Guess what?

[clocker]

Yup.
Sprocket's moving again.
This time into a black Lian-li v2000.

Maybe her name should change to spLLocket now.

Naturally, the case will not be the only thing changing.
There will be some significant changes to the cooling loop also.

New radiator- Thermochill PA120.3
New blocks- D-tek CPU and GPU blocks and DangerDen Aquabay HDD blocks.
New fans- Aerocool 140mm turbines.

I'll probably have to fab a new reservoir also, but until I locate and mount the parts I can't really design it.

I'm hoping this will be Sprock's last 939 incarnation...in fact, this may be the last Sprocket.
When I upgrade to the AM2 platform, Sprocket will probably go bye-bye to finance the change and be replaced by her little brother, Ratchet.
I'll really miss her and will try to make this a great sendoff.

Pics of parts and progress shall follow.

[suprafreak6]

aww the parting always hurts the most

[tesco]

I'm hoping this will be Sprock's last 939 incarnation...in fact, this may be the last Sprocket.
When I upgrade to the AM2 platform, Sprocket will probably go bye-bye to finance the change and be replaced by her little brother, Ratchet.
I'll really miss her and will try to make this a great sendoff.

Sprocket was originally an Athlon XP 2600+ so if this s939 config is sitll sprocket then why wouldn't the new system be?

[clocker]

Good question, Ross.
I'll consider it.

[clocker]

Initial impressions.

I am completely underwhelmed with the Lian-li v2000.
The legendary build quality that everybody raves about was apparently out of stock the day my v2000 was assembled.
Yeah, everything works and fits OK, but it does not exhibit the noticably better fit/finish I was lead to expect.

The exterior anodizing is nice and splotch free (which is hard to achieve on a large flat surface like a sidepanel) so I'll give them that.
The "one screw" sidepanel retention system is very clever and works well.
The wheels roll freely and the supplied hardware is of good quality.
But...

With the exception of the sidepanels, all of the rest of the chassis is made of surprisingly thin aluminum and does not have the rock solid stability I experienced with the Stacker. Granted, the TC01 is made of heavy guage steel (sidepanels excepted) and is stupidly overbuilt (unbelievable number of fasteners used, even on insignificant trim pieces), but the upside to that is incredible solidity, and the Lian-li feels (subjectively) flimsy and cheap in comparison.

Aesthetically, the LL is nicer- sleek and rounded where the CM kind of hulks and squats, but looks only go so far. Anyway, my Apple G5 case looks better and is way stronger than the LL to boot.

I was concerned, rightly so as it turns out, that the compartmentalization of the v2k would pose installation problems for the waterloop. Fitting the new triple radiator into the Stacker would have been fiddly but do-able with no case hacking at all.
Not so with the Lian-li...this is going to require a significant re-engineering of the whole interior. In fact, it looks like gutting the entire thing and only using the shell would be the simplest way to go.

Fortunately, I just acquired another of my favorite old school Gateway server cases, one of the very best I've seen so far, in fact.
Removable motherboard tray (ATX even), separate sidepanels (most have the u-shaped clamshell skin) and even modern flipper feet. Of course, it's made from super heavy guage steel and is beige.
And did I mention it was free?
Well it was.

I think I may put the Lian-li on a shelf and ponder it's fate while I build Sprocket into the Gateway.
I can probably sell the Lian-li at a (small) profit to someone who just wants to do a simple air-cooled install or I could turn it into a longer term project -but I was saving the G5 case for my "project time" and don't really need two major builds happening at the same time.
Alternatively, I may be able able to talk the buyer of the Stacker into getting the Lian-li instead.
Decisions, decisions.

At any rate I can see that I'll be the lone voice in "What case should I buy?" threads when I advise against Lian-li...I am completely unimpressed.

[clocker]

Progress continues.
Although the Lian-li is beginning to grow on me (I've been looking at all kinds of modded examples...some are very nice) I decided to keep Sprocket in the Stacker.
I also decided to lift my ban on major mods to the CM case and have proceeded to strip it completely and go semi-wild.
It's obvious upon disassembly why the Stacker is as solid as it is...the designers must have been paid by the fastener. The roof panel alone has 24 rivets holding it in place and the motherboard/backplane has almost thirty screws holding it together.
Naturally, everything had to come apart for paint although I opted to leave the front bay structure in place as I could reach everything I needed to and I was afraid of alignment problems if I took it apart.

Almost miraculously we had a stretch of warm weather so the painting went well and the satin black looks great (pats self on back).
Sunday, my next day off, I'll be able to fit some of the interior plexi panels (particularly the floor, which is much easier with the case in pieces) and reassemble most of the case. I'm still waiting on the mesh for the roof cutout and the front bay area, but that should arrive today, tomorrow at the latest.

The radiator is nearly complete- the fans are mounted and the sideplates are cut but not yet drilled for mounting.
This time round I'm using a Thermochill PA120.3 rad with three Aerocool 140mm fans...I wanted to fill the front bays as fully as possible and these were the largest fans that were suitable.
They are very quiet and the blue LEDs should look stunning behind the new mesh front...here's a teaser pic...

And another...

There's no point in posting pics of random case pieces so I'll take more shots as assemby progresses and the case takes shape again.

As you were.

[ApacNTS]

you have some of the best toys. i always enjoy seeing the progress, do keep us informed

[peat moss]

you have some of the best toys. i always enjoy seeing the progress, do keep us informed

I enjoy it aswell its fun . Wish I had the money to experiment .

[clocker]

The chassis is assembled.
Almost.
The roof panel has yet to be finished, that's today's project.

Here are some (typically crappy) pics...
The frame stripped.

And with the motherboard tray installed...


The floor panel you see is actually black plexi with the protective sheet still in place, I'll remove this later as the assembly/construction progresses.

It was tricky getting everything to go back together properly.
The motherboard tray and the PSU cage interlock and there are 15 screws and 8 rivets that all have to be aligned during the reinstall. It took a lot of loosening and tweaking to get all 23 holes to line up, but ultimately I managed and the tray/backplane unit unscrews and installs easily.

Next comes the roof panel which will incorporate the biggest external modification.
Wish me luck.

[Virtualbody1234]

Good luck!