Fixing up the ol' Lian Li

[tr0y85]

I have, and have had, my Lian Li PC-68 case for about 2 years now. I love it to death, but I think it's time to replace the 80mm fans it came with. They are getting loose, loud, and seemingly unaffective. Very soon I am doing a huge upgrade to what looks like it's gonna be the Socket 939. Probably the highest thing directly below an FX at the time. (I'm thinking mid June). I wan't to get my case ready for the upgrade with some additional cooling. My current rig runs riduculously hot, and the fact it hasn't caught fire is way beyond me. Aside from thermal grease (I use Arctic Silver) I wan't your guys' professional opinion on the best powersupply (I am looking around 450W) and 80mm fans. I'm looking for quite and effective, and for my case not too look like a Christmas tree via LED lights. Consider me an overclocker if I have to be thrown into a category...I'm big on the graphics programs and like to game here and there. Basically I like to buy crap and spend money on computer stuff...I'm American, I consider it fostering the economy.

Please reccommend reliable, powerful, and silent powersupplies. (My reserach has led me to Antec or Thermaltake)
Also some good fans to throw in there. 3 80mm fans for my lian li. I'm realistic and know my computer will never be silent because of how much crap is in there, but anything is better than what I have now. I'm not trying to pinch pennies, but I dont want to drop 30 bucks on one 80mm fan, so let's rule out Mikey's 45 dollar Copper Thermal Soaked-in-thermal grease 1dBA fans to someone else.

 

[Wuzup101]

Hey tr0y85 welcome to the forums!

I also have a Lian Li case and I love it to death. For starters, you wanted a quiet powerful PSU. I'd have to recomend Antec True Blue or Enermax Whisper (I have the later int he 431watt flavor). Both are great PSUs and will last quite a while (this one has seen 3 rigs). As for case fans, are you interested in just getting quiet fans, or do you want to go w/ a fan controller. For the former I would recomend low or mid speed Panaflow fans (known for being relatively good cost wise and push large amounts of air in relation to the noise they produce). If you do want to go with a fan controller the vantec nexus units are pretty sweet and can handle a large number of high current fans. I'm not sure exactly how your case is setup, but if you want to mod you could free up some more airflow (and reduce noise) by removing the standard fan guards with a dremmel or other such instrument - replacing them with chrome grills. Also you might consider a tasteful window or ducting mod. I personally have a window on the side of my case w/ 2 92mm panaflow medium output fans and it dropped my case temp on the order of 12 degrees C (my case has 2 intake and 2 exhust stock + psu). They blow cold air right over my processor hsf and my 9800 Pro - CPU temps also went from a high of 60 C @ load to 45 C max now... but I usually don't even see that.

 

[tr0y85]

Want are the benefits of a fan controller? I am thinking of drilling an additional hole in the back of the case below the existing 80mm exhaust fan for an additional exhaust (and removing the grill plate on the already existing slot). I don't need complete silence, just something decently quiet and effective. My rig is pretty cluttered...I'll try to get some pictures up. I'm not too sure about a side panel hole, it might be a little more risky than I want to be just yet. But if you could go over the fan controller vs let's say a thermal controlled fan that'd be great. I plan on always running them on high...silence isn't THAT important to me. (My current setup is VERY loud, i just want to reduce it, not eliminate it)

 

[KouklatheCat]

Ill second the vote for Panaflo fans. I have used them for years and they havent failed me yet. I usually get the high flow fans and put them on a fan controller. Usually if I am just typing a letter, surfing the web etc the fans are on low speed. When im fragging away or doing something heavy duty I put them on high to keep my rig cool.

I cut the top fan grate and the fan grate below my PS out of my case and noticed a big difference in airflow.

Be careful and dont scratch up the top of your case like I did when cutting out the top grate. I did and had to cut a big hole in the top and put a window in.

Hope some of this helps.....

 

[tr0y85]

What would you guys consider a tolerable dBA level. I have NO idea what my current stock case fans run at. They are 80mm ADDA fans for the Lian Li PC-68 circa 2 years ago.

What fan controller would you reccommend, and do I connect the fans into the controller, and then controller into the mobo (i just started getting into cooling, sad I know but I never gave it the time of day)

I would really like a couple of you to pretend you are getting ready to throw in an FX processor. You want to make your case clean on the inside and very cool, airflow is more important than silence, but low noise levels are desired.

I have the lian li pc-68:
2 front 80mm fans (dont need thermal controllers since they are by the HDD's)
1 rear "80mm" i put it in quotes because some get away with a 92mm.
1 additional rear 80mm after i drill a hole (still contemplating it)
2 5.25" bays left for would be controller
3 PCI's left for would be rear fan controller
no side or top windows/vents


i've been saving up money. help me build my dream cooling rig. (no watercooling though)
please feel free to dream about all the silenx fans and air controllers here. I'd love to hear your input, thanks guys!
dont care about lighting

 

[Wuzup101]

tr0y85 - basically the advantage of the fan controler is what KouklatheCat already said. You are able to hand control your fans to whatever speed you want. This of course depends on your personal tastes. Thermal fans also work great; however sometimes you want them to be running faster than they are, sometimes you might want them to be running slower (IE: when watching a DVD, etc... ) it really depends on what type of person you are. Most people that like to have total tweaking control opt for the fan cooler - others like thermal fans for the ability to forget they are there. Either way you look at it you will be spending more money. Last time I checked thermal fans were a bit more expensive than good regular fans. I believe it was about $7/fan more (these were good smartfans mind you). If you have to buy a few of them you're already up to the cost of a fan controller. Also, the controller I mentioned has the ability to handle even the high current/high output delta fans (92mm puts out over 100cmf). You could effectively put one of these on your heatsink (or even several in your case) - setting them to the speeds you need

Personally I would really like to put a 120mm exhust on the top of my case.... but I have to do some cable re-routing before I do that... my case is a mess also... lol

 

[KouklatheCat]

I have been out of the loop for a while so I am not sure which fan controller is the hot ticket anymore.

As far as power to the fan controller, the controller gets its power from one of the molex connectors from your power supply and the fans plug into the controller.

Its hard to say what is an acceptable noise level. What is tolerable for me might drive you crazy. The Panaflo fans usually offer good airflow at a reasonably low dBA.

 

[rondeemc]

I dremeled my Lian case in front and replace the 80's with 90's, also switched out the one in back for a larger unit. Using a Zalman controller for all of them instead of the stock unit. Also replaced the grill in front with a more open pattern using standard rain gutter mesh which is easy to trim and matches the alum finish.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

I have a PC601 Lian-Li, it's the discontinued model with 10 connecting ports across the bottom front of the case.

This weekend I am ordering ADDA 92x25 fans for the front. They have the hypro bearings(self lubing sleeve type) and
are rated 50cfm@33db-a, 2700rpm@3watts, price$8.16ea from www.mouser.com . This case has a blow hole on top
and at this point I'm not sure whats going to be on top or in the rear.

Because I live in a dusty environment, slight positive case pressure and excellent air filtration are a must for me.
I will be using K&N pre-cleaner air filter foam, it's 5/8" thick and can be lightly oiled. I live in a construction zone, so this I must do. As stated by rondeemc the front intake should be opened up. I intend to open up the existing holes to within an inch of their lives. If I fail or am displeased with my work, I will just cut it open & grill it. I'm well tooled and favor working aluminum so we will see how it goes.

Back on topic: I was going to go Vantec Nexus but they stress only one fan for each control knob and only go down to 7volt. Sunbeam fan controllers are held in high reguard by many, can handle 20 watts per contol and any number of fans can be hooked up as long as wattage is not exceeded. www.directron.com offers a unit built in house thats in the running called, iirc, maelstrom. It might take awhile but I will post pics when done.

EDIT: If you do a search for PSU in general hardware you will come up with many hits.
Anandtech did recent tests on power supplies, go to the home page, articals+cases, should be the first link