Help me choose 1 of 3 Lian Li cases - Please!

[Randyman...]

I'd be greatful for a "Naked" pic of your Rocketfish

Is there only a single 120mm fan on the front AND rear of the Rocketfish? It looks like the Rocketfish is a hair shorter than the PC-A70 (omitting the 3 extra HD Bays and extra 120mm fan on the upper rear). Might not be a bad thing, though (being shorter than the A70, that is). But If I'm going to get a full tower, I'll want 2x 120mm's up front for sure. If I go with a Mid Tower then I'll compromise with a single 120mm or 140mm.

EDIT - Oh - I didn't see the fans ON TOP of the Rocketfish - those are stock? What size?

As you can tell I'm being VERY picky about this purchase. I REALLY want this to be my last case for a good 5 years or so

 

[Coreyhm1]

I'm picky too, lol. Actually, i think they are exactly the same size. If I'm not mistaking, they share alot of the same parts/panels.

I'm going to take my door off in a couple minutes to see how i like it. I'll get a couple pictures.

Don't consider the rocketfish a big option yet, because theres a chance a best buy near you doesn't even have it.

EDIT again!: Those fans are on my radiator, the top looks like the PC-70 stock

 

[Coreyhm1]

Heres it is

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s145/Coreyhm1/DSCF3152.jpg

It sounds like you like the PC-A70, just get it. You won't regret it.. always go with your first instinct.

 

[Randyman...]

Looks good with her top off ( )

I think the Rocketfish is a different Lian Li clone/re-badge. The PC-A70 has 2x 120mm's up front and 2x 120mm's on the rear (and 2 "Mid Plane"), 5 external 5.25" Bays, no external 3.5" bays, 7 internal 3.5" bays up front and 3 more in the upper rear. The Rocketfish has one 120mm up front, one in the rear, 6 external 5.25" bays, 2 external 3.5" bays, and a different HD Arrangement (one HD rack behind another opposed to one HD rack stacked on top of the other).

Close, but no cigar . I think you talked me into the PC-A70 with the "Trust your first instinct" blurb . The PC-A70 was first to make me tingle, then I stumbled on the PC-V1010 and thought "This is it". I'm still flip-flopping back and forth, but I'm thinking the A70 will do it for me. I'm going to sleep on it and pull the trigger Sunday at work (about 9-10PM probably). I will check back often for any other input/suggestions. There is about a $70 difference (A70 $199 @ Directron versus V1010 $269 @ NewEgg), but I'm not even considering that TBH. I just want "the perfect fit" for me and my future PC Needs...

PS - I checked out the SilverStone J09 and J10, but I wasn't crazy about the HD Cooling and single 120mm front fan for 6 HD's. I'm liking having more than 6 HD Bays for future expansion with the A70 (I could add more 750GB HD's to my RAID-5 array as I need to expand opposed to swapping out from 4x750's to 4x1TB's for an upgrade path)

You guys rock Thanks so much

 

[Yahonmaizosz]

I, myself, have a dilemma in choosing between Lian Li V2010 and the Silverstone TJ07..

But in you case, I would gladly choose the V1010 as I love the new design of the V Series..

However, the PC-A70 looks like a potential winner too..

It seems that you too are in a dilemma here..

 

[Neuromancer]

Am I mistaken that the CM690 only has 5 HD Slots? I need 6 or more... Are there different versions I'm missing?

I think I'm leaning towards cases that have dual front intakes for plenty of cool air over the HD's and onto the Chipsets. This is making the PC-A70 very appealing. But I am somewhat concerned about the comments of "Why mod a $250 case" - what kind of mods do you think I'd need for my requirements listed above? I have nothing against modding (I'm not too bad at it ) but I shouldn't have to mod my "Perfect" case in a perfect World...

Thanks again

Looks good with her top off ( )

I think the Rocketfish is a different Lian Li clone/re-badge. The PC-A70 has 2x 120mm's up front and 2x 120mm's on the rear (and 2 "Mid Plane"), 5 external 5.25" Bays, no external 3.5" bays, 7 internal 3.5" bays up front and 3 more in the upper rear. The Rocketfish has one 120mm up front, one in the rear, 6 external 5.25" bays, 2 external 3.5" bays, and a different HD Arrangement (one HD rack behind another opposed to one HD rack stacked on top of the other).

Close, but no cigar . I think you talked me into the PC-A70 with the "Trust your first instinct" blurb . The PC-A70 was first to make me tingle, then I stumbled on the PC-V1010 and thought "This is it". I'm still flip-flopping back and forth, but I'm thinking the A70 will do it for me. I'm going to sleep on it and pull the trigger Sunday at work (about 9-10PM probably). I will check back often for any other input/suggestions. There is about a $70 difference (A70 $199 @ Directron versus V1010 $269 @ NewEgg), but I'm not even considering that TBH. I just want "the perfect fit" for me and my future PC Needs...

PS - I checked out the SilverStone J09 and J10, but I wasn't crazy about the HD Cooling and single 120mm front fan for 6 HD's. I'm liking having more than 6 HD Bays for future expansion with the A70 (I could add more 750GB HD's to my RAID-5 array as I need to expand opposed to swapping out from 4x750's to 4x1TB's for an upgrade path)

You guys rock Thanks so much

I do not know what Lian Li case the rocketfish is.. but as was pointed out it has only a single 120mm intake and 120mm exhaust. So it definitly needs modding. I intend to remove one of the HDD cages and get the drives in 3 optical bays. with a 120mm fan for additional case cooling. And modding the side fan to pull air in straight through the side panel. But what can you do with a $47.99 case

The A70 is the best of the 3 lianlis you linked...I have not had one in my hands so I can not positively say that it needs modding, but I have seen alot of cases and ALL of them needed something done. This could be an exception, but I do notice that alot of the really serios modders and modding hte lianli cases.. so I just assumed they did still need work done on them.

Air flow is the most common mod with cable management being second (most common needed mods I mean, cable management is really more for aesthetics then help with cooling anymore, we are not using IDE cables and stuff and sata cable just dont block a lot of air.. at least not until you have 6+ of them i guess )

Personally for best airflow.. I recommend any case like the stacker STC-T01 its a big brute, but it has no hdd bays. The entire front of the case is meshed/filtered 5.25" bays. you could run 3 hdd cages for up to 12 HDDs, which doubles as 3 120mm intake fans. I am not saying the stacker is your best choice, there are other cases that use this type of design. A70 looks like it might work for this as well but only 2 fans fit.

Best of luck in your shopping.

 

[Randyman...]

After a long night of sleepless debate, I'm flopping back towards the PC-V1010, and adding another 120mm fan in the front. This might be a tiny compromise, but this case is the right size (not too tall) and looks the best out of all of the Lian-Li's IMO (the curved front and wheels are choice!). The Mid Plane 120mm Chipset Fan is also cool, but I know I could add that to any of these cases if I wanted to...

I'm planning on adding the Lian-Li "3 in 3" EX-33B HD Bay so it will match the opening/grille/logo asthetics on the bottom of the PC-V1010 (should look like a "Factory" mod):
http://www.xoxide.com/lian-li-ex-33b.html

I know I said I didn't want to add a 5.25" HD Bay, but this one addition makes this case 99.9% perfect for me, and the asthetics of the EX-33B will flow 100%. I'll put my 4x 750GB HD's in the bottom HD Cages with the 140mm fan on them (2x2 config with the bottom slot open on each cage for future RAID-5 expansion) and I'll put my 2x 74GB Raptors in the 5.25" HD Bay with a 120mm on them (still have one open HD Bay up there, too). That still leaves 2x 5.25" bays open (one for SATA DVD Drive, one for Hot-Swap SATA HD Bay).

This gives me intake airflow that surpasses the PC-A70 (I'll have a 140mm + 120mm opposed to 2x 120mm's, and the upper fan will be blowing closer to the NB Heatsinks). My Video Card exhausts out the rear (8800GTS), so that combined with the PSU exhaust and the 120mm Rear Case fan should get me fairly balanced in terms of intake to exhaust airflow. I've been pondering this from every possible angle I can come up with ...

I think I'm settled. I will check back for any other input before I make the purchase (around 10PM Central Time). Looks like I'll be getting the PC-V1010 case from NewEgg and the HD Bay from Xoxide.

PS - Have you seen the massive Lian Li "Cube"? It is like 2x Full Towers welded together and has like 16x 5.25" "Flex Bays", and like 5 fans on the rear and as many as you want on the front!!! Now THAT's Overkill

 

[Brando]

I'm too lazy to read the whole thread but this is what I would get. Sorry if it's already been mentioned or doesn't fit your criteria but it's dreamy.
http://www.sundialmicro.com/lianli_full-tower-pca77b_1928_1358.html
Is 9 hard drives enough? I'm not positive but I think you can also buy extra 5.25" cages for the front so you can have 3 fans in front and 12 hard drives if you feel like it.

 

[Randyman...]

Not too bad, but I think I'm settled on this bad boy with its brand-new design:

Just look at it! So purdy Now picture it with a second 120mm fan grille with matching "Lian Li" logo in the bottom three 5.25" Bays. Oh yeah!!! The proportions just look "Right" to me. A full tower seems a bit too tall for how wide they are IMO...

This one will still fit under my desk, too!

 

[Brando]

This one is more your size and has a ceiling exhaust too
http://www.sundialmicro.com/lian_li_pca17b_innoative_all_aluminum_pc_tower_case_1927_1292.html
Please forgive me. It's hard for me to watch people buy cases with less than 2 120mm exhaust fans. Plus I want those cases and want to live through you. I guess it doesn't hold enough hard drives but they probably sell hd cages that fit. That is all.
EDIT:Oh, you already mentioned that one. Forget I said anything!

 

[Randyman...]

The PC-A17 was one of my first 3 pics (listed in my first post). I really like the styling of the PC-V1010 much better. I see Lian Li offers different top plates for some of the other cases - do they offer a top plate for the PC-V1010 (to add a 120mm fan)? Maybe I could just take my chances and mod the stock top plate for a 120mm fan?

I'm also more partial to a bottom mounted PSU. The PC-V1010 uses the split thermal design where the bottom 140mm fan and PSU are in one isolated compartment (the PSU's fan becomes the exhaust for this section). Then the MoBo/CPU area is a seperate compartment and will have the front 120mm intake (the one I will add), a 120mm mid-plane chipset cooler, and a 120mm rear exhaust. The 120mm rear exhaust combined with my rear-exhausting video card should prove to be ample for the MoBo/CPU area IMO. This should be a better thermal solution than what I'm running now, and heat is not a concern in my current rig. The intake air will be cooler (only passing over 2 HD's instead of 5 HD's in my current rig), and have a more direct airflow to the Chipsets and Ultra-120 HSF (pretty much a straight shot from intake fan > chipset cooler fan > Ultra120 + fan > Exhaust fan). The PSU will also receive cooler air and should run cooler, too...

I really apreciate you looking out for me! I was pretty dead-set on having multiple 120mm exhaust fans, but I think the thermal compartment design of the PC-V1010 will greatly offset this issue (also combined with the rear-exhausting video card creating more vacuum). I can always add Lian-Li's 120mm VGA exhaust Cooler, too - or add a top 120mm fan

PS - I e-mailed Lian-Li to see if they have plans on offering modded PC-V1010 top plates...

PPS - I'm also slightly worried that with 2x HD Bays (6 HD's) in the PC-A17 that I will have Video Card Clearance issues like I'm having now in my Antec SLK-3000B case (my new 8800GTS won't even fit in my current case - it is too long even w/o the 6-pin power plug connected and hits the HD's)

 

[Brando]

I'm sure you'll be happy with it. It's a nice case and I believe the design probably compensates for the lesser amount of fans like you said. Good choice.

 

[Randyman...]

Thanks for the vote of confidence I'm fairly confident this will easily surpass my current setup's cooling, and I think it would still give the PC-A17 a run for its money in terms of cooling.

It looks like I will be buying the PC-V1010 from Sundial Micro (thanks to your links!). It is approx $27 cheaper than NewEgg (that almost pays for shipping right there!)

Do any of you know how good the Lian-Li fans are? The reviews I read said they are god-awful loud on hi speed (I plan on running at low or mid speed). I'm wondering if I should contemplate replacing them with Scythe FDB's (1200 or 1600 RPM models). Also, what kind of connectors does the fan speed controller have on it? It is a 3-speed switch on the back with 3 connectors, but they never listed what type of connectors (3-pin mini's or standard 4-pin)? My Maximus Formula is pretty good with its Q-Fan settings, so I might just default to that instead and bypass the Lian Li speed controller...

 

[Randyman...]

I just pulled the trigger on the PC-V1010 and EX-33B HD Bay. I'm hoping to get it on Friday so I can tackle it over the weekend. I'll post some pics of the initial build (I'm sure I'll re-do it in a few weeks once I have time to deeply contemplate all the variables in my brain ).

Thanks for putting up with me

 

[Brando]

i don't know about the lian li fans but I have used some scythe s-flex fans. The ones I had were the fastest ones (69 cfm I think?) and were too loud. I've also seen the slowest 800rpm version in action in a pc I put together for someone. It was too slow(and silent). Definitely go for the medium s-flex if you want airflow and fairly quiet fans. They're probably not completely silent but likely are the best compromise. You should be aware though that they make a snapping noise when undervolted with a sunbeam rheobus. Not loud but enough to notice, which is why I suggested the ones with a constant speed you can probably live with.

 

[Coreyhm1]

Good choice, i would have picked the same

 

[Yahonmaizosz]

Any plan of modding it??
Adding additional 2 exhaust fan at the top would really improve airflow..

 

[Randyman...]

I really want to see it first hand before I commit to any modding

Considering the MoBo/CPU area will only have one 120mm intake fan, I'd think having 3 exhaust fans in the same compartment would be pointless. One 120mm intake, one 120mm mid-plane chipset fan, the 120mm fan on the ultra120, and the 120mm exhaust fan on the rear should keep this compartment farily cool IMO (cooler than my current config that's for sure) and have balanced intake-to-exhaust airflow. The bottom 140mm intake fan is in a seperate chamber with the HD's and PSU, and the PSU's fan is the exhaust for this bottom compartment. With the 140mm fan on "med" or "low" this should be fairly balanced intake-to-exhaust.

If I go and add more exhaust fans, then my airflow will be unbalanced (not enough intake). Also, don't forget that my 8800GTS exhausts externally (2-slot card with external exhaust) and will also act as a supplimental case exhaust creating more vacuum for the upper MoBo/CPU chamber! I'm really thinking this should run cooler than my current case by a good margin (my current case is already adequate), and also allow the PSU to operate a good 5*C-10*C cooler since it is NOT pulling the pre-heated MoBo/CPU air throuigh it like a typical top-mounted PSU in a regular "single chamber" ATX case...

Also, my top 120mm intake fan (the one in the 5.25" HD bay I'm adding) will essentially be blowing DIRECTLY into the Ultra120 - that should also keep things nice and cool...

I think this will be a sweet build once I'm all done. I plan on doing an initial installation just to get my bearings. Then, I will decide if I need to mod anything or execute any other changes, and then re-install the system and re-address wire managment (my first builds are never "Final" as far as wire mamagment goes - it usually takes 2-3 builds to perfect the Wire managment )

 

[Mu||et]

A70 before and after. I took a little different approach. WC in mind later on.

EDIT: nvm I see you went with a diff case.

 

[Randyman...]

That's sweet! Plenty of room, eh?

My PC-V1010 is in transit!!! Yippeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!