Lian Li PC-B10

[Dante80]

Salutations from sunny Greece...^^

This is my first post in SPCR. I've been lurking around the site for more than 3 years (another slient nut here), so its high time I registered...

Ok, lets get down to business. I'm preparing to build a low noise gaming rig, around the AM3 905e processor. Searching for a case to house the rig, I came upon the PC-B10by lili (sorry can't post a link, need 3+ posts for that...just use www(dot)tinyurl(dot)com/lili10) ...

Being a lian li fan (I have used two of their cases, the PC-7FW and before that the PC-7+), I think this case will fit the job perfectly. It decouples all moving parts (so no problem from it being aluminum and all), has a door to reduce intake fan noise, uses acoustic foam for the door and both side panels and looks like it can become a good positive pressure system.

My thoughts for the fans is for 1 yate loon low 140front (downvolted to 700rpm) 1 s-flex low 120front (downvolted to 600rpm, possibly with a nexus flow straightener - have to test if the impedance is worse than the flow benefit though) and a s-flex low 120 exhaust @stock 800rpm.

I will use the 450watt nightjar for power, and maybe a 4870 1gb for the graphics (there is a sapphire variant for only 130€ here in Greece. Its a bargain I think).

Here are my 2 questions.

1> What do you think about the case and the fan setup? Has anyone got and tested the case yet? Should I consider a different fan setup?

2> I'm looking for cooling options for the 905e and 4870 (stock pcb). What should I aim for? Is it possible to keep the CPU fanless with a big heatsink like a HR-01+? What about the GPU?

Any feedback would be vastly appreciated. Regards and best wishes,
Dante80

[EsaT]

You're right that overal design itself is quite beneficial to quietness with also door which muffles also other noises trying to escape through front but B10 ain't entirely faultles.

Instead of putting rubber grommets to screws like in A70/71 and some other older models it puts HDD into metal tray when whole point of soft mounting is putting insulation between HDD and all metal parts which could vibrate. (also bigger airflow obstacle vs. plain HDD)
Then again it definitely shouldn't be worser than nowadays standard wrap around plastic crap mounting.

Also while at least not worser than nothing that Akasa mat is acoustically quite useless.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article71-page1.html
But if you minimize creation of noise in first place then that's not that much problem.

possibly with a nexus flow straightener - have to test if the impedance is worse than the flow benefit though)

I don't think it's worth of wasting money to test: Adding anything in front of fan creates more impedance which means more back pressure and less airflow.
Directionality of airflow is entirely different thing than amount of it... but facts never trouble snake oil sellers.

[Dante80]

EsaT thanks for the answer...

Instead of putting rubber grommets to screws like in A70/71 and some other older models it puts HDD into metal tray when whole point of soft mounting is putting insulation between HDD and all metal parts which could vibrate. (also bigger airflow obstacle vs. plain HDD)
Then again it definitely shouldn't be worser than nowadays standard wrap around plastic crap mounting.

I have the same HDD mounting system in my current case, a PC-7F. To tell you the truth, it works as a charm.

1> the hdd tray actually helps to cool more the drive. I have the old mounting system from Lian Li too (from an old B-25) and since they are somewhat interchangeable I did some tests in the same case with the same fan and HDD (the standard lili 140 and an AAKS 640). I found out that the new mounting system is consistently 1-2 degrees cooler than the old one. So thats settled for me.

2> The HDD is still decoupled from the HDD cage (via rubber wheels), and from the rest of the case. I do not use screws to mount the drive to the tray, just leave the rubber that the tray "buckle" has to press it down. No vibration, no other noises, at least not in my setup. In theory what you say is correct, but I have not witnessed any change in the HDD noise character from the mounting system.

3> I can always go rambo on the case and throw out the cage anyway (I have the drill on standby). The bottom plate of the 5 1/4 box has some nice holes..so I can elastically suspend the two drives directly in front of the lili 140 airflow path...might be worth it if I find problems with the original setup...

Also while at least not worser than nothing that Akasa mat is acoustically quite useless.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article71-page1.html
But if you minimize creation of noise in first place then that's not that much problem.

Yep, I think so too. Never found this thing to do much work...

I don't think it's worth of wasting money to test: Adding anything in front of fan creates more impedance which means more back pressure and less airflow.
Directionality of airflow is entirely different thing than amount of it... but facts never trouble snake oil sellers.

You are again probably right. I'm just thinking of testing this, since a sharper airflow cone could help with the ducted HR-01.

[Rebellious]

A friend of mine built one of those, the B10 is a handsome case but has many weaknesses:

The bottom 14cm fan is somewhat wasted because it misses the mobo, and if you put case on the floor it's gonna suck dust & dirt like a vacuum cleaner. The 12cm fan in the middle is in good position but it robs you of 3 bays. If you want a front fan AND full use of the bays there are better solutions. For example, the A17 is more versatile because you can mount front fans in any position.

Lian-Li's HDD rubber mounts are ineffective to my ears, even with 2.5" disks, and that new caddy is too proprietary. PCI card-holder is a gimmick, but contains ~40 parts that may rattle, it's removable though. PSU holder is a weak design. If you want a versatile case to customize there are better solutions.

Also, the days of spinning hard disks are numbered, (to be replaced by SSDs) so I think that the heavy front doors and other sound insulating features will soon become an anachronism. It is already possible to have many terabytes of storage in a much smaller case, using much quieter 2.5" disks. My TJ08, for example, is a tiny MicroATX case but has 2 x 5.25" devices, 2 x 2.5" drives and three (3) empty available 3.5" bays, and I could easily pack another 3 terabytes of storage in there.

[jurian89]

I own a Phenom II X4 905e and i use it in a antec nsk2480. I use a scythe mini ninja with 2 scythe slipstreams @ 700RPM in the case. I have this machine folding 24/7 and the temps never get over 33 degrees

If your case fits the Scythe ninja, use it. Else use the mini ninja.