Help with new case for wc system + wc question

[Golden Dragoon]

I have come to realise that my Antec slk3000b is too small for what I have in it, I recently bought an audigy 2 zs with an internal io box, my previous sound card had an external io box and thus didn't cause any problems, however this new one sits right where my wc pump is and basicly dosn't fit properly lol (note that even though it looks like it wouldn't cool very well, this is an old photo, whilst the tubing is still in the same place all my wireing is hidden away now, and I get good temps as I have a 120mm side fan blowing on the gpu and mobo pwm & nb, and have a 120mm front intake and the psu and rad have 120's as well.)

I was looking on scan and saw that the Akasa Infinity is quite a reasonable price, and was wondering if it may be a good upgrade from what I currently have. Also I noticed on the hexus article on it that it has a 120mmx2 opening on the top for a rad, would getting a 120x2 rad and running it without fans in that position help my wc setup very much? (I don't want to add aditional fans if I can help it as my system is almost silent except in games where the 2900's fan kiscks in a bit more)

However I was also looking at the sharkoon rebel 12 (I built my mums c2d system in a rebel 9 economy, and was surprised at the space avalible, though it lacked 120mm fan mounts at the back ) because there are countless other cases arround and I will admit to being clueless on this matter, I tend to pick a case for it's looks and if it has 120mm fan mounts, rather than think about internal space, which is how I ended up in the situation of squeezing everything I have into this rather small case lol

One thing, I don't like flashy cases, I prefer the rather understated look in a case, a few of my friends didn't even realise how fast my system was until playing a game on it as it looks completely stock, and rather (boring\dull\understated) on the outside with no bright leds or anything like that that you usualy find on gamers\high performance pc's.

Edit: I really like the look of this case: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/EZCoo...Design-w-o-PSU However It will likely be too small plus mentions 80mm fans
Oh and the water looks a bit mucky in that pic, but I took that pic about 10 mins before flushing the system and replacing the fluid, and sorting out my wireing as it had been running for 6 months at that point, don't know why I didn't take a pic after that but it has been a few months since than so will need flushing again sometime soon, so am hoping to have a new case to move it all to.

[Pob255]

I'd say that both the Sharkoon Rebel 12 and Akasa Infinity would both be good choises for a lower cost case for water cooling.
The infinity's 2x120mm top fan mount makes sense for a 2x120mm rad which would probably be better than a single 120mm rad, if anything you should be able to use 2 lower sound volume fans which would probably drop the total noise not increase it.
Will all depend on the fans you use.
Also the Akasa Infinti ZOR the only difference between them seems to be the Zor has 3 led fans instead of 3 non-led fans and a side window, if you like thoes.

The main bad points of the rebel 12, lower quality (but if you're happy with the quality of the rebel 9 this shouldn't be a big issue)
No fans come with it.
The only palce without modding for a rad would be on the side panel, not the best of places with connected hoesing.
good points
If you're happy to cut holes/mod the there's plenty of places a rad could go
140mm fan mounts
cheap.

Also the old Xclio/A+ Windtunnel Extreme V2 although that would need modding to get the rads and such in. (plenty of space just not the best layout for water cooling.)

More expensive options
Xcilo Blackhawk
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xclio...-Black-w-o-PSU
Not much in the way of reviews, one here if you can read turkish
http://www.pckoloji.com/kasalar/5747...#content_start
Main points of intrest, built in fan controllers
All LEDs can be turned off.
top vents come with 2x120mm fan but going by the pics you can get larger fans in there (200mm my guess)


Bad points:
bit pricey
need to take care when removeing the front fans, which you have to do to access the hard drive bays, the reason is that the fans are connected by a 6pin plug that can be damaged if you're not careful.

[Golden Dragoon]

I did notice that my antec had far superior quality compared to the rebel 9, and I would prefer something a bit more "solid" but at the sort of price point I have there isn't much I can do about that lol.

I am seriously considering the Infinity, prehaps getting a 120x2 and keeping my 120 and getting 2 or more papst fans as well would be the best solution, as I am very happy with the noise level of them.

[Webby]

Yeah I think the Infinity would be a great case for your sort of system, I would certainly add a 240mm rad to the top and use a couple of fans keep your 120mm as well, you might even want to consider water cooling your graphics card as well that would cut down on extra fan noise during gaming.

If you decide to watercool the graphics then your options are to get a discrete block like the Swiftech MCW60 and some ramsinks or to get a full cover block like this http://www.aqua-pcs.co.uk/ek-water-b...sale-837-p.asp which is an absolute bargain price.

[Golden Dragoon]

There is a danger den gpu block hidden in that sock on at the bottom of my case, I never got round to fitting it to the 2900 when I upgraded my gfx card, and couldn't be bothered removing it from the loop lol, I used to get quite acceptable temps on my old gfx card whilst gaming when I had it installed.

[Golden Dragoon]

Just an update, after procrastinating for long enough I decided that today I was going to seriously look up various cases to find out which would suit me the best, after looking up dozens of reviews and trying to find the best prices I shortlisted the Akasa infiniti zor and the Coolermaster HAF 932, then I set about looking up the best prices, the CM though a nice case and my preference if there was a small enough price difference ended up being slightly too expensive considering I found the Infiniti for £65 delivered plus another £35 for a twin rad and barbs, so it is winging its way to me now.
I will update this with photos of my rebuild of this system, and hopefully judicious use of cable ties will make this look mint which considering it has a window it will need to be.