3700BQE or LX-6A19 Case????

daroach1414 · Post by **daroach1414** » Fri May 21, 2004 6:12 pm

I know there have been quite of few topics comparing/contrasts cases. But i have really been wondering this.

I am watercooling and have a 120mm radiator. Which case do you think would house the radiator best?? The compucase LX-6A19 from coolcases.com or the antec 3700BQE that everyone highly recomends??

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sat May 22, 2004 5:34 am

Depends where you're going to put the rad. If you're planning on putting it in the area where the HDD bays are, you'd be much better off with the 6A19 because you can easily remove the drive cage and have plenty of room. With the BQE you'd have to drill out a bunch of rivets to clear that area.

akaidiot · Post by **akaidiot** » Sat May 22, 2004 7:51 am

I'm planning on clearing the drive area in a BQE. How many rivets are there? Are they hard to reach, some of them? Is there a thread with someone doing this and porhaps explaining how to?

I've tried searching with no luck..

daroach1414: Sorry for the little hijack of your thread

I'm getting the BQE, mostly because of it's looks, and SPCR recommendations of course!

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sat May 22, 2004 10:50 am

nifti wrote:I'm planning on clearing the drive area in a BQE. How many rivets are there? Are they hard to reach, some of them? Is there a thread with someone doing this and porhaps explaining how to?

There's a bunch. Someone here at SPCR counted them and said there's 12 or so. You can certainly drill them out but the ones up under the 3.5" FDD cage aren't too easy to get to.

EDIT - Seal did it. Here's a post about it.

daroach1414 · Post by **daroach1414** » Sat May 22, 2004 7:44 pm

hey...no problem nifti, the more info the better i say.

The one question that has really bothered me though is that if i put the rad in the back on the BQE and have 120mm x25mm fan in the back...would that leave me much room for the water block and such. I only ask because i hope maybe someone might have some experience with this.

Jim Byram · Post by **Jim Byram** » Sun May 23, 2004 3:25 pm

nifti wrote:I'm planning on clearing the drive area in a BQE. How many rivets are there? Are they hard to reach, some of them? Is there a thread with someone doing this and porhaps explaining how to?

I've done this. There are 12 rivets... 4 below, 4 above, 2 to the right case side, 2 to the front.

Take care of the 4 top rivets first while the other rivets provide stability and prevent stress of the plate above the drive rack.

I used a screwdriver and light mallet to slice off the top rivets from inside the drive rack. Then you use a nail punch and gently tap each of the 4 rivets out.

The other 8 rivets can be drilled from outside the case. Just enough to separate the rivet top. I probably used a bit the size of a 6-32 screw. Then punch out each of the rivets with a light tap using a nail punch.

The above method resulted in no damage to the holes in the chassis from which the rivets were removed.

akaidiot · Post by **akaidiot** » Sun May 23, 2004 3:45 pm

Jim Byram wrote:
nifti wrote:I'm planning on clearing the drive area in a BQE. How many rivets are there? Are they hard to reach, some of them? Is there a thread with someone doing this and porhaps explaining how to?
I've done this. There are 12 rivets... 4 below, 4 above, 2 to the right case side, 2 to the front.

Take care of the 4 top rivets first while the other rivets provide stability and prevent stress of the plate above the drive rack.

I used a screwdriver and light mallet to slice off the top rivets from inside the drive rack. Then you use a nail punch and gently tap each of the 4 rivets out.

The other 8 rivets can be drilled from outside the case. Just enough to separate the rivet top. I probably used a bit the size of a 6-32 screw. Then punch out each of the rivets with a light tap using a nail punch.

The above method resulted in no damage to the holes in the chassis from which the rivets were removed.

Thanks for the excellent guide! When I get my BQE and decide to remove the drive cage I will do it that way! Thanks!

ps. Mallet is kind of an hammer, right?

Jim Byram · Post by **Jim Byram** » Sun May 23, 2004 5:48 pm

nifti wrote:ps. Mallet is kind of an hammer, right?

Right. I've got one not much bigger than a tack hammer with a plastic head on one side and a rubber head on the other. You can knock the heads off the top rivets with one blow from the side using the screwdriver as a chisel.

mdaniel · Post by **mdaniel** » Mon May 31, 2004 4:12 am

I have the non-bqe version of the 3700 and just installed my first WCed setup in it. With regards to a rad on the rear 120 fan, it worked for me...but it is a TIGHT fit. My rad is a BIPro and the side door can only be kept close by fastening the rear thumb screws. The latches won't stay closed withou the screw holding the door in place. I went with the BIPro because I was worrid about clearance with the CPU. But having done it, I can see where a BIX would most likely have no problem fitting in the same place. Unfortunately, the rad must be turned upside down to fit through the present rear mounting holes. I'm off tomorrow and the wife is working, so I'm planning on tweaking things tomorrow.

I'll probably add a BIX later on. The back does require a little bit of drilling to mount the fan though. My fan and rad are both mounted internally. If someone can tell me how to post a pic in the forums, I can show you what my ghetto setup looks like.

streety · Post by **streety** » Mon May 31, 2004 4:22 am

It should just be a case of

Code: Select all

[img] url of your image [/img]

If you need somewhere to host your images let me know and i'll be happy to do it for you.

mdaniel · Post by **mdaniel** » Mon May 31, 2004 5:37 am

OK, I think I figured it out. I had to bend the PSU support bar where the rad made contact to elevate it a little more to fit through my modded holes on the back. I'm not big into hiding wires, its easier to just kind of bundle them in my opinion. It looks like a socket hold down clamp, but I couldn't get the clamp to mount right and have the cpu post. I was too lazy to bleed the system, remove the top of the clamp and refill it...so I just took the side clamps off and I let the top of the clamp stay and add more support to the lucite top. I apologize in advance for an ugly setup, but since I don't have a case windown and my computer sits in a desk enclosure, the inside appearance doesn't mean much to me. The Bay Res has two blue LEDs in it though.

I hope this link works:

http://home.cfl.rr.com/murrayd222/053104%20003.jpg

mdaniel · Post by **mdaniel** » Tue Jun 01, 2004 10:14 am

OK...my bad. Upon opening up my case, I discovered that the screws that bolt the cpu block on for my DD TDX are TOO LONG. Therefore, to add a BIX or a second fan to a BIPro, a trip to the hardware store would be required to purchase screws that are almost an inch shorter. Seeing as to I spent too much time trying to quiet my Hydor L25, I was no longer in the mood to remove my motherboard AND drive to Lowes for the screws. Therefore, round two will come later, and might be as late as the end of the summer when I jump to an A64 platform.. As for the tubes going to the cpu block, I think there would still be enough clearance.

Don't you just love computers sometimes?