I recently bought a silverstone ft02b. I'm considering the CoolIT domino ALC or the Corsair H50, but the case only has one 120mm fan (its also the only exhaust fan, both of the water coolers recommend them to be pulling fresh air from the outside of the case). Is it okay to let it pull fresh air in which will probably mess up the positive air pressure and also taking out the only exhaust. If not are there any other alternatives to water cooling that would work well with the ft02b or should I be sticking to air cooling?

It would be better to use the 120mm fan on the outside of the case with the radiator on the inside, while still using the fan as an exhaust fan. At least this way the hot air is leaving the case, not feeding the PSU and GPU.

I wouldn't recommend getting a boxed solution though. (by boxed I mean an all in one kit) Different manufacturers have different strengths, and an all in one solution has very many weaknesses. You will likely get better temperatures from one of the recommended heatsinks than an all in one watercooling setup.

The Megahalems is a great heatsink, with a Scythe S-Flex or Nexus fan will keep your system cool and quiet.

If you really want watercooling I recommend:
1. A Swiftech Apogee XT (They are compatible with LGA775 1156 1366 and have an adaptor for AM2/3)
2. Thermochill PA120.1 & G3/8 1/2" fittings (The fittings are sold seperately)
3. Liang D5 or Swiftech MCP655 (Not the -B version, speed control is VERY necessary)
4. About 10 feet of 1/2" ID Tygon tube (So you can mess up and still have some extra)
5. A 'T' fitting to fill the system (with a T-line)
6. Hose clamps

cool thanks

No problem. Come back if you have more questions.

I have also been looking at going for water cooling for a while. I really like the look of the FT02 and discovered that you can fit a 360mm radiator to it, there is a radiator bracket in the accessories box when you buy it. I found a guide on installing watercooling in a RV02, which has an identical internal layout to the FT02, and the reviewers explain that the installation they do would work fine in a FT02. The review can be found here. However for some reason on the results page I can only find results for the air cooling they do. I don't know much about watercooling and I am not sure how effective watercooling would be within that case, as 2 of the bottom 3 180mm intake fans would be covered by a hot radiator, making the air hot, which would then have to travel over the components to get to the exhaust fan, heating them all up, with only one 180mm fan providing cool air. 1398342003, would this be a problem? Do you think that watercooling would still be more effective than air cooling in that case?

whisperid, I hope you don't think I am hijacking your thread, I thought you would be interested to know that you can install a 360mm radiator in this case and would probably be interested to know how well people will think it will work. Hope you don't mind!

Thanks in advance.

Watercooling will still be better than aircooling. The same amount of heat will still be put into the air. The sides of the 180mm fans also provide some cool air.

My only concern is that the 180mm fans are slightly harder to silence and produce sound that's harder to dampen.

This really should be in a new thread... but to answer your question, it should work well. The air coming out from the radiator isn't hot as such, its generally only a few degrees warmer than the air going in.

That said, I am really not convinced water cooling is worth it if you are running a stock system. Air cooling is very good these days, and can be easier to make quiet than water cooling (not to mention MUCH cheaper). If, however, you want to overclock AND you are reading this forum (and hence want quiet), WCing is amazing. Its just not cheap.

Anyway, the case isn't an ideal WCing case. It only allows a fairly thin radiator at the bottom, and only one (although you could fit a 120x4 in there with a bit of effort). Depending on hot how your system is, this may be enough to cool an OC'd CPU and GPU.

Relying on 180mm fans isn't ideal, as the only ones commonly available are these case fans. Using 120mm fans gives you a wide selection of quality fans.

I thought I would mention some cons to watercooling since you have not invested money into components yet. First, mounting the radiator usually involves more work than you realize. Second, mounting everything else involves more work (big smile here). Third, cleaning maintenance on blocks/tubing/radiator. Fourth, effort involved if you ever need to remove and/or replace a component. Fifth, the additional amount of noise generated from the quantity of fans and a pump. And lastly, the cost of a quality water cooling loop that can withstand future upgrades.

Once invested though, the stability of components is increased by much lower temperatures especially with overclocking and massive graphics heavy gaming machines.

All this sounds like we are telling you that WC is bad.... and its not, it has its place. For me, the ability to have a highly overclocked machine that runs very very quietly is a major boon. But... its not for everyone.