PC gaming Tech → Putting together my upgrade and the budget is in...

Sweet!!!

Had some issues with mounting the radiator. Rad+Fans inside the top of the case left about 1/4" overhang that prevented me from plugging the main power into my board. So I put fans on top of the case (under the top "fins") and radiator inside the case. Now there's plenty of room, I've just gotta mod the top of the case so crap can't fall into the fans.

Pictures are incoming soon.

Here are a few pics, mostly showing how I had to set up the fans and radiator in order for them to fit well.

My case is now in need of a mod, but that shouldn't be too difficult. Just throw some black mess or honeycomb material up top there to act as a fan guard.

I'm yet to tinker with my BIOS settings for OC, last night was filled with downloading drivers, etc. I was able to dl and run CPU-Z and CPUID HW monitor while I ran a Windows Experience Index (7.7). At stock settings, the CPU was running at 4.2GHz during the test (weird, imo), and temps got up to 50c (29-30c at idle). I'll be grabbing Prime95 today and messing with my BIOS setting a little, I'd like to sit around 4.5ish GHz when it's all said and done.

I've read complaints about the radiator fans on the H100 being really loud, I've got mine plugged into the fan controller, and when they're turned down, they're actually much quieter than my old set up...when they're on full blast it's another story, especially with them being mounted outside the case.

Overall I'm really pleased with this setup, and I'll make a couple more posts with some OC results and benchmarks, if anyone is interested.

That honeycomb mesh under it is seriously hurting the airflow of the fans. It seems there would be enough room to put them on the inside, no?

No, there isn't room.

The motherboard will mount (as you can see in the top photograph), but the radiator hangs over the top edge of the motherboard just enough to block the 8-pin power connector (white connector seen just under the radiator in the cooling block pic).

Taking off that honeycomb mesh is no issue, a Dremel would make quick work of it. Just make a rectangular hole just inside the pre-drilled mounting holes for the radiator/fans.

Highest OC I can boot Windows at currently.

I'm about to run stress test and see where it goes.

Holy crap! Am I reading that right, 1.2V for a 4.6ghz overclock? Very nice!

Yeah any higher voltage wouldn't boot windows. Any higher multiplier wouldn't boot windows. And any higher bus speed with lower multiplier wouldn't boot.

This looks like the max for me at my current knowledge level.

I'm starting Prime95 now.

Oh, well I hope its stable for you. A 4.6ghz ivy bridge chip should preform like a boss.

On a side note ever since learning what P95 was created for and then my teachers immediate comments on overclocking I chuckle(in a good way) seeing it used for stress testing overclocks.

5 min into stress test, I'm still good.

Max temp 77c @ core #1.

Most cores are staying within the 68c-72c range. Core #1 is sticking between 74c-76c.

Edit: Got a rounding error from Worker #2 fifteen minutes into the test (I assume that's the worker assigned to core #1). Got Windows to boot at 1.205v, going to run my test again.

You're probably only going to manage ~20fps in WoW dude at that clock.

Hopefully you can get up to 5.0ghz to get some better frame rates at max settings.

I know right...Sucks that shit is so demanding.

I better stick to Minecraft with this setup.

Minecraft is even worse!

Hopefully you get a stable OC, without having to lower the clock, its so nice to have an overclocked SB/IB.

I keep getting an error from good ol' Worker #2.

Second test lasted 17 minutes...I dropped the clock to 4.59 with the same 1.2v, trying that out.

I will "settle" for 4.5, but I'm trying my damndest to get that 4.6, lol

4.5ghz is still good, my 2500k is at 4.5ghz. Still blazing fast, and yours will be about 4% faster than mine at that speed.

4.55GHz, Prime95 stable for 1 hour.

Going to test it overnight while I sleep tonight...just to be certain.

What case is that? Is that a Thor?

Si. It is a Thor, and it's amazing. I'm pretty sure it was you and/or Ghastlyone that put me on to Rosewill cases, whoever it was, I'm really glad you guys did.

And the H100 won't fit inside with the fans? Are you running four fans in push/pull? I find that hard to believe, as my H100 w/2 fans fits nicely inside my HAF922, which is a mid-tower.

I have my Thor V2 but haven't moved everything over yet. I might need to do that quickly in case I need to return the case...

The problem was more than likely with the location of the 8-pin power connector on the motherboard, not with the space at the top of the case.

All the other components would have fit fine, but that connector is about an inch higher on the new board than on my old one.

I will take a better pic of it right now and post it for you to take a look at.

I top mounted my CoolerMaster Seidon 120 unit but then in my case , Corsair Vengence 70 , space isn't an issue

It'll be an easy fix with a Dremel, some black mesh, and about 18 square inches of black honeycomb.

I actually like the way the fans look up top...once I can do some finishing work on them I think it will be pretty unique and quite appealing.

i'm wondering if you can turn the part of the cooler that sits on the cpu 180 degrees and move the radiator closer to the front of the case

That would be possible, but it'd still take case modifications. I'd have to drill holes in the ceiling of the case, and possibly install a support for the front part of the radiator if I moved it any further forward.

The thing is, with the way the Thor v2 is designed, the fans don't actually protrude above the top of the case. The plastic housing that holds the louvers is raised about an inch and a half above the top of the actual steel framework of the case. I could remove the two remaining louvers and lay some fan protection right on top. If I did it right, you wouldn't even be able to tell the fans were there at all.

Hey man, I just put my build together and was able to get the H100 to play nice with an EATX motherboard, which has power pins along the top as well. I was able to mount the H100 more towards the side of the case instead of using the holes for the 2x 120mm fans.

Here's a pic--apologies for the quality. I'm going to get some better shots tonight with a real camera.

Nice pr0n,...errr,....I mean PC pix,.....

I'm trying to keep all the pics in my MOAB thread, but I know McBrain had had problems with the H100 playing nice with his Thor, so I wanted to post my solution.