Project SSSLi, the fusion of Silence and Speed. TONS OF UPDATES!

Project SSSLi: The fusion of Silence and Speed!
Silent, Slipery, and Sexy Lian-Li
Welcome to my project!
PLEASE! Read the FULL project log on my site, at http://www.GreenSoda.com/sssli/ to see all the pics!!
Below lies all the background info that no one will read, but if you want to read it, please do!
Also, take note that I’ve been working on this case for a bit now, and im just posting the log because I have some actual progress now

Yes, I'm starting the project. This case isn't going to be one of those great flashy cases like ZapWizard's Ammo Case or G-gnome's Orac³ Case. No, this case is going to be simple. That’s how I am, in many ways, and I want this case to reflect me...kinda...

The goals of this case:
• Simple: I like simple things, and I really like the combination when a simple idea is executed correctly.
• Good Color: I personally think that the Black, Silver, and Blue or Green combo is one of the best color combos out there for a case, and that’s what I want this case to be.
• Silent: The main reason for this case is that I’m tired of hearing a F16 in my room. Fully watercooled, and what few fans I do need are going to be set to low speed.
So, that’s the goals, here’s what I want to do with the case:
• Nice tinted windowed top, with screen mesh for a 120mm fan. Fully stealthed for no screws.
• 2mm thick strips, clear, for the lights.
• New side window, stealthed
• Name badge in lower right corner of window
• New lighting scheme, with White LED highlights
• New switch bus
• QUIET! Pax.Mate everywhere!
• Watercooled, as much as my wallet will allow
• New Wire management.
With all of that taken care of, here’s the pics!

Standard Lian-Li PC 60 case, with a window and stealthed drives, nothing special at all.

First round of parts.

The original rough cutout for the window. You never saw this because of that thick molding that im getting rid of.

Heres a pic of an old laptop floppy drive that I have, once it was removed from the casing (that you can see in the background).
One of the features I want to achieve with this case is that I want it to be as stealthed as possible. I like the “clean and contempory” look, so that’s why I have my drives stealthed. What im doing with the drive is to take it, and put it behind the front bezel, so that on the rare occasion I need it, I still have access to a drive, but it will be hidden the rest of the time.

I forgot how light this case is, so when I removed all the parts, I was amazed at the feather weight. So heres my Godzilla impression
(please note im not that bad looking in person! )

 

Project SSSLi: The Fusion of Silence and Speed, part 2
Planning stages out of the way, heres the actual modding part:

Heres my workbench and the n4k3d case in her glory.
http://www.greensoda.com/sssli/images/18.jpg[img]
First step was to remove the top! A simple drilling of some rivets, and it was done!
[img]http://www.greensoda.com/sssli/images/37.jpg

I also wanted to get rid of that damn 80mm fan grill on the back, to be replaced with a nice, low wind resistance wire grill.
The top part of the window is going to be painted black, which will cover a lot of the junk that’s hidden up there. However, im going to be putting some “strips” on the window, that is going to be clear so that you can see some green or blue LED’s for lighting effects. This was a little test piece:


You can see that when the tape is pealed off, it gives a nice effect, plus the black “mirror” like effect. Just what I wanted. But the tape that I used left horrible residue on the plexi, so im going to need a better way of doing this. I think im going to use something like This window etch. Hopefully it will turn out ok.
Next I had to finish off that window on the case door. All it needed was some good filing and some sanding, so off I went:

New set of files!

And finished. Came out really nicely.

And with the newly cut window.

 

Project SSSLi: The Fusion of Silence and Speed, part 3
Now for the REAL fun…
Just want to encourage you to read the project log again, follow it with http://www.GreenSoda.com/sssli
I wanted to get that top window out of the way, so I started off with some planning steps:


Some basic work with my compass, and a paper model of the radiator that will be in place.

Some testing of what will be the window. You can also see one of the designs for the clear strips.
This is when the crap hit the fan. And it hit HARD. I was originally going to use my jigsaw, like I used for the other window. That FAILED, HORRIBLY! Not even funny how bad it failed. So then I got the trusty Dremel, but that didn’t work either, for whatever reason. So then I got out my drill, and decided to drill a barrage of holes so that I can go in the my files and dremel and clean it up.



And just for the hell of it, heres a pic of how much I had to file… It took me over 3 HOURS of filing to get it down to a clean edge, ready for sanding…


However, the end result was REALLY nice. Here are some glamour shots of the case, after most of the heavy dremeling is finished:




So whats next? Well, Im going to start on the Pax.Mate and the PSU Sleaving in a few mins. Im also going to start on the floppy. So I know that its nothing really over glamorous, but I like the results. Updates later!

 

sweet work mate
i like how you're going for simplicity and silence, two things i like about my PC's.
that filing is insane!!! i cant believe how much you filed off, your arm must've been sore after that one
all in all good work keep it up

 

that looks nice man. gj so far

 

Good job, sir! You filed that much?! Were you planning to originally just have blow hole up there?

 

Way to stick with it! That top window seems like it was a bitch for sure. I wonder why your jigsaw did not work? What kind of blade did you use?

 

Looks awsome: I love the lian li cases...

Sounds kind of like my project: Project Fast Mod: Check it out.

Good work on the filiing. I wish that steel worked as nice as aluminum in the li lian does.

Look forward to seeing more of the project:: Suscribed.

 

Thanks for the support guys!
And yes, that stupid filing got rid of what little fat i had in my arm

Im not sure why the stupid Jigsaw didn't work. It was the same blade that i used when i was cutting the case door window a year ago (i hardly use it...), so i dont know what the deal was. Stupid thing was not doing a good job, and i got really fed up with it. I think its because the surface was rasied, and not really well supported. Oh well.

I didn't get much done tonight as far as the PSU sleaving. Im still working on wire manegement before i start, so no pics. I'll have an update tomorrow.

I did, however, order the rest of my watercooling stuff. It should be here on Weds. of this week. But i stupidly didn't order a 120mm fan for my rad, so i need to order one of those too

But, heres a little pic of the CPU waterblock.

 

Yes definatly fork out the extra money for an aluminium case They look so Nice and they are so easy to Mod (and scratch )
Looking good so far.

Good to see your using Swiftech Water Block Like myself.

 

Looks great, gave me some new ideas
I´ve just ordered myself a PC7 case that I´ll begin modding on soon

 

Project SSSLi: The Fusion of Silence and Speed, part 4
A little floppy?

Edit: bah! i had a great post going, then i hit the refresh button

Ok, just a small update today. I wasn't really motivated, and kinda busy with homework

Basicly, all i did was the floppy drive. I wanted to get rid of that, and cross it off my list. The way im doing it i'll be killing 2 birds with one stone in the fact that i'll be 1) Keeping with the theme of the case (im painting it black), and 2) i'll be hiding some wires!

On with the pics!


The way im mounting this will become clear when i post a pic later, but becasue the paint is still drying no pic. For now, here is a pic of what my plans are:


And here is the outter plexi being painted. When looked at from the window, it will look like the top window, plus it will hide some wires.


Thats it really. Tomorrow will be a huge update as the rest of the watercooling parts come in. For now, heres some teaser pics:

 

Looks pretty cool. I love the perfect edges on the windows!
Question: How much does the PaxMate reduce? It is noticable? (my PC sounds like a V8...)

 

Parts came! w00ty! Im installing them now

 

refredzrate... sorry if i got that wrong

ive heard that the noise reduction mat things only help a little, but ive also heard that they will have more of an effect in alluminum cases because steel is more rigid and vibrates less...

i have never used them myself, so i can only speculate, but that is what i have heard from others... hope that helps

 

I'm just curious - with the perfect square corners on the new top window, why did you keep the rounded corners on the side window? Make em match now tht you don't need the molding strip!

 

Well, problem

The plexi that i was using for the floppy broke, so i had to make a new one and repaint it.

And the upper plexi is still drying (one would think that 4 hours is enough ), so i cant fit the rad in yet, so i cant finish the watercooling part, and since i cant put the parts in place i cant put the Pax.Mate on properly. Too many things rely on that top window!!

But, i will say that the Rad fits in PERFECTLY (dry fit). I dont even think im going to need to screw it in, becuase its a perfect fit! And the pump i got (good ol` L20) is REALLY silent, just what i wanted.

Also, i ordered the 120mm fan from Newegg today, should be here on saturday, which kinda sucks, but i guess i can manage with a 80mm for now

PSU sleaving is going slow... Still trying to figure out the trick.

So, overall today (also being a short day with school stuff), i did almost nothing Some things worked, some didn't. Hopefully i can finish 90% of it tomorrow. I will say that the top window looks really sharp, imo

And raptorLord, havn't noticed the rounded corners with the square corners yet, case hasn't been together for more then 5 mins But now that you point it out, i may change it. Not sure though, because im running out of room for the door to open with the plexi mounted.

 

Hmmm...interesting...good cuts, good filing . Stealthing is always good, however, I recommend cutting off what power supply leads you dont use and sleeving the rest. Just my two cents.

/me packs up his soapbox, walks off whistling

 

FedEx doesn't deliver on Saturday, so it looks like you'll be getting your fan on Monday....

Nice project, by the way. I'm about to take the sanding wheel to my cd burner.

-TX297

 

Already doing that! Its taking a while though, because im trying to figure out the best way to route the cables.

and TX297, damnit! why must you ruin my day! oh well, i can just run the rad off the 80mm for now