Liteon FS020 Case Mod Ideas?

[Ben Matlock]

I've had a Liteon FS020 case in my basement for too many years now. I haven't used it since I stopped using my PIII 500 Xeons. I'm finally going to put a new system build in it, and am looking for some ideas.

What do you guys think about putting a mesh side on it and slapping a 200mm fan right over the mobo?

It has (1) 120mm intake fan, and (2) 120mm exhaust fans. Should they be reversed?

I'm thinking about powdercoating the case matte black, and then painting the front panel to match. Thoughts?

The system going in it is nothing special, just a Phenom II 940 with 8GB of RAM, a Radeon 4870x2, a 300GB Raptor, and a 1.5TB drive.

 

[guitarslingerchris]

<3 Powdercoating! I'm a staunch advocate of the fine texture finish though, especially in a matte finish which would equate to something like 10% gloss for powdercoat I believe.

 

[Ben Matlock]

My parts get here tomorrow... Looking forward to getting this going.

Off the top of my head, here's what I'd like to do:

1: Cut some of the grill work out of the front and mount either a 140 or a 200mm fan.
2: Drill some new holes in the front drive cage so I can mount the drives not flush with the front of the cage...
3: ...so I can mount an 80mm fan in front of the drives.
4: Cut the grill work off the back fans and mount some grill guards that don't kill the airflow.

Now, if only I had some skill. This is my first case mod and I'm a bit nervous since you can't just go out and buy an FS020 anymore.

 

[ekuest]

i think you should ditch that whole front plastic piece and make a new front fascia from scratch! but thats just me...

 

[ratmasta]

if you are going with those 120/140/200mm fans i am all for that, however the 80s will kill all the quiet you will be receiving from the larger fans. something to keep in mind or to consider in your modding. i know when i am modding i go first to performance, then quiet, then looks. so if the performance is wicked, i will sacrifice the quiet and the looks, however once i have the performance i work on getting it quieter and then looking good. and as for your specific case i am unfamiliar with it, so maybe ill post back once i have seen a few pics and provide you will an idea you could use.

 

[Ben Matlock]

Here's a review with pics of the case...

http://www.slcentral.com/reviews/hardware/cases/liteon/fs020/

I need to measure, but I know there's room for something bigger than an 80 in front of the hard drives... but not as big as a 120. Maybe a 100?

 

[crazjayz]

This case looks primed for watercool, back in the 90s. I'm actually digging the beige

 

[Ben Matlock]

Yeah, Swiftech sold it with a water cooling kit in it that was cool then, but is so 90's now. lol.

One thing that's nice if I keep the beige (more grey than beige, really) is that no one will look at this case and think I'm running anything modern in it.

 

[ekuest]

This case looks primed for watercool, back in the 90s. I'm actually digging the beige

lol@beige. i actually found one site looking up the case where a company used it for a pre-setup wc system. didnt look into it closely but i def saw a pump up front in the drive bays.

 

[ratmasta]

you have to do something about whatever is on the lower part of the face. a few ideas i had were wire mesh or a large grill with a big design cut into it - there are just too many possibilities. also look into putting a 120mm fan into three of those 5.25 bays. that is however dependent on how many drives you are using.

as for the 200mm fan in the side, my only question would be whether or not its necessary or just for kicks. look at the balance of intake/exhaust you would have with all the fans you are going to add.

 

[Ben Matlock]

Yeah, what I was thinking was cutting out the face and putting the 200 or 140 fan there... I don't think I'll put anything on the sides.

I'm gonna use three, possibly all four of the 5.25 bays, so no fans there.

Would it be better to have the intake be in the front or the back?

 

[BrooksyX]

Sounds like a pretty sweet idea. I would do black paint, add a side panel window and use red led fans.

 

[ekuest]

i think you should ditch that whole front plastic piece and make a new front fascia from scratch! but thats just me...

+1

can i plus one myself? hmm...

 

[Ben Matlock]

UPS brought my Newegg goodies today... I forgot just how easy it is to work in a case this big. Now I need to find some decent 120mm fans - the one that I had is T O O L O U D to be bearable.