Hey all, since I read a sort of "review" of different ways of mounting fans to a heatsink, the thing that caught my eye was the computer case the tests was conducted in. The case used was a LiteOn FS020, and my question to you is if you know if it's still sold? If so (also if it isn't ), where can I buy it from in Europe (preferably)?

Any and all information regarding this subject will be greatly appreciated!

I'll include this link for reference. This is not the article I spoke of earlier however.

OMFG TWO 120MM fan mounts in the back, yummmmmyyy this thing is HUGE, I want one not to carry to uni for presentations though

and one in the front as well

Yep, yep, it's real nice, isn't it quokked?

I figure I could cool the cpu via a duct with one exhaust, and the gfx/system with the other. The front fan only makes things even more fun!
I'm thinking cool hardrives here... mmm.

But then again, maybe one 120 mm. fan will suffice. Can't say before I try things out though.

they sell liteon cases at coolcases.com

Thank you. Do you know of a place located closer to me as well GamingGod? That'd really make my day!

trying searching google, i just happened to know that, that site had that case.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't coming down on you... I appreciate your input. Maybe I'll choose my wording differently the next time... hmm.

Anyway, google:ing for Swedish sites has proved to be quite futile, only one or two reviews of the case is mentioned, no retailers.
I'm not exactly great at foreign languages myself, so I would be real thankful for any help I could receive from people resident in Europe.

If all else fails, I guess I'll have to fall for the pressure and pay the price tag for shipping across the atlantic + the wating time that comes with it.
Which at all costs, I'd like to avoid...

oh no its ok i wasnt mad. hey try this:
http://www.liteonenclosure.com/distribu ... htm#europe

Europe
Lite-On Enclosure Inc.(Netherlands Office)
Posthoorn 8, 2907 SH.
Capelle A/D ljssel.
The Netherlands
31-10-2847806 (Tel)
31-10-2847812 (Fax)
sales@loe.com.tw

you might be able to buy it directly from lite-on

i was considering this case, so i've seen it sold at quite a few places in the US (including fry's). sorry, but i never looked for a european distributor.

i can tell you this though. the case is _much_ larger than a standard mid tower, but not quite as large as a full tower, and cost about 2x to 3x more than some comparable case. for those reasons, i went with another case. if neither of those factors matter too much, then it's a great case.

for instance, you can use the two 120mm rear openings to do a full loop for CPU cooling without recycling air into the case, e.g., use the bottom for intake into a vent that loops around a low-pressure cpu heatsink without a fan (like a zalman CNPS6000), that directly exhausts externally via the top opening using 1-2 low-speed 120mm fans.

yea but if you did that you would have to make sure that the bottom fan wasnt drawing the top fans hot exhaust back into the case, maybe use some kind of shroud on the back of the case to keep the two seperated. or just have them both exhaust. I was looking at that case too but I dont want to have another beige case, so ive been looking for a black server case with 120mm fans.

Thanks for the input, I find the ideas interesting; certainly something worth trying if I can get a hold of this case.

I sent them a letter yesterday (or the day before that, can't remember), asking them if they have someone selling their cases in the europe region, we'll see what comes from that, as of now I haven't gotten any answers from them, yet.

Right now I am using a full tower case, so the size is a plus, not an unwanted feature (I have quite a lot of components I want to cram in there). Frankly, I tend to favour more spacious cases, since they provide ample room to fiddle around in.

An off topic question: The vibration dampers (isometric-something?) for fans, such as these, how do you actually fit them to your fan? I haven't used mine yet. I fear that the fan might come off and make a mess inside my case...
You aren't supposed to use something like a zip-tie, rubber band, or a knot at the end... are you?

they are basically rubber screws from the looks of them, and i would guess they just snap on with those little ridges, although i havent tried any myself.

This reference is to the fan grommets sold by Silicon Acoustics, who sent up some samples a while ago.

Push the thin end through the panel from the side opposite from where the fan should be mounted, make sure that the flat wide end is sitting flush. Mount all four this way. Then line up the fan so that the thin portion of each grommet is actually going through the mounting holes in the fan. Use a pair of small pliers to stretch and pull each grommet through the holes in the fan, starting with the one that is hardest to reach. They stretch a lot and are hard to break (unless your pliers are only gripping the tip).

When mounted correctly, the grommets will sit snugly on the fan side, although it may be a little loose on the panel side. They are a bit of a pain but work well if the fan isn't TOO much of a vibrator (for which there are other uses?) To unmount, just pull on the fan from one corner; it will snap off without much difficulty. Look for a review on these soon.

for clarification, what i was suggesting when i said "loop" was a fully closed duct.

what i was saying that when the air is exausted out of the top fan the bottom fan will pull it right back in again so i would put something on the outside of the case to prevent this from happening.

so u'll have a closed loop in it, just duct either the intake or the exhaust (I'd personally do the exhaust upwards away from the closed loop intake far enuff away so u can be sure that the intake won't suck in any preheated air from the exhaust....

oh i see what your saying, the same thing i was saying, ok sorry.

Thanks for the "how-to" Mike. I also think it's a good idea to include a guide about this, it'll complement the other great info already on this site perfectly.

I have received no word from LiteOn, and I am considering calling them up instead (their Holland office). But since I'll get off work too late maybe I should try and call the overseas office? Ah well, I'll try both.

** Update **

Called both the Holland and the US office. In Holland I couldn't get a hold of the right person/company/whatever, so I gave up and tried the US office instead (located in Los Angeles). There I had better luck and got in touch with someone named Ken, that'd look into the matter and see if I could get a FS020 case from somewhere in Europe, and then email me back. We'll see how things go, I'm optimistic though.

** Update 2 **

Right, maybe I'm starting to bore you now, but I got mail today from the support guy, and he directed me to this site. Apparently they carry the case (although I can't find it anywhere on their site). I sent them an e-mail, now we'll just play the waiting game.

lol it'd probably easier for u to buy a generic full tower server class case and do some dremeling on it

Probably, but who said life was going to be easy...

Besides, I like having it almost done when I get it, that way, I can increase my laziness factor by 80-90%, pretty sweet, eh?

On a more serious note; I don't own any powertools, including dremels, so the less modifying work to be done, the better.

hmmmmm I think it's time u got a dremel for the two 120MM fan holes I put in my other case (VERY cool) running setup I used a angle grinder, brute force I know but it worked, It might be worth your time to get a nibbling tool though all it needs is a hole to be drilled and u slowly nibble your way around a panel

Yup, I am going to buy a few neccessities soon enough. I'm a bit perplexed, however, about what to buy, and what is just unneccessary equipment. But that is probably another tread alltogether.... I will 'contact' all of you when the time has come to make the acquisition of those items of neccessity. Your advice will be highly needed then.

http://www.dansdata.com/tools.htm , personally though I've only got the multimeter, the nibbling tool, a drill and the insane urge to make something explode in my computer

No such urge but it happened anyway: open up old P3 system, clean up wiring, unplug/replug everything. Simple system -- one drive, 1 floppy, 1 CD writer. Check everything out. Power up. A little curious sizzling noise. Luckily the case was still open -- SMOKE is rising up from the Barracuda IV drive! Pull the power cord. The drive is still smoking. The paper label on the bottom is brown in the center under the spindle area and a few other spots. I swear the whole lable would have burst in flames...

Check all the wiring, everything is fine, not even any hacks in this one right now. PSU problem? Maybe -- this generic one developed intermittent whining a couple of weeks ago. Maybe the 5V Panaflo for a year kept it too hot. Not wanting to risk anything, I pull the PSU out, replace it. Just tried booting to see if everything else is ok. No problems. Still shaking my head about the paper label on the 'cuda.

quokked -- drop the wish, it may happen; when you're not there and turn into a conflagration

oh okay all that I've managed to do is to have a loud POP come out of my PSU supply from a rouge piece of metal from the fan grill. (I was cutting the fan grill out oops )

** The pretty final third update **

Yeah, so after a lot of talking back and forth via e-mail, a money transfer later to Germany, plus a few days wait has finally landed me the FS-020 case, at the nominal price of 170,52 EUR. *grin*

It got to be a bit more expensive than I first thought it would be, but nevertheless, it is here! I will now try to figure out what to do with it in the meantime, I'm considering rushing an watercooling setup for this christmas, the details are somwhat blurry to say the least, and I don't have all the information and material at hand that I'd like to have. For now though, I'll sit around and wait for a bit, biding my time.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the price for the case was/is 115, shipping 32 and the rest was/is VAT.

hello.
its the swifty QP case
Havent figured that out yet, have we???LOL