Lian-li discussion

Which mid-tower Lian-li case has the best designed airflow? Budget is not a problem. Now that you have one chosen, what would you do to it to make it better? besides cutting new fan holes and physically modding the case :>

I believe Lian Li PC-7 Plus since 120mm Intake Fan and 120mm Exhaust Fan w/ 80mm blow hole Fan too

Meathead said:

Which mid-tower Lian-li case has the best designed airflow? Budget is not a problem. Now that you have one chosen, what would you do to it to make it better? besides cutting new fan holes and physically modding the case :>

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I'd get a pc-7x

I have a v2000 and I would say that air flow is not that great. However, I have the bottom front fan hooked up to a rad. But, above the horizontal sheet metal, that seperates top from bottom there doesn't seem to be much air flow over the motherboard at all, even thought there is a 120mm fan blowing out. I think that the tiny holes on the front of the case are part of the problem; maybe I'll just add a fan to the side.

I guess I'm just not a big fan of the new btx style, with inverted motherboard etc. I thought that better cooling was the whole point to btx??? Also, if you ever go want to use a phase change cooler, the V2000 is a pain to install, yet it fits under the pc-7x's perfectly.

As for making it better, I would get a fan controller. Add a 120mm blow hole cut out fan grills and add smaller ones. Get higher cfm rated fans.

Actualy, the V1000/V2000 can have excelent airflow.

One thing you can do is reverse the direction of both fans. Reversing the front fan will cool the hard drives better because the fan will be pulling cool air from bellow the case instead of trying to push warm are out the bottom. Reversing the rear fan might not sound like a good idea but it will provide cool air to the cpu, mosfets and northbridge. The only potential problem is that the hot air will stagnate in the top of the case, though that could happen with the stock setup as well.

The other thing you can do is add a blowhole, even if you don't reverse the fans this would be beneficial. This case definatly should have a blowhole stock, I don't know what the Lian Li designers were thinking. The blowhole provides a way for rising hot air to get out, even with all the holes in the front and back hot air still gets trapped in the top of the case.

With those mods the V1000/V2000 should be some of the best cooling cases you can buy.

EDIT: I'm a big fan of the split internal design of the P180/V1000, its logical to sepperate the heat producing components. A power supply generaly puts out as much heat as a procesor (though with higher efficiency power supplies this is less of a problem.) In a normal case the power supply gets fed alot of hot air from the CPU, causing the power supply to run hotter and usualy causing the fan to ramp up. Fan noise is probably not a huge concern for most users here, but a cooler running power supply will last longer and you may get more stable voltages. Also, by sepperating the components you can direct airflow alot more easily. (just think of the lower section(s) as big ducts.)

Could we have better cases? I think so. Both the P180 and V1000 have their flaws. Mainly the lack of a blowhole in the V1000 and their are some airflow problems caused by the two exhaust fans that are in close proximity in the P180. I would like to see something like a V1000 with a blowhole and the windtunnel of the Silverstone TJ06. It may seem cheasy, but I think placing the cpu heatsink in a duct is a great idea, especialy with many new coolers being of the 'tower' type. (Scythe Ninja, Freezer 64, etc.)

Which flaw, in your opinion, is the greater flaw.

Meathead said:

Which flaw, in your opinion, is the greater flaw.

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I assume you mean in the P180 vs V1000? Well, either can be fixed pretty easily. If your buying a new V1000 you can get it from Performance PCS and they will drill one for 20.00.

For the P180, I would just remove the top fan. That will still allow hot air to leave the case and it will prevent any airflow problems. Another option I have toyed with is ducting the cpu heatsink to the top eshaust and then using the rear exhause for the rest of the system. That would probably give you excelent resuslts.

Bear in mind that I have not used the P180 myself yet, I'm only going but what I have read here and on SPCR.

i like PC60. 120x38mm fan fits PERFECTLY in the fron with some dremmel work...and i have a 120 on the side and top.

only downside is that i have soooo much crap in there i dont think the fans help...my temps should be way lower...so eventually i will buy a 7 series...

if you dont have much, get a 60, if you have alot get a 70....thats what i would do

OCS911 said:

I believe Lian Li PC-7 Plus since 120mm Intake Fan and 120mm Exhaust Fan w/ 80mm blow hole Fan too

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I second this

I've got a PC60 sitting on the wayside, my buddy has the PC70 and I prefer it because of the extra space. The newer 7 series is nice because it comes with a 120mm fan.

I still like my PC71 (once it got a little more airflow )

damn, look at all those fans

Seriously, that's a lot of fans!

not to thread jack but i have a lian-li pc-65b (no modifications) for sale if anyone wants it... let me know.

My vote goes for a PC-V1*00.

In terms of airflow, the V1000 is a well-designed case except for one dead spot. This thread shows how I dealt with this issue.

Well, My vote goes for V1000 because it just plain rocks.

The deadspot is semi-fixed in the "plus" version that includes a pci blower type exhaust.

ok i have both a 2000b and a 1200b .. and im having seriously hard times trying to get good enough airflow up top .. my sli 7800gtxs are generating ALOT of heat .. my cpu temp is fine .. but the video cards are smoking and so is the chipset ..

im thinking of selling both cases and getting a stacker or something .. with the 2x120s up front .. im sure that would get enough cool air over the video cards ..

the 1200b is deeper then the normal 1000bs .. i also have the exhaust blower u can add which goes over the pci slots .. and u can reverse the top exhaust fan to be an intake and have the exhaust blower take the heat out .. still not that decent .. i changed the fans to sanyo denki 105cfm fans on a fan controller .. and still is crap

i dunno what to do
is the newer stacker out with the 2x120 exhausts

mitro said:

I still like my PC71 (once it got a little more airflow )

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More fans are not always better.

madhatR said:

ok i have both a 2000b and a 1200b .. and im having seriously hard times trying to get good enough airflow up top .. my sli 7800gtxs are generating ALOT of heat .. my cpu temp is fine .. but the video cards are smoking and so is the chipset ..

im thinking of selling both cases and getting a stacker or something .. with the 2x120s up front .. im sure that would get enough cool air over the video cards ..

the 1200b is deeper then the normal 1000bs .. i also have the exhaust blower u can add which goes over the pci slots .. and u can reverse the top exhaust fan to be an intake and have the exhaust blower take the heat out .. still not that decent .. i changed the fans to sanyo denki 105cfm fans on a fan controller .. and still is crap

i dunno what to do
is the newer stacker out with the 2x120 exhausts

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Did you read my post on improving the cooling in the Vx000 series?

Basicly the biggest flaw in the Vx000 series is the lack of a blowhole. From what I read it sounds like you already reversed the exhaust fan, so the next thing to do is put a blowhole in the top of the case.

i did read ur post .. what im said is i have the exhaust blower already .. but temps are still too high

Vulcan said:

More fans are not always better.

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Yeah... I think I'll go back to the 2 80's that came in mine and patch up the holes. I really hate having my entire motherboard cooled well.