Hiding a 560 rad inside my Lian Li PC-X2000

[y0gi]

Hi guys. This is my first time posting a thread, first time customizing my case and first attempt at watercooling.

The case i am customizing is a LIAN LI PC-X2000. The whole idea is to find the biggest radiator out there and completely hide it inside without sacrificing the look of the case.

Basically, it's a "sleeper". Something that looks stock, but when you open the hood its anything but.

The radiator is BLACK ICE GTX GEN TWO EXTREME 560. I will also attempt to have this radiator in push/pull fan setup.

http://www.hwlabs.com/index.php?opti...d=19&Itemid=16

I have already started the build and I'll post some pics real soon. Any watercooling advice would be greatly appreciated.

The rest of my specs:
EVGA X58 CLASSIFIED
I7 920
12GB CORSAIR
NVIDIA QUADRO FX 3700
ENERMAX REVOLUTION 1250

Some watercooling parts have yet to arrive, but this has not slowed me down with proceeding with the build. Hope you guys enjoy the build.

[Elpy]

Long rad is long Looking forward to some pics

[Church]

I also decided to try build something arround that rad though at the end i decided in favour of 560 SR1, as more fit to low fan speeds. At one point i also considered X2000, but at the end i choosed obsidian 800d though (and with it seems that rad won't fit whole inside, tubing attachment part will be outside, which is fine by me). Rad length is fscking enormous(605mm!). Pitty that width too (eg. it won't fit without extra work in 5.25 bay area unlike 140mm rads of other vendors). I still haven't got till parts ordering stage, i wish you luck. Gonna be interesting to see how your project will turn out.

[Movieman]

Hi guys. This is my first time posting a thread, first time customizing my case and first attempt at watercooling.

The case i am customizing is a LIAN LI PC-X2000. The whole idea is to find the biggest radiator out there and completely hide it inside without sacrificing the look of the case.

Basically, it's a "sleeper". Something that looks stock, but when you open the hood its anything but.

The radiator is BLACK ICE GTX GEN TWO EXTREME 560. I will also attempt to have this radiator in push/pull fan setup.

http://www.hwlabs.com/index.php?opti...d=19&Itemid=16

I have already started the build and I'll post some pics real soon. Any watercooling advice would be greatly appreciated.

The rest of my specs:
EVGA X58 CLASSIFIED
I7 920
12GB CORSAIR
NVIDIA QUADRO FX 3700
ENERMAX REVOLUTION 1250

Some watercooling parts have yet to arrive, but this has not slowed me down with proceeding with the build. Hope you guys enjoy the build.

GTX560 is 23.81" long(605mm)
Won't fit in any case I've seen except the MM cubes or their tower
I tried for a week to figure out how to get one into a LL V2000 and no way in hell

[kinghong1970]

the mother of all rads... that is one LONG rad... dunno how it'll be a "sleeper" if you are going to have 8 fans in push pull in that... IF you get it to fit in the case... good luck!

i'd love to see the pics of your build AND the temps when you're done...

[[XC] Oj101]

What about two or three smaller radiators?

[ipuoL]

it could fit in the x2000. I am very interested in how you deal with the radiator ...

[NKrader]

could possibly fit in dd tower26. if you talk to debbi

[MadHacker]

this should be interesting, subscribed

[SAL36864]

I will love to see how you fit a 560 in there, good luck.

[y0gi]

Thanks for the response guys.

I also decided to try build something arround that rad though at the end i decided in favour of 560 SR1, as more fit to low fan speeds. At one point i also considered X2000, but at the end i choosed obsidian 800d though (and with it seems that rad won't fit whole inside, tubing attachment part will be outside, which is fine by me). Rad length is fscking enormous(605mm!). Pitty that width too (eg. it won't fit without extra work in 5.25 bay area unlike 140mm rads of other vendors). I still haven't got till parts ordering stage, i wish you luck. Gonna be interesting to see how your project will turn out.

I came close to getting the Obsidian 800d. That thing is awesome. But believe it or not, i actually made the radiator fit quite comfortably inside my case. I'm busy with work at the moment, but I'll post pics real soon.

the mother of all rads... that is one LONG rad... dunno how it'll be a "sleeper" if you are going to have 8 fans in push pull in that... IF you get it to fit in the case... good luck!

The front four fans are already installed. As for the pull fans, I'm still waiting for those to be delivered because i didn't think it was possible, but it looks as though its gonna be 7 fans in total. The top pull has no space due to the radiator sitting flush with the optical bays. I'll post pics soon and you'll see what i mean.

Otherwise, this build is looking good. Pics soon guys.

[Church]

I came close to getting the Obsidian 800d. That thing is awesome. But believe it or not, i actually made the radiator fit quite comfortably inside my case. I'm busy with work at the moment, but I'll post pics real soon.

Please, do. I'm interested for my future build. After all, rad width by hwlabs spec is 153mm. Almost cm too much to fit without cutting or untaping 5.25 bay area (or without partial cutting off rad shroud) except if it's not turned 90deg along longest axis. Also if mount on top in push-pull, it seems that one of it's ends will touch power button/external ports part that sets back from already minimised space (case 609mm,rad 605mm) 2.5cm. I decided that it's simplier to put rad end with attached tubes outside case to not have to move power button/external ports panel elsewhere, but of course, i'm interested in how it really fits, as all i have now is case itself and self drawn rad template on packing paper by hwlabs sizes

[y0gi]

Please, do. I'm interested for my future build. After all, rad width by hwlabs spec is 153mm. Almost cm too much to fit without cutting or untaping 5.25 bay area (or without partial cutting off rad shroud) except if it's not turned 90deg along longest axis. Also if mount on top in push-pull, it seems that one of it's ends will touch power button/external ports part that sets back from already minimised space (case 609mm,rad 605mm) 2.5cm. I decided that it's simplier to put rad end with attached tubes outside case to not have to move power button/external ports panel elsewhere, but of course, i'm interested in how it really fits, as all i have now is case itself and self drawn rad template on packing paper by hwlabs sizes
churchy is online now Report Post Reply With Quote

Okay, just to confirm, i am cutting. But when everything is done, you'll never notice. After cutting through the front panel (not the removable front door) but the front panel within, it gave me a perfect 24mm clearance from top/bottom/sides. I was amazed at how perfectly it fit. I hope the cutting didn't mislead people, but when its finished it'll look like a stock x2000 case. Let me know how you go with the Obsidian.

[Church]

My planned build will be on hold for a long time (out of funds for several months , after all repaying few loans i made with flat refitting for me is a bit of higher priority ), but i'll keep an eye on your project with great interest, as yours seems first actual worklog here arround that rad.

[ridney]

goodluck yogi, this project looks interesting. subscribed

[avddreamr]

Subbed, I have to see this.

[nlancaster]

I really great idea for a build, was considering it myself.

But.....



Also anyone that wants to use that link for a different thread on this board, be my guest.

[y0gi]

I've finally found some time to upload some pictures for you guys.


Here's the frame i made that will house the radiator. Its a little hard to tell from the picture, as it has 4 holes drilled on both sides and two at the bottom which directly bolts onto the stock case screw holes.


The frame was then primed and spray painted in flat black.


The rad is completely installed with four Aerocool fans. I'll explain some other time when i get more pics why the radiator nozzles are facing outward.


Looking pretty cool here. Fits in quite nice. I'm still waiting for more fans to arrive.


This piece cut out perfectly.


This i feel is the only downfall of the build. As you can see the rad is sitting flush with the optical bay. There's obviously no chance of getting a fan up there, so seven fans in total. It only blocks about 20% of the rad. If Lian Li didn't mount the optical bay sideways, this build would not have been possible.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Let me know what you think. I'm quite busy with work and stuff at the moment, but I'll be sure to keep you guys posted whenever i find the time.

[Kibbler]

Holy cow that's brilliant! I'd love to hear some more details on how you made that frame, how it attaches to the case, how the case was cut (dremel freehand or...?) and larger photos dammit!

Well done man that's tremendous! I love when things fit just right.

Guess the optical drive bays block the back of the rad, that's why the ports need face forward.

What about cutting some holes in the top bay so you can turn the rad around? Could work if you only need 1 optical drive.

[MadHacker]

I think i understand why you have your radiator nozzles are facing outward, the 5.25 drive bays are in the way?
alternativly you could have your radiator nozzles facing inwards if your rotate your rad so that it is facing down.
but doing that would make it a lot harder to bleed the air out of the system.

[shazza]

Nice to see something new! Looks like a fun project - agree with Kibble - let's see some larger pics

[Church]

Imho shouldn't be problem with nozzles down, just during bleeding put case on it's side

And from pics it seems that rad nozzles will be on top, yet most LC stuff below near case bottom? I'd try to mount rad turning it down too. Almost meter less tubing. Whould look cleaner imho.
Though then again pumps and such can be mounted in top compartment aswell?

And are those 90degree plastic fittings really needed?

y0gi: you can also provide measurements of that frame for those wanting to follow in your steps

And btw, what do you think of custom mounting dvdrom somewhere else to have full push-pull configuration? Also some size magic can be done using halfsize dvds for laptops

[y0gi]

Yes, i came close to turning the radiator upside down and if all else fails, i could still do it. But i like the rad upright. And because there's only two 5.25" bays, i just simply didn't want to resort to just one. The 90 degree fittings will be going as i have new plans for some Bitspower fittings.

And btw, what do you think of custom mounting dvdrom somewhere else to have full push-pull configuration? Also some size magic can be done using halfsize dvds for laptops

Halfsize dvds are a great idea. We'll see what happens with these overpriced Bluray burners and whether they'll be available in half size. Besides, i have plans for a dual Aerocool LCD fan controller which is gonna be a to mount opposite the disc drives, but I'll give give a try.

As for larger pics, this is the reason why it took me so long to post pics. I had to reduce the initial resolution from each photo to upload it. So if anyone has tip there, i would gladly post larger pics from now on. Anyway, thanks for the awesome response and I'll keep you updated real soon.

[Church]

After burning > 900 dvdrs, i decided to skip upgrade to bluray burner/media. Decided to go HW SATA Raid5 route (for now 7x1TB disks in it). Prices on sata disks are nice these days, you get full random access instead of manually browsing through lots of disks to find one with right number from catalogue/list, and i can update if for example newer/better version of something in collection cames out (be it higher bitrate/resolution mmedia files or newer version of software, whatever). As i access diskbox/fileserver remotely by network, i can place it wherever it's noise doesn't bother me, use simultaneous from several boxes and not care about big local disks (eg. i can easily go SSD route)

[y0gi]

Hmmm??? Maybe i should...


The arrow indicates where the second hot swap bay goes. If i were to mount this radiator upside down i would lose this bay because of the rad nozzles facing forward directly within that area. Another alternative could be to use angled nozzle barbs (facing out and up), but this would mean i would lose another pull fan. So i'm not going to mount it upside down.


This is how i've installed the nozzle fittings. This looks pretty cool, but i'm not sure how functional it will be as far as water flow goes. The water flow basically takes a U-turn in and out. Water cooling experts please let me know if this would affect the the flow rate. Otherwise i'm satisfied with it.

I have contemplated many times turning the rad around into the case and sacrificing an optical bay. I'll have to give it a little more thought though.