Project Capella (Lian Li PC-P50R)

[shazza]

Great idea ... and excellent execution (as we would expect, of course!).

You do so many really creative things with various parts of the build - small and large. Lots of fun to see what you're up to.

[xcoolbreezex]

looking great kibbs, when do you start on my case?

[aka_GK]

wow, cool idea and it magically fits well

Will you do something with edges of your cutted parts?

Hey GK believe it or not that's something I've noticed. Without dropping names you're among some of the modders whose work just...feels...structurally sound to me. Deliberate. A wiser person might use the word "execution" to describe this quality of how well things fit together. A certain Canadian modder might give out gold stars to reflect that I dunno.

In the planning stage the thoughts at the back of my mind are:
In 5 years time is this piece going to keep its shape and integrity? Is this base material durable, or soft, or brittle?
Will I be able to switch things out easily? New motherboard? New CPU? How modular is the structure?
Is it easy to maintain? Clean? Can I keep some of the creature-comforts that were part of the original stock case?
Will I want to look at this every day?

Sure that's not practical. In less than 5 years time, hell much less than that, I'll have moved on to project #3 #4 #5. But those are my design priorities that must be balanced out against aesthetics. I'm not one to build 1-offs for modding contests. For one I'll never win at any of those, my skills are just not up there. But at the same time, most do not gel with my design philosophies.

Disclaimer: This is in no way to say which approach is right or wrong, better or worse. Absolutely not. You have DB on one end of the spectrum with sexy extravagant airbrushed monster acrylic cases and callen on the other hand with hard lines, metal, and nuts and bolts, and I respect both GREATLY, and many others in between for their different approaches and design preferences. It would be downright insulting and incredibly arrogant if I were to suggest modder A is better/worse than modder B, or whatever. That's not my intention at all, I don't care for it. My interest is seeing patterns in people's work, seeing things I can identify with, and just as importantly seeing designs that I do not identify with, but can still appreciate for the skill and artistry involved. To me that is a very fascinating topic.

Sorry about the verbal diarrhea. TLDR: unimportant tangent stuff

EDIT: btw your new avatar is cool!

Yes! I share your opinion about practicality vs. aesthetics, they must be balanced.
As for me it is a PC at first, it should be convenient in everyday use, fast, probably modular, just as tuned cars - it should ride, otherwise it is a showstopper.

and thanks about the avatar

[kgtiger]

Kibbler you really have the nak for making thing Fit Just Right.
It's a skill you should really be proud of mate, well done.

[Kibbler]

Great idea ... and excellent execution (as we would expect, of course!).

You do so many really creative things with various parts of the build - small and large. Lots of fun to see what you're up to.

Haha thanks Sharon, I would say..."necessity is the mother of invention," and what I mean by that is in some ways I'm forced to be creative to work around what I have and don't have in terms of materials, tools, skillz. Guess sometimes having limitations forces me to work slower, more methodically.

looking great kibbs, when do you start on my case?

Lol! I'm flattered.

wow, cool idea and it magically fits well

Will you do something with edges of your cutted parts?


Yes! I share your opinion about practicality vs. aesthetics, they must be balanced.
As for me it is a PC at first, it should be convenient in everyday use, fast, probably modular, just as tuned cars - it should ride, otherwise it is a showstopper.

and thanks about the avatar

Sounds like we have the same approach.

And of course I will clean up the edges on the laser cut parts. I still have some more things to cut, so I will do the cleaning once all the pieces are cut.

Kibbler you really have the nak for making thing Fit Just Right.
It's a skill you should really be proud of mate, well done.

Thanks Graeme, I appreciate that.

Funny you should say Fit Just Right, though. Not really. I did not look at the Crystalfontz LCD schematics closely enough. I assumed the LCD would be centered between the PCB mounting holes...turns out it's not (that's sneaky ), the display is offset to one side by 1mm. So the plate I just made fits, but the display is not centered, it is off by 1mm.

Angry.

Needless to say I have completely redesigned the mount and will need to re-cut two pieces as soon Mr. Laserjet guy is back in town (said he's visiting his mother in law this week). The good thing is with the improved design, the mounting screws won't be visible at all, it will definitely be cleaner.

***

I nibbled out the mesh panel. Here's how it looks now.

Looking for honest opinions, what do you guys think? I would love to know. Thanks.

[whuzabi]

that looks great. let it as it is i think that is de perfekt match.
no reanodize i think. thats match perfektly

[aka_GK]

looks good!
It is not painted yet (bare steel/aluminum)?

[CptDreadFlint]

I wrote a poem. I entitled it, "The Most Awesome Poem":

Roses are red
Pirates are cool
This poem doesn't rhyme
I really like the mesh
like a lot

[woffen]

I wrote a poem. I entitled it, "The Most Awesome Poem":

Roses are red
Pirates are cool
This poem doesn't rhyme
I really like the mesh
like a lot

[RCG_Bex]

Mmmm tis awesome looking - don't change it!

~Bex

[Alexandr0s]

Wow, I really love it!

The only part annoying me is at the bottom of the mesh, where you can see through the case. Maybe you could place some sort of panel there?

[kgtiger]

I really like the contrast between the black frame and the white mesh.

If I was to be totaly honest I feel I would have lined up the center of the top and bottom fan hubs with the two circles in the frame.
I would kept the two curved lines running crossing the center fan hub just like they are now, evenly spliting the center so they just cover the outside edge of the center fan hub.
I would also paint the fan so they stand out behind the white mesh, like some hot red like Shazza has done or an nice electric blue to stand out and add some flare.

I had this thought as soon as you put the front frame/grill on the other day but held back from saying anything.

I realy do like the white mesh, looks excellent!

[nlancaster]

Looks really good.

What is the purpose of the 6 holes under the name badge area?

[Liderc]

I appreciate the contrast between the case and the mesh color, personally I feel black mesh would look even better. I'm a little biased to black though, as my case is completely black, but the mesh currently appears less computer mesh and more outdoors mesh if you will.

Forgive my quick photoshop work, I'll remove this as soon as you've seen it:



Did the red for fun


The light gray seems to make the black lines pop, definitely growing on me.

[Wezly]

That mesh is perfect. What color will the fans be painted?

I too like the black, and can imagine the dark grey, but I don't think it fully matches the color palette Kibbler has selected. It will not be balanced by what we have seen so far. Black is also do-able, but I bet the fans would show through a lot, especially if they are painted white or red, and I don't know if they are supposed to show through or not...

And I was wondering where that controller panel got to! can't wait!

[callen_1]

The mesh looks freakin' sweet, kibbler! I really like lideric's photoshop pic with the mesh in the black/gunmetal grey personally, but i think it looks great either way.

[Xion X2]

Looking for honest opinions, what do you guys think? I would love to know. Thanks.

[/QUOTE]

Well done, mate. Looks good. That mesh makes that front look a lot better. I think that you should keep it that color as it accents the whole color scheme well.

Nice build.

[Antioch]

It looks ok, doesn't seem to fit though. Maybe black would be nice - but maybe red would give a better contrast to the front-panel in front of it.

[C-J]

The White Mesh Look Alot better then Black But may be PS a Red Grill it Could look Good LOL

[dreamaxx]

You using white waterblocks? Just wondering if white is coming into the scheme more?

[Kibbler]

Gonna try a Shazza-style SAAYA.

@whuzabi
Thanks for your input whuzabi, I'll keep it in mind. I also like the contrast between black and the aluminum.

@aka_GK
Thanks ala_GK, it's not painted yet, that's still bare aluminum, but it looks a bit like white because of the lighting and contrast.

I wrote a poem. I entitled it, "The Most Awesome Poem":

Roses are red
Pirates are cool
This poem doesn't rhyme
I really like the mesh
like a lot

I quoted your poem to show just how awesome it is.

Thanks a lot man. Another vote in for how it is now.

(how's B_F coming along been waitin' for your next update...)

@woffen
Thanks woffen.

@RCG_Bex
Thanks RCG_Bex, will keep in mind your input as well!

@Alexandr0s
1st of all, thanks!. 2nd, I agree about the light at the bottom, noticed it as soon as I uploaded the photos from camera to computer. That light is coming in through the PSU opening so it should not be a problem once the PSU is in place. I hope...

@kgtiger
Alright thanks a lot Graeme, in response to some of your points...

-The front panel design stands apart from anything behind it. They're not supposed to match up to the fan hubs. The fans are not supposed to be visible.
-As for painting the fans to make them stand out, again...not the intention. If anything I'm considering painting them black. Blue is not in the books either as there is no blue in the entire rest of the build.
-Other than that, the front panel is still subject to changes. Since I will be laser-cutting a few more parts I have been tweaking the design aesthetically + functionally. It may be another week or two before I will have the design finished and the final panel in place though, so apologies in advance for the hiatus.

@nlancaster
Thanks nlancaster, the 6 holes are for LEDs.

@Liderc
Thanks for your inputs Liderc, in fact please leave those photochops up and I wouldn't mind if you made a few more. I have an easier time visualizing different colors with them.

@Wezly
Thanks as always Wezly, you have a good touch for being cognizant of the builder's intentions and aligning your suggestions to it, so your suggestions can sometimes be exceptionally helpful.

Fans...will not be painted. At least they won't be painted to stand out. Black maybe, just to make them NOT stand out.

The controller panel is coming along just fine...I will be able to show it soon and I think you'll like it.

@callen_1
Thanks man, your input logged and of course appreciated. I'm still pondering the color...or lack of color...

@Xion X2
Thanks Xion. I'm leaning towards your opinion. As it is now (well, not now now maybe, now it's only bare aluminum), or white, should fit nicely.

@C-J
Thanks C-J, like I said I'm leaning in that direction as well.

@dreamaxx
Yup white waterblocks wherever possible. I already have a Supreme HF white top. Whatever GPU block I get (only EK offer white, so it'll be EK) I will also pair it with a white acetal top.

[shazza]

Gonna try a Shazza-style SAAYA.

lol ... I just appreciate everyone making the time to make a comment, but realize some folks may not want to re-read the entire response each time

I actually prefer the white mesh, but whichever one you decide to go with will fit the final product, I'm sure!

[Liderc]

@Liderc
Thanks for your inputs Liderc, in fact please leave those photochops up and I wouldn't mind if you made a few more. I have an easier time visualizing different colors with them.

Let me know what other colors you would like to see, I'd love to be of help.

[Wezly]

I have had a breakthrough with where to mount my radiators, and I also thought of putting one of those displays in my desk XD

So your implementation may drive me over the edge....

Btw, I think the fans would show up more if they were black. You should probably test that out first

[dreamaxx]

White mesh then

Although I like the light grey. I think white will match better.