Warfarin88

Hellos OCN.

I was getting a little bogged down with my scratch build, and the likelihood that it wouldn't reach a satisfactory state of completion before I was going to move. Since my rig was sitting in a tidy pile on my desk, I needed a case. After much searching, I settled on the Lian Li PC-A70B.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the hype behind Lian Li quality was not unfounded. This case is truly a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. While I could easily have been happy parking my hardware in there without molesting the pristine chassis, naturally, I couldn't leave well enough alone.

So, without further ado.. onto the pics.

Here's where she's sitting now:







Here's some hot links to the pics posts:

Post 2: (21DEC08) getting started
Post 3: (21DEC08) wire sleeving
Post 33: (19JAN09) mobo tray mods
Post 36: (19JAN09) first attempts at cable management
Post 44: (31JAN09) hard drive cage, let the fabrication begin
Post 47: (31JAN09) little more hard drive cage
Post 50: (31JAN09) failed attempt at a murdermod style front plate
Post 58: (01FEB09) even more hard drive cage
Post 82: (06FEB09) rad rack construction
Post 89: (07FEB09) miscellaneous
Post 90: (07FEB09) rad rack installed
Post 96: (07FEB09) false floor frame
Post 101: (08FEB09) interior panels cut and test fit
Post 104: (08FEB09) interior panels finished and installed
Post 109: (08FEB09) fan control solution and expansion musings
Post 135: (09FEB09) side panel surgery and misc. pics
Post 148: (13FEB09) rad rack take two
Post 152: (14FEB09) more of take two
Post 158: (19FEB09) rad rack take three, this one's a keeper!
Post 178: (20FEB09) hard drive rack revisited again
Post 183: (20FEB09) getting jiggy with the rad rack mount
Post 188: (21FEB09) rad racks mounted. finally.
Post 191: (21FEB09) pump tray first attempt (fail)
Post 194: (24FEB09) pump tray second attempt, success!
Post 207: (28FEB09) lower rad mounting
Post 223: (07MAR09) reservoir modding (FAIL)
Post 247: (08MAR09) interior panels take two: complete and installed
Post 258: (09MAR09) PSU modding and installation
Post 264: (14MAR09) random puter pr0n
Post 267: (14MAR09) pump mounting
Post 283: (15MAR09) tube routing
Post 295: (17MAR09) tear down and clean up
Post 304: (18MAR09) radiator installation
Post 310: (29MAR09) temp sensors and final rad plumbing/drain line
Post:320: (29MAR09) final rad plumbing and pump tray redux
Post 322: (29MAR09) miscellaneous glamor shots
Post 335: (30MAR09) initial leak test
Post 343: (05APR09) final reservoir mount. finally.
Post 351: (05APR09) final pump tray plumbing. finally.
Post 360: (11APR09) loop up and running
Post 374: playin with SLI and cable management before
Post 376: temp sensors up and running
Post 379: more temp fun and cable management progress
Post 393: side panel perforation (now defunct)
Post 409: glamour shots while waitin on UPS
Post 452: (10MAY09) LED side panel vents
Post 454: (10MAY09) random "night" exterior shots
Post 473: (11May09) water cooling expansion parts pr0n
Post 480: (11May09) new loop install / leak testing
Post 506: (19May09) ram cooler and random glamor shots of new loop


I'm not sure where this is going to go, and how far, but I am sure I'm not done just yet.

Warfarin88

The outside immediately got some minor attention. First order of business was some vandal resistant switches, a flip down stealth plate for the DVD, and a modded bezel to accommodate a Sunbeamtech Rheobus fan controller:



Both switches illuminate when the system is powered up. Since both switches stem from the same source (the power LED lead of the mobo), I had to wire in plugs for them so that I could solder the swich leads outside of the case prior to installation. This should also make servicing easier in the future, should one of them fail:



For the HD activity, I swapped the original blue power LED for a white one. When I get a minute, I plan to utilize the original HD LED socket for optical disc activity, but for now that socket lays dormant.

Here's the DVD drop down door:





And finally, the fan controller mod. This is too simple. Just strip the originals faceplate off, yank out the LED's, drill 4 holes in the bezel, and drop it into place. Too easy:

(I've since relocated the fan control... )

Warfarin88

EDIT:

I've been getting a lot of sleeving PM's, so here is a canned response that covers much of the questions:

END EDIT

One of the first things I did was sleeve just about every cable I could find. I've experimented with various kits before, but was never really satisfied with the end product. Finally, I located This stuff, which proved to have the level of quality I was looking for. It's techflex "clean cut" and it has a much tighter weave than the standard PET, and is infinitely easier to work with.

I'm going to start this post with a thank you to this makeshift tool I made with my rotary tool and a cut off disc. It started out as out an old flat head screw driver bit. This little bugger made sleeving the 6, 8 and 24 pin cables a breeze:



As I mentioned, I sleeved just about everything. Broad shots first:





Lotsa sleeve:



24 pin:





SATA data and power:



Fan Control:



Fan leads, sleeved all the way:



And, as a parting shot... The ugly:



That last bit of mess will be tamed at a later date.

jaclipse

Looks great. The individually sleeved cables really sets it apart

mcnaryxc

Whoa! That's so much sleeving! I would go crazy trying to do all that lol

__________________

"Keep it up man It's not about us liking it, it's about you liking it, cause it's your mod. So don't let a bunch of ney sayers hold you back, because I say " - Tator Tot

xToaDx

I sleeved my first wire yesterday, I have a new found respect for those who sleeve their 24 pin cables.

Looks amazing.

prracer6

Nice work. good job

__________________

I fold for my Grandfather and family friend Jimmy (stomach cancer) RIP 11-7-08
Folding since 10-29-08 FOLD for OCN 37726

SmasherBasher

Once I get myself a nice modular power supply, I need to find someone to send the cables to to have them sleeved.
Looks like I just found someone.

__________________

Syrillian

Such a pristine case; elegant and simple. I like it!

*subscribes*

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WIP: Scarab
Custom Cases:
Silentium, Halcyon, Indigo, Gemini, Prometheus, Anvil
Case Mods:
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Semper Fidelis

nafljhy

very nice job war! a very clean mod so far and i have to say an excellent sleeve job there! can'tn wait to see what else you do with the case.

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