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iroc409 · 01-19-2004, 02:14 AM

good thread, i spent a couple hours tonight while doing some other things pondering this very subject. i've got a pc60, and i love the case. i'm personally the type that prefers a rather subdued look to things, more of a 'sleeper' look, and i'm not much one for 'rice-like' eye candy. i prefer more the eye candy like what bladerunner produces, eye candy in craftsmanship. 'elegance' i suppose.

anyways, i was trying to think how to put something together for my lian li. i really don't like the idea of cutting up the case. i was planning on using a bim2, but i just don't think that would be enough heat dissipation for a usual cpu/gpu/nb setup. i'd have to go with a bigger radiator, and to make it work right i'd have to open up the front. i wouldn't have a problem cutting up the inner chassis, but i really don't want to rip a giant hole in the front facia. i think that would run the lines of the case.

so, that means a radiator outside. but, the thought of having fans whirring outside of the case and a fairly ugly traditional radiator hanging out makes me cringe, not to mention the noise it adds.

i've seen the design like this ( http://de.msnusers.com/_Secure/0SgA...452648696800048 ) before, and it's quite intriging (SP). i think if finished properly and done carefully enough, it could still have a fairly unobtrusive and elegant look to it, and still function properly.

i guess i'd like to know as well if something like that can blow off enough heat. i've also been thinking about the possibility of using a more block-style radiator. something that in appearance looks perhaps more like a water block (sort of). think kinda like those older coolermaster aluminum hdd cooler jobs, but with water running through and larger fins. maybe using a scaled-up fin design like those small passive heatsinks used for nb or sb cooling (comes with the antec chipset kit). the inside would possibly be like old-skool maze blocks (not necessarily danger den's, but just the older wc blocks in general with the internal "maze" like designs. then, the radiator would be flat on the back and firmly attached to the side panel of the case. since the case is all aluminum, i would think perhaps with a design like this, you might get extra heat dissipation from the case itself (i don't see why we can't use these kinds of cases more for heat dissipation. if a flat piece of al or cu works for memory and stuff, why not with a whole case?).

the second idea would be a bitch to have machined... i certainly don't have the ability to do it, and i'm sure it would cost quite a bit to have it made. so it isn't something i'd probably just go out and try, unless someone could at least partially validate my idea. i'm not really convinced that it'd work well, but it could. keep in mind it would be fairly large... 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the side panel of a mid tower.

imo, it would have to be built out of aluminum, and finished nicely (preferrably to match the case finish as much as possible), to match up and maintain a elegant and unobtrusive look.

the more i think about it, the finned tube design would probably look nicer, but the block design would maybe be more efficient? i dunno, i'm just pondering at this point. i might call up some metal shops around and see if they have any finned tubing like that, i didn't think that would be readily available. a setup like that i would think could also be very low restriction, which may or may not be a blessing.

i'm also looking for a reasonably low-maintenance system, which would be another plus for this setup (less mechanical parts), amoung other small things i've been planning to add to a new system. but this isn't really the thread for that.

let me know what you think. maybe i'm all wet (tee hee).

edit:

also, for me free airflow isn't a huge issue. my machines sit under my desk, but it's a fairly large desk and it's one of them glass jobs with a tube frame, so there's no real airflow restriction from the furniture (aside from the obvious desk surface above the machine... about 18" or so).

also, on the fans, you can pick up some reasonably priced new ones in all sorts of sizes from jeg's (www.jegs.com). i think they start around $30 or so and go up from there... anywhere from i believe 10" to 16". but they'll pull several amps @ 12v, and are quite noisy (think of the fan you hear in the summer from a late model fwd when the a/c is on).

01-19-2004, 02:14 AM	#31
iroc409 Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: midwest side, yo Posts: 596	good thread, i spent a couple hours tonight while doing some other things pondering this very subject. i've got a pc60, and i love the case. i'm personally the type that prefers a rather subdued look to things, more of a 'sleeper' look, and i'm not much one for 'rice-like' eye candy. i prefer more the eye candy like what bladerunner produces, eye candy in craftsmanship. 'elegance' i suppose. anyways, i was trying to think how to put something together for my lian li. i really don't like the idea of cutting up the case. i was planning on using a bim2, but i just don't think that would be enough heat dissipation for a usual cpu/gpu/nb setup. i'd have to go with a bigger radiator, and to make it work right i'd have to open up the front. i wouldn't have a problem cutting up the inner chassis, but i really don't want to rip a giant hole in the front facia. i think that would run the lines of the case. so, that means a radiator outside. but, the thought of having fans whirring outside of the case and a fairly ugly traditional radiator hanging out makes me cringe, not to mention the noise it adds. i've seen the design like this ( http://de.msnusers.com/_Secure/0SgA...452648696800048 ) before, and it's quite intriging (SP). i think if finished properly and done carefully enough, it could still have a fairly unobtrusive and elegant look to it, and still function properly. i guess i'd like to know as well if something like that can blow off enough heat. i've also been thinking about the possibility of using a more block-style radiator. something that in appearance looks perhaps more like a water block (sort of). think kinda like those older coolermaster aluminum hdd cooler jobs, but with water running through and larger fins. maybe using a scaled-up fin design like those small passive heatsinks used for nb or sb cooling (comes with the antec chipset kit). the inside would possibly be like old-skool maze blocks (not necessarily danger den's, but just the older wc blocks in general with the internal "maze" like designs. then, the radiator would be flat on the back and firmly attached to the side panel of the case. since the case is all aluminum, i would think perhaps with a design like this, you might get extra heat dissipation from the case itself (i don't see why we can't use these kinds of cases more for heat dissipation. if a flat piece of al or cu works for memory and stuff, why not with a whole case?). the second idea would be a bitch to have machined... i certainly don't have the ability to do it, and i'm sure it would cost quite a bit to have it made. so it isn't something i'd probably just go out and try, unless someone could at least partially validate my idea. i'm not really convinced that it'd work well, but it could. keep in mind it would be fairly large... 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the side panel of a mid tower. imo, it would have to be built out of aluminum, and finished nicely (preferrably to match the case finish as much as possible), to match up and maintain a elegant and unobtrusive look. the more i think about it, the finned tube design would probably look nicer, but the block design would maybe be more efficient? i dunno, i'm just pondering at this point. i might call up some metal shops around and see if they have any finned tubing like that, i didn't think that would be readily available. a setup like that i would think could also be very low restriction, which may or may not be a blessing. i'm also looking for a reasonably low-maintenance system, which would be another plus for this setup (less mechanical parts), amoung other small things i've been planning to add to a new system. but this isn't really the thread for that. let me know what you think. maybe i'm all wet (tee hee). edit: also, for me free airflow isn't a huge issue. my machines sit under my desk, but it's a fairly large desk and it's one of them glass jobs with a tube frame, so there's no real airflow restriction from the furniture (aside from the obvious desk surface above the machine... about 18" or so). also, on the fans, you can pick up some reasonably priced new ones in all sorts of sizes from jeg's (www.jegs.com). i think they start around $30 or so and go up from there... anywhere from i believe 10" to 16". but they'll pull several amps @ 12v, and are quite noisy (think of the fan you hear in the summer from a late model fwd when the a/c is on). __________________ :shrug: Last edited by iroc409; 01-19-2004 at 02:21 AM.