680X Fitment questions

I'm looking to switch cases from the Vengeance C70 to the Crystal 680x

I'm hoping that perhaps this case will work as I'm trying to get away from my "green monster" build. Please also forgive me for not using Corsair stuff -but until recently they didn't have their pro line of water cooling out... so... I used EK stuff.

Here is what I currently have in it;

MSI X399 Gaming Pro Carbon AC running a Threadripper 1950x

AMD Vega Frontier

EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 PSU (200MM long)

The cooling for this setup in the old case is:

EK-CoolStream CE 280 (Dual) - Dimensions: 320 x 145 x 45mm (L x W x H) with two EK-Vardar EVO 140ER Black BB (500-2000rpm) fans

EK-CoolStream PE 240 (Dual) - Dimensions: 280 x 130 x 38mm (L x W x H) with two EK-Vardar EVO 120ER Black BB (500-2200rpm) fans

EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM (incl. sleeved pump) pump and res.

Add 2 additional case fans; one on the lower side window intake and one exhaust above the MMB at the back - these are just the original non PWM case fans that came with the c70. Funny thing is that the top rad is the CE280 and the vardar fans are on the OUTSIDE of the case at the top... only way it would fit...

With respect to the Crystal 680x; will this stuff fit?

I know that the pump and res probably have to go in the back accessory area; funny enough the "corsair configurator for the new hydroX series shows this too here "bfZatf". My main concern in the radiators; the EK radiators are not the slim ones but both are thick. The CE280 - Dimensions: 320 x 145 x 45mm (L x W x H) and the PE240 - Dimensions: 280 x 130 x 38mm (L x W x H) with the vardar fans also another 25mm thick on top of the rad. Will there be enough room for the radiators + fans with this case or am I looking at having to switch radiators out to the skinny type which may be a deal breaker for me.

looking at the images from the corsair site for the 680x; I'm thinking of putting the CE280 on the top with the PE240 in the front - not totally sure if evertying will line up and if there will be a problem with the thickness of the rads and fans at the top and sides of the case. Perhaps I could put the ce280 at the bottom of the case if this is an issue...

Your thoughts guys; will this work?

You are going to have a couple of options. First, either radiator should be able to go on the front rail with one set of fans --- assuming your Vega is standard PCB in length (~270mm or the about the same width as the motherboard). There should be around 105mm of clearance from the front rail to the leading edge of the motherboard.

The bottom can take the 280x45mm +25mm fan. I have a 280x30 in push-pull plus 6-7mm of gaskets for ~87mm total and I am just barely crossing the bottom of the motherboard where the plugs become an issue. You should be just below the edge and they will still be clean inserts for you.

The one that may poses a problem is the top mounted 280x45. it's going to be really close with the large VRM heatsink on the board and it most surely will require some strange routing for whatever additional 4/8 pin ATX power cable comes out of the top left. I have strong doubts this will work.

That leaves you with:

a) front 280/top 240 (reverse flow or standard front in/top out)

b) bottom 280 intake/front 240 intake

c) bottom 280/top 240 - this can be run as intake or exhaust with the front/rear doing the to the opposite. I have run it in a more traditional front/bottom intake, top/rear exhaust as well, but this comes in worse than the first mentioned combinations.

I think most people will gravitate toward (b). There are some advantages. It keeps the 280 on a clean intake path without glass. Oddly glass is not as permeable as a mesh screen. It lets both radiators be used as intake which likely results in the lowest possible CPU/GPU/coolant temps in a dual component system. If you are using RGB fan, it will keep the prettier side in view from most angles.

That said, I have the sister case to the 680x, the 740 and have been running all of these combinations over the last two years with dual 280s. I have run reverse flow (rear/bottom in free, front/top radiator out). It was sucessful, but ultimately the ability of the two radiator restricted openings to move out the case heat is the limitation. That doesn't mean it was hot. Just 2-3C warmer than when the radiators are intake. This year I have been playing around with choice ©. I bought a 2080 Ti that was 5mm too long and lost my ability to front mount the radiators. That lead to this and to my utter surprise, the top/bottom intake radiator, front/rear exhaust is the most effective combination I have tested. With the 280mm radiators and all 140mm fans, the fans essentially ring the case. Hot air comes in and is pushed directly into the exhaust fan. The unexpected part was rather than top radiator intake hurting my VRM/RAM temps, they are actually better than the more traditional top radiator out. I think this configuration would be very similar in performance to (b) bottom 280/front 240 intake and I don't know that I would choose this over that, but it is an option.

I was going to suggest you even upgrade the 240 to a 360mm for the front rail, however I now realize as long you have the 280mm in the system, there is no way to pair it with a 360. If you go 360mm, it can only be paired with another 240 (top or bottom).

Mounting the pump in the backside chamber was quite easy and running the tube through the grommet not a problem. I used thicker 13/16mm soft without difficulty. The 240mm front radiator will need to be shifted to the upper position to give you clearance at the bottom. You will only have 20-25mm of clearance between the 280mm end cap and the lowest 120mm case fan -- if you use one in the bottom position.

Thank you for all the info - I was worried that this wouldn't work with the thicker rads. I've been toying around with the idea of doing a 360 slim in the front or changing the rads out if I had too, but if I can get them to work that would be wonderful. Sounds like if I want to do the rad at the top I would be better off if I also picked up EK-FB MSI X399 GAMING RGB Monoblock - Nickel which would then remove the VRM heatsink issue (give me better cooling too i guess).

So basically what I'm looking at if I have this right is - use the above mono-block - possibly put the PE240 up top (and if it doesn't fit then down below for bottom intake) and the CE280 for front intake.. If I am able to squeeze the PE240 to the top then I "might" have enough room to fit another 280mm down below for a upgraded.

Yes the video card is standard AMD Founder card (will be replaced with a nvidia 2080ti water-block when I can... (hence why I'd like another rad in there).

BUT all being said - it sounds like this case will work as a replacement to my green monster, which is good; time for a change. Did I miss anything from your post that's not jumping out at me?

Thinks get tricky when putting the 280mm on the front and trying to cover both the top and bottom slots with radiators as well. I do not have the case in front of me, but certainly on the 740 you do not have universal placement choice for the 280mm. The front rail will have select spaces only for the 140mm width, eseentially forcing you to mount it all the way up or all the way down. I have about 10mm of wiggle room vertically, but that is it. This makes those corner junctions really tight between radiators. That does not mean impossible, just not easy.

Forgot to mention top mounted 280mm will necessitate putting the inlet/outlets on the front side. At the back you would have to sacrifice the rear fan, unless you do something crazy like 90 degree routing into the back part of the case.

The greatest possible radiator combination is probably going to be 360mm front and 240s top and bottom. I don't know that you need triple radiators, but that is it. There is an old 740 build Corsair did called "Brute Force" that does this. It should be possible to do the same in the 680x, but it certainly does not leave a lot of room for deviation.

I don't know if the mono block would solve the VRM issue completely since you still have a top ATX cord to deal with. Top mounted 280mm radiators are getting difficult these days and the 680/740 is pretty wide. Since dual 280 seems like a weak upgrade from what you have, sacrificing the 280mm for a 360 sounds like a better option. Even if you are not going to add Corsair hardware, you may be able to gain some insight from playing around with the configurator. XR5 rads are 30mm thick. XR7 are 54mm.