Mod of the Month - July 2008

PrometheusCu

by Langer
Worklog

It seems that most everyone in modding (aside from maybe myself) is addicted to the simple and elegant concept of Lian Li cases. Their understated styling and large amount of room make an almost perfect candidate for modding - which probably explains their rampant popularity.

Of course, even I have to acknowledge when something just plain looks sharp - and a perfect example is the Lian Li tenth anniversary PC-A60C. If you've not seen one, think of your bog standard Lian Li, and then replace everything that could be just plain aluminum with polished copper. Drive bays, motherboard tray...you name it. The two-tone look of anodized black and polished copper is simply gorgeous in and of itself.

That's probably why our modder Langer just had to get his hands on one - and subsequently tear it apart.


We can start off our tour of this mod in progress by looking at what you won't see - the mountings of a built-in wireless router/firewall in the form of an AlIX.2C1 three-port router that has a mini-PCI slot (for the 802.11n wireless card) and a compact flash slot for storage. Also hidden on the dark side of the moon is the mount for an Aquacomputer Aquastream pump.


Several small fans are bracketed to go into the front drive bays, directly over the laptop-sized slot-loading DVD writer. Two sets of these fans will provide extra cooling for what will sit on the tray above the pump, which will include a full Pico-ITX Via Artigo setup.


All sorts of things on the anniversary A60C case are copper, including the motherboard tray and the hard-drive mounts. And those that are not copper by default will be by the time Langer is done, such as the shroud that he's building around the drive bays. A few measurements for clearance over the 360mm Feser One Xchanger and this will be ready for a CNC cut copper replacement.


Speaking of copper and shrouds, the radiator will be getting its own, both inside and outside of the case. Again, these pieces are measured using scrap aluminum, which can then be used for the template to make the final cuts out of the much more expensive copper sheet.


Other details abound, including the copper backplate for the PSU. Even the tenth anniversary badge on the back of the case will be replaced with a custom design. On the front, the case has been given a 7" touch panel that will be connected to the Via system, just perfect for a small media server.

Of course, this just begins to scratch the surface of what's being planned for PrometheusCu. Remember, we're talking three separate systems tucked into this case, and a bunch of watercooling and lighting that's barely even begun. So if you've got a love for painstakingly designed two-tone mods that make your jaw drop, you'd better head on over to Langer's worklog to check it out.

And on your way, if you think this case has what it takes to deserve this month's title, make sure you vote for PrometheusCu as the Mod of the Month for July!