J-J-J-Jam it in. A preview of my upcoming build.

[kuhla]

Here is the pictures I promised earlier today.

Side looking-towards-the-back view.



Side looking-towards-the-front view.



The front with cover off. Yes that is blue masking tape which I put there to stop some of the warm PSU exhaust air from going back into the case. Eventually I'll make a metal plate to place there that will screw into the holes that were there originaly for the PSU bracket. Hopefully I can make the bracket into an L shape which I can also use mount the pump on.



The other side. Here you can see the T-line (no res) and the pump sitting on top of a bottle of algaecide



...and a really crappy shot of the case feet (which are completly outside the case, it is just sitting on them, I am eventually getting whole new ones) and giant hole in the bottom of my case that you have actually seen in a previous picture in this worklog. The case sits about 1.5cm off the surface of the desk. I think it is getting enough air.



One more, much clearer, picture of my current setup.



EDIT : I just wanted to say that I know the cables are a bit messy looking but I bought a SATA dvdrom and a Corsair 520HX so those two things should help the inside of my case look much cleaner. When those arrive and I get them installed I'll take more pictures again

[sick_g4m3r]

Yeah!!! WOOWOWOW! great job!!!

[sick_g4m3r]

this guy should be banned for copying, right? actually show him a little respect. tell him I sent you!

sorry for the OT, this build is SICK!!!!

[.Logic]

Nice, a full 360 rad in a case that size is really cool, you are to be congratualte on your work The guys with full tower cases have it way to easy

I like where you mounted the PSU, this is definately the ideal Lan Box in my opinion

[FLMJIGGY]

GREAT job. I really was looking into this case but thought it was a tad to deep. However looking at small ATX cases there really aren't many that one can work with that are small.

I luv what you have done. Great again.

A few questions. If you don't mind!

Are those the original feet or did you add new ones? The case would have to be a certain height for air to actually come in through the bottom. Are the CPU and PSU the only exhaust you have?

I can't seem to see how the PSU is being held! It looks like something blue on the front of the PSU area.

I saw this post and a few ideas came into my head. I really like this case but the back front exhaust didn't fit well with me.

I don't WC so rads are out of the question! I would put at most 2 Loons on the bottom and if there was room one on top as hot air rises and most would probably be undervolted to %v anyway. Need quiet! I would make all the fans exhaust that were in the case. PSU and front fan as well as the CPU area on. I also thought of making hole for a side fan so the Video Card area could get some air.

Anyway. Grat work once again!

[kuhla]

I luv what you have done. Great again.

Thanks, its done just yet though, I have more I want to do to it. Case feet, window, something on the top such as a top blowhole. I'm just slow at working with my rig :P

Are those the original feet or did you add new ones?

Those are the original case feet, I just detached them and the case sits on top of them so if I were to lift up the case they would just sit there on the desk. When they are connected the case only sits about 1cm above the desk. With them sitting outside the case it raises the case to about 1.5cm above the desk. I couldn't reconnect them right now even if I wanted to because the radiator gets in the way of some of the holes where the feet used to slot into. Besides, I wouldn't want the case any lower than it is right now since....

The case would have to be a certain height for air to actually come in through the bottom.

Right, I plan to buy new feet and have the case sit about 2cm off the ground. I am currently looking at purchasing 2 sets of these feet and stack them to reach my desired height and look --> http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=21103

Are the CPU and PSU the only exhaust you have?

Yes, the weak PSU fan and the fan by the CPU are the only exhausts right now (not counting the fan on the video card). Its a lot of positive air pressure right now, I know, I plan on changing that. Currently its 3*120mm intake [vs] only 1.5*120mm exhaust.

I can't seem to see how the PSU is being held! It looks like something blue on the front of the PSU area.

The blue stuff is just masking tape, the PSU isn't down there anymore. The PSU is where the hard drive rack used to be and is being held in by 4 screws + metal washers. Its not the best PSU mount in the world but it does the job and the metal its screwed into is thick enough that I doubt it will break/bend. Lian Li doesn't user super thin aluminum like on my Antec Super Lanboy.

The masking tape is there as a sort of band-aid solution to prevent some of the warm PSU exhaust air from cycling back into the case. I still have plenty of warm air leaking back in around the PSU because (1) the PSU is ressessed a tiny bit so that the front cover still sits flush with the case with the power plug sticking out and (2) the hole that was there before for the 120mm exhause is taller than the PSU.

I don't WC so rads are out of the question! I would put at most 2 Loons on the bottom and if there was room one on top as hot air rises and most would probably be undervolted to %v anyway.

That totally sounds possible since there is at LEAST 30mm worth of space above and below the motherboard tray in this case. I almost want to say Lian Li was guessing some people would mode some fans/other-stuff on the top/bottom of the case and put in some space to work with before being worried about bothering the motherboard.

[Exedy]

Thats a nice build

I like compact cases too...im getting tired of big things on my desk

if it was a PA120.2 the PSU would fit nice in the "right" place?

[Chewbenator]

Does the tubing have sufficient bend radius to put the pump right up on that vent next to the PCI slots? I'm thinkin ultra compact loop. Not sure where you would put the T-line or res but it could work.

[IanY]

Darn... is it alright with you if I were to copy your machine for a portable box?

[FLMJIGGY]

OK thanks. I knew the blue tape was covering the hole! Sheesh not that blind! I just see blue areas where the holes on the PSU would be. Looks like 4 little blue areas!

Thanks. Performance PC is usually a lil more than other places. Probably cheaper for same or better stuff elsewhere.

<3 wat ya did!

[kuhla]

if it was a PA120.2 the PSU would fit nice in the "right" place?

I think so but it would be a very tight squeeze and you would have to make sure the PSU is the "normal" length kind around 5.9" (150mm) because anything larger would definetly not fit. Also, a modular psu probably wouldn't work either because they would stick out around the middle of the PSU.

Tell you what, I have a Swiftech 220 radiator as well (that I am not using right now), I'll measure that tonight and see if it would fit if the PSU was in it's original position and post back here, possibly with a picture. I know it isn't quite the same dimensions as your P120.2 rad but its close enough I think.

Does the tubing have sufficient bend radius to put the pump right up on that vent next to the PCI slots? I'm thinkin ultra compact loop. Not sure where you would put the T-line or res but it could work.

Bend radius wise I think it could be done. As for fitting on the vent area, I'll measure tonight and post back because I'm not sure that is wide enough for the pump. The picture below is kind of what you had in mind right?



That green stuff is a Y-fitting and the black/yellow stuff is a T-line.

Darn... is it alright with you if I were to copy your machine for a portable box?

Go for it but if you start a thread about it or log it somewhere, let me know I want to see if you hit any of the same problems I did and how you tackle them.

[Pete]

If it was me'd of had the PSU verticly, it would of made the case look bigger and better!

DDC could of mounted over a RAD, shorter hose as well, neater and everything!

I'm planning to do a WC PC7 i think it is! Now thats gonna be tight!

Really cool looking though dude

[Chewbenator]

Yes that is exactly what I was thinking can't wait to hear if it would work.

[kuhla]

@Chewbenator:

As you can see in the picture below, it does appear to be wide enough to fit the pump. That white thing is the vibration absorbing foam pad that comes with the DDC-2 and it has the same foot print (width wise) as the actual pump. I know its kinda hard to read the ruler too but you can see the vent area is about 6.5cm wide. The only problem I saw with installing it there is it will directly block your access to the screws that hold cards down so you would probably have to detach the pump each time you install/uninstall something in your expansion slots. Other than that, your idea looks totally possible



@OCFX:

See picture below. Oh man it looks like an insanely tight fit. If you (a) completely take out the rear 120mm fan or (b) mount it outside the case on the back then I would say it is definitely possible (although still a really tight). If you want to leave the rear 120mm fan installed your taking a serious gamble trying to keep the PSU in the stock position. Your only a few mm worth of wiggle room.



So now I'm off to install my new stuff....



....although I'm not looking too forward to some of the cable management I want to do.



Here is an inside shot of the PSU area for those of you wondering how I had it attached.

[kuhla]

Sorry for the double posting and the constant bumping of my thread but I just wanted to post a pic of the cleaner cabling and the new hardware installed I still think it could be cleaner but I didn't want to spend more time then I already had on it for now. Besides I already kind of cheated by using split convoluted tubing (you can see a tiny bit of it in the above pic on the PCI blower fan which dropped case temps by like 6C) instead of real sleeving

[sick_g4m3r]

thats an amazing loop!! what kinda temps?

[Agent11]

Wow. I was skeptical when I saw what case you where using but you really managed to jam it all in.

Even before the new PSU you routed your cables very well considering you have very limited area to conceal them.. Now it looks great, very well done

[FLMJIGGY]

The tubing might actually look bette than sleeving. Looks nice! lol

I thnk that a top fan might have been e good idea. The blower works but they are a tad noisy.

btw the 520 is excellent!

[Chewbenator]

I will be ordering my watercooling stuff this weekend and have seriously started considering this case instead of the PC-7B. I think I am going to go with the ultra short loop that I wanted to see if it would work in this thread. I am also going to mod my PSU with a single 120mm fan so that I can take advantage of the airflow characteristics of this case. Because of the small footprint of this case I will probably pick up some recessed case handles from MNPC. Thanks for this thread because it gave me several ideas for the all internal watercooling system I wanted. Because the dimensions worked out for this mod I will be able to put a 3x120 rad internally in a smaller case which is very nice.

[migueld]

I don't know if this is an original idea but I really like the way you positioned the PSU to make room for the rad. I also like the inverted-type of case since it's clever to have the PCI cards at the top so that they don't interfere with the rad or pump etc.

This kind of inverted case would make for a great showcase for those wanting to show off the GPU block, ie EK blocks which are regularly hidden in regular cases.

The only negative thing I see is that there isn't room for a second hard drive, but everything else looks great. Good work

[Pete]

Red is the line, Blue is T line, red line going up is a fill line!

DDC mounted over the rads, this will make it last longer and give active cooling!



Small short loop.

[sick_g4m3r]

Red is the line, Blue is T line, red line going up is a fill line!

DDC mounted over the rads, this will make it last longer and give active cooling!



Small short loop.

that 1d3a 1s pr3tty c00l but 1 dk ab0ut the pump s1tt1ng 0n th3 fans 1f y0u catch my dr1ft

[stormshadow]

if you want the shortest loop - this is what i recommend...

DDC directly connected to rad (pointing down with super short tubing or male to male solution).

then rad to block (dark blue)

Block back to the top of the DDC (light blue) with a T-line (red) that can be filled via a hole in the ventilation area:

[Pete]

that 1d3a 1s pr3tty c00l but 1 dk ab0ut the pump s1tt1ng 0n th3 fans 1f y0u catch my dr1ft

WTF . . .we don't TXT (SMS) talk her fella. English is the only thing allowed. Please do so!

if you want the shortest loop - this is what i recommend...

DDC directly connected to rad (pointing down with super short tubing or male to male solution).

then rad to block (dark blue)

Block back to the top of the DDC (light blue) with a T-line (red) that can be filled via a hole in the ventilation area:

I agree there it is small. I was just inc 2 features from the DDC failing thing to the system to make it safer

[sick_g4m3r]

WTF . . .we don't TXT (SMS) talk her fella. English is the only thing allowed. Please do so!

ROFLMAO

that 1d3a 1s pr3tty c00l but 1 dk ab0ut the pump s1tt1ng 0n th3 fans 1f y0u catch my dr1ft ========

that idea is pretty cool but i dont know about the pump sitting on the fans if you catch my drift

get it now? welcome to reality...