Thinking of fabricating this case...

[sarbz]

EDIT: I'm now devoting all of my time and resources into this project:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=923678


Why? I don't know. I don't need a new case, I just like to build things and tinker.

Here's an idea I've been playing around with for a few years, and I think I'm finally going to build it. I know I can buy a case with a similar setup, but this project has to have an almost ZERO budget because I just bought a PSP

I'll be using all of the internal components in my current rig (see sig). Not sure what I'm going to fab the case from. Maybe wood, maybe lexan, maybe sintra (pvc based). I work for a sign supplier, so I can get the materials at cost as long as I'm not reselling or using them to make a profit.

The goal is to keep my system quiet & cool. Hopefully I can improve on the airflow over my current system.

Here are some drawings I've made so far:

I should have color coded it a bit better. There's a 120mm exhaust fan at the top back, a 120 pulling air through the radiator in the front, and a 120 pulling air through the psu/hd bay in the bottom and into the rest of the case. My psu's 120mm will be pulling air from the space under the case, and pushing out the back. The air loop for the psu is completely isolated from the rest of the case.

The front of the case will have 2 intakes. One for the radiator, and one for the HD bay. Both will have a grill or modder's mesh or something. Dust is not a concern in my apartment, it's pretty clean and dust free in here.

I also want to have a control panel on the front that will allow me to change fan voltage, turn on/off ccfl's, and power on/off and reset. Maybe even some usb ports.

Here are some 3d sketches I made:

I relocated the h20 pump in the 3d version. It's a little easier to see where I have room to put stuff in 3d.

 

[Sesheron]

go for it...i personally love building things too....althought the case strongly reminds me of a lian-li...

 

[delbert]

Thinking of fabricating this case...

Looks like you have thought about it long enough. Now go do it.

 

[sarbz]

go for it...i personally love building things too....althought the case strongly reminds me of a lian-li...

yes, but it will cost a fraction of a what a lian-li does, and have the "look what I made" effect.

Looks like you have thought about it long enough. Now go do it.

working on it.....

 

[Dregan]

Yes, do it, please!

Maybe rethink the 120 by the pci slots, as I see them blocking the airflow. But it's your's. Have fun and post pics!

 

[TheGamerZ]

Maybe rethink the 120 by the pci slots, as I see them blocking the airflow. But it's your's. Have fun and post pics!

I don't think that will be an issue considering he drew the arrow of airflow right over the slots. Maybe he doesnt have any PCI cards to fill them.

 

[Sesheron]

hmm...maybe make that 120 blow hole a little closer to the center so like he said, the pci cards won't block it...unless of course your case is gonna be wide enough it won;t matter

 

[revenant]

soooo... you essencially want to build a LianLi v1000? ... cool. nice case.

EDIT: making a case like this will be a challenging project... I mean, once the basic frame is done, there are all the fittings, and brackets, and threaded holes to tap, etc... it seems kind of simple, but it's not really... imo. but if you do have access to the materials, and have the tools, I say go for it, and have fun.

 

[Government_Man]

You should rethink your airflow diagram. From what I can see, it looks like you are going to pull all of the hot air created by the radiator back into the case over the motherboard. Seems rather silly to watercool and then pull the heat back into the case.

 

[fluxion]

You should rethink your airflow diagram. From what I can see, it looks like you are going to pull all of the hot air created by the radiator back into the case over the motherboard. Seems rather silly to watercool and then pull the heat back into the case.

true, but when you think about it the only items that need air cooling are the hard drives and rad, which are getting nice cool air. as long as there's enough exhaust flow to vent both the air from the hard drives and rad, the cooling qualities of the flow after they're served their purpose near the point of inlet are really not of much concern.

 

[sarbz]

You should rethink your airflow diagram. From what I can see, it looks like you are going to pull all of the hot air created by the radiator back into the case over the motherboard. Seems rather silly to watercool and then pull the heat back into the case.

The air temperature is about the same before and after the radiator....rads don't heat air up that much, and pulling air through a rad is more efficient than pushing it.

Yes, do it, please!

Maybe rethink the 120 by the pci slots, as I see them blocking the airflow. But it's your's. Have fun and post pics!

I don't have any pci cards. Even if I add them later, I'm not worried about airflow. There's only going to be 2 ways in, and 1 way out for the air in this case (not including the psu). The rest of the case is going to be sealed air tight. Air's not going to get lost

As long as room-temp air can enter the case, and case-temp air can exit, it'll work. The only things that get hot enough to need air cooling in my case are the ram, chipset, and harddrive. The cpu & gpu are watercooled.

 

[Government_Man]

The only reason it doesn't feel hotter is because of the shear amount of air you are displacing to disappate that heat. Dont' get me wrong, pulling it through the case will work fine and with the current placement of your components is the only way it would work. I just think that with the dead spots you will have, plus the added heat your ambient will be rather high. Then again, if you are using high CFM fans and your total radiator heat output (which is the same amount of heat as generated by all the components in your loop - some internal dissapation) isn't that high, it won't be a problem.

 

[zeusenergy]

The air temperature is about the same before and after the radiator....rads don't heat air up that much, and pulling air through a rad is more efficient than pushing it.

That's true Sarbz. The airflow in the case should be enough too. It would matter more if the case fans weren't enough to change the case air out several times a minute like your design.

I don't have any pci cards. Even if I add them later, I'm not worried about airflow. There's only going to be 2 ways in, and 1 way out for the air in this case (not including the psu). The rest of the case is going to be sealed air tight. Air's not going to get lost

As long as room-temp air can enter the case, and case-temp air can exit, it'll work. The only things that get hot enough to need air cooling in my case are the ram, chipset, and harddrive. The cpu & gpu are watercooled.

Yeah, the PCI cards won't matter much. I'd still go with the radiator in an exhaust blowhole though. You'll be working with the heat cycle rather than against it. The whole point of watercooling is to extract heat as efficiently as possible, and to have that heat come back into the case just isn't as elegant... But opinions are like asswholes!

 

[Teancum]

I vote for giving the radiator its own intake and outlet. Do the same for your radiator as you're doing for the PSU. In other words, put the rad at the bottom, the hard drives in the middle. This will also give you a better airflow match for the air coming from the hard drives over the MB and PCI slots--one fan pulling air over the drives, one pulling the same amount out of the case by the slots. And a simpler path for that air as well.

Of course, since this is your custom case, you are perfectly free to do exactly as you like and to tell everyone (including me) to shove off and mind our own business.

 

[sarbz]

Of course, since this is your custom case, you are perfectly free to do exactly as you like and to tell everyone (including me) to shove off and mind our own business.

no, no, no....all of your ideas are inspiring me. I like the idea of giving the rad it's own cool air supply and exhausting it outside the case. You really got me thinking on that one.....I'm working on more sketches now....

 

[darknite]

yes, but it will cost a fraction of a what a lian-li does, and have the "look what I made" effect.



working on it.....

the look what i made effect is worth more than any premoded or premade case...espcially when you make the whole case....braggin rights are awesome....and when its effective and not just stupid lookin
oh ya