.: Metallurgy :.

[Mankz_91]

"Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use."

Welcome all to Metallurgy - My plans for this project are fairly simple: A watercooled case I can use as my main computer day in and day out and an end product I'm truly proud of. Simples.

Instead of saying what I'm going to do (you'll have to wait and see..) , its easier to say that i'm not going to do. There will be no individually sleeved cables, no fancy compression fittings, and no black. No black anywhere.

Enough with the chin wagging! You're all here to see a project after all..



A box arrived from eBay the other day. I wonder what could be inside?



Obviously just packing peanuts..



Hidden deep inside, a lovely Lian Li V1000. Probably my favourite series of case ever after the Coolermaster Wavemaster. This one was someones PC for a number of years, and I picked it up for the princely sum of £18.



In pretty good condition bar all the little sticky pad things which are an utter pain to get off. Never mind, time to strip out all the parts we wont be using. Time to break out the screwdrivers..



Overt your eyes children... a naked LiLi.

Time to cut things to pieces I think - the radiators need to be mounted somewhere don't they?





The template i'm using on top is Bill's from MNPCtech, and an Aquatuning one for the bottom cut.





Bought myself a new jigsaw for this, I had no intention of getting one with a laser guide, but it actually turned out to be a really hand bit of kit.





Filing the perforated aluminium is a bit of a pain.



A quick test fit.. All seems good. This will in due course be covered over with a radiator grill when it has been delivered.

I'm going to be using my old chromed Hardware Labs Black Ice GT Stealth II which were given to me back when I was doing Watery... all those years ago.



So that's how things are now. I'll set about the top cuts tomorrow, but now, its time to watch Chelsea win the Champions League and have some dinner.

Until next time...

[Bill Owen]

Nice case and Mankz! and You always have the coolest and most unique names for your projects too!

[dietje1908]

I'll be following this one , absolutely love that case ! what a steal for 18 pounds !
And congrats on th e chelsea victory :-)

[Mankz_91]

Thanks fellas



A quick photo to show a simple plan.. If in doubt mock-up in cardboard. The fans will also be swapped and modded in due course too.

Even though there are two radiators, loop will be single not dual... well, unless someone feels like giving me a free pump.

More soon.

[Edited]

I LOVE Lian Li's! Good luck!

[Mankz_91]

I got some parts earlier..



A pair of fill ports. One will go up top, and the other as a drain valve somewhere, as due to the loop I'm planning, it will be a nightmare to drain without one.



These are Phobya Hex grilles. They're pretty nice and something a bit different.. However, they're almost too big for the fans. If you cut the whole so that all of the grille is open, you get a gap of about 2mm at the top and bottom before the fans start. This isn't a problem, just not ideal is all.



And one on the bottom as well. I'll have to re-cut the hole in the base, as even though no-one will see it, I'll know its there and it's not perfect.



A 120mm for the back too, just to keep the theme going. I'll need to trim the sides by about 2mm so that they don't over hand the side panel and the I/O ports hole.

All should be doable with the trusty jigsaw tomorrow in 20 mins or so.



In the mean time, the cardboard mock-ups continue. Never underestimate the power of the cardboard mock up.

More tomorrow..

[Manicdan]

Never underestimate the power of the cardboard mock up.

that is the truest statement on this site.
ive built a few cases from scratch, and the step from the rendering to cardboard only takes a few minutes, but its the first REAL thing constructed, and the first time you see your idea in the real world and get to touch it.

keep up the good work.

[Mankz_91]

Bottom fully cut.



Back cut. You can see where the grille needs to be trimmed.



And then the top panel. There will be more cutting done to this in due course, but you'll have to wait and see for that.



And how the internals are looking. Installing the rest of the watercooling parts next, and then working on the panels..

More soon.

[Mankz_91]

Whats all this then?

Why, its hardware...



Nothing that incredible.. a 3570k, Sabertooth Z77, 16Gb, 670 GTX OC, etc.. But more than enough for my needs. The i30 cooler is there because I wanted something more substantial than the stock cooler, it will be replaced in due course.

I just did a very quick build as it'll all have to be ripped apart for watercooling stuffs to be added to the case and more cuts to be made. But most importantly:



The PSU and radiator fit in together pefectly. Phew. I utterly forgot to factor that in when making the cuts in the floor.

More soon.... Well, maybe.

[Mankz_91]

5.25" bays removed, new panels designed.

Horray.

[Farmerbrown]

5.25" bays removed, new panels designed.

Horray.

Hello

Love lian li builds done 3 of them myself

Keep it up

[Mankz_91]

Don't worry, the mid panel is going to be replaced as well, the mobo tray will stay as is, but have a stealthing plate across the space at the back.

[Mankz_91]

I've wanted one since the days of socket 939, so I bought one..





I may swap it out for a nickel plated version one day, but this will do nicely.

[editor22]

Looks great man! Still can't believe you picked that case up so damn cheap!

[Mankz_91]

Ebay and ignorant sellers are your friends...





Working out the mounts was a pain. They should really supply a small diagram with the packaging.



:dremel:

[Mankz_91]

One hole for an aquatube.



Hole saw I used was ever so slightly too small, but I'll file it out tomorrow







Hides the rear fan and the top radiator and fans, exactly how I wanted.



And how it should look with the Aquatube in.

Aces!

[Mankz_91]

Some WC bits arrived:





An MCP350 with an XSPC top. I will probably replace this with a white EK one in due course.



And a Heatkiller 3.0 in white - very nice indeed, and the mounting systems seem greatly improved since my EK Supreme a few years back.

[dietje1908]

coming along nicely , love the colors !

[Mankz_91]

I wanted an Aquaero, and someone was selling one at a good price, so picked it up. This is the older 4 model .





It'll be mounted in the front, but seeing as I don't have any 5.25" mounting rails, I need to think of something..

[Mankz_91]

Have been getting some more parts in the post.

Firstly, an Aquatube mount.. Unsure if I'm going to use it, but picked it up anyway.



Secondly, a 6.2" touchscreen display from Coolmiester. Runs at 1600x1200 which is just silly..









Still not entirely sure how or where im going to mount it, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For more info, check his thread.