Ideas/Help with Lian Li

[Lancer33]

OK, so my wife (bless her pointy little head) decides that I need a new case cause I'm such a good guy. I have been running an acrylic that has served me well and I have set it up over time so that it ran constantly in the low 30"s.

But now I have this brand new PC-S80. Beautiful case, workmanship is the best I think I have seen, cable management was a breeze, but whoever designed the airflow in this thing was not looking at it ever being used for a high end system.

Just by switching cases I have seen a 10 degree C rise in both CPU and MB temps.

I have spent the last 2 days looking and thinking, have a couple of ideas and would appreciate some input.

First let me state that I am reluctant to start punching holes in this thing. To start with it is double wall and I would hate to ruin the looks of the case, that said, if it comes down to it I will.

First idea is to move the HD rack from it's location right in front of the front intake fans to the shelf in the 5.25 drive bay. Should be room there and I am only running one combo drive. This move would allow the 2 120mm front fans to actually get some air into the case instead of just blowing it on the side of the HD rack.
Second idea is to reverse the rear exhaust fan (120mm). This fan now pulls air in from the back and uses a deflector to direct it onto the CPU. My thought is that I would be better served with a continuos flow front to back, than with the current set up (air coming in the front and back).

If this does not help enough then I will cut holes and mount a 120mm fan on the inside panel blowing on the CPU and GPU's, drill intake holes in the outer panel, and make a foam seal glued around it so that it seals to the inner panel. Some black wire mesh filter material on the inside of the outer panel should make it kinda match the existing air intakes.

I am open for any and all suggestions you may have.

[leprechaun_40]

Well, I'd certainly start by turning that back fan into an exhaust. You have to blow the hot air out somewhere and that'd be a great start. I always make the rear fans exhaust, front intake. Makes a decent airflow out of it. How's the cable situation? Do they block the flow from front to back? IDE cables round or flat? Round make for neater looks and better airflow.

[Lancer33]

"How's the cable situation? Do they block the flow from front to back? IDE cables round or flat? Round make for neater looks and better airflow. "

Cables are not a problem. The problem is the hard drive bay. The way this case is designed this bay (which is about 8" tall and the full width of the interior) sits in front of the 2 120mm intakes in the front of the case. I have run air intakes through HDD's before but I always had them spaced so that airflow could get through. I have four drives in this bay and no air gets by. The other issue is the manner in which intake air is routed. This case has an outer panel and an inner panel. The design is such that intake air is pulled in at the back of both sides, flows along a 1" gap the length of the case and then goes through another gap at the front of the case to feed the fans. So 2 90 degree turns and a 20" run to get air in.

Reversing the back exhaust will help get some air moving, relocating the drive bay will help more, and i may have to add a side fan to get air on the CPU/GPU.

Just not what I expected of a case from a company that claims to have the "coolest" cases available.

I will try and post some pictures later today that will clarify how it is laid out.