[PROJECT] - Firestorm on a Lian-Li

[NaMcO]

Hello everyone!

I finally managed to get some time to begin building my new project, this time around a smaller case, the Lian-Li PC-7 Plus. I have had this case for a long time and always thought about building a powerful system around it - Well, this is it

The original case is black on the outside, but pure aluminum on the inside, so it will have to be powdercoated. I will be using an AMD processor, it's been years since i had one and i think it's about time to have one too

This is the motherboard i will be using, a Crosshair IV Formula from ASUS:



It used to be like this, not so much time ago



This time around, the CPU is something else, a Phenom II X6 1090T:



Motherboard details:



The Crosshair IV will be cooled with this guy here:



And the Phenom II X6 with EK's newest HF model:



Last but not least, EK's GTX480 waterblock to cool the HOT Fermi



As i need the PC working (it's my main PC), i skipped most of the hardware show off, most people already know how the components look anyway. I went straight into the build and will focus on the details instead.

There was some issue with the Primochill Blood, it changed its 'blood' tone into a 'rusty' tone, which i like, but doesn't quite match what i intended and will be replaced. This probably happened because i surely had some water leftovers inside the water blocks from washing them

The "FIRESTORM" logo in the bottom is illuminated by LEDs, and the effect is only noticed at night, with the lights off - It wasn't really intended this way, but it does look more sober and that's how it will stay =)

This is how it looks right now:



The PCI-E cables with the gorgeous MDPC-X sleeving will be re-routed, they're not in their final position yet.

Here's a really bad photo of the backside, my apologies:



I really love the MAGMA fan

Some more build details, i'm working on my photos i swear





There are two water sensors, one in the entrance to the EK 120mm and the other in the exit. One of them is connected to the Lamptron FC-5 in the front for real time monitoring and the other one is connected to the Aquaero for automatic fan control. When the computer is idle, the fans hardly spin and when the water starts heating up, the fans spin up to cool off the system.

Like this, i manage to get almost absolute silence when browsing the web or when the PC is idle and high performance cooling when gaming.







You will probably notice the motherboard has no power cables connected, and indeed it doesn't... In the front

This is one of those builds with the power cables soldered directly into the motherboard. These are then attached to female 24 and 8 pin plugs which in turn connect to the PSU. The PSU has had its cables cut and fitted into new plugs so cable management is easier.

I will take some better photos this weekend and point out some details which are part of the 'Firestorm'

Thanks for looking!

[garyinhere]

Look'n good. Nice Build!

[afw]

Wow ... awesome build ...

[Cuzza]

Mate. Your cooling loop looks like it's pumping whisky! That's what I call top shelf modding.

[NaMcO]

Thank you everyone, it's always a pleasure to share

As for the liquid...



...It does have a resemblance, doesn't it? hahahahahahah

[(FIH) The Don]

holy shiznit

[Cuzza]

Lol, when you are filling the system it'll be "one for you, one for me"

[IamEzio]

Originally Posted by afw

Wow ... awesome build ...

+1 awesome build

[NaMcO]

HAHA, your comments are hilarious =) =) =)

Thanks, you guys really made me laugh hehe

Ok, soooo...

As i have previously stated, this is my main PC and the biggest concern was to have it ready so i could use it. Without taking proper care of its assembly, i shortened the build time by taking not so many pictures as i wanted, but i still have quite a few to show. They are pretty similar to what i had before, but there's not much more to show anyway

I also needed a new mouse, and decided to buy this guy here...



I had the chance to test it previously, and now i got it, Saitek's R.A.T.5:



The discreet AMD sticker, i placed it there like i had on my previous build. I think it looks nice hidden in there



The back side, still lacking the air filter for the intake fan which is required in order to keep things clean on the inside. There's something else going to the bottom right, i'll show you once it's finished



This time around i went for a biiiig window. This was something i meant to have on my previous build, now i got it



The new EK Supreme, motherboard waterblock and the "wireless" power which will be worked on a little more so it doesn't look "unused"



Pump and logo, please excuse me if it looks like some other pictures i posted... Small case, can't picture much



The illuminated logo, can only really see it in the absolute dark:



Back section once more, with the Magma fan...



A little bit more panoramic...



The front section showing the LCD, Lamptron FC5 V2 and the indispensable card reader

This is what i designed for my LCD:



The Lamptron controller shows me in realtime the temperature inside the pump (i placed a sensor inside it), water temperature, HDD temperature as i have only a single disk plus the SSD and the environment temperature. The LAING is controlled on channel 1 so i can lower the RPM even more and keep the build *really* silent. As most of us have tested, flow has no impact whatsoever on temperature, so the least noise, the better.

The Aquaero (forgot to picture it - it's on the inside back to back with the FC5) controls the fans dynamically: While idling or just browsing the web you cannot hear the fans because they're either off (water under 22º) or spinning real slow. As the temperature rises, the fans spin up to make up for the temperature difference.





The PCI-E cables were sleeved. I did think about powering up the GTX480 the same way i did with the motherboard but gave up eventually. I might want to swap the video card sometime in the future and this would make it too difficult



Tubing and EK fittings going in and out of the 480... The card reaches 55º-56º while playing intense games like Crysis, not bad at all for such a toaster



The RAM couldn't be any other than the GSKill Trident PC3-12800. I had a set of these on my i7 920 and was so happy with them that i had to purchase a set for the X6. And they didn't disappoint at all, they will do 1600MHz 6-7-6-18 with only 1.55 volts Lower latencies are nice for AMDs as they take advantage of them for better performance.



The magnificent EK waterblock for the motherboard in more detail...



Nils never forgets the nice drawings heheheh



There's little missing to have the project ready:

- Replace the card reader's LED with a red one so it fits the theme.
- Air filter for the back intake fan, the front one already has one originally.
- Create acrylic parts for the 24 pin motherboard plug and the back side of the case.
- Take care of the sleeved cables on the "floor" of the case (proper management).

As far as the project goes, it's all for now, here are a few performance shots...

My one year old Intel X-25M G1 still performs like new... I am impressed with SB850's performance to tell you the truth:



Actual 24/7 clocks...







I managed to put the memory running at 2000MHz @ 7-9-7-23 with the GSKill PC3-12800

While i was posting all of this, i changed my settings a little bit and went up with the CPU clock to 4200 and put the memory back to 1667 @ 7-8-7-18. I think it performs best like this :up:

Thanks for looking, i will post a few nightshots soon

[t_ski]

Nice! Very clean...

[Cuzza]

LCD display is great... good old namco!

[NaMcO]

Allright, so here are a few night shots just before the final update, whenever i have everything ready and in place. I have edited the LCD + FC-5 picture to show you what everything does.



The PC-7 among the darkness... Here you can see the "Firestorm" logo, it was supposed to be a little more bright, like this its just enough to see it in the dark. It has a more serene look, so i'll keep it this way.



Interiors... I already disabled all the motherboard LEDs in the BIOS so they don't ruin the red theme



Back section...



My actual desktop with my expensive toys - iPhone 3GS and a Samsung Galaxy S



This is it for now, when i'm ready with all the details i will post the final and requested pictures for you guys. I leave you with a small set of benchmarks



Thanks for looking!

[nessu]

What you use for liquid?

[MN12BIRD]

I love Lian-Li's square, flat, black-brushed-aluminum clean looks. Your built is ridiculous but it looks great!

[Cold Storm]

Another great build NaMcO!

[NaMcO]

Originally Posted by nessu

What you use for liquid?

Primochill Red Blood. It lost its original colour somehow

I'm finishing up the details, i'll post some more photos soon

[Reventon]

Awesome! I love it. Looks so clean and the layout is nice. The custom touches are awesome too. The lighting inside is nice because it isn't tacky and overpowering, just more faint. Looks good. Only thing I would have done differently is the font of the "Firestorm" logo. Something maybe more squared or normal. I used to do a lot of graphic design and knew one of the big no-no's (because it just looked bad) was to use unusual fonts. But maybe that's just me being me

[NaMcO]

Thank you everyone for your comments

This project is finally complete, here are the final pictures at last













The recently purchased TX850. I used to have a VX550 from Corsair, it would handle the GTX480 with no issues at all, but the GTX580 with 512 pixel shaders, even more clock and also higher RAM clocks peaks out at 525w and that's just too much for me to like if i'm using a 550w power supply.







The top grill is the only thing that didn't go as planned. The LianLi aluminum is too thin and there was no chance to make the grill line up with it. It's still okay nevertheless





Night lighting...











The soundcard should see its LED replaced during next week, and i am still trying to find a red filter to apply on the LCD. These are the last details to be put on the build, but i guess i can still say it's finally complete.

Here's the overall look of the desk...



And on the other side my MAC...er... HACKintosh



Onto the next

[Cold Storm]

Love the final set up of it man!! Great work.

[(FIH) The Don]

holy cow

that is something you can be very proud of!!!

[CrazyMonkeyTM]

Gotta love this project!

[freebie]

That motherboard looks gorgeous, i love how it looks so imple, yet is so beasty and looks so neat on your desk.