Lian-Li Full Tower Case PC-G70B Front Panel Mod?

[wxmanunr]

I have a Lian-Li Full Tower Case model PC-G70B. It is the one with the 120mm intake fan behind the panel. When I take the panel off, my case temperatures hold steady around 28C. With it on they can jump to 32-35C. Still not bad. My QX6700 OC'ed to 3.2GHz @ 1.325 volts (1.285 core) runs in the upper 30s to mid 40s core with the cover off. Mid to upper 40s with the cover on.

What is the best way to cut a hole in the front panel that I can put a mesh cover on?

Thanks.

wxmanunr

 

[DerwenArtos12]

To get a round hole you can't beat a hole saw. If you want to do a nicer looking shape or just a square a dremel would work nicely. Tape it off and cut from the back to keep the front pannel looking as nice as possible. Don't forget to coat the edges with something black as it'll be exposed aluminum where you cut. Possibly the easiest way to do it and have it look nicely would be to use a larger full cover grill like the radgrillz, that way you could cut a larger, rougher hole and cover up the edges.

Oh, and you HAVE to post pictures once you're done. Or I'll be forced to petition the mods for a vacation.

 

[DaQuteness]

First of all, that's a really cool case, and to be honest i wouldn't like to see it cut open right in the front. You can do something else, as an option to cutting a hole in front... there are 6 bays on this, you can use 3 of them as vent. The Scythe Kama Bay might be a reasonable option and if you really want to, you can put a mesh over it but i think it's kinda in tune with the case if you leave it like as it is.

 

[wxmanunr]

When I decide what to do, I will post a picture of the final product. Thanks.

wxmanunr

 

[wxmanunr]

DaQuiteness, I already have a Scythe Kama Bay blowing directly toward my Tuniq Tower 120 and then that blows to the exhaust and then out the exhaust.

I wonder if I would get improved airflow (I'm using the default Lian-Li 120mm fans) if I replaced them with S-FLEX 120mm SFF21F? I know they would be a bit quieter than the Lian-Li's, but it wouldn't make too much of a difference as the Tuniq Tower would still be noticeable, but NOT in anyway annoying.

BTW, upon further looking, the case temp. is 35C with the front panel on and 28C with it off. 7C is pretty significant, which means I could easily do my QX6700 @ 3.47GHz 24/7 @ 1.40v. I've already tested that config, and it's rock stable but runs a bit warmer than I would like.

Thanks for your help.

wxmanunr

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Sounds to me like your video cards are superheating your case. There has to be an easier way to cool them off without having to cut a hole in your front pannel. Though some vertical slats about 1/4" wide with 1/8" gaps between would probably look nice on that front panel.

 

[wxmanunr]

DerwenArtos12, that is quite possible, although I do have the side vent pulling air out of the case and it's quite warm. I've tried blowing air on the cards, but it just raised temps in the case.

With the front panel off, the 2x8800GTXes drop 5-7C.

wxmanunr

 

[DaQuteness]

Well, I think Derwen is right, especially with 2 GTX's it's a real hell there. With the Kama Bay you've practically created a wind tunnel, it only cools down the Tuniq, doesn't refresh the overall case air.

As far as i know, shouldn't that side fan blow air into the case? Anyway, since you say you've tried it the other way around, it doesn't matter. Well, then it seems that you're right... you must drill the front panel, i'd reccomend using a hole saw. It's the easiest way to make a nice cut. Just make sure you match the centers perfectly, otherwise it will look very nasty.

Here's a small tip on how to do this the easy way: Take the front fan off and then insert a needle with paint on it (or without, just make sure it leaves a mark) through each of the screwholes. Trace the diagonals and voila, you have the center.

 

[DaQuteness]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
Sounds to me like your video cards are superheating your case. There has to be an easier way to cool them off without having to cut a hole in your front pannel. Though some vertical slats about 1/4" wide with 1/8" gaps between would probably look nice on that front panel.

Since he said he wants to put mesh over it, at least let's make it easy for him ,agreed? I think a round hole is way easier than trying to cut a grill out. He can stick a square mesh over it so that it doesn't contrast that much with the rest of the front, but honestly, it has that speaker kind of look with a round hole at the base.

 

[wxmanunr]

DaQuteness, just for fun and my own sanity, I just tried reversing the side panel fan. One GTX went up 13C! (to 70C) idle, while the other hovered at 57C idle. Interestingly, when I took the side panel off, neither my GTX temps or the case temps changed at all. Putting the side panel back on - no temp change. Put the front panel back on, up 7C on case temps and about 4-7C on GTX temps.

So, with the front cover off, I'm thinking those temps are about as good as I'm going to get given the extra air flow the bottom intake is getting. I guess that is why the PC-A70B (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16811112141) has two front bottom panel intakes. But, that solution is $275.

I think I may be able to use the original bottom intake cover mesh as the mesh for the hole cutout.

Also, just for fun I covered up the bottom intake with the front cover off and the temps went to 34-35C in the case. Just not enough air to suck up with the cover on, I guess.

wxmanunr

 

[Zepper]

The fan in the Kama Bay is so weak it's hardly worth it for the money. You might want to take the Scythe fan out and put one in with some guts... And I really don't think that the front bezel is restricting your fan any. Prove it to yourself by reading the RPM of the front fan with the bezel in place, then remove it and see if it goes up much. Is there a filter on the front fan? If so, when was it cleaned last? Though considering how porous the LL filter material is, it should almost never clog up. If there really is significant restriction, open up the toe of the bezel just below the fan - get more air and the cutting is hidden. A twofer.

.bh.

 

[DaQuteness]

I don't get it... GTX's are nuclear-powered lately? :laugh: just kidding... Have you OC'd them? they sure seem to get warm enough, and 70C idle is pure insane! I can't reach with my 8800GT 70C even in Crysis Anyway... I don't exactly know the layout of the fans inside your case but there's obviously something wrong with the video cards area. If you can, try upgrading the side cooler with a 200mm one. From what i can tell, warm air doesn't get exhausted fast enough. Get a fan with more kick, like the Scythe SFF21F which has ~70CFM, but i think it's also kind of expensive, or an AeroCool.
Zepper's right, i forgot to mention that the Kama Bay cooler is kind of weak. I have an Antec TriCool that came with the case and i have to say, it has "guts" when you take it to high mode. It's quiet but it's also expensive. Speaking of expensive... Is Noctua NF-P12-1300 worth it's money? If yes, i'm planning to use only this kind in the whole case, even CPU (replace the Tuniq cooler with this one) It's the most expensive but it's also the quietest. I'll just buy one by one.

 

[wxmanunr]

Zepper, I have already removed the filter on the bottom intake that came with the case. I don't get a whole lot of dust in my office and I clean it regularly. I didn't think about how I could open the bezel on the bottom. That may do the trick.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to replace all the fans with the S-FLEX SFF21's, so that should help the Kama Bay fan.

wxmanunr

 

[wxmanunr]

DaQuteness, yeah the GTXes have always run that hot. Like I said though, with better airflow they idle at 60ish. My MCP on my 680i is at 46C, which is very good compared to what I've seen.

Yup, I think I'm gonna plunge and get SFF21F's all around and see what happens. One can always use more fans somewhere. I don't know about the Noctua's. The Tuniq Tower fan is a little bit more than inaudible, but it isn't annoying. If the SFF21F do the same job at a much quieter level, it might be worth getting 5.

Anyone know if the SFF21F's work well with the Tuniq Tower 120?

wxmanunr

 

[wxmanunr]

Zepper, I opened up the "toe" of the front bezel. It did help about 4C, but still 3C higher than without the bezel totally. Good idea.

wxmanunr

 

[Zepper]

I thought about this problem some more and was wondering how much your front bezel is like the one on the Rocketfish? On the principle that air follows the path(s) of least resistance, I see that unoccupied drive bays are open to the inside of the bezel which means a lot of the air being fed back into the case by the front fan can be recycled case air instead of fresh, room temp air. So one might need to plug the unused drive bays with something - the weatherstrip used to fill between window panes when installing a window air conditioner might be a good idea for plug material - to keep warm case air from being recycled by the front fan.

.bh.

 

[wxmanunr]

Zepper, I tried sealing off the top half of the front bezel, so it would not pull in hot case air. The temp went back to 34C, even worse than just removing the bottom bezel snap mechanism.

wxmanunr

 

[wxmanunr]

Well, I installed the Scythe S-FLEXes SFF21F. They are a bit quieter than the Lian-Li standard fans and use less power (0.20a vs 0.27a), but push the same air with better static pressure.

The front bezel still must be opened, although I did get a 3C improvement with the new fans. And 3C improvement with the bezel off. 25C in the case. Only about 9-12F above ambient. Not bad given the "nuclear" 8800GTXes in SLI.

The new fans did do two good things with the bezel on. The GTXes are running 5-7C cooler than before and the CPU is down 2-4C.

So, time to visit a machine shop and put on the finishing touches.

wxmanunr

 

[DaQuteness]

Originally posted by: wxmanunr
Well, I installed the Scythe S-FLEXes SFF21F. They are a bit quieter than the Lian-Li standard fans and use less power (0.20a vs 0.27a), but push the same air with better static pressure.

The front bezel still must be opened, although I did get a 3C improvement with the new fans. And 3C improvement with the bezel off. 25C in the case. Only about 9-12F above ambient. Not bad given the "nuclear" 8800GTXes in SLI.

The new fans did do two good things with the bezel on. The GTXes are running 5-7C cooler than before and the CPU is down 2-4C.

So, time to visit a machine shop and put on the finishing touches.

wxmanunr

Are you going to start hacking the side panels? :laugh:

If you do, I have a question... In 3 years since i've been modding cases I've never been able to fully understand how to place the side fans (if you mount any, of course)

At some cases it was better to put the fan at the bottom to exhaust the graphic cards generated heat, some to push air in front of the cpu, some to push air ONTO the graphic cards. I've been eyeballing and estimating, so far, i've done a good job but i want to know if there is any certaing criteria of how and where to seat the fan.

 

[wxmanunr]

DaQuteness, my case already has a side panel exhaust.

http://c1.neweggimages.com/New...mage/11-112-105-03.jpg

In this configuration, I have found the best place to place the side panel exhaust is to the most rear point (left in the picture) of the case. Seems to keep the cards the coolest. It is pulling air from my bottom intake - the one I need the hole for.

wxmanunr

 

[WoodButcher]

Why not a fan in the bottom blowing in? no grills or fancy cuts, hole saw and a 3/16 or 5/32" bit for the screws and your done.