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SirHarlock
Gawd
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2006
- Messages
- 776
The Lian-Li PC-K7B Plus II is a good case: there's room for a 38mm fans in front with all hard drive bays in use, there's room for 38mm fans in back, two external 3.5" bays, and four external 5.25" bays. It's a cozy case and it's just overall plain sexy.
Having said that, there are a few problems with it, which I will illustrate with pictures. All photos are/will be in thumbnail form and may be clicked to view in full-size.
1.
Any card longer than a standard 4870 will not fit in this case when all hard drive bays are in use. As you can see, even with a 4870, it's a very snug fit. It's more snug than it looks, you MUST bend the end of the card upward to attach both PCIe power cables when all bays are in use.
2.
When using 38mm fans, there is minimal room between the fan and hard drives. It is good that the fan doesn't touch the drives, however, the lack of room in front makes cable management problematic, as all hard drive cables must then be routed through the main open area of the case. A possible solution would be to move the drives back some, however, as seen above, a particular component is in the way.
3.
No holes! There are NO holes on the motherboard tray on the K7B Plus II. Again, this makes cable management a nightmare, as NOTHING can be routed and hidden under the motherboard. Again, everything must then go toward the front or the main area of the case. As you can see, I chose to shove things toward the front, however, it can get messy, things get tangled and it just doesn't look pretty.
4.
What the hell is this? The K7B Plus II already has a grille on the front panel. Why is this here? If it is a grille what good is it? I can stick my damn hand in there!
My plans are to:
1) Remove the useless metal crap covering the front fan.
2) Relocate the hard drive bays to the 5.25" bay area.
3) Make some holes in the motherboard tray.
4) Coat the inside of the K7B with a nice coating of black gloss.
These things had been circling round my mind for quite some time and yesterday the inkling was much too strong. I went out and got myself a dremel, some reinforced discs, safety goggles and spray paint.
This morning my journey began.
1.
Everything is ready out of the basic frame and ready to be worked on.
2.
This is the front fan hole after a rough cut of the 'guard' that used to be there.
3.
The same area after a little more cutting, a little grinding and a little sanding.
Now off to relocate that hard drive caddy!
Having said that, there are a few problems with it, which I will illustrate with pictures. All photos are/will be in thumbnail form and may be clicked to view in full-size.
1.
Any card longer than a standard 4870 will not fit in this case when all hard drive bays are in use. As you can see, even with a 4870, it's a very snug fit. It's more snug than it looks, you MUST bend the end of the card upward to attach both PCIe power cables when all bays are in use.
2.
When using 38mm fans, there is minimal room between the fan and hard drives. It is good that the fan doesn't touch the drives, however, the lack of room in front makes cable management problematic, as all hard drive cables must then be routed through the main open area of the case. A possible solution would be to move the drives back some, however, as seen above, a particular component is in the way.
3.
No holes! There are NO holes on the motherboard tray on the K7B Plus II. Again, this makes cable management a nightmare, as NOTHING can be routed and hidden under the motherboard. Again, everything must then go toward the front or the main area of the case. As you can see, I chose to shove things toward the front, however, it can get messy, things get tangled and it just doesn't look pretty.
4.
What the hell is this? The K7B Plus II already has a grille on the front panel. Why is this here? If it is a grille what good is it? I can stick my damn hand in there!
My plans are to:
1) Remove the useless metal crap covering the front fan.
2) Relocate the hard drive bays to the 5.25" bay area.
3) Make some holes in the motherboard tray.
4) Coat the inside of the K7B with a nice coating of black gloss.
These things had been circling round my mind for quite some time and yesterday the inkling was much too strong. I went out and got myself a dremel, some reinforced discs, safety goggles and spray paint.
This morning my journey began.
1.
Everything is ready out of the basic frame and ready to be worked on.
2.
This is the front fan hole after a rough cut of the 'guard' that used to be there.
3.
The same area after a little more cutting, a little grinding and a little sanding.
Now off to relocate that hard drive caddy!
