Free Lian Li PC V2000 build

[bmxfelon420]

Alright, well i've been running a Coolermaster Centurion 590 for years, and it's served pretty well. Earlier this year I did some upgrades to my rig, and it has this setup in it:

i7 6700k@4.6
Gskill 16gb DDR4
MSI Z170A Gaming
MSI GTX1080
PC P&C Silencer 1200w
2x 240mm Radiators
Swiftech blocks
MCP655 Pump
7/16 tubing

Now currently, all of the cooling stuff is in the same loop. This was OK for a single GPU, but as it is now, if I run Prime at anything above 4.7 my temps creep up to 60 or so. I've come to the conclusion that the idle heat dump and total capacity of the system isnt adequate for the load temperatures I'd like to maintain (preferrably under 50c load on the CPU). As is, I already mount the second radiator on top of my current case. I'm fine with this, and it looks fine, but i'm really limited on options for further upgrades. The only room I have left is to upgrade one of the radiators to a triple 120, or put a single 120 on the outside of the case on the rear exhaust fan.

Well at work we had a customer who had their old server (if you could even call it that) built inside of one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112092

We decommissioned that server and the case sat in the garage at the office for almost a year. We finally cleaned out the garage, so I took it home. The case is in perfect shape. Everything is there, and there's not a single scratch on it. It even has the plastic on the Lian Li emblem still. So I plan on moving my machine into it. The ultimate plan is to separate the CPU and GPU loops to two seperate loops entirely. Here's how it'd be laid out

GPU loop:
2x Swiftech MCW60 blocks
Swiftech MCP650 pump
1 2x120mm in front 5 1/4 bays (gonna get vented bay covers)
1 2x120 with built in reservoir under case top panel (fans will be pull so it will fit entirely inside of the case.

I think for GPUs this will be more than enough cooling for now and the forseeable future. These are existing radiators I already have. This will also serve to massively increase case airflow. Not that it's bad as is, but considering how hot the VRMs can get this can only help

CPU loop:
Swiftech Apogee XL block
MCP655 fixed speed pump (exactly the same as the 650 really)
2x 3x140mm radiators in bottom of case (I plan on mounting these in a triangular fashion. The fans will be attached to the side panels and shrouded to meet the radiators. I may go quad 140s if they'll fit.

Now the CPU loops pump will be in the bottom, but i'm not 100% sure where I want to mount the other pump. I was thinking possibly behind the radiator in the 5 1/4 bays similar to the current radiator. I just need to see how the video card blocks point to see what'd work best.

I also have a couple extra single 120mm radiators, would it be worth throwing one or two where they fit? I have a Black Ice and a brand new XSPC rad that didnt fit into a case I was building.

Also, if you know the case or check the link, you'll see there's a little shroud meant to help duct air for the CPU cooler. I was going to modify it to pull air over the VRMS instead. Probably cut a window into it for aesthetics, plus it gives me a use for the plexi scraps I have.

Posted a pic of the side panel I bought, I also have the original non windowed one that it came with. I plan on looking into having it anodized after I cut the exhaust in the bottom. Is there any way to touch up anodizing easily? I need to also cut a vent on the backside the way that i'm doing the radiator setup.

 

[THUMPer]

So jelly. What a great case!

 

[bmxfelon420]

So jelly. What a great case!

Yeah I couldnt believe that someone used this for a server. Which I wouldnt really call a server, it was a C2Q with a raid card in it with desktop drives. Not enough for the SQL that was running on it. But it was clearly set in the server room and not touched, it's in such good shape.

I also forgot to add that I bought 3 Swiftech Helix 140mm fans so I can mock up the brackets/holes on the sides. I plan on making the fan shrouds for the radiators out of braised aluminum L channel/flatbar and plexi sides. I bought a 4x6 sheet of plexi years and years ago so I have plenty. I'm also considering maybe running copper hard lines between the upper/lower parts, i.e. like plumbing. I'll buy a bead roller to put beads on it. The only question is whether the solder will cause an issue with the coolant.

EDIT: I was just thinking, and I wonder how big a fuel line bender would go size wise? Perhaps I can just make them all single pieces of copper with no solder.

 

[bmxfelon420]

Question: Does anyone know of a decent match for the Lian Li vent mesh? Just wondering since there's not exactly a store I can go to to browse mesh.

 

[THUMPer]

For which filter?

The metal mesh filter? Or the plastic mesh?

 

[bmxfelon420]

For which filter?

The metal mesh filter? Or the plastic mesh?

The metal mesh attached to the side panel over the PCI slot fans.

 

[THUMPer]

Yeah, it looks like it's not a 120mm filter, but it covers the whole opening.

200mm Ultra Thin Flexible Fan Dust Filter (0.45mm Thick) - FrozenCPU.com

Might be able to trim that up.

I did a search for "mesh filter roll". Seems like a few places might have something similar.

 

[bmxfelon420]

Found a better solution to the super expensive Lian Li bay covers that I think will be better by all accounts. Two of these in the front https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KJ0URVS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2E86L531YCVCW and whatever fan grilles I want. It also solves the problem of mounting the radiator too (i've just used zipties in the past, not elegant but works fine)

 

[silent-circuit]

Man, makes me really miss my V2000B Plus II.

 

[Brando457]

I have one sitting in my basement that I used before upgrading to my 900D. I'd love to sell it, but shipping is an arm and a leg!

 

[dook43]

I have an ABS Black Pearl that I just decommissioned if you want anything off of it.

 

[thesmokingman]

Well at work we had a customer who had their old server (if you could even call it that) built inside of one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112092

We decommissioned that server and the case sat in the garage at the office for almost a year. We finally cleaned out the garage, so I took it home. The case is in perfect shape. Everything is there, and there's not a single scratch on it. It even has the plastic on the Lian Li emblem still. So I plan on moving my machine into it. The ultimate plan is to separate the CPU and GPU loops to two seperate loops entirely. Here's how it'd be laid out

I'm somewhat saddened that you did not realize the gem you had collecting dust in the back barn for a year. This is one of the best cases they ever made, its a legend though not so much for watercooling but it can be done. I'd recommend you cut the top and put in a 360 using a phobya grill. I did this to a V1000 years ago. I was going to do it to my V2000 as well, but I ended up stuffing 20 drives into it instead so water was off the table.

 

[bmxfelon420]

I'm somewhat saddened that you did not realize the gem you had collecting dust in the back barn for a year. This is one of the best cases they ever made, its a legend though not so much for watercooling but it can be done. I'd recommend you cut the top and put in a 360 using a phobya grill. I did this to a V1000 years ago. I was going to do it to my V2000 as well, but I ended up stuffing 20 drives into it instead so water was off the table.

That looks pretty awesome. The current plan is to put one of the 2x120's on top, one up front, and use Mountainmods drive bay grilles to locate the fans in the front. I need to do some measurements to make sure the top will have enough clearance. If not I may drop the top rad and just go with the front for the GPUs. I'd think a MCR-240QP would be plenty enough for two GPUs anyways.

Got some news, I have been trolling ebay for a few months and I got a 24v pump that hopefully the impeller works off of. Since it's a wheel with a magnet on the back of it I cant imagine it wont work. We'll see when it gets here. I also got some upgrades coming, buying a 6600k and board here in the next day or two so I will just put that setup straight into this case. I plan on ordering the radiators soon as well.

EDIT: Another thought, I have a couple single 120mm rads, maybe I can throw one of those up top. It'd give me a top case exhaust, and fit in the case better in general. I actually have two, one is a brand new XSPC radiator and the other is an old Black Ice I repainted the casing on a while back. The fins have a very very light dusting as I didnt want to cake them up with paint. I'll have to play with routing/mounting in the case but maybe I can put one in that little intake in the lower front and the other as a top exhaust. IDK, is 4x120mm overkill for GPUs? I have SLI 970s at the moment.

 

[bmxfelon420]

I have an ABS Black Pearl that I just decommissioned if you want anything off of it.

Will do. If I cant get the side panel i bought anodized easily I may want one. I guess I'll find out.

 

[bmxfelon420]

Great news, I got a new impeller for my other pump. I found a guy selling 24v D5 strongs on Ebay for 25 bucks a piece, so I bought one and sure enough, same impeller. Popped it in the old pump and it's good as new. I have the cart ready for the other parts, just gotta be responsible and sell this pile of junk here in the corner first. Hopefully tomorrow.

Oh also not using the AMD stuff in this, got a MSI Z170A Gaming and i5 6600k with 16gb RAM ready. Might even put it in the old case, IDK.

 

[bmxfelon420]

Update: Radiators are in, reservoir is in for CPU loop. I wont need one for the GPU loop because the front radiator has one in the end tank. Also got the fan grilles and mounts for the front GPU radiator. I did some eyeball engineering last night and a 2x120 wont fit well at all in the top spot, so i'm gonna put a single in the space between the motherboard and 5 1/4 bays.

I think all i'm waiting on parts wise is the waterblock brackets, since I lost the LGA1155 set, and I still need to order one fan. I may buy shrouds for the 120mm radiators. I'm making shrouds for the 140s. Need to go get non galvanized steel for that though so we dont kill ourselves when welding it.

Oh also thinking of just not running any sort of mesh or grille for the radiator exhausts, because the tubing is so close together on those that I doubt the fins will get damaged. I never run one on my top exhaust radiator on my current case and havent seen an issue. It'd look clean.

 

[bmxfelon420]

Took a bit of a break, ended up moving and some other stuff. Got back going on this though. Did some mockup of the GPU pump and CPU res. The GPU loop will use the end tank of the MCR-220QP mounted in the front 5.25 bays. Also was going to run a spare 120mm radiator in the front bottom 120 spot because I have it. There's room, I dont really see why I wouldnt run it so i'm going to. I havent ruled out the possibility of running a top 120 radiator, I dont know if a single GTX1080 needs it though. A dual 120 is probably way overkill for one video card.

Here's progress of the mockup. I need to cut notches into the front fan mounts, the ledges to hold up drives in the bay interfere with it. I have to wait to do that until i tear down the old rig, I dont have a spare 2x120 radiator to align the pieces to make the marks.

One question I had for people who have built in this case before: Is this weak with the center divider removed? I didnt want to hack it up, I'm actually trying to avoid modding the frame except for cutting the drive cage rails, side panels and holes (possibly a top fan as well). I thought it would be more or less impossible to get a new center piece for the bottom if I mutilate it. Is the case alright if I remove it? I can always bend some L bracket reinforcents out of flat bar, I bought a big piece. If it's known to be fine without it though I probably wont bother.

Oh also still not decided about the side panel, I have a window side panel but it's silver. I dont know whether it'd be cheaper to get the silver side anodized or to just take the solid black one to the machine shop to have the window hole milled exactly the same size and with the same holes. I was going to call there, bring it down and ask. I was also going to have the radiator holes on the bottom of both panels machined as well, because I want the holes to look OEM and have the exact same curve and look as the existing holes.

 

[bmxfelon420]

Got the build officially started today


So first did some mockup of the front radiator setup. Found that the 5 1/4 bay adapters arent made to be right next to each other on a radiator. Decided the easiest way to make up for that was just to enlarge the screwholes on it slightly. This lets them both move slightly off center. I thought it would be easier to do that than to sand an equal amount off of each side to do the same thing. I also wanted as much vertical height as possible, as it seems that Lian Li bay covers are slightly bigger than a 5 1/4 drive, either that or these adapters are slightly smaller because there is a gap at the top of the bays. I decided i dont really care about that, it's not much.

I had to notch the adapters for the shelves the drives would use, i'd rather cut some acrylic pieces than the case.

On to the main 140mm rads, found that the 120mm will not fit in the front with it because the power supply is way too big. Got a good mounting strategy though, I have some 1x1 aluminum square tubing that i'm going to cut to match the length of the radiators, and bolt that to the bottom of the case. That will be the spacer to set the height of the rad off of the case floor, and then I have some flatbar that i'll cut brackets to screw to the radiator. This way the weight is just sitting on the floor of the case, and the brackets dont have to be strong enough to support the full weight of the radiators, only be strong enough in tension. I think it should work pretty well, if they flex too much I can make a brace to hold the two sides together.

Cant work on it tomorrow, but Tuesday I'm going to work on those brackets. I moved the pump way lower than it was from the last post, my hope is that it will prime decently being lower. We'll see, since it's going to be feeding downwards it might be difficult to get started. It should bleed well once everything gets circulated.

I may also enlarge the holes in these bay adapters and just put nuts behind them to hold them into the case, it's a pain in the ass to thread little screws into acrylic.

 

[DTN107]

I sure miss my V2000. It was my first case into the full tower scene.

 

[bmxfelon420]

I sure miss my V2000. It was my first case into the full tower scene.

I'm pretty impressed by it, it's better put together than my PC65 is. The only thing i'd say is the amount of little things that hadnt been thought of yet when this case was made, Like the PSU holes only accounting for it being one way, and the way the case cables route and the managment holes are. Granted this thing was made in 2006 when basically nothing had cable management holes, so that's impressive, but compared to even something like my girlfriend's cheap Apevia case it's not as ahead in design trends and such.

Also wanted to put out a feeler, if anyone has vented black Lian Li bay covers they'd be willing to let go of let me know. I'd need 6 of them.

 

[bmxfelon420]

Worked on the radiator brackets today. Got them cut, and sitting in the right place. The extra holes wont be visible, the radiators will sit directly on top of these with two sided tape between (could use weatherstripping but the tape will work fine for padding). The reason it took a few tries is because I was using existing holes, which arent necessarily where you would like them to be. he holes were purposely a bit loose so the gap is right. Ran out of time tonight, but all I need to mount the radiators is to cut my aluminum flatbar into mounting tabs. Also cut the drive cage and test fit the radiator, I need to notch one side of the bottom bay to fit the back radiator. It wont fit a full size drive, but that's OK. I only ever planned on having a solid state in that bay anyways, and if I have to remove it I dont care.

Also had to move the pump, the original place I was going to put it (between the radiators) wasnt going to work because it's too wide. The spot in the back will work well, I wanted to avoid it though so both of those grilles were open for airflow. Oh well, the whole bottom has holes in it so it'll probably be fine.

T

 

[bmxfelon420]

Got the majority of the work done/everything mounted. First, got the radiators mounted. I should have moved the mouting holes for the square tubing a bit, the front holes both lined up with the fan brackets. Small oversight, but the way i'm going to do the holes it shouldnt be very visible. I look at it as version 1.0 of these brackets. I'll probably make new ones at some point with slotted holes that sit inside the square tubing.

Also had to trim this drive cage a bit because it stuck lower than I thought. Not a huge deal, fits perfectly and the rails also still work.

Then went on and started mounting fans. Found that these werent PWM, so they're going to run full blast all the time. I may get some Noctuas so the speed control works again, havent decided yet.

Bled the system, here's a shot (crappy) of the entire loop assembled.


Putting the pump there for the GPU loop was a bad idea. It needs to be flipped over and sat on the floor of the case so that it primes. The only problem with that is that I dont have enough tubing left to do that. I ordered more so I can fix this, the GPU loop doesnt bleed all that well right now. It should be able to prime properly the other way. Hopefully air doesnt collect in the GPU, if not I may need to go back to the drawing board on that one. The impeller for that GPU pump was out of a 24v pump, I dont really see how it could be different but maybe it is? I may need to get another 12v impeller for it if they are. Any advice there would be welcome.

It was also less than Ideal how I put the CPU pump. It should have been flipped around the other way so that the inlet primes off of the reservoir. It would bleed way faster that way. It does bleed, just slowly. Temps so far with non burnt in thermal compound are around 45-50 load. They bounce all around in my logs, which seems to be fairly normal. GPU temps are below 45 under gaming load, 50 or so during a stress test. I think once the thermal paste sets and I flip that pump over it should improve (although I have to remove the GPU block again to fix that loop.

Any ideas that would make this prime/bleed better are welcome. I thought about a reservoir for the top loop, it's using a Swiftech rad with one in the top of the end tank now. I'm also not happy with the wiring, ordered longer SATA cables and sleeving so I can fix the motherboard wires. Gonna sleeve them and extend the power switch/led wiring so they can all run together. I'm not too worried about the lower compartment, there's no window there and it wont be visible with the sides on. Speaking of which, looking to go get those holes machined next week hopefully.

 

[bmxfelon420]

Small update: Parts should be in today, I dont know if i'm gonna bleed the GPU loop or not. If I can get away with just draining the radiator up front to do it I will, it should more or less fix the bleeding issue for the GPU setup, at least in theory. Might be able to do that Friday night.

 

[bmxfelon420]

Here's some pics of it assembled, looking to make a modification to it here soon though. My GPU hits 70c under load, I'm going to dust it out though, and reverse the way the pump is hooked up for the CPU loop. Should I combine these loops into one big loop? I originally split them so the heat dump from each component was isolated, but now that I think of it using the 4x140 for the CPU doesnt make much sense when the GPU only has a 2x120. Thoughts?