Lian Li A05B Review

[ryboto]

I guess I should condense all my questions together eh....

Are the side panels thick and heavy enough to effectively block out a good chunk of hard drive idle noise?

They're actually not very thick. Not the best for drowning out noise. I hardly notice though, my raptor and WD5000AAKS don't really have a noticeable idle noise above ambient levels. The panels are sturdy and they don't vibrate, but they aren't thick, and don't really dampen.

[Ryan Norton]

I just ordered one of these cases. I've been moving my PC around a lot lately so the P180B is awful cumbersome. Also, I've wanted a new build challenge...

I'd like to try elastic suspension of my HDs in this, since it doesn't have the P180 series's silicone grommets. Has anyone seen a successful HD suspension in this case before?

My immediate thoughts are that

1) to suspend the HDs in the 3.5" bay I'd have to drill out the rivets holding the three HD sleds which I don't want to do, at least not right away, and

2) it appears easier to suspend HDs in the 5.25" bays, but I have two HDs and an optical drive. Maybe DVD and one suspended HD up top, and drill out only two of the sleds to suspend the other HD?

[cereal_killer]

I own this case as well. Unfortunately I had problems with a hot northbridge, because I have a passive graphics card, which is right under it. Then I modified my case in the following way:

• exchanged 120mm fans to quieter ones (Enermax UCMA12 Magma)
• mounted a northbridge cooler (Xigmatek Porter N881)
• added noise-damping mats to the case (pcsilent mats)
• mounted a giant CPU cooler (EKL Alpenföhn "Groß Clockner")
• added mesh slot bezels to cool down the expansion card area (SilverStone Aeroslots)

The computer is now quiet enough for me. However, I whould not recommend it fur use with a passive graphics card.

Note:

• Hot air from the PSU and front fan can enter the case in the area of the external drive areas.
• The front does not have enough openings that the hot air can go out properly.
• Removing the front panel solves all cooling problems within seconds

[saygonchik]

I have been using this case for about 4 months now, I have made the following changes to keep the case as cool and silent as possible. All my comments below are made with case sitting on top of my desk, 60 cm to the right of me, case lids closed. My room is indeed very quite, so even slightest noise from the computer can get irritating. I use a 3,5 inch Schyte Kaze Master fan controller to keep the fans at about 800 rpm. The case is very elegant, for people who seeks beauty at simplicity. Brushed aluminum all over seems way beautiful.

-Changed the 12 mm Lian-Li exhaust and intake fans with Schyte Slip Stream Kaze Jyuni 1200 rpm models. All of the fans in the case are these Schyte Model now, they all turn at 800 RPM and they are completely silent even in my silent room at night.
-In order to solve the hot air cumulating in the upper rear part of the case issue, added 12 mm Schyte Kaze Jyuni Slip stream to the upper-rear part of the case, i attached it by means of fixing it from its holes to the rear panel holes made for the optional Lian-Li VGA cooling unit. This way the fan stays perpendicular to the MSI R870 4870 MD1G. The fan rotates at 800 RPM and decreases the idle temperature of the fan about 15 degrees celcius on idle and 20 degrees celcius on load! Thus, 9 cm fan of the video card at it´s minimum turning speed pf 1400 rpm stays at 49 degrees celcius after several hours of using the computer at idle, case lids closed. Little noise coming from the 1400 rpm 9 cm fan can be heard coming from the case. During games, the fans turns about at 1700 rpm, which leads to a unusually silent 4870 even under load.
-I am using a Thermalright IFX-14 without any fans attached to it since the rear intake fan directly blows to the IFX-14. (I took out the internal casing of the fan since it is too restrictive.) Idle temperature of my E7500 @ 1,425 V, 3,8 Ghz is 30 degrees celcius, with case lids closed and after several hours of operation at idle). Under load, (except using CPU burning in programs), it almost newer exceeds 50 degrees celcius.
-I changed the fan of my Zalman ZM-750 HP power supply with the 1200 RPM Schyte Kaze Jyuni (fortunately Zalman Power supply kept working although i cut the wires connecting the stock fan, some power supplies understand when the stock fan is not working and does not accept to turn on at all with the stock fan removed), I keep the fan working at 800 RPM. Though this way I was able to lower the PSU noise somehow, I can say presently the biggest (and the only besides 1400 rpm VGA fan which is almost quite) source of noise is the PSU. 800 rpm fan which is silent when being listened out of the case becomes noisy inside the PSU, I think that is because PSU is taking air from the bottom of the case, that is about 2,5 cm above the case floor. I do not think blowing of the air out from the PSU to the faceplate of the case makes it noisier since the front case fan which also turns at 800 rpm is silent inside the case.

My future plans about the case are

-cut a hole below the power supply and isolate the power supply from the rest of the case using some kind of isolation material (perhaps sound absorbing mats) so it takes fresh cold air directly from outside and is not heated by the already hot air in the case. I also consider to get some longer feet to the case so the power supply fan gets elevated even more from the floor, decreasing turbulance noise (which I believe is the most powerful source of noise presently in the case).

-Isolate the case completely with sound absorbing mat. I guss I will give a try to Acousti sound mats which are also revied at spcr.