Easy Cooling Mod for Lian-Li's

[Blooz1]

I spent the day ripping my system to pieces, but it was worth it!

I replaced the 4 stock Adda 80MM fans in my Lian-Li PC-65b with Panaflo H1A's....what a difference! My CPU and case temps have dropped by 3C with less noise, with fans running at 50%! (All fans are hooked to a Sunbeam rheobus, so there is total control over noise/cooling.)

I also cut out the top blowhole slotted grille, and replaced it with a regular wire grill. I was surprised at the increased airflow! Cutting this grill out took about 5 minutes...

The 4 Panaflo's cost me a total of $14....worth every penny! I'd highly recommend this simple mod to anyone who has a Lian-Li case.......

 

[drewdogg808]

nice work. where did you get your panaflos?

 

[snowwie]

yeah those stock adda's are very slow

their quiet, but too quiet....they move no air!

I have some high-power sunons in place

in addition to cutting a hole in the top (I hope you cut 120mm) you should cut open the rear fan grill, and put in a wire grill

 

[Blooz1]

Drewdogg, I got the Panaflos at MPJA.com. It's a great place for fans, parts, etc...

Snowie: That rear grill swap was done 6 months ago when I bought the case. The blowhole was factory stock 80MM, with the slotted opening in the top panel.

 

[drewdogg808]

thanks...i'm about to do a makeover on my current setup. i have all L1s, but i'm thinking about putting in H1s with a rheobus for better cooling. i'm considering the sunbeam also...how do you like it? did you get it from svc?

 

[Blooz1]

I got my Sunbeam just after Christmas, and it was one of the best investments I ever made on this system! It's very nice to have total control over noise and cooling. Mine is not the model presently being sold at SVC, the LED's are one color, and the fans don't turn all the way off when turned down. (It <U>is</U> rated at 20W/channel)

I got mine from FrozenCPU, who recently had them on sale for $10 during one of their "Blue Light Specials"! I bought another one at that price for the N-force system I'm building! That case has 1 80MM H1A and 1 120MM L1A for intakes, and the same thing for the exhaust!

 

[chizow]

I made similar mods to my PC-65 about a week after I got mine in January. I noticed the stock Adda's don't move much air if at all, particularly the top and the rear exhaust. Removed the interior grilles and noticed the situation was a bit better with less noise so I busted out some snips, my dremel and a pair of nibblers and removed the printed grilles and replaced them with standard wire grilles. Looks just as good and it increases airflow considerably while reducing noise at the same time! I'm using 4 Sunon's that are rated almost identically to the H1A's in both noise and CFMs.

The Sunbeam's are excellent, just an FYI; it sounds like Blooz1 has the rev. 1's that don't turn all the way off. There are 2 versions of rev. 2. SVC sells the one with a face decal and the 3-pin connectors. I got my rev. 2 at Xoxide that still has the spring loaded wire mounts that accept fan tails. I prefer this mechanism b/c it makes it easier to stack multiple fans per channel. You can use speaker wire for the tailed leads and then install them on a Y-adapter (either molex or 3-pin). It gives you a bit more flexibility IMO.

Chiz

 

[Blooz1]

Yeah, Chiz, both of the Sunbeams are the "older" models. They both have the spring loaded connections, but I also prefer that setup, as I make the wires to length and sleeve them..

This time I also put quick disconnects in the wires going to the rear exhaust so I can remove the MB tray without disconnecting the fan from the rheobus.

It still ticks me off that,although they have that nice connection feature for the front panel wires so you don't have to reconnect them to the MB, you still have to go through the tortures of hell with the front USB connectors! Has anybody come up with a fix for this?

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Blooz1

It still ticks me off that,although they have that nice connection feature for the front panel wires so you don't have to reconnect them to the MB, you still have to go through the tortures of hell with the front USB connectors! Has anybody come up with a fix for this?

LoL, yah I hear ya on that one. Major annoyance. I thought about taping or even super-gluing them together, but its just a big PITA as I'd have to draw a schematic or reference while going through the process. As I'm sure you know, the little individual lines don't sit still very well on their own. You could install some type of detachable connector...would just need to find one with enough wire slots.

Chiz

 

[KouklatheCat]

Blooz1 im glad to hear that taking out the lovely built in grille in the top of the Lian and replacing the ADDAs with H1As is worth it, I just did the same thing (pretty much).

I decided to cut the grille out because it did look restricting. I screwed up cutting the grille out of the top and put a gouge in my case (OWWCH). I had to cut a large window in the top to cover the gouge. I cut a large enough window that I was able to install two 80mm fans in the window.

I also got the Sunbeam rheo. Im in the process of putting it all back together now.

Its good to know that I didn't waste my time and my efforts will actually have accomplished something when im done.

 

[FluxCap]

On subject pretty much so I will just say..... my PC65b just arrived !!!!!

UPS destroyed my last case but this one is in perfect condition. I need to install my stuff but I don't know where to start !!!

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: FluxCap
On subject pretty much so I will just say..... my PC65b just arrived !!!!!

UPS destroyed my last case but this one is in perfect condition. I need to install my stuff but I don't know where to start !!!

Nice

Start by removing the mobo tray and all the panels, both sides and front panel. Remove the drive bays you'll be using.

Replace the top, rear, and front fans if you were planning on doing this

Install your PSU.

Install your optical and HDD drives. Remove the 3.5'' drive cages where applicable.

Route the molex wires from your PSU to your IDE devices and clip tie them. Don't forget case fans and leave a molex free for video card if necessary. Keep in mind CC's and other fans.

Install the CPU and HSF to the motherboard. Plug in the fan!!!

Install the motherboard to the motherboard tray using the provided risers.

Unclip the control panel wire from the breakaway clip (power, LED, reset etc.) and attach it to the motherboard using your manual.

Disable anything on the board the requires jumpers (onboard RAID, unused headers, audio, etc.).

Attach any backplate outputs like extra USB headers or firewire.

Slide the tray back into the case.

Insert memory, PCI cards, etc. etc.

Connect everything. Check all connections.

Check all connections again.

Replace the front bezel.

Connect the PSU to the wall outlet.

Power Up.

Enjoy!!! (hopefully)

Chiz :beer::beer:

 

[FluxCap]

It went terrible. It wouldn't boot for about 7 tries and then finally worked. Not sure why but I hope this is not a sign of things to come. I am actually really unhappy with this case.

 

[FluxCap]

Blooz I sent you a private message about something.

 

[FluxCap]

I wish I had the nerve to mod mine. Blooz, did you install any hard drives in the bottom 51/4 slot with the convertor plate?

 

[Blooz1]

No, Fluxcap..both of my hard drives are mounted vertically in the HD cage behind the front intake fans. This takes advantage of all the cool intake air cooling the drives before going into the main part of the case.

 

[FluxCap]

Oh, ok. I tried to mount it horizontally and had an issue with getting it liked I wanted it. Do you have to use a bracket to mount it vertically? I can't picture it for some reason.

 

[KouklatheCat]

Flux, I agree with ya. It was hard for me to get up the nerve to mod my Lian. Unfortunately I screwed mine up which required further modding to fix the boo boo....which insnt really a bad thing....LOL

My Lian came with a bracket that goes underneath the FDD cage area for me to mount my HDDs. The HDDs would only mount vertically in the bracket.

 

[Blooz1]

I had a feeling this was gonna happen..it took me a while to realize this too! (<U>Not</U> a flame, we just don't necessarily think this way..)

Okay, Flux, take a look at that bracket in the bottom with the two thumbscrews......it has large round holes on the side, right? Sooo, how ya gonna put drives in this thing? Now, look at the <U>top</U> of it. See the slots? You mount the drives vertically on their side!

Now, see the benefit of doing this? The drives are getting all the cool air coming in from the intake fans! No fancy "drive coolers" needed here, your drives just spin merrily along!

 

[KouklatheCat]

Blooz1,

I did the same thing when I first got my Lian. I tried to put my HDD in and thought "Hey the built my HDD cage wrong, what a POS". "paid how much and they built the HDD cage wrong".

Then as I was contempationg taking the sucker back....DURRRRRRRR it occured to me, they mount vertical.....LOL

 

[FluxCap]

No, no...sorry. I am giving you the impression that I am slow I actually realized which way it went right away. I WAS trying to mount it like the picture that is on the instructions. I tried to mount it horizontally but it didn't seem right. I am a perfectionist.