Case Mod - In Progress Project: Dominator (Lian Li A05-B) updated 10/20/08

I am posting my project log because I am so inspired by all the other great logs out there.

A little bit of background - my project is based on the Lian Li A05. I bought this case in April 2007 just after it came out and at that point I did some modifications to it for better airflow and water cooling. I like this case because I think PC cases should be smaller rather than larger. My previous 3 PC's where Shuttle SFF PC's. But alas the upgrades suck with SFF so I decided to go regular ATX components but get as small a case as I could find. The A05 was the perfect marriage!

Here is a pic of the case from lian li's website for now:



As part of the original work I did I installed an Alphacool Cape Cora radiator (see pic from a website so you know what I'm talking about) at the bottom of the case.



Then about a month ago my 939 mobo in my HTPC died and I had to donate my P965 in my gaming rig to keep my HTPC running

But that gave me the opportunity to upgrade my gaming rig and I decided to also undertake some additional modding as the radiator on my original mod never looked exactly how I wanted it

Most of my work will be centered around my watercooling setup

Sponsors:
Nanoxia

 

Original Modifications - April 2007

Initially in 2007 I did the following mods to the case:

Loads of masking tape for a small job - what was I thinking?





Cut a 120mm hole for top ventilation - this mod is needed straight from the factory as this case have heat buildup at the top above the graphics card.



Installed an AC Ryan rad grill, and made my own acrylic insert under the grill. This was just before AC Ryan started making the acrylic grills. Wonder if it is patented yet...



Next up is making a hole underneath the PSU - the idea was to flip the PSU upside down and let is draw air from outside the case over the heatpipes. But I never created the baffle between the case and PSU. Also as you can see I made a 120mm hole as the PSU had a 120mm fan and the fan was off center. Later I upgraded the PSU and the new one had a 140mm fan. Thus in my mew mod I will just create a square hole the size of the entire PSU.







The original holes for the tubing to enter the case:



The final product:

 

Here starts the log!

OK - stripped the case down to its undies and started the cutting and hacking:

What you see here is the underside of the case. I am making a square hole underneath the PSU. Originally the PSU pulled air from it's top, but I flipped the PSU over and now it will pull air directly over the radiator and out of the case. There is a small gap between the PSU and the bottom of the case, but I will close the gap this weekend (hopefully). The round hole is for a 120mm fan (obviously), and this fan will also help to cool the rad. The Alphacool Cape Cora rad is designed as a passive rad and that is how I used it originally but now I want to add some active cooling that can ramp up as the temps increase.
Notice the two holes with grommets - this is from my original mod and is used to protect the tubing as it enters the case. I had a great idea last Sunday to modify this solution as I designed my watercooling setup to be easily removable and the tubing running through the grommets did not fit into this design very well. More to come on this later!

BTW - photos taken before filing so don't kill me!

 

A fellow A05B'er..

I'll be watching this mod

 

Building a home for the Radiator

This update is all about building a home for the radiator...

I really like the look of the Alphacool Cape Cora. And also I like it because it is not your run of the mill rad.
But it did not tie in completely with my A05 for 2 main reasons:
-It is silver and the rest of the case is black
-The 4 heatpipes next to each other is slightly narrower than the case

This update will be all about tying in the rad with the case. And NO - I will not paint the heatpipes black!

First the rad in all it's nakedness. Keep in mind that I will install the heatpipes below the case. Notice how I connected the heatpipes to each other. Scroll up to the pic I posted in the original post. This is how Alphacool connects the heatpipes and is also the connectors included with the heatpipes. I did not like this appreach because the water will always choose the path of least resistance and not fully utilize all the heatpipes. So I bought some additional connectors and connected the pipes in serial:





Now start the fun of creating one of the central ports of the mod. I spent a lot of time visualizing and developing this solution. I love how it turned out. I hope you like it too

First my goodies arrived. In the AC Ryan box is my aluminum awaiting my dremel, jigsaw and bending brake



I forgot to take photos of the cutting, but here is the bending. Unfortunately my brake is not big enough and I had to do it in 2 parts - but it turned out OK







Because the front cover of the case is slightly longer than the case at the bottom I need a filler - enter the acrylic - seen here before cutting the fan holes etc:



And a quick test fit - drool. Case is seen here upside down. Case feet will be installed later on to the pieces of aluminum that wrap around the heatpipes.



After cutting the fan and screw holes







And - FINALLY - test fitted on the heatpipes







Note: All poor images are totally the fault of the author and the equipment should under no condition be blamed. The author hopes to do better in future but urges the audience to keep their hopes in check...

 

Edit 8/19/08 - Scrapped this res - just never liked the look & needed the space for wiring. Stay tuned for new reservoir

A few more updates to get the log up to date with current progress.

Building a mounting arm for the Reservoir:

First create the template on the material of choice - in this case AC Ryan brushed aluminum:



After cutting and filing



After bending on the brake and by hand:





Test fit to the reservoir:



Test fit in the case:



Gimme your opinions - I'm not 100% sure I like the look.

 

A small piece of acrylic to eliminate airflow through the mesh at the back of the case:





Paintin' the case black - it's not completely done yet






Building a bracket for the dual pumps:
I currently have 2 of these pumps



I know that they are not hot favorites but the 2 I have are still working and I just cannot get myself to replace them while there is nothing wrong with them. I will however only attach the pump bracket to the case with double sided tape so that I can at some point in the future replace the pumps with something else.

The bracket was designed to decouple the pumps from the case to eliminate vibration.
The bracket consists of 2 L shaped pieces of aluminum picked up from Home Depot that are glued together



Then painted and grommets and foam bumpers installed. The pumps will be screwed down through the grommets from the top and hang against the bumpers






I do not have any photos on my phone of the pumps test-fitted - will update later...

 

Mod if looking good but I should warn you that you have a Billabong ghost in your backyard:

 

LOL. I was too lazy to go outside to take the photo, so I took it through the sliding door. What you see there is my own extra large chest.

Wish I had a prize for the first funny response - this would take it!

 

Need some input from you - YES YOU - on the best way to spell DOMINATOR for a window design. Keep in mind I will cut a case window with the word in it

1) DOMiN8OR
2) DOMN8R
3) DOMiN8R
4) DOMiNATOR

 

To give you an idea of what I am talking about - this is a VERY rough drawing of what I have in mind for the left side panel. Keep in mind this case is reversed from the normal layout - the left side is the back of the mobo tray. I will cut the letters into the panel and put lighted green acrylic behind it.

The green and white piece on the right is going to be an opening through to the reservoir so that I can view the fill level of the reservoir.

 

DOMiNATOR is my favourite spelling out of those

Prefer DOMiNAT0R myself though


Looks like a nice mod... I'll be watching you

 

#4

 

How about this design?

 

I would go with that one.

 

Good choice of the Lian-li case and the mounting of the radiator really good
Good job

 

the second design looks good.

 

I would also prefer the second design. Looking good btw.

Edit: how's the performance of that rad?

 

A great start. I will be watching this.

 

Second Design Looks Wayy better,

Nice Going with the rads!