainboard/board.php3?name=M7NCG%20400%20(7.x)), a nice processor (AMD, of course), 1 gig of paired Corsair RAM, an ATI 9700 Pro and a combo DVD/CD-R burner. The case is quite nice, especially for a Pocket PC person, as it comes with a built-in 8-in-1 card reader. Very handy.

Unfortunately, it was too loud with the HSF combo I had, and it was running too hot, forcing me to take the sides and top off of the case to keep it stable. So I decided to take the plunge (ha ha!) and go with a water cooler. I decided on the GlobalWin SilentStream. (http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/cooling/globalwin_silentstream/) After several hours of meticulous labor (and you can BET I read the manual cover to cover for once), I very nervously closed everything up, plugged everything in, and switched it on. It's been very quiet and quite stable for the last week with no exceptions. This is WITHOUT overclocking, mind you. I may try upping the voltage a bit later just to see what I can get away with. :mrgreen:

Has anyone else here messed about with SFF cases or water cooling?

[yslee]

How hot did it go?

[Pat Logsdon]

I didn't check it, but it was too hot to even POST (much less boot) without the top and sides off. There's such a premium of space in this kind of case that a huge heat sink and fan just isn't possible. Combine that with the cramped space and negligible airflow, and the options get scarce. I was either going to have to cut a blowhole or try the water cooling. :)

I think this particular case is especially prone to heat problems - the top and sides aren't just aluminum: "Construction consists of aluminum with plastic outer panels on the top and front. The side panels are a strange mix of aluminum and plastic in almost three levels of thickness arrangement: aluminum-plastic-aluminum. The sides and top are aluminum colored while the front and trim is a deep navy blue."

This is great for sound-dampening, but not so good at letting heat out. The 120mm PSU exhaust fan is also totally quiet - I was in a very quiet room testing the components, and didn't even know the fan was on until I saw the blades moving. Unfortunately, if there's not adequate airflow, there's not much a fan can do.

[yslee]

Hmm, that's bad. I was expecting better from Antec. Furthermore I believe I saw this particular Antec case last week, and it's not exactly SFF (it's a good bit wider than the Shuttles and the MSI Megas).

[OSUKid7]

Water cooling still seems a little risky in my mind. I'd love to give it a try, but don't want to risk ruining my computer. :lol: Congrats on getting it to work though. :)

[milkman dan]

nice :) I have been on the verge of building a small media PC inside one of those REALLY oldschool vhs decks. Plan on gutting the old vcr out of the shell, installing one of those new cheap, but really little vcr's inside it so there is room for the pc. pretty neat idea if I do say so myself, just haven't found an old school vcr yet

[parrot_head23]

Dang, I've got the same case with a Gigabyte mobo and an Athlon 64 2800+, 512 Corsair XMS PC2700, GeForce 4, and a CDRW and I've had no heating problems or noise problems...Those side panels are supposed to keep the noise level down...My CPU fan kicks up on the RPMs sometimes...lol...that was one hot cpu you got goin....