PROJECT LOG Absolute Black Modded Lian Li PC-7B

[Xaotic]

I’ve been out of the game for too long and dealing with enterprise stuff. This started from a need to reduce the size of my footprint in our house, which is currently for sale.

I needed something a bit smaller than this:




Naturally, I had another Lian Li case sitting around. I have entirely too many of these. I just wasn't happy with the aesthetics. This one is a smaller mid tower, PC-7B and originally looked like this:


Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures prior to starting, so apologies for now.

The primary task at hand was to use mostly older but serviceable hardware and make something that would keep the drives cool, with a reasonable performance level.

As this serves as a workstation and file server, the normal five drives and four 5.25" bays was simply not going to make the cut. I had several older components spare like a 4 in 3 drive bay and an additional six drive cage.

The hardware for the build includes:
AMD 1100T Thuban (Not OC’d currently, but once the case cooling is worked out, I’ll want to play with it)
Gigabyte 990FXA UD3
2x8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series DDR3 2133 (Overkill, but I can reuse it in a faster system later)
ATI FirePro v5800 (Eventually to be replaced)
Noctua NH-D14 EVGA Supernova 850G2
500GB Samsung 840 Pro
SUPERMICRO AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 PCI-Express 2.0 x8 SATA / SAS 8-Port Controller Card
6x 3TB Toshiba drives
4x 2TB Seagate Enterprise drives
Blu-ray disk
The MB, RAM, PSU and disk controller are new for the build. The older system had a nice Areca 1261ML, but it kept evicting the Toshiba drives on TLER. I was hoping it wouldn’t, but this happens. It did give me an excuse to move to a SAS/SATA 2 card, so no complaints.

Needless to say, this many drives and components into a smaller case was going to be interesting. The case also lack modern wiring management and the wiring will be sanitized after the final cooling solutions are implemented.

Since I was not pressed for time initially and was unhappy with the aluminum interior, it was time for a change. The theme for this will eventually be the Absolute Black from Douglas Adams’s Restaurant at the End of the Universe, black on black and your eyes just slide right off it.

I will be doing more modding for color later, but here is the current version without the final mods for cooling. Fans and spare top and side panels are being ordered, as well as some additional sleeving and all black hardware. Before it’s finished, everything will be black and I’ll have to see what I can swap into the power and HDD LEDs in the front. (Suggestions?)

In any event, on to the current pictures.

Front:


Back:


Side open:


A bit of detail on how tight this gets from a wiring standpoint.


I have acceptable temps for now, with the side open and running seven drives. To get the remaining four in and everything cooled properly, here are the next steps.

The lower drive cage has a 120mm fan currently that will be replaced with a Noctua NF-F12 iPPC-2000 fan, since I need higher pressure. I will be creating a duct system to direct the airflow through the drives for cooling. Part of the mods for this will include creating wiring management space under the drive bay, as the SAS splitters are usually long and hard to conceal.

Identical fans will be used for the back and a new 120mm blowhole in the top. I’d like two here, but a second would not really accomplish anything due to flow restrictions. The Supernova intrudes a bit farther into the top than the original design for the case.

I’ll post more as it moves along, though this will likely be slow due to work demands for travel.

 

[Blaylock]

Looks like an interesting build. That Noctua will be plenty for the CPU but you'll obviously need more case airflow. Going with an AIO would be a nice touch as they are usually black and would make the case appear more open. Cable management can be tricky on these older cases for sure.

Anyhow, subbed to see how she turns out.

 

[Xaotic]

Thanks. I hadn't considered an AIO for this yet, since I had the cooler from the original build out. It would make cooling the VRMs easier. I was starting to design some duct work to have a side vent ducted across the sinks, hence the spare side panel.

 

[Xaotic]

Thanks to my work, travel and medical schedules, this is going to be a very long process. After the latest overseas trips, the initial planning has been started and the first tranche of parts has been ordered.

I looked through the AIO options and while it would help with the case interior, it would likely have some unacceptably strange airflow routing or require external mounting of the radiator due to the need for use as an intake for cool air supply and best performance. As one of the goals of this is a largely stealth appearance, I will continue down the cramped, but conventional air cooling route.

To facilitate this, I have ordered a variety of Noctua NF-Fxx IPPC fans for better airflow. Replacement top and side panels are ordered, as well as hardware and sheet aluminum.

A spare drive cage will start through the disassembly and refinishing process this weekend, assuming my maintenance window doesn't completely go awry.

I'll also be starting the design for the lower drive cage forced air ductwork.

Plans for modding the HSF are also underway, but I'll have to leave a bit of suspense for that. Assuming the technical factors and cost are acceptable, it should be a relatively unique solution.

More coming later...

 

[Dalchi Frusche]

You're going to paint those fans black also right? : p

 

[Xaotic]

No need to paint them, but there are plans to mod them. The fans for the HSF are being replaced. The modding is simple, it's just removing the brown rubber vibration dampers and dying them black, as well as sleeving.



The larger mods are coming, but will take time. I plan on doing everything in the workshop including all of the ductwork, custom parts and anodization of the aluminum pieces. I'm still working on the plans and procedures, but will document everything in step by step form.

This should be fun, since it's been about a decade since I did any prototype work,

 

[Dalchi Frusche]

No need to paint them, but there are plans to mod them. The fans for the HSF are being replaced. The modding is simple, it's just removing the brown rubber vibration dampers and dying them black, as well as sleeving.
This should be fun, since it's been about a decade since I did any prototype work,

Well done then, look forward to seeing what further mods you have in mind. Keep up the great work! It has been fun following your build so far. Your bending strategy actually helps me resolve one of the issues I was having with my build *thumbs up*