Getting a new case and I need input.

bigred · Post by **bigred** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 4:24 am

I know that this case has been discussed more than a few times already and I hope that I’m not pissing anyone off because of the repetition, but I think I have some new questions and ideas that make this post worth while. Thanks for reading.

Right now I am in the planning stages of building a new system. My first one, (which I am using now) was a great learning experience but I feel I can now make a much better system.
Basically I have all the decisions made except when it comes to the case. I have tentatively settled on the Lian Li PC6070. I love its looks and what not, but of course it has some issues...

For starters there are some potential air flow issues as discussed before. Since it has a door they had to move the front intake to the bottom of the case's front. The problem I see is that the front intake/dust guard is fairly restrictive. Pictured here is the original intake and here is the planned modification.
Also the case only has a single 80mm rear exhaust. Normally the exhaust from the PSU would help vent the system, but I will be using my Silentmaxx fanless PSU, so that means its all up to that one fan. So for starters I am going to need to cut some extra space on the PSU bracket and to help out the fan's air flow and reduce noise I'm going to cut away that rear grill. Both are pictured here, the red lines show the area that will be cut and removed from the PSU bracket.

Another thing is that I am planning on, is mounting my HD in a NoVibes3 enclosure. But I don't wish to have this mounted in the upper 5.25" bays, but rather in the bottom HD mounting area pictured here. The problem is that this mounting area is not designed to mount 5.25" devices. However I think I may be able to make it work...

For cooling and airflow, I am thinking about going with the Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu or the Thermalright SLK-947U (or I may stick with my SLK-800). The 947 is winning at this point since (from what I understand) this heatsink with a Panaflo 80L @7v will be the quieter of the two and cool better than the 7000A @5v. Is that correct?
Now, because of the single exhaust point for my system I am thinking about using the Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer. I figure that since on its low setting it is virtually silent, and because it blows the cards heat out of the case, it will greatly help ambient temps inside the case.
For case fans I was looking for something quiet like a Panaflo, but a fan that had a more broad (less direct) airflow path. Anyone have any suggestions? Maybe Pabst?

I also have this other idea. Its kind of unorthodox so don’t laugh if you think it’s ridiculous. I was thinking about reversing the flow of air in the case. Since I don't have a PSU fan to deal with, I figure I could have the rear fan as an intake, and the one/two front fan(s) as exhaust. It would solve the problem of the restrictive front intake, and I could still have a positive pressure case (which I would prefer) since I could run the rear fan faster since it’s further away.

If you read thru all that I thank you! Its kind of long...

Anyways, I'd love some feedback on this. Any help would be appreciated.

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 10:35 am

It would be helpful to know the components your using cpu, gpu ect. I really love the looks of this case, but it has HORRIBLE airflow. If you dont have a 9800pro and a super hott overclocked cpu you may be ok. I would only get the thermalright if you plan on moving the computer around alot as it is mounted better with the baseplate than the zalman. But the zalman is pretty darn quiet at lowest level and keeps my p4 2.4c at 30-40c. Even after cutting there will still be very little place for intake (which can be good in a way, because less noise). But if your system is hott your gonna have to cut that case all up to make it run cool. Also you may need to dampen the case because its made of aluminum and may resonate.

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 10:41 am

bigred wrote:Pictured here is the original intake and here is the planned modification.

That looks like a decent improvement. If I had a 6070, though, I'd be tempted to put a big filter in the floor, like the 6077's.

bigred wrote:Also the case only has a single 80mm rear exhaust.

There is enough room on the mobo tray to add another 80mm. I'd suggest this, since even 2 undervolted L1As are still very quiet and you won't have PSU noise.

bigred wrote:The 947 is winning at this point since (from what I understand) this heatsink with a Panaflo 80L @7v will be the quieter of the two and cool better than the 7000A @5v. Is that correct?

No. See Ralf's and Mike's reviews.

bigred wrote:I was thinking about reversing the flow of air in the case. Since I don't have a PSU fan to deal with, I figure I could have the rear fan as an intake, and the one/two front fan(s) as exhaust. It would solve the problem of the restrictive front intake, and I could still have a positive pressure case (which I would prefer) since I could run the rear fan faster since it’s further away.

No laughter here. Look for Bluefront's posts in the gallery to see how far this idea can go. However, it would not solve the restrictive intake completely, since some air would then probably need to exit there.

Keep us posted.

Trip · Post by **Trip** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 10:51 am

If you reversed the airflow, would you turn the case upside down?

Also, which fanless proSilence PSU are you considering? the 420W may work for a P4. 350W may only work for PIII systems or a comparable AMD system.

bigred · Post by **bigred** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 3:49 pm

GamingGod, I've got an XP 2800+ Barton (stock speed), Radeon 9700Pro, and a Samsung P80 (on order).
Oh yeah I forgot to include that. I plan on using AcoustiPack thoroughly.

Hammer, Yeah I like that intake idea from the 6077. I wonder if that part is removable, and therefore orderable from Lian Li?
I thought about adding a second fan but I want a positive pressure case, plus I want to keep the total number fans as low as possible.

Trip, good point. See I knew there was a good reason to make this post. With the exhaust at the bottom front of the case there would be a scorching heat spot around my already warm CD/DVD burners...
Actually I already have the 350w version. I just got my replacement back for my original defective one. 197w is great for my system, no hit of any power limitation problems.

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 6:58 pm

bigred wrote:Hammer, Yeah I like that intake idea from the 6077. I wonder if that part is removable, and therefore orderable from Lian Li?

It is removable, because that's how you pull the filter to clean it. OTOH, the frame is awfully obstructed, so I'd think about DIY instead.

bigred · Post by **bigred** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 9:53 am

Hmm ok. I was thinking that I could just cut one or two 80mm holes in the bottom and use something like this to filter the air.
http://www.pcmods.com/ProductImages/GF80(300).jpg
Or this
http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchan ... l_alum.jpg

But that aside, given the mod's that I outlined above will this case be cool enough? Also remember that I plan on using the Arctic VGA cooler, so that will keep most of the Video cards heat out, as well as remove some other case heat.

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 10:04 am

I think you'd be a lot better off with a big paper filter like Bluefront uses.

bigred · Post by **bigred** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 10:12 am

Well paper's great and all. It grabs all the small particulate, but do I need that? I mean a case has lots of entry points for dust already. Plus paper is a one time use thing, you can't clean it, where as the Aluminum one is washable, as well as the plastic one.

PretzelB · Post by **PretzelB** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 10:57 am

I haven't read many reviews on the 6070 so I'm not aware of this bad airflow troubles. Looking at the case I don't see what the big deal is. Besides the two intakes and single exhaust it's pretty standard.

One general thought on this decision is why go with a case that requires so much work up front? It sounds like there is a pretty long list of things that won't work for you with this case. This may ruin your attitude towards the purchase down the road as you keep having to work around the case to do what you want.

Having said that, I can't think of another case that looks like that one and has similar features. Also, some people like to work with their case so maybe that's part of the fun for you. I'd be scared to work with such a nice (expensive) case like that.

bigred · Post by **bigred** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 2:04 pm

The big problem is the restrictive intakes. But you're right its not the different than the standard. I think people around here are just used to Antec and 120mm lovin'.

Well I think that once I make the mods I will have no problems with using any hardware down the road. Also if heat does become an issue I could implement a second exhaust fan, or the bottom intake.

Yeah the looks are the main driving force behind my interest in this case. Also the challenge of doing the mods to increase airflow is also part of the whole idea. I've done the stock quietening thing, now I want to do some case modding and step up to the big boys.

bigred · Post by **bigred** » Wed Jan 21, 2004 10:22 pm

So what do you guys think? Will the basic mods I outlined be enough?

Also what about my fan question?

For case fans I was looking for something quiet like a Panaflo, but a fan that had a more broad (less direct) airflow path. Anyone have any suggestions? Maybe Pabst?

Trip · Post by **Trip** » Wed Jan 21, 2004 10:54 pm

I can't answer the fan question other than to say that 2 of the 3 Papst I have click. maybe this fan has a broader flow:
http://www.thermalfx.com/images/product ... 08A12M.jpg
as opposed to http://store6.yimg.com/I/svcompucycle_1776_29765627 ?

Getting a new case and I need input.

Getting a new case and I need input.

Re: Getting a new case and I need input.