Alphacool Monsta 80mm 240 rad in CM 690 II

[Scoob]

Hi all,

As per title, I'm wondering if an Alphacool Monsta 80mm thick 240 rad will fit in the bottom of a CoolerMaster 690 II case - top fitting isn't even a consideration of course

I've done some measuring and it looks like I have room to spare with the lower drive tray removed.

I want to basically go 2x 120mm fans up to 20mm thick, then a pair of 120mm Shrouds that are 20mm thick, then finally the Monsta rad which is 80mm thick. Seems like I should not have a problem, however not having the rad etc. in front of me it's impossible to tell if there are any quirks I'm unaware of.

Basically my plan is for a little project to help future-proof my rig in regard to it's task when it's no longer my gamer, but also to play with my loop now cos I'm bored lol.

I plan to go one of two ways with the loop. Either:

i) Pump/Res > Main external 1080 rad > GPU's > 240 rad > CPU

or

ii) Pump/Res > Main external 1080 rad > CPU > 240 rad > GPU's

In either case the 240 rad should make a good dent in the temps of the respective device that preceeds it.

I am happy with my current setup, one 1080 rad cooling everything, but I wanted to experiment with getting some heat out between blocks so to speak. My current loop goes:

Pump/Res > Main external 1080 rad > GPU's > CPU

As I use parallel flow on the GPU's flow is nothing short of excellent, but the temperature added by those GPU's at full chat gaming do of course reduce the thermal conductivity of the coolant passing through the GPU. Not a problem with typical ambient temps of no more than 20c in the cooler weather. However just yesterday - and it's not that hot in the Uk yet - I was hitting the 30's ambient in the small room in which my computers sit. For the first time ever in gaming I saw my CPU hit the low 60's and my GPU's got into the 40's!

I'm also considering a better CPU block as well as lapping my 2500k - which I totally forgot to do previously. My EK HF Supreme is an OK CPU block, but I think there are better ones out there - I'd like an all-copper ideally, feel free to recommend

TL DR: I want to play with my loop

Scoob.

 

[tinytomlogan]

Best bet is go look in the review I did AND look at the Snow Drift rig I built in one. I think its going to be tight down there even with a single set of fans but deffo worth double checking in those vids dude.

 

[Scoob]

Best bet is go look in the review I did AND look at the Snow Drift rig I built in one. I think its going to be tight down there even with a single set of fans but deffo worth double checking in those vids dude.

Cheers Tom, I'll look up those vids & double check. TBH I'm sure a thinner rad would fit and work just fine if I were compromised vertically rather than something else. However, I really want to play with one of those monstas

Scoob.

 

[jamesriley94]

When I had my old 690, and I was looking for modding ideas, I found it would be really easy to fit a 360mm rad in the top of the 690.
Couple of cuts in the top panel, and cut the external HDD dock/tray out of the top, and you'd easily get it in.

One of those and a monsta in the floor, and you should be alright without needing an external rad.

I think it will probably depend on your motherboard and GPUs more about whether the monsta will fit. I'd have thought that would run over the corner of the motherboard

 

[Scoob]

I just re-watched the Snow Drift vid. I think the space in the lower area is somewhat more compromised than you'd think at first glance. That front fan made things a little tight for Tom, and I too have that fan in place and want to keep it.

As I mentioned, I want to use just one set of fans in push, but I will be using shrouds too, so I'll be needing the same space as you would for push/pull overall. I think an 80mm Monsta would be too tight in this instance, though a 60mm might work well. I will think further.

Btw Tom, if you're still reading this... I'm surprised you don't use fan shrouds in your builds, unless I've missed those vids. For me they firstly make things quieter, as there is less turbulent air due to the gap between the spinning fins of the fans and the fins of the Rad. This is turn enhances cooling when using good SP fans. On my first Water Cooled build, which was a friends PC, we actually made our own shroud for his huge 1080 rad with good results. Now it's easy to just buy them, I myself use 4x 180mm shrouds on my external rad.

Anyway, thanks for the input, I'm going to keep pondering and maybe do some more measuring. It seems that the end tanks and where the fittings go will be critical in getting a good fit here. Ideally I'd have wanted the fittings at the PSU end, but I don't think that will be possible. All good fun though, likely I'll end up with even more spares

Scoob.

 

[Deejeta]

my only issue would be if you ever wanted have a second gpu in your loop. that extra 20mm in height with the radiator may encroach upon the cards.
wouldnt a rx360 suffice?

 

[Kei]

It's perfectly possible, but you will need a non-modular psu in order to utilise the factory screw locations. I've seen an RX in push pull (110mm) down the bottom before. You will also need to remove or replace the front intake fan with a slim model.

To give you an example, this is mine with an XSPC EX240 35mm thick + 25mm fans and guards (+5mm) and 122mm of reservoir on top and the reservoir still has about 10mm of space above to the drive bays. The space up to the first card slot on my system is 110mm. (should be the same across all ATX boards) Provided any card that low down doesn't exceed 150mm in length, including power connections, you'll be fine. Excluding fan shrouds, I'd be able to fit one with a single set of fans on the top with my sound card still in place. Only the front fan would have to be changed. It would be extremely tight on the second pcie lane making crossfire/sli slightly difficult as a normal 11" card would cover most of the one fan. Personally, I'd go with a UT60. (and will be at some point)

 

[Scoob]

my only issue would be if you ever wanted have a second gpu in your loop. that extra 20mm in height with the radiator may encroach upon the cards.
wouldnt a rx360 suffice?

Hi,

I'm already running two 680's so I've measured with those in place. Only 240's fit in this case unfortunately, as I have a good 360 rad spare. A thin 240 would fit neatly in the roof, but I don't want a thin 240

@ Kei - thanks for the picture.

My thought currently is to remove the front fan, that'll give me more wiggle room and I can then readily have the fittings that end, giving a little more clearance from the PSU.

The major plus of having my loop currently external - so the rad, fans, pump & res are all in a separate chassis - is that my case literally just has the PC components in. The wiring and pipe-work are neat and clean.

I'm going to grab a stack of my spare 120mm fans and squeeze them in, lined up properly, so I can get an idea of placement. I've done a little of this already, and it seems that a 45mm 240 rad will fit easily, with a 60 and an 80 looking at least possible. I will investigate further when I get the chance.

The only "bad" thing so far is that the lower GPU may slightly obstruct the airflow from the rad, as I'll be drawing air in the bottom and venting upwards. Still, I have fitting points for two 120mm fans in the side panel of the 690 II, currently unused but will aid getting the air out if need be.

Just need to double check things really, it'll be a fairly thick rad assembly as I'll be going Fan (25mm) + Shroud (25mm) + Rad (up to 80mm) but the shroud makes for excellent air flow & quietens things down - it is key for me that things remain quiet. I know I could put smaller rads in with ease, get some more powerful fans running at 12v and have good cooling, but extra noise is unacceptable for this build.

I think this might be doable with an 80mm Monsta rad, I just need to confirm my measurements properly.

This build will ultimately be re-tasked as my media box or possibly my gateway/workhorse PC - as such it'll be running 100% internal loop, with that rad tasked to cool likely just the CPU, but possibly a moddest discrete GPU too. My main external assembly will of course cool whatever my next gamer is...

Cheers,

Scoob.