Liquid CPU Cooling for a PO6-600 and also a RAM question

sjcglads · May 2021

Has anybody tried or succeeded at installing a liquid cooler on their PC? It's a pretty small case but the side of it has that grate that's 120mm wide by about 200mm tall. The GPU is in the way of getting a 2 fan cooler but it looks like I could fit something like this on there. Is there a power hookup for it on the stock supply, and will it all fit? I've seen some threads on here saying that a lot of the power hookups in these are proprietary and I can't buy just any supply without having to hack my own power connections.

If liquid cooling isn't possible, does anybody have any recommendations for CPU cooling? Mine has the i7-8700 in it and it gets HOT when I'm playing games. The cooler it came with isn't doing much and is blowing hot air at the GPU and RAM and everything else.

Also, is anybody aware of any limitations to the RAM I install? I'm looking at buying a 32 GB kit with a higher clock speed but I don't want to buy something incompatible. It's currently running 2x8GB Kingston chips at 2666Hz. I'm having trouble finding the motherboard on sites that check compatibility. Does anybody know if this Corsair set or this G.SKILL set would work to replace the existing setup? If they would, do you think it's worth the extra $150 to get the G.SKILL set that's got faster clock speeds? It's 18-22-22-45 vs 14-15-15-35.

Thanks in advance

billsey · May 2021

The memory on your PO3-600 should be either 2400 or 2666, and as you say yours is 2666. Putting in anything more expensive doesn't gain you anything, since it will still run at the speed the chipset supports, which is either 2400 or 2666. Make sure you pair the sticks up to get the best advantage from dual channel mode.

StevenGen · May 2021

sjcglads said:

Has anybody tried or succeeded at installing a liquid cooler on their PC? It's a pretty small case but the side of it has that grate that's 120mm wide by about 200mm tall. The GPU is in the way of getting a 2 fan cooler but it looks like I could fit something like this on there. Is there a power hookup for it on the stock supply, and will it all fit? I've seen some threads on here saying that a lot of the power hookups in these are proprietary and I can't buy just any supply without having to hack my own power connections.

If liquid cooling isn't possible, does anybody have any recommendations for CPU cooling? Mine has the i7-8700 in it and it gets HOT when I'm playing games. The cooler it came with isn't doing much and is blowing hot air at the GPU and RAM and everything else.

sjcglads, water cooling can be done but as the PO6-600 internal case space is limited you have to measure the max spaces that you have got and look up the appropriate components from the different water cooling manufacturers e.g. cooler master, MSI, Thermaltake, Phanteks, Rosewill etc., as there are allot of watercooling options and I'm sure that you can get and/or customise one of these setups to suit the PO6-600 limited internal case space.

This example is a Rosewill PB120 CPU Liquid Cooler or all LGA 1151 types from one retailer as the Rosewill is a closed Loop PC Water Cooling system, 120mm PWM Fan and its made for the Intel LGA1151 CPU that your PO6-600 has and could fit into your PO6-600 limited internal case, if not you could modify it so that its radiator pipes could extend to a space where you could fit the radiator to or to fit outside the case. This is what you have to research and find out as there are allot of system and custom systems available which will largely depend on your budget and how far you can go or if its worth it?

These are some details on the Rosewill PB120's liquid cooler system and measurements, so measure your spaces that you have and find out.

sjcglads · May 2021

billsey said:

The memory on your PO3-600 should be either 2400 or 2666, and as you say yours is 2666. Putting in anything more expensive doesn't gain you anything, since it will still run at the speed the chipset supports, which is either 2400 or 2666. Make sure you pair the sticks up to get the best advantage from dual channel mode.

Thanks for your reply, @billsey. So 2666MHz is the max speed I can use, then?

Follow-up question: is it better to run 2x16GB chips or 4x8 for a total of 32GB? I'm replacing the existing ones anyway. At a glance it seems the 8GB chips have faster timings (CAS latency etc), but maybe there's a benefit to using only two of the four slots that I don't know about.

This is what I'm currently looking at: CORSAIR Vengeance LPX

StevenGen said:

sjcglads said:

Has anybody tried or succeeded at installing a liquid cooler on their PC? It's a pretty small case but the side of it has that grate that's 120mm wide by about 200mm tall. The GPU is in the way of getting a 2 fan cooler but it looks like I could fit something like this on there. Is there a power hookup for it on the stock supply, and will it all fit? I've seen some threads on here saying that a lot of the power hookups in these are proprietary and I can't buy just any supply without having to hack my own power connections.

If liquid cooling isn't possible, does anybody have any recommendations for CPU cooling? Mine has the i7-8700 in it and it gets HOT when I'm playing games. The cooler it came with isn't doing much and is blowing hot air at the GPU and RAM and everything else.

sjcglads, water cooling can be done but as the PO6-600 internal case space is limited you have to measure the max spaces that you have got and look up the appropriate components from the different water cooling manufacturers e.g. cooler master, MSI, Thermaltake, Phanteks, Rosewill etc., as there are allot of watercooling options and I'm sure that you can get and/or customise one of these setups to suit the PO6-600 limited internal case space.
This example is a Rosewill PB120 CPU Liquid Cooler or all LGA 1151 types from one retailer as the Rosewill is a closed Loop PC Water Cooling system, 120mm PWM Fan and its made for the Intel LGA1151 CPU that your PO6-600 has and could fit into your PO6-600 limited internal case, if not you could modify it so that its radiator pipes could extend to a space where you could fit the radiator to or to fit outside the case. This is what you have to research and find out as there are allot of system and custom systems available which will largely depend on your budget and how far you can go or if its worth it?

@StevenGen, thanks for your in-depth reply -- it's given me some ideas to work with if I find space to be an issue. Do you have any brands or specific products you recommend? You mentioned the Rosewill one which is a good price.

Also, do you know if the power supply the computer came with will be able to accommodate this, or will I need some adapters/a new supply?

billsey · May 2021

2x 16GB or 4x 8GB is functionally the same since they will both be in dual channel mode. If you plan on keeping the system for a long time (more than two or three years) then the 2x 16GB is likely better, because you can then do an upgrade without having to replace everything.

StevenGen · June 2021

sjcglads said:

@StevenGen, thanks for your in-depth reply -- it's given me some ideas to work with if I find space to be an issue. Do you have any brands or specific products you recommend? You mentioned the Rosewill one which is a good price.

Also, do you know if the power supply the computer came with will be able to accommodate this, or will I need some adapters/a new supply?

The PSU wattage depends largely on what components you have running in and on your computer e.g. a major governing factor is the GPU and what margin your GPU suggested power is and if you are not on the limit? Have a look at this guide as its an excellent guide that tells you all aspect(s) of design and choices its the "Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your PC" as these water cooling systems do take some power but most don't specify them and are not like GPU's that tell you e.g. the RO5-600 comes with the GeForce RTX 2070 OEM and its suggested PSU is 450W and the PO5-600 PSU is a max 500W PSU, so check that first, as the newest GPU's the NVIDIA 30th Gen are more power hungry and bigger e.g. the GeForce RTX 3070 suggested PSU is 550W, the GeForce RTX 3080 the suggested PSU is 700W, the GeForce RTX 3090 suggested PSU is 750W etc., so you can see that the GPU's is one of the factors as they are getting bigger and bigger and more power hungry with newer designs. I would suggest that you run a good and reputable PSU (have a look at the specs on your PO6-600 ATX PSU) and increase it by 30%, as and if you are intending to run the Rosewill PB120 CPU Liquid Cooler then Rosewill also makes PSU's of up to 1000W and you can get advice from them as it varies.

GotBanned · June 2021

I don't want to rain on your parade, but fitting AIO in such a small box will be a pain. Most likely you'll need to cut metal and plastics and drill new holes. Even this might not be enough as the hoses might be too long or not easy to "hose manage" (bend). Another possible problem might be air intake - will there be enough of cool air coming into the very restricted case?

If your PC uses "normal" mobo when it comes to power connectors, I'd spend a bit more and transplant your mobo, CPU, GPU and storage to a new case more suitable for aftermarket AIO. One 120mm radiator can bested by a proper air-cooled HSF. In a bigger case you could easily use something like Arctic Liquid Freezer 240 or 360 II AIOs. A new case would also be an investment for future upgrades that will need a new mobo and chipset to work.

sjcglads · June 2021

GotBanned said:

I don't want to rain on your parade, but fitting AIO in such a small box will be a pain. Most likely you'll need to cut metal and plastics and drill new holes. Even this might not be enough as the hoses might be too long or not easy to "hose manage" (bend). Another possible problem might be air intake - will there be enough of cool air coming into the very restricted case?

If your PC uses "normal" mobo when it comes to power connectors, I'd spend a bit more and transplant your mobo, CPU, GPU and storage to a new case more suitable for aftermarket AIO. One 120mm radiator can bested by a proper air-cooled HSF. In a bigger case you could easily use something like Arctic Liquid Freezer 240 or 360 II AIOs. A new case would also be an investment for future upgrades that will need a new mobo and chipset to work.

Thank you for your reply. I have this concern as well, but the small case was one of the main reasons I got this PC and didn't build my own. I move around a lot for work (across the country once or twice a year), so moving a big and heavy PC is a big chore. I had a bigger PC before this and I'm much happier with this size. I looked into building my own but the size limitations made it complicated and this one was a good deal at the time.

I know I'm kinda trying to have my cake and eat it too, but I'm hoping I can find a solution that works.

As for airflow, this case seems kind of limited anyway. From the design, it seems the grate on the side is intended to make room for air to come in because it's directly opposite the tiny heatsink on the CPU. The GPU's fans are maybe 1.5" from the bottom of the case, so it's not really getting much air anyway. Regardless, the grate is actually closer to 200mm long so there should still be room for air to come in for the GPU.

GotBanned · June 2021

If looks isn't on the top of your priorities, I guess you could install the rad on the side panel. It would make your PC more cumbersome to move, though.

Side panel:
Cut a bit smaller hole than 240mm or 280mm rad needs and bolt the rad on it. Air would be sucked from the inside of the case and pushed out. Before doing anything, make sure that the tubes can bend as needed. (You might need to shorten them for this to really work! Definitely not fun.) If you don't want to butcher the original side panel, make a new one from 3 or 4mm polycarbonate, aluminium or plywood. Here's just a pic to get your creative juices flowing, although this rad is on the wrong side. What I like is that this one is installed on "feet".

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/7i/wq00z2h3wz8x.png

On the top:
Maybe 240mm rad could be installed on the top on "legs" like in the pic above?

With the right tools and inspiration almost anything is possible.

The easy way:
Replace the OEM heatsink with something like Noctua HSF. There are many post on these forums how to do this. I did this and used NH-D9L, but some other model might be even better.