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Production Lazer3D LZ7 - Quiet Gaming Cube PC Case
- Thread starter K888D
- Start date
I don't think it will be next week sorry! I haven't received the delivery of material yet to cut the panels from. Please PM and we might be able sort something out. Thanks for your patience.
This is more of a log of my findings, not an inquiry since I'll have solutions for most problems by replacing the common denominator in most of the issues and the "close calls" are just plain ol' SFF life 
I'm in the process of installing an HDPlex AC-DC 160W and a KMPKT Dynamo Mini 160W inside the LZ7 First Edition, but I'm having some issues with some components. These issues are basically because of the parts I want to re-use.
First issue: the KMPKT Dynamo Mini fits, but just barely because it sits right against the storage panel. This means that you can't use a 2,5" storage device in most builds with a direct-plug ATX DC PSU.
Second issue: the HDPlex AC-DC 160W power supply has a C14 mains connector where the LZ7's DC-DC rear panel has a cutout for. This works perfectly but with my Noctua NH-L12S there was a hair of space in between the housing of the connector and the Noctua heatsink.
Considering heatpipe coolers are rarely built with 0.1mm tolerances, this could have very well been worse (or better).
Third issue: on my Asus Maximus VII Impact board, the 24-pin ATX connector and 4-pin EPS connector are really close to eachother. just 1 or 2 millimeters of the PCB and the heatsink extend over the 8-pin connector's housing, which I'm trying to tim down, also because of the long cable not being necessary. This is ofcourse specific to some boards.
Fourth issue: the vandal switch I got from eBay is a little longer than what K888D supplies for the LZ7 if I'm correct, so this happens on my first edition LZ7 with the button on the top where later versions have the button in the middle. Mind you that in the middle there would be another problem if you used the Noctua NH-L12(S) cooler as it would probably block it, depending on orientations possible with the location of the CPU socket.
Fifth issue: the HDPlex AC-DC 160W power supply attached to the storage panel (the DC version) will sit on the Noctua NH-L12S cooler. What I can surmise is that it would fit with the top panel though, probably pushing it down ever so slightly.
Bottom line: DON'T use the Noctua NH-L12(S) in the LZ7 if you are going to be using an AC-DC or DC-ATX power supply, go for the Noctua NH-U9S which I'm going to add to basket in a minute. And don't be an idiot like me thinking random stuff will just fit
I'm in the process of installing an HDPlex AC-DC 160W and a KMPKT Dynamo Mini 160W inside the LZ7 First Edition, but I'm having some issues with some components. These issues are basically because of the parts I want to re-use.
First issue: the KMPKT Dynamo Mini fits, but just barely because it sits right against the storage panel. This means that you can't use a 2,5" storage device in most builds with a direct-plug ATX DC PSU.
Second issue: the HDPlex AC-DC 160W power supply has a C14 mains connector where the LZ7's DC-DC rear panel has a cutout for. This works perfectly but with my Noctua NH-L12S there was a hair of space in between the housing of the connector and the Noctua heatsink.
Considering heatpipe coolers are rarely built with 0.1mm tolerances, this could have very well been worse (or better).
Third issue: on my Asus Maximus VII Impact board, the 24-pin ATX connector and 4-pin EPS connector are really close to eachother. just 1 or 2 millimeters of the PCB and the heatsink extend over the 8-pin connector's housing, which I'm trying to tim down, also because of the long cable not being necessary. This is ofcourse specific to some boards.
Fourth issue: the vandal switch I got from eBay is a little longer than what K888D supplies for the LZ7 if I'm correct, so this happens on my first edition LZ7 with the button on the top where later versions have the button in the middle. Mind you that in the middle there would be another problem if you used the Noctua NH-L12(S) cooler as it would probably block it, depending on orientations possible with the location of the CPU socket.
Fifth issue: the HDPlex AC-DC 160W power supply attached to the storage panel (the DC version) will sit on the Noctua NH-L12S cooler. What I can surmise is that it would fit with the top panel though, probably pushing it down ever so slightly.
Bottom line: DON'T use the Noctua NH-L12(S) in the LZ7 if you are going to be using an AC-DC or DC-ATX power supply, go for the Noctua NH-U9S which I'm going to add to basket in a minute. And don't be an idiot like me thinking random stuff will just fit
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Thanks for the detailed writeup @Phuncz , like you've pointed out mounting the HDPLEX AC-DC adapter to the inside of the case can actually lower the CPU clearance. Some more detail on clearances here:
Regarding the Vandal switches supplied by Lazer3D, I've just measured their length at 25mm including all the thread and the stiff wire section where they are attached to the button (available to purchase HERE):
Putting all this together you have a bunch of different options, here are 2 possible configurations with CPU clearances listed:
For reference, the HDPLEX DC-ATX can be mounted to the DC-DC Rear Panel or DC-DC + HDD Panel. But the HDPLEX AC-DC converter can only be mounted to the DC-DC + HDD Panel.
Regarding the Vandal switches supplied by Lazer3D, I've just measured their length at 25mm including all the thread and the stiff wire section where they are attached to the button (available to purchase HERE):
Thanks guys ! The Noctua NH-U9S is inbound for delivery today so everything except the power button can be addressed quickly
Got the Noctua NH-U9S in, it's clearly a better fit when using an internal AC-DC brick:
But I still had issues with fitment in this orientation, it was slightly in the way of the AC-DC brick. I had to improvise the mounting:
Finally it's complete, excluding the power button ! It's now running with an overclocked i5-4670K @ 4.4GHz (vcore 1.25v), idle at 38°C, AIDA64's stability test is hovering around 76°C.
But I still had issues with fitment in this orientation, it was slightly in the way of the AC-DC brick. I had to improvise the mounting:
Finally it's complete, excluding the power button ! It's now running with an overclocked i5-4670K @ 4.4GHz (vcore 1.25v), idle at 38°C, AIDA64's stability test is hovering around 76°C.
Thanks for that link, I had been wanting to see his thermal testing, he is getting decent results will be even better if he does the delid.
Was really pleased to see the MI-6 at the end of the video and looking forward to his review.
Thanks for posting that review @Kmpkt and thankyou @Tek Everything for such a detailed set of reviews and benchmarks. I find it funny that you put a section in the video showing real-time benchmarks, I guess this was just in case people didn't believe your numbers from the amount of negative comments in the previous video?!
The Noctua NH-L12S is an amazing little cooler, quiet and high performance, definitely my favourite cooler ever.
Also looking forward to seeing @firewolfy MI-6 case review, it looks awesome!
The Noctua NH-L12S is an amazing little cooler, quiet and high performance, definitely my favourite cooler ever.
Also looking forward to seeing @firewolfy MI-6 case review, it looks awesome!
Case reviews are like buses, you wait ages for 1, then along come 2 at once!
Here is another amazing review from @nextechnews of the LZ7 in 3 different cooling configurations.
I can't believe the amount of effort he has put into this video even including drone footage and special effects! Thank you so much Zac.
You guys should all go and check out his channel for lots of SFF related content, his channel is very underrated and deserves way more subscribers!
Here is another amazing review from @nextechnews of the LZ7 in 3 different cooling configurations.
I can't believe the amount of effort he has put into this video even including drone footage and special effects! Thank you so much Zac.
You guys should all go and check out his channel for lots of SFF related content, his channel is very underrated and deserves way more subscribers!
You are right @K888D very good review, I do wish he had done thermal testing on the different configurations though.
That is exactly why I did it. So many people who don't have the case had made up their mind about the thermals already. I figured numbers weren't enough this time.
I will be doing a delid, and picking up custom cables soon. I want to see exactly how low I can push these temps.
After watching Tek Everything's review on youtube I have just ordered one of these cases, This will be my first PC build, I'm really looking forward to it.
Hi, I'm not @K888D but I have a 8600k and I'm using a Noctua nh-d9l and I'm getting really good results both in terms of temps and thermals.
Not sure what u are asking about the cable lengths, but if u are concerned about cable management I can tell you that it's a bit tricky but patience gives great results.
I'm gonna share this pic I took of the LZ7 without CPU and heatsink (I only use one m.2 drive). It's amazing how much room for the heatsink there is in this tiny case !!!
Thanks @Martix50 for the information and photos.
I've tested the Noctua NH-U9S and it got the lowest temps of all the coolers I've tested including the Corsair H60i AIO, it runs silent as well, unless you set fans to 100%, which you don't need to with this cooler probably unless you do some kind of super OC.
I've tested the Noctua NH-U9S and it got the lowest temps of all the coolers I've tested including the Corsair H60i AIO, it runs silent as well, unless you set fans to 100%, which you don't need to with this cooler probably unless you do some kind of super OC.
I haven't but I don't really see a reason to do it: the temps are good, the card is overclocked to its limit, the fan does't spin if not gaming or watching extended videos, and even when spinning it's very quiet. Why tweak something that works so nicely ?
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