hi all, i am about to find a new case for my mATX build - but i need the case to be a BTX. you know, like the FT02 - with the MB plate in the case are turned 180 degresse. but still where the I/O panel from the MB turn back and not up. but is it pssoible to mod the Lian Li PC-a04 case into that ?
Do you mean like the Silverstone TJ08-E (Linky) - where the I/O is still at the back but you get to the motherboard from the right-hand side not the left-hand side?
mind reader the thing is - i dont feel i like the tj08-e case my first choice was CubiTek Micro-ice but it is impossible to get. then i saw the TJ08-E and the Lian-Li PC-A04 case - where the PC-A04 was more like me. but i can see bit-tech.net does give higher credit to tj08-E than the lian-li case :/
Fair enough - I would be about even between the two on the looks side of things but that's obviously your preference! This picture would seem to show that the tray is riveted to that piece of metal at the bottom which is then in turn possibly riveted to the bottom of the case - both of them would need drilling out and then re-fixed on the other side. I can't find a picture of how the motherboard tray is attached at the top however... Would be an interesting mod if you did decide to go ahead! GK
idd, but to order the case to find out i cant do it is bad. but i still cant deceide which case i choose. i give it a couple of days.
If you don't mind me asking, why do you want a case with the motherboard rotated but with the I/O at the back?
because where i sitting at home, i have the left side of the case up at the wall and the right side t my face and in my mod i want a window
Because he wants it sat on the left of him, while still having a window so he can stare at the shiny odds and ends inside? C'mon, most of us are that fickle, no? But seriously; Those designs are still very interesting, if only for the fact it's the best angle for GPU heatpipe designs now-a-days, I swear most manufacturers forget that graphics cards are going in upside-down in relation to how Heatpipes like to work.
Fair enough - my case is to the right of me, so a window in the left works for me! I like the idea of rotated mb's with heat being drawn in at the bottom and being blown / rising up out the top. Do heatpipes really perform that much different upside down?
atm i have the Silverstone FT02, i like hte way that the I/O panel from the MB i in the top. like the raven-series.
I think the A05 was the last Lian Li case to have the motherboard tray in the orientation you seek. I prefer to have the expansion slots at the top as well. It's really quite hard to find a case with this let alone one that also looks nice.
I've built 3 computers using the PC-A04 chassis, and 3 computers using the TJ08-E chassis. My own personal computer is in a PC-A04, it's a nice case, however the Silverstone is a bit nicer. The tolerances are tighter on that case. One of my Lian-Li cases doesn't fit together as nicely as it should. My personal PC is nice and tight, however one of them I built for a client the panels don't line up perfectly straight like the other two. The Silverstone also feels more solid, where the Lian-Li feels a bit on the flimsy side. If I were to buy a case again for myself, I think I would go with the Silverstone case. Silverstone Builds https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/466769_4103931202501_952087307_o.jpg https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/473369_4623970723164_2061814889_o.jpg https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/271502_4623949202626_765679316_o.jpg Lian-Li Builds https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/457246_3419651975948_1823069845_o.jpg https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/176707_4796163227869_915528271_o.jpg https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/466790_3443365848780_1631300307_o.jpg Another thing is, the top audio and mic ports are defective on the PC-A04. At least on my own personal one. 3.5mm jack doesn't fit right in them and they end up shorting out, causing the computer to power off.
The main problem I found with the PC-A04 is the lack of cable management space. Have you looked at the Silverstone PS07? It has the rotated motherboard tray, but aesthetically id more like the PC-A04 with the two 120mm fans at the front behind a door like the Fractal R3. you could happily mod the right side to include a window if you wanted.
