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Radial Vents and Updated IO Design

Published on 8th April, 2017

LZ7 v2 White Radial Vent GPU SIde Panel

This is just a quick update with some photos of the new ‘Radial’ vent style, this was a popular community request which I am hoping to make available soon as part of the customisation options.  I’ve had some prototypes made to test it out:

LZ7 v2 White Radial Vent GPU SIde Panel

 

Noise wise the Radial vent is fairly quiet but not the quietest, it sits somewhere between the Cyclone and Aero Vents (previously shown HERE), with the Cyclone being quietest and the Aero being loudest.  This is referring to the turbulence noise created by the fan blades running past the vent cutouts.  The radial vent does have some turbulence noise, but not as much as the Aero (perforated holes) design.

In terms of airflow and therefore resulting thermal performance, again it sits in between the Cyclone and the Aero vents, with Cyclone offering the most airflow and best thermals.  Some of you are not keen on the Cyclone vent aesthetics, but perhaps this Radial style vent may be more up your street, this vent style offers more of an ‘all rounder’ approach in terms of aesthetics, noise and airflow.

The new prototypes also include the updated IO design, this change in direction from the last revision was due to community feedback,most people preferred the power and reset buttons to be physical buttons resulting in the following design which offers a compromise:

LZ7 v2 Radial IO Panel Side View

 

The power LED lights up the power button when the computer is on, the camera I am using struggles to show this properly and the photos show the light up button a bit washed out, but to the naked eye the recessed power symbol gives a nice highlighted glow effect:

LZ7 v2 with White IO Column Powered On

 

Another view of the case in white, shown next to a Steam controller for scale purposes:

LZ7 v2 White with Steam Controller

 

Closeup of the GPU side panel with Radial style vents, behind the vents you can see the black and orange colour scheme of the Gigabyte GTX 1070 ITX graphics card:

LZ7 v2 GPU Radial Panel

 

Another improvement for the next version of the LZ7 is the 2x 2.5″ Storage Drive mounting panel, it now includes cutouts for increased compatibility with Sata Power cables, along with some extra screw holes and cutout for mounting a 2.5″ drive sideways, this is useful if you want some extra space in the top of the case for cable routing or airflow, etc:

LZ7 v2 Updated HDD Panel with Cutouts

 

This is my favorite game at the moment called Battlegrounds, it’s a Battle Royale 100 player last man standing game, so much fun and I highly recommend checking it out.  Add me on Steam if you want to play  a round or 2 (kgdolan888), my Battlegrounds tag is K888D.

LZ7 v2 White K888D Playing Battlegrounds

 

Updated IO corner Column with new large style power and reset buttons.  You can also see here the new corner pieces will have the option for metal threads:

LZ7 v2 Full IO Corner Column with Metal Thread Inserts

 

Side view of the LZ7 in Black with Radial style vent side panel, you can also see the power and activity LED’s shining through the button perforations:

LZ7 v2 Black with Radial Pattern Side Vents

 

Stress testing the new Radial vents for noise and airflow performance:

LZ7 v2 Stress Testing on Desk Setup

 

Rear view of LZ7 showing updated serial number panel, I may reduce the logo in size as it’s a bit overbearing:

LZ7 v2 Black Rear View

Another view of the rear also showing the radial vent design again:

LZ7 v2 Black Radial Vents Rear View

 

Progress has been slower than hoped for making the next batch available and I apologise to anyone who has been waiting a while to buy one, your patience is much appreciated.

I am working towards a major announcement which I am hoping I can reveal before the end of April, stay tuned for more information and thank you to you all for your continued support.

If you have any feedback about the design updates please let me know in the comments below.