domiel Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I'm looking at building a new rig and I'm weighing up the possibilities of getting some 4-in-3 or 5-in-3 cages and putting them in a case similar to the Lian-Li PC-P80 (http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=131&ss_index=66) which has a swing out front door with embedded fans and then removing the cage fans and possibly the back and front plastic from around the cage so that all that is left is the metal chassis of the cage and the backplane. (I'm hoping this will increase airflow/ventilation) Has anyone else done something like this? Has anyone done any kind of modding to their cages? I'd also love to hear from anyone who has simply decided to take the fans off of their drive cages and just use the in-case fans, how has that worked out? Quote Link to comment
kizer Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I'd really like to have a swing door on my CoolerMaster 590 so I could just swing the door open and the fans go with it. However my CoolerMaster doesn't have a door, but it would be cool to make one for that. Quote Link to comment
Rajahal Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I haven't done what you are proposing, but I'll bet it will work. I would start buy just removing the fans, I doubt you'll need to replace the front and rear plastic. Both Supermicro and Icy Dock cages have very easy to remove fans if you don't want to mess about too much, though the Norco cages are cheaper. Keep in mind that having fans on the exterior of the case does increase noise levels considerably. Quote Link to comment
sacretagent Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 i am building some metal cage to hold 5 disks with the help of my brother in law .... only thing i am affraid off is rattling ... and i will always have to open the side door to unplug the power and sata cable but no need any more to unplug everything to take out the disk from the back side ... so i gain something .... anyway i will make pictures when they are ready i have the plans here but scanner where i am now ... Quote Link to comment
domiel Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 I haven't done what you are proposing, but I'll bet it will work. I would start buy just removing the fans, I doubt you'll need to replace the front and rear plastic. Both Supermicro and Icy Dock cages have very easy to remove fans if you don't want to mess about too much, though the Norco cages are cheaper. Keep in mind that having fans on the exterior of the case does increase noise levels considerably. I think you misunderstood what I said: I wasn't suggesting replacing the front and rear plastic I was planning on removing it all together so all that is left would be would be some metal and a backplane. From what reviewers have said the PC-P80s fans are near silent, not surprising since they are 140mm. I'm working on the assumption that stripped down cages would allow air to flow through them more easily and so with the large 140mm fans at the front and some decent extraction fans at the rear of the case I aught to be able to maintain low-ish temperatures for my spindles. As for the cages you suggest... I should probably have pointed out that I'm in Australia so the brands generally recommended don't apply Quote Link to comment
Rajahal Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I typoed. I typed 'replace,' I meant 'remove'. I doubt you'll need to remove the plastic to get adequate airflow. I certainly wouldn't call the 140mm fans on the PC-P80 silent, far from it. They aren't screamers either, but you'll get a good amount of white noise from them. Quote Link to comment
AwesomeD Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I typoed. I typed 'replace,' I meant 'remove'. I doubt you'll need to remove the plastic to get adequate airflow. I certainly wouldn't call the 140mm fans on the PC-P80 silent, far from it. They aren't screamers either, but you'll get a good amount of white noise from them. Rajahal built me a 20-bay server with the PC-P80 case and it is loud! I ended up putting it in a closet because I couldn't deal with the noise levels it was producing. Now I don't hear it at all. Quote Link to comment
domiel Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 Rajahal, OK thanks for the clarification. I must say that's a bit surprising. A thankyou also to AwesomeD. The PC-P80 was one of three strategies I was considering for noise abatement but given what you have both said I think I'll have to consider the other two. My current rig is a 4U, 16-bay Chenbro box - I'm pretty sure that no matter how much noise that a PC-P80 produces it'll be nothing compared to the Chenbro (it has 5x 80mm fans that produce 45dBA each!!!) So my other two choices are to replace the fans in the Chenbro with something quieter or to go ahead and build a new rig with a different case. I've got a PC-343b and some cages but I haven't unboxed them as yet because although I'm sure I can build a relatively quiet rig with this I'm not sure where I'm actually going to put it due to its' size, hence the reason for considering the PC-P80 in the first instance. Quote Link to comment
domiel Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 I'd still like to hear comments from anyone who has removed the fans from their drive cages or performed some kind of mod to them. Quote Link to comment
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