I want to add to the cutout in the motherboard tray.

[wansurfer]

What should I do?

[photo of backside of motherboard tray]

I tried to use the Insert Image button to add the picture but it didn't work with this picture so you'll have to use the link instead.

The problem is that I can't get to the 2 holes from the back of my ASUS P8Z68-V Pro (not Gen 3) motherboard. I contacted Lian Li about this. One of the reasons I bought this case, a PC-7FN, was that it had a cutout in the tray. Lian Li didn't have a solution for me.

So I guess I need to alter the tray myself but what's a good way to do that so it won't look like a hack job? How can I cut out two circles about the size of the red circles in the picture and not make a mess? I'm sure I'll need to remove everything from the case before I start working on the tray. I want it to still look nice even though it will almost never be visible as long as the cover is on the case. I thought about using my tin snips but I think that wouldn't end well.

 

[Eureka]

You're not going to do anything with tin snip. Proper way is to use a router.. You could try a dremel or a jigsaw but youll need a jig for a clean cut. Easiest solution is to just attach your heatsink before you put it on the tray.

 

[Kenmitch]

You could always calculate the hole placement and drill a small hole on center. Then all you have to do is drill it to the desired diameter. As long as you take your time and don't push hard it should come out looking pretty nice. Of course you'd wanna remove the motherboard first to be safe. Just lay the case on it's side and work from the motherboard side and most of the shaving will fall out of the case.

DON"T drill thru the motherboard to make pilot holes

 

[tracerbullet]

First choice, though expensive:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UNU1sOTho5s

Second choice:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UNU1yeTho5s

Or something like it. Basically a hole saw with a drill bit for a pilot. Not real expensive. Any home store. Get a small diameter one since you don't need much, and fine tooth for metal. Even if it's not designed for the job it'll make a few holes. A normal drill bit in a large diameter should do it too but these others will usually make a cleaner cut in thin metal.

 

[SpotswoodGuy]

+1 for the router method (which I use exclusively), although you could just drill holes at the corners of the rectangular area that you want to remove, cut with a hacksaw and then file (probably an hour or so) until you have nice straight cut lines.

 

[wansurfer]

Eureka, you mean something like this [link to Home Depot], correct? I'm leaning toward Kenmitch's suggestion to use a drill. First I would make an indentation at the center with a point of the spot I want to drill out to help keep the drill bit centered. However, I recently watched a video on Youtube of somebody installing a heatsink for their CPU. The screw holes didn't match with the cutout for them, too, but they didn't need it to match. The heatsink kit used a backplate but because of the way it attached to the motherboard the guy didn't have to make the cutout in the motherboard tray any bigger. [link to Youtube for the lookyloos]

 

[Eureka]

Yeah, I meant kind of that. However, why are you doing this again? It's absolutely possible you don't need to have the cutout at all, all heatsinks can fit onto the motherboard without the need for a cutout. You may have to install it while the motherboard is off the tray but it will still work. The only reason to use the cutout is if you were to remove the heatsink rather often.

 

[wansurfer]

I want to be able to remove a non-pushpin type heatsink for whatever reason and put it back on or be able to put on a different one without needing to take the motherboard out of the case. No, I don't have plans to do that frequently. Unfortunately to modify the tray I need to take out the motherboard so modding the tray is kind of moot. However, I'm one of those people who will sometimes do things like that just because I want to. :awe:

 

[VirtualLarry]

Why, back in my day, we had cases WITHOUT HEATSINK CUTOUTS. And, WE LIKED IT.

 

[wansurfer]

The following is an update in case anybody is interested.

I bought a Thermalright True Spirit 140. There were some reviews that mentioned how it was quiet and still cooled well with some overclocking. After installing it I still think the cooler is OK but there were some things about it that I thought weren't so good. Anyhow, I wish I had spent a little money, bought a good drill bit, and added to the cut out in the motherboard tray. I did manage to correctly install the CPU cooler but it was a tight fit. The tray touches the additional hardware for mounting the cooler that was added to the backside of the motherboard's CPU socket.

 

[Eureka]

The following is an update in case anybody is interested.

I bought a Thermalright True Spirit 140. There were some reviews that mentioned how it was quiet and still cooled well with some overclocking. After installing it I still think the cooler is OK but there were some things about it that I thought weren't so good. Anyhow, I wish I had spent a little money, bought a good drill bit, and added to the cut out in the motherboard tray. I did manage to correctly install the CPU cooler but it was a tight fit. The tray touches the additional hardware for mounting the cooler that was added to the backside of the motherboard's CPU socket.

As long as you can fully tighten down the heatsink, it should be fine even if it touches the tray. It's all grounded together anyway so there's no electrical problem there.

 

[wansurfer]

It's all grounded together anyway so there's no electrical problem there.

Right, that's what I expected and everything seems to be working OK.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the True Spirit 140 was a little less heavy compared to similar coolers. Sometimes I take my computer to a LAN party or something. I don't want to worry about a deep pot-hole jarring my car enough that a heavy cooler mounted only to the motherboard gets jerked around excessively or carelessly setting down the tower a little too hard. Some of those air coolers are heavy. Maybe I'm being a little paranoid but having peace of mind is good.