Cooltek W2

[Finners]

Are those fans on the radiators blowing the hot air in to the case?

yes I have them pulling cool air in from outside of the case, through the radiators and into the case.

 

[Caring1]

yes I have them pulling cool air in from outside of the case, through the radiators and into the case.

That's cool, it's your rig, if you want the fans blowing hot air in to the case, then you can.
I would have set it up differently and had air blowing out through them to expel hot air though, and a fan only to draw cool air in at the bottom.

 

[bkvamme]

I don't have an exact measurement with the radiator I have in the bottom now as its just impossible to get anything in there to measure with but its really really tight, I cannot use my USB 3.0 header on my motherboard as there isn't room. The power switch connectors and USB 2 headers are fine though. Just install them first before putting the radiator in.

I have a couple of pictures from when I tried using a really think rad in the bottom of the case which should hopefully give you a better idea of clearances.

Ok, that's perfect. My motherboard should be fine then, as the USB3 header is on the side. The measurements were extremely helpful. The bottom rad in this picture is a 60mm right? So if I opted for a 45mm rad, it should be OK, but would end up covering the bottom PCI-e port.

 

[bkvamme]

That's cool, it's your rig, if you want the fans blowing hot air in to the case, then you can.
I would have set it up differently and had air blowing out through them to expel hot air though, and a fan only to draw cool air in at the bottom.

Been doing a lot of thinking about this aswell. Difficult to have positive air pressure and still retain ideal cooling.

Ideally you would have the rads push the hot air out, but if you have two rads doing this, and the rear fan pulling air in you will have negative air pressure and a lot of dust gathering in the computer. Unless you set the rear fan a high RPM, and the rad fans to low RPMs. Really difficult to get this right

 

[Finners]

That's cool, it's your rig, if you want the fans blowing hot air in to the case, then you can.
I would have set it up differently and had air blowing out through them to expel hot air though, and a fan only to draw cool air in at the bottom.

I see your thinking but if you had the front fans exhausting there is no real venting on the front of the case so the hot air would accumulate and just end up being sucked back into the case by the fans at the bottom, I dont think any situation is perfect with this case due to its small size. Having used it now I wished they had kept the same size or maybe a little bigger and put fans at the top instead of the bottom.

Ok, that's perfect. My motherboard should be fine then, as the USB3 header is on the side. The measurements were extremely helpful. The bottom rad in this picture is a 60mm right? So if I opted for a 45mm rad, it should be OK, but would end up covering the bottom PCI-e port.

It would fit and only you can decide if blocking slots is a tolerable compromise, in that picture with the fat rad I put up it doesn't even have any fans on it so thats another 25mm covering the motherboard. I dropped down from a 60mm Low FPI rad to a more standard 30mm rad and my temps only increased about 2 degrees

 

[bkvamme]

Got my case, and put in my air cooled (for now) rig. I am really glad that I purchased the case before I ordered my water cooling parts, as a lot of the components I chose would simply not fit. Btw, the specification on the Jonsbo/Cooltek page is wrong. You have a total of 345mm without any fans, and 320mm with a normal 25mm fan installed. I installed my Sapphire R9 280X Tri-X Vapor-X which is 308mm long, and there is still some (not much) room to spare with fans installed.

Some feedback for the water cooling guys:

The 120mm fan outlet can indeed support a 120mm rad, but there is only 20mm clearance on the top. The top of my radiator was 22mm, so no-go. I have to install it with the ports down, which will steal the top PCI-e slot, but will be OK for the GPU.

The bottom 2x120mm slot can support a 30mm rad + 25mm fan without any problems. It will take the bottom PCI-e slot, so if you are going for Crossfire/SLI you have to watercool the card to avoid the cooler crashing with the fans. Even with a waterblock, there is not a lot of room to go on. Be aware of any deep ports at the bottom of the motherboard, as these will be covered up. For normal USB2/Audio connectors you should be fine, but SATA/USB3 will not fit.

The front 2x140mm slots can support a 30mm rad + 25mm fan without any problems. This leaves out enough space for a "normal" length GPU (10.5in/267mm) with still some room to spare.

The top of the case is easily removable, as it is attached with screws (with rubber grommits ). On the motherboard side, you do not have much space to go on. I have around 12-15mm to the motherboard. I will probably install two low profile 120mm fans (Scythe Slipstream 120x12mm) if temps goes wild. These fans will not be visible on the inside of the case, as the fans are low enough to be hidden behind the panel mounts.

For reservoir/pump, you will not have a lot of space in the second compartement. Width is limited and there are only two places to mount a free-standing pump/reservoir. A combined pump/res combo is almost a must, and as I wanted to keep the 5.25'' bay for my optical drive, I went for a XSPC DDC Tank Reservoir, which fits perfectly at the bottom or mounted on the SSD drive cage. Water cooling tubes + non-modular PSU = headache.

For routing, I will be using a pass-through fitting from the 2x140mm radiator at the top of the case, as the angle from the radiator port to the top rubber pass-through will be to sharp. At the bottom of the case, you should be able to use a 90deg angle fitting from the radiator through the rubber pass-through without any problems at all.

All inn all, I will be able to completely fill up the case with radiators. I am however concerned about the thermals, as two of the radiators will push warm air into the case. That's why I have prepared for the worst with the top 120mm fans. Mouting a 240mm radiator grill will make it look pretty nice from the outside aswell.

Overall, extremely satisfied with this case, and I can't wait until I start mounting the water cooling.

 

[Nizr]

Got my case, and put in my air cooled (for now) rig. I am really glad that I purchased the case before I ordered my water cooling parts, as a lot of the components I chose would simply not fit. Btw, the specification on the Jonsbo/Cooltek page is wrong. You have a total of 345mm without any fans, and 320mm with a normal 25mm fan installed. I installed my Sapphire R9 280X Tri-X Vapor-X which is 308mm long, and there is still some (not much) room to spare with fans installed.

Some feedback for the water cooling guys:

The 120mm fan outlet can indeed support a 120mm rad, but there is only 20mm clearance on the top. The top of my radiator was 22mm, so no-go. I have to install it with the ports down, which will steal the top PCI-e slot, but will be OK for the GPU.

The bottom 2x120mm slot can support a 30mm rad + 25mm fan without any problems. It will take the bottom PCI-e slot, so if you are going for Crossfire/SLI you have to watercool the card to avoid the cooler crashing with the fans. Even with a waterblock, there is not a lot of room to go on. Be aware of any deep ports at the bottom of the motherboard, as these will be covered up. For normal USB2/Audio connectors you should be fine, but SATA/USB3 will not fit.

The front 2x140mm slots can support a 30mm rad + 25mm fan without any problems. This leaves out enough space for a "normal" length GPU (10.5in/267mm) with still some room to spare.

The top of the case is easily removable, as it is attached with screws (with rubber grommits ). On the motherboard side, you do not have much space to go on. I have around 12-15mm to the motherboard. I will probably install two low profile 120mm fans (Scythe Slipstream 120x12mm) if temps goes wild. These fans will not be visible on the inside of the case, as the fans are low enough to be hidden behind the panel mounts.

For reservoir/pump, you will not have a lot of space in the second compartement. Width is limited and there are only two places to mount a free-standing pump/reservoir. A combined pump/res combo is almost a must, and as I wanted to keep the 5.25'' bay for my optical drive, I went for a XSPC DDC Tank Reservoir, which fits perfectly at the bottom or mounted on the SSD drive cage. Water cooling tubes + non-modular PSU = headache.

For routing, I will be using a pass-through fitting from the 2x140mm radiator at the top of the case, as the angle from the radiator port to the top rubber pass-through will be to sharp. At the bottom of the case, you should be able to use a 90deg angle fitting from the radiator through the rubber pass-through without any problems at all.

All inn all, I will be able to completely fill up the case with radiators. I am however concerned about the thermals, as two of the radiators will push warm air into the case. That's why I have prepared for the worst with the top 120mm fans. Mouting a 240mm radiator grill will make it look pretty nice from the outside aswell.

Overall, extremely satisfied with this case, and I can't wait until I start mounting the water cooling.

This is great info! Please get back with temps and if you did cut hole at the top for fans!

 

[bkvamme]

Hi,

I will definitly cut a hole for fans in the top of the case. I will be using this radiator grill (http://www.coolerkit.com/shop/phobya-radiator-grill-3076p.html) as I do not trust my skills with the jigsaw.

I have not mounted the water cooling yet, but I assume that the temps will be bad. As I will fill up all current mounts with radiators (120, 2x120, 2x140) the airflow through the case will not be good, and the 2x120 and 2x140 will draw in a lot more hot air than the single 120mm fan can push out, especially considering it has to go through the rad. I've changed my mind on the fans though, will probably go for the Prolimatech Ultra Sleek Vortex (https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-011-PL). It has significantly better airflow for the low RPMs.

Cable management in this case is a breeze, but space is confined (obviously). The reservoir fits perfectly next to the power supply, and was a very good choice for this case. I'll upload some pictures of the aircooled build when it's done, but it's starting to look real nice, even without the watercooling.

One thing anyone who's considering installing radiators should consider is the width and height of the radiator, not only the depth. Especially the side with the fittings, as you do not have much height to go on. If you are purchasing everything new (as I am), do a lot of research and find measurements on the manufacturers site. I am opting for the Alphacool NexXxos ST30 2x140 and 2x120. In the rear I will be using an EK-CoolStream RAD XT (120), but this will overlap the motherboard a bit.

Man, building in a small case is tricky, but extremely rewarding in the end

 

[bkvamme]

Just as a heads up, I am posting a buildlog using this case at overclock.net.

http://www.overclock.net/forum/newestpost/1555224

Could give any potential (or existing) buyers a sense of what this case is capable of