Lian Li PC-U6 Anniversary chassis (Sapphire Tech Case Mod)
The concept of this case mod is to enhance the look of the Lian-Li PC-U6 anniversary chassis with a couple of small subtle modifications.
The rig is sure to pack a punch using some of the latest hardware which will be listed below in detail further on in the introduction.
Sapphire Technology has decided to hold a competition for a lucky winner to own the finished case mod!
Thankfully we managed to get sponsorship from a few manufacturers for the case mod. Hats off to everyone who has become interested in the project, without manufacturers coming forward to support the modding community, this kind of work would not be possible
The sponsors in this project include, Sapphire Technology, Intel, Kingston Technology, Cooler Master & Bitfenix.
Hardware Specification –
Chassis – Lian-Li PC-U6 http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product...s_index=63&g=f
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/PC-U6.jpg.jpg
Motherboard - Sapphire Pure Platinum H67 motherboard http://www.sapphiretech.com/presenta...n=&lid=1&leg=0
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/H67_Mobo.jpg
CPU -Intel i5 2500k Processor http://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/u...processor.html
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/i52500k.jpg
Graphics – Sapphire HD7950 3GB GDDR5 http://www.sapphiretech.com/presenta...n=&lid=1&leg=0
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/HD7950.jpg
Hard Drive – Kingston Hyper X 256GB http://www.kingston.com/en/ssd/hyperx
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/HyperX_SSD.png
Memory – Kingston Hyper X 4GB DDR3 1600 MHz http://www.kingston.com/en/memory/hyperx/genesis
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_sn...erX_Memory.png
Power Supply- Cooler Master M1000 http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/produc...roduct_id=6628
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/M1000PSU.jpg
CPU cooler – Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/produc...roduct_id=6603
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/CPU_Cooler.jpg
Stage 1
Removing the case from the box, straight away the quality of the chassis stands out. The case has to me a different niche kind of look and would suit nicely in any guise, e.g. HTPC, LAN Gaming rig, home or office PC.
The black anodised finish is faultless and with being constructed from aluminium it is very light. Taking a closer look at the internal layout, it has been well thought out with accommodation for both 3.5” and 2.5” hard drives. CD/DVD optical drive has also been catered for, with a very nice looking stealth drive cover. The PSU will sit comfortably in the bottom of the chassis with an area to hide the mass of wiring out of sight.
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/1.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/2.jpg
Stage 2
With the case mod being commissioned by Sapphire for the pending competition, I felt that although the case looked great in its standard form, it should reflect one of Sapphire’s latest releases being the Pure Platinum H67 motherboard. That in mind I decided to chrome the case side panel grills. Later during the build I’ll show the results, in the meantime the grills took a long time to prepare for the chroming process. Endless hours of stripping the grills using paint stripper and went ‘n’ dry sand paper. The grills had to be prepared to a paint free high standard as any imperfection would become present once chrome plated.
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/3.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/4.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/5.jpg
Stage 3
As the black anodise finish on the Lian- Li case was so good there was no need to strip and repaint or powder coat the chassis. This has speeded up the build process and I’m keen to get the hardware fitted. Intel came up trumps supplying the i5 2500k CPU, the unlocked version of the CPU coupled with the huge Cooler Master Hyper 212 cooler should make for some good overclocks if desired. Running at the stock speed of 3.3 GHz should be more than enough CPU power for the majority of users.
I’ve changed the stock CPU cooler fan for a clear LED blue 1000 R.P.M fan again to reflect Intel, Sapphire and Kingston’s corporate colours.
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/6.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/7.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/8.jpg
Stage 4
Fitting the motherboard with the CPU cooler attached was a good move as it just about fits in the chassis with the side panel fitted. Next the Cooler Master PSU was fitted; being modular it has great advantages in allowing only the cables required to be used. Routing the power cables was made easier around the internal chassis by the foresight by Lain-Li to add clips to aid the routing as neatly as possible.
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/9.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/10.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/11.jpg
Stage 5
Wiring up the PC to achieve a nice neat finish always takes time, especially when the back side of the Lian-Li chassis has a mesh affect. I’ve braided some of the cables in black to match the PSU wiring and the case internals in order to stealth them as much as possible. Fitting the Kingston Hyper-X SSD was very easy the mounting hardware supplied with the case allows the fitment of both 2.5” & 3.5” hard drives. Images 13, 14, 15,16,17,18
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/13.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/14.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/15.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/16.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/17.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/18.jpg
Stage 6
After setting the Motherboard Bois, the operating system Windows 7 64 bit installed without any issue. The system is fast in stock form and once the HD7950 graphics card arrives the system will really come into its own, offering both strong CPU and GPU processing.
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/19.jpg
Stage 7
Some good news from the chrome plating I sent away, it managed to turn up only 3 weeks late!
Fitted to the anodised black surround of the case side the affect looks really good and I happy with the result. Once the blue lighting has been applied internally in the chassis it should set the case mod off nicely. The Lain-Li offers a fan / lighting control to dim the lighting which is a nice touch.
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/20.jpg
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/21.jpg
Stage 8
Sapphire Technology has really pushed the boundary’s offering the lucky winner the opportunity to own the latest release of the HD7950 graphics card. This should really make the complete system sing along in a graphical sense.
Hooking up the graphics card was no issue within the case & it fills the system up nicely. The latest drivers have been installed & all Windows 7 64 bit updates accordingly.
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/22.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/23.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/24.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/25.JPG
Stage 9
Next I felt that the internals of the case required a little lighting up. Firstly to tie in with the Blue 120mm LED fan used on the Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler & secondly to reflect Sapphire’s main corporate colour, being also blue.
For the internal lighting I’ve chosen Bitfenix Blue LED strips & an 80mm Cooler Master blue LED fan. The Bitfenix LED strips are a great product & take the hours out of making LED wiring looms! These are extremely bright; using only one 30cm strip it gave the case more than enough internal lighting.
The case also has a fan controller mounted at the rear of the chassis. This is a great idea if you wish to reduce fan speed manually.
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/26.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/27.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/28.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/29.JPG
Stage 10
With the Sapphire / Lian Li case mod now pretty much complete, I’m just tidying up some of the cables & running some benchmarks to ensure system stability / performance. I have a few laser cut stickers for the case mod, to thank all the sponsors who have contributed hardware to the Competition Case Mod give away.
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/30.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/30.1.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/33.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/34.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/35.JPG
http://www.snailmods.com/sapphire_snail/IMG_3753.JPG
