Case Mod - In Progress Slaymate's Saga: Case is Finished

I'm performing some mods to this Lian Li A70 case for my friend Dan aka Slaymate.. I asked him to join this thread and post his hardware. My prime directive is improving airflow in the Lian Li A70. Add some utilitarian amenities Dan requested like handles, castors. Then powdercoat the panels Gloss Black and airbrush a mural over the right side and bezel.



The first thing to be replaced was the A70's factory perforated front grill with Honeycomb Modders Mesh, with 1/4" hexagon holes with 9/32" staggered centers.

The A70's restrictive front grill, BEFORE




Honeycomb Modders Mesh


Determining best location for the quad 120 fan / window, I will be offering these windows soon. They're cnc milled from 1/4" thick acrylic, measure 11" x 13.5" with beveled edges and countersunk for 8/32 socket head screws.

I've got a card bracket I need to clear, so placement is crucial



Outlining location before cutting access panel


After the panel has been cut for acrylic window


Dan will be using Mnpctech pro line's "Grooved Case Handles" are CNC milled from blocks of 3/4" thick solid aluminum.



These handles were special ordered with my last production run of anodized Black case feet. Dan's handles have been clearcoated.


Dan wanted castors. I'm installing these Black castors with slick brake tabs.


Marking off handle mounting points with measuring square and 2x 120mm blow fan locations in the A70's top panel





using drill press with 4.5" hole saw attachment


Roper whitney hand punch for fan screw mounting holes

 

Epic case in the making bill!

 

You're off to an excellent start! That mesh alone is a huge improvement.

 

Hello bit-tech, I'm Slaymate aka Dan. I'll be posting some pictures of the hardware that will be installed in this case. Do you want to see it now or wait until Bill is finished?

Here is a list of the Hardware.

Intel Core i7 920
Cooler Master V10
EVGA X58 SLI
(3) x 2GB Corsair PC3 12800
(2) x GTX280 (EVGA & BFG)
SilenX IXG-80HA2 gpu heatsinks
Seagate Barracuda 250GB SATA (Vista 64)
Seagate Barracuda 250GB SATA (Windows 7)
WD 80 GB SATA (WinXP Pro 64)
WD 80 GB SATA (Data Storage)
Asus Blu-Ray/DVD SATA (black)
Samsung 22X DVD/DVD Burner SATA (black)
Cooler Master 1250 watt Power Supply

 

Looking good so far.

but why you have 3 OS?

 

Really nice job so far Bill.

Slaymate: Welcome

badje: If you knew how many OS's I have loaded on my machine you'd probably fall out of your chair laughing.

 

I have 3 OS's for a few reasons. First, I do reviews and some items need to be tested on various platforms. I use Vista so that I can play DX10 games in DX10 mode. I use WinXP for work. I draw Houseplans and my version of AutoCad doesn't like Vista and I don't want to spend $3000 on a new version. And I've been playing with Windows7 just for fun

 

Post your hardware Dan, theres gonna be lull in my work until your panels come back from powdercoating

 

Well I have a bunch of pictures so I'll post a few everyday.

Here we have the Intel Core i7 920




Next is the EVGA X58 3X SLI














Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) PC3 12800

 

Cool Project! Misread the topic though and originally thought it said Slaymate's Sega, and thought it was a console mod. Very cool though either way!

 

Love to see someone has spend a small fortune on hardware for a case, but I rather see some creativity in the MOD. But it's early, so i will sit back and let myself get suprised

 

I'll poke you later on Frenkie

 

god bill just take my idea for the front grill why dont u haha!!!!
looks sweet keep it up!

 

another lian-li case and really impressive hardware list i look for the next update

 

When this project started I was going to use the Cooler Master V8. But then Cooler Master released the V10 and I decided to try that instead. But I may still change my mind, I've been known to buy on impulse.

I'm not a fan of the Black Plastic Cover. I'll probably take it off and lose it.






The base has a pretty nice finish to it


When the cover is removed things start to look a little shoddy. Everything looks a little bent. I'm not really impressed with the side view but it may not be noticable installed.


If I do lose the cover I'll be using this fan grill on the exposed fan.


Here are the fans, they are wired together.


Back to the heatsink. There are a bunch of Void Your Warranty Stickers on this thing. Luckily I'm highly skilled at Voiding my Warranty


With the control module removed we can see the thermistor is located on the outer edge of the base. This means the Peltier doesn't even activate until the outer edge of the base gets hot. I'll be relocating it to the center or slightly off-centered (now that I've tried it as packaged).


And here's a picture of the Peltier. And I've also ordered a couple different Peltiers to try in-lieu of the stock unit. The stock unit is rated at 70 watts with 21 volts at 9.8 amps. I just don't see the Peltier getting more than 12-13 volts so it's never going to get that cold. So following there logic I ordered a 120 watt, 24.6 volt, 7.9 amp Peltier. Once again it's never going to reach it's potential but it should get much colder. I also decided to try using my logic and I ordered a 80 watt, 16.1 volt, 8 amp Peltier. I have high hopes for this one. It should run at 75-80% efficiency with 12 volts.


And the Mounting Hardware. I didn't realize that the AM2 plate was stuck to the 1366 plate.


I also bought one of these t-shirts. As I understand it, the wearie is inbued with an extra 10% modding bonus

Front


Back


Fruit of the Loom, you know it's comfee

 

I'm sorry! lol..

I should have Dan's panels back from powdercoating tommorow

 

Slaymate: I'm very interested to see how your mods to the V10 work out. I was somewhat disappointed by the stock cooling of the V10.

From what I understand there is only a 3° C difference in running the stock TEC and not running it. I'm really curious what results you will yield from your TEC's.

Please keep us posted.

BTW that shirt rocks!

 

I finally got a shipping notice for the Peltiers I'll be trying with the Cooler Master V10. Looks like I'll be tinkering this weekend

Today we have the Video Cards. I bought the EVGA GTX280 1st and I took quite a few pictures. When I got the BFG GTX280 I was in a hurry to plug it and I only took a single photo. But we'll get to see the BFG stripped down tomorrow when the new cooler is installed

The BFG GTX280


And the EVGA GTX280

 

Today I have some pictures of the coolers I'll be using on the GTX280's. This is the SilenX IXG-80HA2 Noiseless GPU Cooler. They have an optional fan kit, which I bought, Ixtrema GPU Fan Kit. But I won't recommed the fan kit, it's expensive, flimsy and the fans are totally exposed. Instead I bought (4) Scythe Kaze-Jyu Slim 100mmx100mmx12mm 2000 rpm 27.6 cfm fans, (2) for each card. On a side note, these fans come with brackets to mount them onto a hard drive.

Here are the basic spec's of the Coolers
dimensions - 228.4x113.2x33.2mm
base material - Copper Heatpipes, Aluminum Plates
fin material - Aluminum Fins
fin surface area - 2800cm²
weight - 365g
gpu compatibility - Most Radeon and GeForce graphics cards with mounting holes, SLi and Crossfire supported

While they say the Cooler is Crossfire and SLI compatible, it is only compatible as a fanless alternative. If you want to use fans with these Coolers you'll be looking for a new case, probably.

















In this next picture you'll notice that (2) of the Memory Modules don't have Ramsinks. Instead you have to apply a Thermal Pad to (2) of the modules as the heatpipes are located above them.

 

That, sir, is one hell of a sexy GPU.