My DK02 Build

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I'm in awe with what you guys can achieve around these parts, both in terms of modding and the quality of the photos to show it all off. Sadly I'm not worthy in either department. However several peeps seemed keen to see how I got on with my Lian Li DK02 Desk Case so here goes Part 1 (I could never do this as a living as, apart from being a mess, it's taken me half the afternoon and all evening to get this far )

Yesterday my best mate Darren from DPD delivered 2 boxes, the bigger one being the main desk components with the smaller, more rectangular box, are the 2 legs.

The 2 donor systems in the photo are a Prodigy Mini ITX with a Gigabyte H77N motherboard, Intel 3770 CPU and 16GB of Geil Black Dragon RAM.

The other a Corsair Obsidian 650D containing a 2700K @ 4.6Ghz on an ASUS P8Z68 MB with 16GB (4*4GB Kingston HyperX Genesis). The CPU has an integrated liquid cooler with a pair of fans in a push/pull arrangement.

The build is going to replace my old desk, sturdy it may be but well battered now.

So the first thing was to get the basic shell of the case all together. I decided to use the 35mm leg extensions to get a little more height so I could get my legs under ok. However even with that it would be a little tight if one sat right up close. As I'm going to use the keyboard / mouse shelf I can place that in its middle position and my knees are comfortably below the desk level.

Everything went together reasonably well, small problem with a screw missing that was meant to be preinstalled on one of the pair of legs, and I sometimes struggled to work out which screw was required where. But I sussed it all out ok in the end. This is the selection of screws/washers and other ancillary bits that comes with the case.

The plastic holder for holding the screws seems a bit of a gimmick but I think there will be quite a few left over after the build so having somewhere to store them seems handy.

So far I've only got the basic install of the M-ITX system. For such a roomy case it's a tight fit between the MB and power supply. The instructions show the PSU fan on the other side but this means it would be tight up against the other PSU and I'd hazard won't shift air too well.

Full size image http://avonrise.co.uk/dk02/mitx_initial1_full.jpg

The couple of close up shots are naff so I'll try and take some more.

There is no real cable management with the case. If you look back to the bits that are supplied there are some sticky backed clips but no way to route cables out of sight. I've not made an effort to tie up the PSU cables yet but I did manage to route the SATA and front panel cables under the MB.

More to follow over the next few days but if you've got any questions or want a photo of a particular bit please shout.

 

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could i ask you to do me a favor? and measure the desk from the floor to the bottom of the desk where your legs will go under as i was also thinking it might be a bit low for me.

It's 640mm. TBF if I sit at the desk it's just the top of my legs where there is the lightest of touches with the bottom of the desk. There is space where my knees are. The top of the desk is 820mm without the glass, so you need to add a little more for that.

 

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Sadly my zen with the camera has gone on holiday

Both systems are now installed in the DK02 but I'm struggling to get the wiring to be even remotely tidy. In some cases (like the extra power cable for the main systems MB) aren't long enough. Once the glass is on though the scruffy cables are all the front so unless you lean over the top and look it's not so bad.

So here is the main rig installed

It's a bit strange but because the 2 banks of drives are mirrors one the SATA cables are in opposite directions. This means the right angled connectors I had on the drives sat the wrong way for mounting the main rig's drives at the back of the case, so the 4 of them are all at the front.

Here's a long view down the case showing both systems.

And here is the whole thing cold and dark waiting for lift off

And actually running

Couple of observations and thoughts about the future.

There is a good 4 or 5 inches of space behind the drawer when it is shut. There was room in there for an 8 port GB Switch

And I've got a 4 way mains extension block in there. Lian Li intend you to put one in this space but I couldn't get it in without cutting the moulded plug off, that these things come with these days, and putting a new one on after. There are useful holes in the 2 far bottom corners for cables but they're not large enough for a UK plug.

I also cut up 2 kettle leads to reduce cable clutter at the back. If there is too much it gets harder to shut the drawer as they can get in the way.

Even with the cables there I feel there is room for the CPU cooler to be mounted on the back of the drawer rather than inside as it is now. Not sure of the benefits of this from a cooling POV.

I've removed 2 of the blanking plates, on the back panel, intended for the monitor arms. This allows easier cable routing in my view. Especially for the Ethernet switch. I can add or remove the cables without having to open the drawer.

I had thought about putting a GFX card on the MITX system but it's a double width card and there is insufficient clearance, fouls the SATA cables on the 3.5" drives. It's also a large card and moving the drives to the front of the case won't solve that problem.

When I've got a little more time I'll try and get some better photos.

 

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Managed to get a bit more time on this last night, so here are some more pics and observations.

Quick pic of the 4-way mains extension in the rear compartment

Not overly clear but as I said before the hole in the right hand corner of the case is not large enough for a UK plug to pass through.

I spent some time arranging the cables and add some tie-wraps to make things a bit neater. The result is

The last shot also shows the problems I'm having. There in just enough gap between the PSU and the MB to run the SATA cables but no way is there enough space for power / larger USB cables. As a result I've tried to run them around the fan. Not quite right yet.

I think the whole subject of cable management with the desk is one of compromises. If there was a false bottom to the drawer the whole desk part would have to be taller. That in itself could start to cause problems by raising the height of the main desk area (and thus monitors etc). I'd have liked an extra inch of width for the MITX system to allow cables to run more neatly but I'm not completely unhappy with things now. I'm going to order an EPS Extension cable for the larger MB so I can lose the loose cable running over the GPU card. I think I also need some fans with LEDs to jazz up the insides

Here is a closer picture of the holes for running piping for water cooling.

As I said before I could probably move the CPU cooler and fans from inside of the drawer to out the back. Not sure it's worth the effort at the moment. After I've run it for awhile and sussed out temps I might try moving it just to see.

The leg extension pieces are really just decorative. They are lose fitting and spin if you turn them.

Couple of extra things. The LED for the power is actually a dual colour LED. Solid Blue and flashes Red when there is disk activity. Can't see it in this photo but I like the effect

And finally one thing it took me a little while to notice is there is recess in the drawer so you can pull it out easily

I'll do some temperature tests later - suspect I need to run it for a little while to warm up all that inside area I don't have all 6 fans (3 left edge and 3 right edge) wired in. Will only power them all up if things start getting toasty. The fans by the drives are set to run, using 3 just now (1 left, 2 right).

 

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Initially I had a wired keyboard and mouse on the smaller system, I kept the keyboard in the drawer on the left (not shown in the photos) but since then I've ended up using the 2nd system as a server so I simply remote desktop in to it.

It is possible to get Bluetooth keyboards that pair with multiple systems with a switch to select the one you want. I'd consider this route if I needed direct input to both while still using a single monitor.

 

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I don't really notice the reflections unless I look for them, then I think they look cool like the reflection of mountains in a still lake

 

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It's 260mm using my cheap plastic desk ruler

Not really done more with it, I work from home and it's in daily use. I did add an optical drive which proved a bit of a palaver as it was difficult to align so the tray wasn't catching on the case. It also makes a load of noise while operating, I guess the nice big sound box amplifies it (or it's just a cheap drive and noisy)