Finally the paint work of my quarters is over, and I got some time to upload some pics. So enjoy.
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The CPU cutout – large enough. Although in my mobo, the backplate just cuts under the mobo tray, newer mobos have their CPU socket much closer to the RAM slots, so this should not be a problem. Routing that 8-pin power cable is a different story though. You need to split it in half and insert one at a time. A tedious job. Only major design flaw in this case IMO.
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Cable routing at back.
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Cable management. Not totally satisfied, but with 4 HDD and a OD, I have to make some compromises.
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A closer look.
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My first mod. That CM 120mm fan just fits in perfectly for a push-pull config for the HDDs. Don't know whether Lian-Li has done this deliberately. And don't bother about the dust. it has since been cleaned.
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This pic is to show the amount of space you will get at the back. You can't overlap cables and a bit of hard press is required to close the panel.
Now get ready for some "
light" action.
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Top fans. The LEDs of these Lian-Li fans are very very bright.
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With lights on. The PCB of the graphics card and the mobo gel well although they were purchased two years apart.
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As I turn off the lights...
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Without the covers the LEDs are just glowing.
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The top with covers on. Much soothing. The PC resides at my bedroom and kept open all night. I can assure you the lights are very non-intrusive once the covers are in place.
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The CM fan's LED is just barely visible. Guess its time to get a Aerocool.
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With the side panel on.
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That's the first mod I have to make to accommodate this cabby, removed the drawer to make space. I can still use the USB ports though I have to a bit careful while removing pen drives.
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Little bit of cable management at the back.
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And with lights off...
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And that's my setup in colored dots! Top red-green combo is of BSNL modem, left red is the speaker control, right red is of pen drive's, the blue beside it is of the Zebronics HDD dock, below that Razer logo of the mouse, the small 2 blue dots are of the keyboard's, the lowest red is of the 4-plug extension board, beside it the Microtek UPS and finally, his highness!!!
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A final picture of the extra front intake fan that I added but removed later, as there was little difference in the temps. This is a CM 120mm. I have seen pics where a 140mm just fits in nicely without cable ties etc. Only caveat is that you can use only one 5.25” bay with a 140mm fan installed.
So my overall impression is that this case is just superb. There are a few cons, but they are just nit-picking. May be a bit more space at the back, plastics on the drive bay covers could have been a bit more sturdy, the 3-pin power LED cable, only the top two 5.25" bays are screwless, a bit costly - but the positives far outweigh the negatives. You can build your system without a screwdriver, fans and dust filters are all installed at their places, so no need for additional expenses, 8 PCI slots mean triple dual-slot graphics config is a possibility, very good cable management and above all good airflow management with near silent operation. Wholly recommended.
