Lian Li 011D Evo (Regular) Case - CPU and Waterblock removal issue

[0121danwilliams84]

Hi all,

So, to be brief as possible:



At launch I bought an X670E Gigabyte Aorus Master motherboard and a Ryzen 7900X.

There was some slight confusion over the meaning of the 'E' in 'X670E' as for some reason I presumed this board was standard ATX size.

I noticed when building a custom loop in the case that due to the backplate cutout in the regular (non XL) Evo case, I would have to install my EK AM5 Velocity 2 CPU block with the board outside the case (which is good practice anyway.)

However, the newer Velocity 2 blocks have threads that need to be tightened from the rear side of the motherboard, as opposed to traditionally front mounted options. And I can only really access two of them (the other two are blocked.)

I knew I would have an issue later down the line, when I was considering a future CPU upgrade, but excitement got the better of me and I wanted the build complete!

So, I presume I am out of other options if I ever want to replace the CPU, I must drain the whole loop and remove the motherboard from the case (absolute mission, just for a CPU swap.)

I thought a possible option may be unscrewing the motherboard and leaning it over (with all the cables attached, and probably all the tubes removed - I use soft tubing, but it is the black rigid OPDM type, without much give.)

Whatever options I probably need to remove the GPU and CPU tubing and the GPU at very least, due to the IO shield getting in the way.

So, you can tell I have quite the mission ahead for what should be an 'easy' CPU swap.

I am fairly against using a dremel at this stage, as I may as well just start a new build, as I would want to remove most things from the build by that stage anyway.

I was wondering if I could unscrew parts of the case that would reveal the area I am trying access, but doesn't seem possible from a close inspection.

TLDR; Can anyone wiser than me think of a way I can remove a CPU from the EATX motherboard X670E Gigabyte Aorus Master installed in the Lian Li 011D Evo (Regular) in the easiest possible way, without removing the motherboard if at all possible?



Thank you for any input you guys may have!

Best wishes,

Dan.

 

[Jamin280672]

Hi all,

So, to be brief as possible:



At launch I bought an X670E Gigabyte Aorus Master motherboard and a Ryzen 7900X.

There was some slight confusion over the meaning of the 'E' in 'X670E' as for some reason I presumed this board was standard ATX size.

I noticed when building a custom loop in the case that due to the backplate cutout in the regular (non XL) Evo case, I would have to install my EK AM5 Velocity 2 CPU block with the board outside the case (which is good practice anyway.)

However, the newer Velocity 2 blocks have threads that need to be tightened from the rear side of the motherboard, as opposed to traditionally front mounted options. And I can only really access two of them (the other two are blocked.)

I knew I would have an issue later down the line, when I was considering a future CPU upgrade, but excitement got the better of me and I wanted the build complete!

So, I presume I am out of other options if I ever want to replace the CPU, I must drain the whole loop and remove the motherboard from the case (absolute mission, just for a CPU swap.)

I thought a possible option may be unscrewing the motherboard and leaning it over (with all the cables attached, and probably all the tubes removed - I use soft tubing, but it is the black rigid OPDM type, without much give.)

Whatever options I probably need to remove the GPU and CPU tubing and the GPU at very least, due to the IO shield getting in the way.

So, you can tell I have quite the mission ahead for what should be an 'easy' CPU swap.

I am fairly against using a dremel at this stage, as I may as well just start a new build, as I would want to remove most things from the build by that stage anyway.

I was wondering if I could unscrew parts of the case that would reveal the area I am trying access, but doesn't seem possible from a close inspection.

TLDR; Can anyone wiser than me think of a way I can remove a CPU from the EATX motherboard X670E Gigabyte Aorus Master installed in the Lian Li 011D Evo (Regular) in the easiest possible way, without removing the motherboard if at all possible?



Thank you for any input you guys may have!

Best wishes,

Dan.

Yup this is why I sold my Velocity 2, same issue with any Lian Li 011 range of case, I have the 011 Mini Air and experienced the exact same problem, the cut out at the back isnt big enough, I did consider just getting the dremmel out and make the hole in the case a bit bigger, or if you have a good eye, you can just drill a couple of hole in the back panel to allow an allen key or small driver access to those 2 hidden screws, obviously you are going to have to remove all your components before doing this, but its only a ball ache once, I have to admit, I wasnt even that impressed with the block in the end anyway lol.

My GPU isnt part of my loop, so the day I removed tthe EK block forever, I removed the GPU, took the motherboard screws out and without removing any cables just leaned the board forward enough to get access to those 2 hidden screw, they are only just hidden.

 

[0121danwilliams84]

Yup this is why I sold my Velocity 2, same issue with any Lian Li 011 range of case, I have the 011 Mini Air and experienced the exact same problem, the cut out at the back isnt big enough, I did consider just getting the dremmel out and make the hole in the case a bit bigger, or if you have a good eye, you can just drill a couple of hole in the back panel to allow an allen key or small driver access to those 2 hidden screws, obviously you are going to have to remove all your components before doing this, but its only a ball ache once, I have to admit, I wasnt even that impressed with the block in the end anyway lol.

My GPU isnt part of my loop, so the day I removed tthe EK block forever, I removed the GPU, took the motherboard screws out and without removing any cables just leaned the board forward enough to get access to those 2 hidden screw, they are only just hidden.

Hello and thanks for the reply.

It's good information and what I was guessing someone else may have done in a similar situation.

It is so annoying isn't it? I can see about half the screw area on the left hand side, but the cutout covers the rest.

Out of interest, guessing you used an EATX board as well? If not I imagine an ATX board having that issue would be failed product IMHO.

Thanks again!

 

[Jamin280672]

Hello and thanks for the reply.

It's good information and what I was guessing someone else may have done in a similar situation.

It is so annoying isn't it? I can see about half the screw area on the left hand side, but the cutout covers the rest.

Out of interest, guessing you used an EATX board as well? If not I imagine an ATX board having that issue would be failed product IMHO.

Thanks again!

It was very annoying, especially if you dont get the mount perfect from the outset, theres no way to adjust it without removing everything again, and no way to test it without everything being in situ.

Im actually using a Micro ATX board, but all the screw positioning for mounting a water block are all the same to keep compatibility across every board, as you are looking at the back of the board through the cutout in the case it was the 2 left screws that were covered, I could access the 2 on the right perfectly fine.

 

[0121danwilliams84]

It was very annoying, especially if you dont get the mount perfect from the outset, theres no way to adjust it without removing everything again, and no way to test it without everything being in situ.

Im actually using a Micro ATX board, but all the screw positioning for mounting a water block are all the same to keep compatibility across every board, as you are looking at the back of the board through the cutout in the case it was the 2 left screws that were covered, I could access the 2 on the right perfectly fine.

That’s another good point thank you!

That makes perfect sense about the design of motherboards, I just presumed I messed up and if I bought an ATX one it wouldn’t have had that issue.

That basically puts all the ‘error’ on Lian Li and EK really or my choice of case I suppose. Without modification it means I would have this issue every time regardless of hardware. Bit of an oversight seeing they combined to make the newer Evo model.

I reckon it’s a good excuse to swap to all new hardware in the future and get out the drill!

 

[Jamin280672]

That’s another good point thank you!

That makes perfect sense about the design of motherboards, I just presumed I messed up and if I bought an ATX one it wouldn’t have had that issue.

That basically puts all the ‘error’ on Lian Li and EK really or my choice of case I suppose. Without modification it means I would have this issue every time regardless of hardware. Bit of an oversight seeing they combined to make the newer Evo model.

I reckon it’s a good excuse to swap to all new hardware in the future and get out the drill!

Yeah, trouble is you could buy a completely different case and the cut out still not be big enough, or even worse, its not the motherboard, like I say, the spacing between the stand-off's around the socket is the same for every board whether it be ITX all the way upto EATX, so you can use the same block on every board.

 

[0121danwilliams84]

I spoke to the right person today ha! Thanks.

 

[Drumroll]

The cutout of the Evo was an issue using an Asus Z690 and the Arctic Freezer too. For some reason, they could’ve been more generous with the cutout, as every other case that I’ve owned in the past 5 years at least.

 

[0121danwilliams84]

The cutout of the Evo was an issue using an Asus Z690 and the Arctic Freezer too. For some reason, they could’ve been more generous with the cutout, as every other case that I’ve owned in the past 5 years at least.

Thanks for that info.

Agreed, especially as it’s an upgraded version of a popular case. Would have thought they researched this stuff especially as they specifically collaborate with EK.