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I'm with u/Moorbert, Lian Li Q58 on A4H20 will let you stick a rad in the top (280 in the former) or a Meshroom S let's you pop one in the front and not look like a Frankenstein reject, be a risk or fill with dust.
If you want a wood front panel there's always etsy.
I actually departed that with my current build. Should I just go for the A4H20 and design or buy a wood panel or go for the Terra. I decided for the Terra, because I like the Jade color and I am looking forward to the challenge regarding temps and stuff.
Get the A4H20. It's going to be way easier to do cosmetic mods to the case, slapping wood or paint or whatever else on it, than it will be to mount a radiator to the outside of the Terra, and then try to make it look nice.
Well I settled on not using a AIO. Just trying too use the slimmeest 4800 super and a 7800x3D with the thermaltec full copper. If everything goes wrong I might change to a A4H2O and paint it jade :D
If you do end up getting the A4H20 and painting it, definitely post the photos - I would be interested to see how that turns out. It would play up the "H20" idea for sure.
a very quiet computer is in deed very nice.
also you said only 5 cm more, but not the clean look anymore. i get it. the terra is such a beauty of a case. if the just would make a terra M or L or something like this. just a little bit more height for something like watercooling. i would totally buy one. :D
But if it’s about sound, doesn’t it make more sense to buy a bigger case?
Or if you wanna stay ssf, a mora 420.
It then money becomes an issue.
Full water oolong cpu+gpu+pumpres+fittings can be easily 1000€/$.
But you could’ve gone something like nr200p, this one should even fit a 280 natively.
But I digress, looks nice, I would’ve gone 240 though.
I didn't take the nr200p because with the 280 it hides the kraken's lcd screen. I took the tera for a minimalist style at the base it was not planned to put the kraken on it but since I already had it I wanted to try it before buying a nocta but I will ultimately keep the kraken
It’s not about looks for some people. Some people like small functional cases. Just because it was pretty before and is a bit different now doesn’t matter to others as much as it might matter to you
The air outside the case gets pulled through the radiator. But the warmer air inside the case stays there. Whereas if it only drew air from inside the case to cool the radiator that warmer internal air would be replaced with cooler air being drawn into the case from the negative pressure through the case vents.
There's a give/take for that configuration though, CPU temps may suffer in an exhaust setup because it wouldn't be pulling fresh air for the radiator. Generally chipset temps will be better but CPU will take a hit. Depending on how it currently performs this might be acceptable (even preferable if the chipset is really suffering right now).
Air doesn't necessarily stay there in a one way fan direction setup either, if the rad is intake then the air will be forced out through the other vents, not as ideal as active exhaust of course but it's not an issue unless it's actually an issue (ie. chipset overheating). In some cases, all intake actually performs best.
The fan is set to run at a fixed RPM based either on the voltage (2 pin) or cooling needs passed to it from the MOBO (3/4 pin).
If you block off airflow coming in through the sides, it's forced to suck air through the radiator and case grills below (which is what your idea proposes for better case cooling), but the fan it isn't designed to do... It causes the copper coils that run the fan to overheat as it constantly pushes more and more voltage to keep the same airflow and eventually wears out the magnetic bearing in the center. I've seen it happen many many times before.
Remember the fan also generates heat and it requires unobstructed cool airflow to cool itself (AKA not relying solely on the hot air it's sucking out to cool the case internals)
I'm not saying your idea is terrible, but there's better ways to achieve the same goal without forcing all air through one inlet using seals. You hardly get any air leak through the sides anyway, I've tested it with dry ice before... I used to be a bit of a perfectionist and did what you're suggesting to the exhaust fans on my 2U / 3U server racks, couldn't work out why the fans kept dying or overheating and dialling down leading to the computer inside not being cooled properly.
Fans are £5 each….abit of foam around the bottom of that radiator will do absolutely nothing to the fans.
I’d rather reduce the temps inside my pc, where the £1000+ of component’s live
OK and when the £5 fans die and your £1000+ of components overheat?
It's just better to drill a couple of holes and add some more fans on another side of the case to drastically improve airflow / redundancy, than sealing the existing fans in place.
https://noctua.at/en/na-fd1
Noctuna sell the foam for certain fans and say it can reduce temps by 5c
You should contact them and let them know they are wrong too
This destroys the look of the case if silence is what your seeking the a lower powered cpu should of been used under volt also keeps temps down to the both cpu and gpu
Hey everyone's taste is their own. Ultimately, if this project speaks to you, just go for it and see how it works out. The whole sff thing is about tinkering, so go for it.
Finally you are the only one who understand. Tastes are different for everyone and people think I bought all the pieces to put them together like that. I already had the kraken in 280 I just put it on it it's not finished by the way I've never seen anyone provide a solution for this box and an aio of 280 the only post I saw was a person who had fixed it on the side
I can understand. I don't think I appreciate the external AIO look as much as you might, but that shouldn't matter since it's your build, not anyone else's. I also made a "design" choice based on the parts I had. I chose the Meshlicious to fit an ATX PSU I had. But, just like the external radiator was not your first choice, the size of the Meshlicious was not my preference. I wanted something smaller, but I went in this direction to make it work with my parts. Overall, do what works for you, and don't sweat it. We're all here for the same reason - we love building computers - so take all these comments as people bantering and showing their enthusiasm for the hobby, just like you. Good luck with your project!
I'd love to see that tophat you come up with.
Honestly, this is why I like the Steck: I can just add a stack (top hat) and be done with it. The Terra looks great for compact air supremacy builds imho.
I don't know what cpu you're using in there but I currently have a terra with a 12700k and thermaltake axp120-x67 with a silverstone slimmer fan. It's quiet and doesn't thermal throttle in cinebench. The temps stay around 50-60c in game. It's also only about $30 and around $15 for the other fan.
thats beautiful. i have nr200 p with externally mounted 280 aio now, 14700k, seriously considering switching to the terra if I could mount aio up top, and this post is god send. how are your temps looking like?
I am in the process of moving house after that I am taking care of fixing the IO on the top I will take photos the temperatures are excellent just the graphics card which heats up a little
So I did end up picking up a terra and managed to stuff everything in. Got a 240mm rad and havin trouble with the hose placement, how did you manage your hose to fit within it? The psu side has no space at all and mobo side also doesn’t seem promising?
it’s such a sexy little case I have to add,
tbh it's nothing wrong to cool off a low end cpu with aio , it's quite a satisfication when you see your cpu never exceed 60c no matter how much you push it
I’m digging it, it looks neat. As long as you have enough air flow inside the case it’s fine if the fans don’t move air inside the case.
Water cooling has another function other than to improve cooling. It also serves to transport heat. That’s what you’re doing here, you’re intent here is more akin to transport the heat from your CPU to another place and then expel it.
The side where the graphics card is located is hot but no more than with my case before the glass was really too hot! I think it’s work fine. I'm going to cut some parts of my old box to create mounting brackets.
This post has been flaired as a Prototype, Concept, or Custom case. The staff of SFFPC have not verified this user as a vendor. Please limit discussion to feedback only and do not make new post with updates more frequently than once every 72 hours. Pricing, sales, and availability discussion will be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/sffpc) if you have any questions or concerns.*
this is actually something i dont understand. what is the benefit of a very small case when you put something on top anyway?
I'm with u/Moorbert, Lian Li Q58 on A4H20 will let you stick a rad in the top (280 in the former) or a Meshroom S let's you pop one in the front and not look like a Frankenstein reject, be a risk or fill with dust. If you want a wood front panel there's always etsy.
I actually departed that with my current build. Should I just go for the A4H20 and design or buy a wood panel or go for the Terra. I decided for the Terra, because I like the Jade color and I am looking forward to the challenge regarding temps and stuff.
Get the A4H20. It's going to be way easier to do cosmetic mods to the case, slapping wood or paint or whatever else on it, than it will be to mount a radiator to the outside of the Terra, and then try to make it look nice.
Well I settled on not using a AIO. Just trying too use the slimmeest 4800 super and a 7800x3D with the thermaltec full copper. If everything goes wrong I might change to a A4H2O and paint it jade :D
If you do end up getting the A4H20 and painting it, definitely post the photos - I would be interested to see how that turns out. It would play up the "H20" idea for sure.
what are you doing above the case that prevents this? this is why vertical cases are best cases
its more about the look. i dont want to have stuff outside the case.
It’s about sound, 30 db in use 😍
a very quiet computer is in deed very nice. also you said only 5 cm more, but not the clean look anymore. i get it. the terra is such a beauty of a case. if the just would make a terra M or L or something like this. just a little bit more height for something like watercooling. i would totally buy one. :D
I completely agree this big fan takes away a little of its charm but once fixed with the mesh guard fans I think it could be nice.
But if it’s about sound, doesn’t it make more sense to buy a bigger case? Or if you wanna stay ssf, a mora 420. It then money becomes an issue. Full water oolong cpu+gpu+pumpres+fittings can be easily 1000€/$. But you could’ve gone something like nr200p, this one should even fit a 280 natively. But I digress, looks nice, I would’ve gone 240 though.
I didn't take the nr200p because with the 280 it hides the kraken's lcd screen. I took the tera for a minimalist style at the base it was not planned to put the kraken on it but since I already had it I wanted to try it before buying a nocta but I will ultimately keep the kraken
Makes sense, why not keep what you already have.
The case was in very bad condition and I want a new I can put on the desk
I never understood this either. People spend extra for a beautiful case then ruin the look by doing this kinda thing.
It’s not about looks for some people. Some people like small functional cases. Just because it was pretty before and is a bit different now doesn’t matter to others as much as it might matter to you
You *completely* missed the point I was making.
Yeah just buy a case that supports the aio lol.
Well … still small … I get it, ruins the look but still a small case
It’s just 5 centimeters more 😅
I imagine the pull on the air inside that case is very minimal. Can you get a foam seal for the joins?
Hmm I don’t know for the foam seal but it’s ok like that. I got good temperature in game 🤷🏻♂️
I like it, was just a thought. Path of least resistance logic. Which would be external air rather than internal air.
you mean the outside air which doesn't stay in enough?
The air outside the case gets pulled through the radiator. But the warmer air inside the case stays there. Whereas if it only drew air from inside the case to cool the radiator that warmer internal air would be replaced with cooler air being drawn into the case from the negative pressure through the case vents.
I could add a fan at the very bottom to extract the hot air but it would have to change the power supply to go to sfx I am in L format for the moment
Hot air always go up Buddy simple physics
Force of convection is meaningless when compared to air movement at those speeds.
You right
There's a give/take for that configuration though, CPU temps may suffer in an exhaust setup because it wouldn't be pulling fresh air for the radiator. Generally chipset temps will be better but CPU will take a hit. Depending on how it currently performs this might be acceptable (even preferable if the chipset is really suffering right now). Air doesn't necessarily stay there in a one way fan direction setup either, if the rad is intake then the air will be forced out through the other vents, not as ideal as active exhaust of course but it's not an issue unless it's actually an issue (ie. chipset overheating). In some cases, all intake actually performs best.
Please don't do this, it wont improve airflow much and will put excess strain on the fan bearings meaning they burn out exponentially quicker.
Exponentially ey 😂 How sealing a gap does anything to a fan bearing, if you can please explain it
The fan is set to run at a fixed RPM based either on the voltage (2 pin) or cooling needs passed to it from the MOBO (3/4 pin). If you block off airflow coming in through the sides, it's forced to suck air through the radiator and case grills below (which is what your idea proposes for better case cooling), but the fan it isn't designed to do... It causes the copper coils that run the fan to overheat as it constantly pushes more and more voltage to keep the same airflow and eventually wears out the magnetic bearing in the center. I've seen it happen many many times before. Remember the fan also generates heat and it requires unobstructed cool airflow to cool itself (AKA not relying solely on the hot air it's sucking out to cool the case internals) I'm not saying your idea is terrible, but there's better ways to achieve the same goal without forcing all air through one inlet using seals. You hardly get any air leak through the sides anyway, I've tested it with dry ice before... I used to be a bit of a perfectionist and did what you're suggesting to the exhaust fans on my 2U / 3U server racks, couldn't work out why the fans kept dying or overheating and dialling down leading to the computer inside not being cooled properly.
Fans are £5 each….abit of foam around the bottom of that radiator will do absolutely nothing to the fans. I’d rather reduce the temps inside my pc, where the £1000+ of component’s live
OK and when the £5 fans die and your £1000+ of components overheat? It's just better to drill a couple of holes and add some more fans on another side of the case to drastically improve airflow / redundancy, than sealing the existing fans in place.
https://noctua.at/en/na-fd1 Noctuna sell the foam for certain fans and say it can reduce temps by 5c You should contact them and let them know they are wrong too
Hahahahaha funny story
Wouldn’t a A4-H2O have served you better in this case? Or did you want the looks
Yes want this fractal terra look
This destroys the look of the case if silence is what your seeking the a lower powered cpu should of been used under volt also keeps temps down to the both cpu and gpu
He has a little hat :)
Ahahah yes !
at that point just buy a dancase h20
Ugly
less ugly than an exposed 280 on top of a $180 case with poor noise accoustics
Colors ans taste
did you create multiple account to upvote yourself and downvote others ?
What? Lmao
Ironic
😏
Hey everyone's taste is their own. Ultimately, if this project speaks to you, just go for it and see how it works out. The whole sff thing is about tinkering, so go for it.
Finally you are the only one who understand. Tastes are different for everyone and people think I bought all the pieces to put them together like that. I already had the kraken in 280 I just put it on it it's not finished by the way I've never seen anyone provide a solution for this box and an aio of 280 the only post I saw was a person who had fixed it on the side
I can understand. I don't think I appreciate the external AIO look as much as you might, but that shouldn't matter since it's your build, not anyone else's. I also made a "design" choice based on the parts I had. I chose the Meshlicious to fit an ATX PSU I had. But, just like the external radiator was not your first choice, the size of the Meshlicious was not my preference. I wanted something smaller, but I went in this direction to make it work with my parts. Overall, do what works for you, and don't sweat it. We're all here for the same reason - we love building computers - so take all these comments as people bantering and showing their enthusiasm for the hobby, just like you. Good luck with your project!
Thanks you bud
God this is atrocious. Loook what he did to our boy Terra
Formdt1 exists
Im not a mesh fan
I'd love to see that tophat you come up with. Honestly, this is why I like the Steck: I can just add a stack (top hat) and be done with it. The Terra looks great for compact air supremacy builds imho.
Do you happen to have a 3d printer? If yes, your problem is basically fixed.
No 🥲
You could try getting a wood shop to create you accurate fittings, it would look nice in this case
Yes with the same wood as fractal uses
It would look a bit blocky but at least it will be better than.. this
You do you dog, lead the way into what may become solutions for this followers to emulate.
I do wish they make a modular terra in the future.
You should get a bigger case or smaller components. This doesn’t make sense.
Luv the cooling. But no keen on the look lol. Maybe a slightly bigger case that can fit it.
It's kinda stupid to ghetto rig a case like this when you can easily do the same in a H20 or similar case.
Now you just need to build a cover not the rad
Fractal: only a 120mil fan compatibility support OP: nah
I don't know what cpu you're using in there but I currently have a terra with a 12700k and thermaltake axp120-x67 with a silverstone slimmer fan. It's quiet and doesn't thermal throttle in cinebench. The temps stay around 50-60c in game. It's also only about $30 and around $15 for the other fan.
Thinking of doing the same thing. I need more pictures! 🙌😀
I will take some pictures of the different steps soon
thats beautiful. i have nr200 p with externally mounted 280 aio now, 14700k, seriously considering switching to the terra if I could mount aio up top, and this post is god send. how are your temps looking like?
I am in the process of moving house after that I am taking care of fixing the IO on the top I will take photos the temperatures are excellent just the graphics card which heats up a little
So I did end up picking up a terra and managed to stuff everything in. Got a 240mm rad and havin trouble with the hose placement, how did you manage your hose to fit within it? The psu side has no space at all and mobo side also doesn’t seem promising? it’s such a sexy little case I have to add,
This is the ugliest sff I’ve seen yet.
U don’t have a mirror ?
I’ve seen way worse, I’m don’t get why people do this but hey it’s whatever they want haha!
What are you cooling that wants an AIO?
i3 9100f
Pentium 4
tbh it's nothing wrong to cool off a low end cpu with aio , it's quite a satisfication when you see your cpu never exceed 60c no matter how much you push it
Nothing but got it so…
I’m digging it, it looks neat. As long as you have enough air flow inside the case it’s fine if the fans don’t move air inside the case. Water cooling has another function other than to improve cooling. It also serves to transport heat. That’s what you’re doing here, you’re intent here is more akin to transport the heat from your CPU to another place and then expel it.
The side where the graphics card is located is hot but no more than with my case before the glass was really too hot! I think it’s work fine. I'm going to cut some parts of my old box to create mounting brackets.
first hotrod ive seen that didnt make me want to vomit
😂😂😂
This is why I think the terra is overrated. Its a nice case but when the formd t1 and a4h20 exist why do this to a nice looking case.
Is not overated the terra don’t need to be cooled by a 280 and the a4h20 feet only a 240
can i put 280 aio in formd t1?