Case Mod - In Progress NPGP-A01, 22th Update [5th Sep 2015] New radiator/bezel support

NPGP-A01
New Project, my Great Project with a lian-li A01
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Direct links to updates:

• 
  1st Update [14th Nov 2009] The first sponsor!

• 
  2nd Update [20th Nov 2009] A01 arrived.

• 
  3rd Update [21th Nov 2009] Disassembling the case.

• 
  4th Update [1st Dec 2009] Front cut by water jet.

• 
  5th Update [9th Dec 2009] Front bezel materials.

• 
  6th Update [18th Jan 2010] More waterjet work.

• 
  7th Update [20th Jan 2010] Sanding plastic pieces.

• 
  8th Update [22th Jan 2010] Still working on plastic separator.

• 
  9th Update [4th Feb 2010] Preparing front bezel, and countersinking holes.

• 
  10th Update [5th Feb 2010] Bending aluminium

• 
  11th Update [6th Feb 2010] Second sponsor!

• 
  12th Update [7th Feb 2010] Making holes and tapping it

• 
  13th Update [16th Feb 2010] Front bezel polishing & motherboard tray modification

• 
  14th Update [2nd Mar 2010] Radiator stands

• 
  15th Update [12nd Mar 2010] Modularizing a PSU

• 
  16th Update [31th Mar 2010] Front USB ports planning sketch

• 
  17th Update [8th Aug 2010] Front USB ports: a reality

• 
  18th Update [10th Aug 2010] SATA ports mod and first lanparty

• 
  19th Update [12th Aug 2010] My first 100% DIY waterblock

• 
  20th Update [17th Aug 2010] Opening a window

• 
  21th Update [13th Aug 2015] Five years later

• 
  22th Update [5th Sep 2015] New radiator/bezel support

Actual Status:

Old stuff:​

Sponsorship:

DFI is sponsoring with a LANPARTY JR 790GX-M3H5 motherboard.


EK waterblocks & Traxtore is sponsoring with a EK-CoolStream-RAD XT 360 triple Radiator


Special Mention & Where to buy things that I use to build the mod?:

Izarmicro helped me a lot to contact with some manufacturers., here you can buy DFI products.


Project exposure:
I've been thinking about this for months, thinking about to do a great mod, sober, elegant, professional work...
I'm looking for sponsorship for some mod parts, because I prefer to spend money on vital parts of the mod, for example parts that I can make with raw materials or electronics. Also It's a bit harder to find sponsor to cover all the mod costs, is more easier to find a sponsor for hardware or cooling components.
But, well, after a +10 years in the modding 'under'world, I modded for me and for commercial business (manufacturer & third parts). But never I made a business deal between manufacturer and myself, until now.

I decided to start from a commercial case, because it matches my base ideas. Also comes with some machining that I can't do in my home. They're made with specialized industrial machines and I don't have acces to it, for now. This case it's a Lian-Li A01.



I made some proof of concept sketches. The case needs a lot of work to achieve the ideas inside my head.















I don't have the A01 in my hands, measures can be wrong.
The front bezel will be in aluminium. There will be a mesh in front of radiator. Also I need to work more in the case front, make changes to fit a little display (alphanumeric) and give more personality.

PD: Yes, there are no dvd unit

 

Is it going to be watercooled? Might need a pump!

You could probably fit a slimline DVD somewhere, they are surprisingly small.

 

Aye, that's gonna be a tight fit!

Nice concept

 

Will definatly be following this, looking to build something similar myself.

 

Thanks all for following the thread

Yes will be watercooled, sketches didn't show nothing, only the radiator. The pump goes between psu and radiator.
I don't use optical media, practically never. I could use a external drive if I need.

 

Yikes, that is cozy...

I will be interested to see future sketchups, that is a tiny box to fit everything into. I watch...

 

that design is awesome! - love the "cleanness"

Subbed!

Edit: aren't there supposed to be pics of actual modding in here? ... can we see pics?

 

This is exactly the kinda build i want to make, mATX watercooled very well in the smallest case possible. Definitely be watching this closely.
I was considering doing my build in the Lian Li Xbox case, its 160x250x415mm (W,D,H)
But that meant fitting a mATX board which is, 244x244mm a seriously tight fit with only 6mm to spare

 

1st Update, the first sponsor!

Hi, I'm very happy to anounce the first sponsor, DFI. They are supporting me from the beggining, and this is very important for me.
They have given me a motherboard, a LANPARTY JR 790GX-M3H5, you can see the technical specs in the DFI website:
http://www.dfi.com.tw/portal/CM/cmp...sWindow?action=e&windowstate=normal&mode=view

All this business has been possible thanks to DFI's official distributor in Spain, Izarmicro, who helped me a lot to contact with DFI.
Thanks for all the professionalism and attention given, thanks Jon, Patricia & Karin.

Well, let's explain some interesting things from the mobo. This summer I was looking for a mobo in m-atx format. I decide to choose this one because it allows me a big management. It have a lot of bios parameters to control voltages and fine tuning, specially for overclocking. Also, the pcb desing and component placement are good.

I made some photos from the unboxing:


























This summer also I bought a PhenomII 955BE and a pair of corsair ddr3 memory modules at good price. They combine pretty well!




Here a closer look




For now I will mount the system on my PC-65B to work freely with the other. Also I disassembled the watercooling system to prepare some components for new system.




Running in stock air




Some daylight.

 

2nd Update, A01 arrived.

At last! the A01 is here, it was a bit difficult to get, because most distributors have no stock. Finally I found one on a local store, but in black. I prefer in aluminim due to paint job later.










This its a old 'black ice pro', you can see that the radiator width fits completly well. Anyway the radiator isn't taking all the case width, is touching with the motherboard tray. With the mobo tray removed, or cutted, a radiator can be placed spaciously, without any problem.





So, ok, now starts the serious job, remove those all pieces that isn't need and cut!

Stay tuned

 

I really like your renderings! I will be following this one for sure!

 

Damn! You make me think about buying this case! Love what you're planning to do with it!

 

3rd Update, Disassembling the case

He he he, yes, I'm a bit excited, this was the first time that I totally disassembled a lian-li. After all wasn't too complicated, unscrew some screws, drill & punch the rivets...


























Wow, gained a lot of space!



There's a problem with the radiator, al least with those black ice extreme models. It touches with the rails used to lock side panels. This needs to be fixed later.





Now I don't have a triple rad. but you can make a idea with this. I think it will fit without problems.



Oh, a dual rad. can be placed in the case top!



Time to drill.



This piece gives robustness to the structure.







Starts to take away a bit.



Unscrewing this you can disassemble the lock device.











Here the lock bar, it works like a latch.











At last! finally I can separate the front/top and rear/down pieces.





Here the little problem explained before, the widest part from the radiator is touching with the lock bar passer.



Ah, remember to store the screws and little parts in a safe place when you disassemble a case!







Yep, ready for hard-work!



A basket to store all pieces on a safe place!

 

I love taking cases apart. Especially finding those craftily hidden screws between stickers =^P.

I like the concept drawing... Clean and classy. Looking forward to how it comes together.

 

So, what do you think: would it be possible to make the wires go behind the motherboard tray?

 

Sure, it's possible, there are sufficient space between mobo tray and side panel to fit some wires

 

Even a fat 24pin mobocable?

 

After a profuse experimentation with PSU wires seen here: http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=165462&p=1944364 , I can say that I'm sure

No, really, however I can put a rail to guide the 24 wires from the psu to the mobo connector. There are a lot of ways for doing that, I do not mind this for now.

 

what are you going to do with the rads? find some smaller ones? maybe something like XSPC RS series?

 

I'm trying to "measure" if a triple radiator could fit, I do with a dual+single I have a old cooltek on another pc, like this but triple: http://www.hardwareoverclock.com/Dual-Radiator-2.htm

It's a bit old, has a simple design, I think less effective compared to newer radiators... or not, don't know.
Which are the exterior measures of XSPC?