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Case Mod - In Progress Antec Lanboy: Watercooled

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by ing0, 22 Jan 2011.

  1. ing0

    ing0 What's a Dremel?

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    Got myself a Antec Lanboy recently and moved my old build over to it. My housemate then got the idea into my head of watercooling it so we orderd some gear the other day from Aquatuning:

    [​IMG]

    And he kindly gave me one of his old WC blocks:

    [​IMG]

    Lanboy Case:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    (I didn't bother spending much time wiring as I had my new kit ordered when I moved the build over).

    Pump & Reservoir:
    [​IMG]

    Radiator:
    [​IMG]

    Mounting the Radiator:
    So the first hurdle of this build was figuring out where to mount the radiator. I had already decided on a place, here (just under the cd drive/hdd):

    [​IMG]

    I wanted to use the rubber-suspender-things that the hard drives are mounted on:

    [​IMG]

    But I wasn't sure how the radiator would cope being suspended, and to be honest, it doesn't really work for the HDD's either as they slide around too much! I also couldn't do this anyway as the fan hole placement on the rad didn't line up with the hard drive mounts anyway!

    My next thought was to mount the rad on the top of the two fans on the inside, but as they are held to the plastic mounts via clips, there was no good way to do this flush and I wasn't sure about how well it would hold on to the it anyway! I then noticed that the case is quite conveniently built so that you can mount your hdd and cd drives either the usual way or at a 90 degree angle. So I took the metal fixings and moved them from here:

    [​IMG]

    To here (top & bottom):

    [​IMG]

    Fortunately these lined up perfect with my XSPC radiator! The problem now was, as with the HDD mounts, the holes didn't line up! As these were metal I drilled myself some new holes in them to make the radiator mount in the center:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    If you do this yourself, don't forget to use a center punch to line up the drill bit :cooldude:

    [​IMG]

    Now, as I've just moved into a flat -> I don't exactly have a work bench!! Thanks to KC for providing me with enough useless directory books that I could make my own :lol: (Edit: KC suck balls!)

    [​IMG]

    Drilling through these was fairly simple, just make sure you use a smaller bit first as a guide and then progressively get bigger:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Now, as it's just a small hole, instead of using a tap I just forced one of the screws that came with the radiator through (I made the hole just smaller than the screw):

    [​IMG]

    Once I'd done this twice, I tested out the mount (this required some smaller screws than the ones that came with the radiator -> which I just happened to have!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And here it is mounted:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And here's the front view with the fan's on:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    So hopefully this will provide enough air to go through, but if it doesn't there's always space on the other side too!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Anyway, this was where I moved on to the CPU block. Turns out the block I was given wasn't the right size! :sigh: So I'm just about to order a new one! I have some more pics but will update this later as it's getting quite late now!

    Before I go, here's one of my favourite bits of the case:

    [​IMG]

    Somewhere to stash stuff! :p

    Thanks for reading.

    James
     
    Last edited: 6 Dec 2013
  2. djzic

    djzic Bokehlicious!

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    nice! I love the look of the lanboy, easy to mod too :p
     
  3. infekted.one

    infekted.one What's a Dremel?

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    modding a lanboy should be a good start, whats next on the list?
    It could be just my eyes, but is that radiator unlevel?
     
  4. ing0

    ing0 What's a Dremel?

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    What bit looks unlevel? Some of the pics aren't taken straight, but if you look at this one: [​IMG]
    It lines up pretty well with the metal mount, which is attached to the case as intended; so it should be straight and level!

    Thanks, do you have one? I managed to acquire mine, but wouldn't pay the retail price for one! At first it looked like it would be horrible to mod but it's actually a really nice case!

    Got some more pics to upload in a bit, just mounted the pump!
     
    Last edited: 6 Dec 2013
  5. infekted.one

    infekted.one What's a Dremel?

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    lol Its my eyes it still looks unlevel, I knew all that drinking alchol would catchup with me sooner or later, nvm me keep going mate. Go go go
     
  6. wbdog206

    wbdog206 not me

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    Nice, can't wait to see more.
     
  7. disturbed13

    disturbed13 What's a Dremel?

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    this should be good
     
  8. ing0

    ing0 What's a Dremel?

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    Update #1

    Thanks for the comments everyone :cooldude:

    Update:
    So, in my last post I mentioned that I was given a CPU block for the project. However, for some reason I didn't even look at it before not ordering one and it's annoyingly for the wrong socket. Instead of hacking a mod on this I've decided to order a new one - so will post more on that when it comes. Anyway, I had setup the mount for this block before realising:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    So now on to the pump, I headed off to the local DIY shop and got myself a selection of nuts and bolts and found some bolts that were long enough to mount the pump to the case:

    [​IMG]

    I then chose where to mount the pump and placed some screws through the conveniently placed mesh holes in the case:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I then got the case feet I've acquired out too see if they would fit, which they did:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    So on to the mount... I put a couple of washers around the case mesh hole and bolted it down (much like a CPU mount).

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I also used a washer above the pump mount and bolted these down like so:
    [​IMG]

    However, if you look at the last pic you'll notice that when I fixed the pump to the reservoir I didn't think about the power cable placement! So after taking it all apart and spinning the pump 180 degrees we end up with this:

    [​IMG]

    Which will hopefully allow for tidier wiring later on!

    That's it for now, will be waiting for my new CPU block to come before updating again!

    Thanks for reading :dremel:

    James
     
    Last edited: 6 Dec 2013
  9. vivaladan

    vivaladan What's a Dremel?

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    Nice work with the build. Keep it up!
     
  10. GeorgeStorm

    GeorgeStorm Aggressive PC Builder

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    Looks good!
    Haven't seen many builds with the lanboy, so look forward to watching this one :)
     
  11. ing0

    ing0 What's a Dremel?

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  12. Bloody_Pete

    Bloody_Pete Technophile

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    The inside of that block looked gunky, glad you didn't use it :)

    Just a thought, if you spin your rad 180 then it'll feed into the res perfectly (unless you were going for a pump > rad loop). Might also be a little easier to bleed of air :)

    Looking good though, that Lanboy is surprisingly spacey.
     
  13. ing0

    ing0 What's a Dremel?

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    CPU Block

    I'm not sure about the block now. I'm might hook it up and give it a clean through with some de-ionised water and see what it's like and then I can get a new mount for it to save cash for the time being. That or I might order a new CPU block, not sure which one to buy though! Was thinking the d-tek fuzion v2 but haven't looked into it too much yet!

    Yea I was thinking about spinning the rad around like I've seen in some other mods with this case do, but the current plan is to go straight from pump/res to rad, to cpu and back. I haven't really experimented with it that much yet, but the beauty of this case is I can spin it around with no effort! Also, I kinda like it where it is because of the fans on the front seem too conveniently placed!

    Thanks for the ideas though, will definitely try it out! :)
     
  14. vivaladan

    vivaladan What's a Dremel?

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    Spacious but a terrible case IMHO. For once bit-tech got their review bang on the money. The case is so impractical and badly thought out. That said it does look unique when modded to be a little more useful will certainly catch some eyes at LAN's.
     
  15. ing0

    ing0 What's a Dremel?

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    Steal

    Not so sure about the thumb screws that give any thief the quickest steal of their life! May have to work on something to counter that as part of this mod!
     
  16. Ty Webb

    Ty Webb What's a Dremel?

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    That's an interesting case but I'd wager a disaster in real life.
    With all the removable panels and 15 fans it probably rattles like a ************.
    I hate how they still insist on claiming "positive air pressure" using computer fans, which don't have enough static pressure to overcome normal air pressure even under lab conditions, much less a case full of mesh...
    Also, it seems counter-intuitive to include (and make such a big deal about) the "air suspension" for hard drives.
    Nearly anyone spending $200 on a case is likely going to be using SSDs, which need no special vibration abatement.
    Anyone actually going to LAN parties doesn't need (and is in NO WAY willing to lug around) six mechanical drives.
    The suspension mounting would have been better used on the opticals (another dying technology).

    Why make it possible to mount the opticals sideways but not account for them opening?
    Seems like the front panel should be interchangeable with the forward sidepanels.

    How come the motherboard tray/backplane cannot be flipped side to side?
    I'd much prefer that to the raising and lowering (to what end?) Antec provides.

    For $200 that thing is a wreck.
     
  17. ing0

    ing0 What's a Dremel?

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    lanboy case

    We're all entitled to an opinion with this case, and I agree with you in some aspects as it's very over priced. However, as I acquired this case I haven't let the cost get in the way of weather I like it or not, and to be honest, it has some nice features too.

    Actually no, I've only tested it with the stock fans but it was actually quiet (much quieter than my old CM stacker). With my WC mod, I will see how quiet I can get it later on...

    Yea they suck, it's a nice idea but they shift along the mounts (front to back) and this is rather annoying. Also, it's hardly a secure feature of the case! :D I do plan on using my SSD in this mod, but not until I get a new one for my dev machine, so in the meantime I will be mounting my HDD in this case, probably on a fixed mount but I'm not sure yet. Also, when I do get around to fitting my SSD in here, I don't know where it's going to go as the radiator is probably going to be in the way of the mounts!

    While some would argue it's dying and others wouldn't, I haven't used my CD/DVD drive in a while. In fact, I stole the SATA cable about a year ago from my case for something else and only noticed again when I took it apart to start this build! And I think the side mount CD drive thing is actually because of something you said. If it is a dying technology, then maybe modders do not want to see it but have the functionality there still? For example, on that one rare occasion that you need to use the drive, you can simply unscrew one thumbscrew, open the door on the hinge and you have your cd drive instead of having to look at it all the time :p

    This is something I've thought about doing with this mod, and I've seen build before where they include floppy drives internally. Not sure if it is, but I'd assume it was for the same reasons.

    I don't know why, and to be honest I don't know why you'd want to flip it. The raising and lowering is something that many cases can do [I think]. My old stacker at least allowed for the PSU to be mounted above or below - it even came with a cable that let you have two PSU's mounted and hooked up to the 24pin!
     
  18. ing0

    ing0 What's a Dremel?

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    It's took a while for this update but here are some pics from the build:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I'm not too sure where the build is going. Was thinking of maybe making a transparent side instead of the ugly mesh panels. Thoughts?
     
    Last edited: 6 Dec 2013
  19. Mattmc91

    Mattmc91 Minimodder

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    please tell me you cleaned that CPU block + Flushed your rad before you filled the loop?
     
  20. ing0

    ing0 What's a Dremel?

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    Yes lol of course I did. I'm thinking of getting another block at some point, this was just to get the system running. Any suggestions?
     

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