Modified Lian-Li using SPCR recommended components

nyu3 · Post by **nyu3** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 8:12 am

This is my main computer now, had to replace power
supply from EarthWatts 500w to Enermax Modu82+ 525w
because the former PSU developed high pitched whining
problem at low load. Now, I'm very happy with the setup.

The entire cooling setup and power supply are all SPCR
recommended

I'm sure the storage setup would be
SPCR approved, if it were tested.

Parts

Case: Lian-Li PC-A05
PSU: Enermax Modu82+ 525w
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP35-DS3L
CPU: Intel Q6600 Quad
RAM: Patriot 4GB, DDR2-900
Video: Geforce 7900GS with Accelero S1 Passive
Hard Drive: Seagate 320gb notebook drive ( 7200rpm ) in Scythe SilentDrive Enclosure
Optical Drive: Samsung S203B

Cooling (4 fans total)

Thermalright HR-01 Plus Heatsink
Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 rev. 2 GPU Heatsink
Scythe Slipstream 120mm CPU fan @ 750 rpm
Scythe Slipstream 120mm intake fan @ 750 rpm (back of case)
Scythe S-Flex 120mm exhaust fan @ 600-780rpm (top of case)
Enermax 120mm PSU fan @ 500rpm

Pictures:
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Inside view, everything connected. All cables* out of the
airflow path. I lapped both the heatsink base and the CPU
heatspreader. CPU is overclocked to 3.0ghz at stock
voltage. Note that the hard drive cage has been drilled
out. Airflow is from lower back to front and top.

* the 24-pin power cable is a slight exception

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Top blowhole with S-Flex fan @ 770rpm, the fan grill is
machined billet aluminum from mnpctech. I plan to get
black screws soon, and probably paint over the Scythe
label.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Front of case and a size comparison with Antec NSK4480.
The PC-A05 is not as tall, but a lot deeper. So, the
NSK4480 is actually smaller in volume. I think the A-05
looks a lot better though.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Load temperatures (ATI-Tool + OCCT)
Blowhole covered: CPU 58-60c, GPU 66c
Blowhole uncovered, fan off: CPU 54-55c, GPU 68c
Blowhole uncovered, fan on: CPU 50-54c, GPU 57c

The blowhole mod lowered CPU temp by 7 degrees, and
GPU temp by 9 degrees. The computer is silent from 1
meter away, in both idle and load. Hard drive seek noise
is non-existant.

xev · Post by **xev** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 9:03 am

Looks great. Very clean and nice temps. If I were to build a new system, I would probably pick up a similar case, if not the same.

pixel · Post by **pixel** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 2:30 pm

Hello,

As mentioned by xev; the build looks very clean. I'm really envious of beautiful cable management examples like this one; with my cheap ASUS case such tidyness is impossible to achieve.

I remember taking a look at this case a few months ago.. It's a bold approach; inverting the mainboard AND the airflow.

The temperatures look nice (at least they're 5-6 degrees lower than my E8400, which is a dual-core). I have two questions in my mind about this case, though:

1) Wouldn't warmer air coming through the front disturb the user? Maybe it's too little to cause any disturbance, but I'd like to know your experience. Do you feel any "warm air flow" to your knees or feet?

2) Mounting the PSU to the front of the case could make its noise more audible to the user. The Modu82+ would not cause much disturbance (I have one and it's great) but maybe a louder PSU could cause some noise.

Anyway; it seems like these are not big problems for this build. It looks beautiful. I hope you'll use it happily for years to come!

nyu3 · Post by **nyu3** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 3:31 pm

1. The case sits on the floor about 1.5 feet away from my
char (meaasured from front of case to my chair). I don't
feel any warm air at all. Most of the exhaust is through the
top. I can feel some warm air (under heavy load only) if I
put my hands right over the blowhole, but its effects
cannot be felt where I sit.

Actually, when I ran the case stock and with the
EarthWatts, the front bezel warmed up quite a bit more
(but even then, its effects cannot be felt from where I sit).

2. With my old EarthWatts PSU, I could hear a bit of
electric whine, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been any
better in a normal case.

With the current setup, I can't hear the power supply over
the rest of my components. If I put my ears right above
the blowhole, I can pretty much hear all the sound my
computer makes, and nothing really stands out.

I can make an audio recording, but I don't have a good
mic, so I doubt the results will be useful.

ntavlas · Post by **ntavlas** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 7:19 pm

I like the attention to detail and the cooling layout. The top exhaust is awesome. I`m a bit fan of the clean looks the PC-A5. Fortunately I`m in the process of modifying my brand new Lian Li so I`m not too envious

A bit of criticism: it seems like the top GPU side (normally the bottom) is out of the main airflow path. While the chip itself is adequately colled by the accelero the mosfets providing the power might get a bit too warm.

pixel · Post by **pixel** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:27 pm

Hi again nyu3;

I was in a one-day-vacation to another city; so I could only read your message now.

Thanks for the reply! I can see that there's not too much to worry about the design changes; they don't seem to have brought any side effects with them. Kudos to Lian Li for taking this bold step.

BTW; the blowhole-mod seems to have worked quite well.

I hope you'll have a nice time with the system!

that Linux guy · Post by **that Linux guy** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 3:57 pm

That's one of the cleanest rigs I've seen yet. I've seen lots of LL A05 builds, but yours takes the cake.

nyu3 · Post by **nyu3** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 4:32 pm

that Linux guy wrote:That's one of the cleanest rigs I've seen yet. I've seen lots of LL A05 builds, but yours takes the cake.

Thanks! I've seen a few A05 (from the 100+ page hardocp
thread) that I really envy, but most of them are not would
not pass the SPCR test

I think there are a few things that could be done to clean
up a bit more. Specifically, bundle the cable set near the
bottom. But I have to wait until I need enough supplies
before ordering

Happy HOlidays

that Linux guy · Post by **that Linux guy** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 5:05 pm

How do you like the Scythe SilentDrive enclosure? I've been considering one for a couple of my harddrives.

nyu3 · Post by **nyu3** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 5:50 am

I haven't tried my Seagate Momentus outside the Scythe
enclosure (bought both at exact same time). The
Momentus + Scythe combo is silent even when hard
mounted.

I also had a Caviar SE16 + the bigger version of the
Scythe enclosure, and tested the effect of the enclosure.

Caviar SE16 naked (resting on foam at bottom of case):
idle noise: not bad, but is a bit whiny and high pitched,
doesn't get "overridden" by quiet fans*
seek noise: sharp and can easily be heard

Caviar SE16 in Scythe enclosure (also resting on foam)
idle noise: no longer whiny, blends with quiet fan noise.
seek noise: very dull, can be heard but not nearly as
bothersome

It is essential to not hard mount the Scythe
enclosure for desktop size HDD.

* 3 fans total in that setup, Nexus 80mm @ ~800rpm,
Scythe 100mm @ 700rpm, Scythe 120mm @ 750rpm

Rebellious · Post by **Rebellious** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 10:41 am

Very nice. Did you try the blowhole fan as an INTAKE? I posted recently about the 140mm blowhole on the Lian-Li A17.