Lian-Li PC-G50A

SoaDMTGguy · Post by **SoaDMTGguy** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 7:27 am

Does anyone have any thoughts or exeriance with this case: http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/ ... PC-G50.htm ? I know it is aluminium, and those are not the best for being quiet, but I just wanted to get your input, as it seems as if it could have good airflow if implimented correctly.

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:25 am

With this case, aluminum is the least of your problems.

The PSU sits over the CPU socket which will greatly limit you heatsink options. Guessing, it looks to be about 80mm or less of clearance.

floffe · Post by **floffe** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:08 am

I've considered it as well, and if you use a 12cm PSU I'm thinking of passively cooling an XP-120 in there, with a relatively low-heat CPU (E6300/X2-3800). It should be doable, at least if you duct it.

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:22 am

Although it appears reversible, the illustration shows the PSU intake to be facing away from the motherboard so it can intake cooler outside air.

If you reverse the mounting so that the PSU intake faces the motherboard, it's going to inhale all the CPU heat due in part to its close proximity.

This is contrary to the concept of ducting that is generally used to keep CPU heat out of the PSU and PSU temp and fan speed low.

SoaDMTGguy · Post by **SoaDMTGguy** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:00 pm

ultrachrome wrote:Although it appears reversible, the illustration shows the PSU intake to be facing away from the motherboard so it can intake cooler outside air.

If you reverse the mounting so that the PSU intake faces the motherboard, it's going to inhale all the CPU heat due in part to its close proximity.

This is contrary to the concept of ducting that is generally used to keep CPU heat out of the PSU and PSU temp and fan speed low.

The idea would be to use the PSU fan to draw air across the CPU heatsink, simularly to the way old ATX cases were designed (P3 and older). I had thought of doing that as well, but I did not know how well it would work.

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:59 pm

SoaDMTGguy wrote:The idea would be to use the PSU fan to draw air across the CPU heatsink, simularly to the way old ATX cases were designed (P3 and older). I had thought of doing that as well, but I did not know how well it would work.

That's the problem. You will in effect pull the hot air from the CPU into the PSU causing it to heat up and noisily speed up its fan to compensate.

The problem is touched on in this post.

floffe · Post by **floffe** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 3:54 am

Yes, it will give the PSU warmer air to work with, BUT with a CPU that in reality doesn't use more than 40W, I'm not sure how much of a difference that will make. In this case, that's pretty much all the heat to worry about since the video card has it's own 120mm exhaust.

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:17 am

It sounds like a gamble. You're breaking one of the cardinal rules of silent PCs by betting that newer CPUs will be substantially cooler. But it remains to be seen whether they will be cool enough to make it work.

If it doesn't work, you don't have many proven quiet HSF solutions that will fit between the PSU and motherbard. The XP-120 with a fan will be too tall. The 7000/7700 is the only one that comes to mind.

Clearly, I'm a bit risk adverse. It is a nice looking case. If you are game, I'd love to know if it works.

floffe · Post by **floffe** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:43 am

Well, the whole Conroe (excluding X6800) have a TDP of 65W, and considering the E6300 has half the cache and considerably slower clockspeed, probably in combination with quite a bit of undervolting headroom it should come in quite a bit under that.

Then again, should you wish to use the overclocking potential (333MHz fsb seems doable without voltage increase, and fits good with ddr2-667, if the board supports it) you probably want something else. I'm still torn between this and a Solo for my build in a month or so. As I'm new to silencing, I'm pretty sure the 7000 on a low setting with the fanmate would be enough.

I'll probably cheap out on the build since I'm a student, instead of trying this out.

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 6:33 pm

On a student budget, you can't go wrong with a Solo. The design is far more flexible with no practical limitations on PSU or HSF choice. A Scythe Ninja would be an excellent choice for whatever cooling method you want to try (duct to PSU or duct to case fan).

The elastic hard drive mounts are also a big plus. In comparison to the Lian Li, I'd wager the Solo would be quieter in any configuration.

If you don't mind white, you can pick up a b-stock P150 with power supply directly from Antec for about $20 cheaper than a Solo without a power supply.

floffe · Post by **floffe** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:54 am

Yeah, but I do like the looks and weight of the Lian-Li better than the Solo, which isn't really any smaller than my current case. And I don't think I can get those b-stock ones in Sweden. And the Ninja feels a bit overkill for me, the XP-90 is quite a bit cheaper and will probably not make any practical difference, esp if used with a low-speed Yate Loon from silencio.

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:55 pm

No argument about looks. The Lian Li is better looking and is a nice size.

However, the XP90 with a fan is 96mm tall. My estimate is that you have approximately 85mm between the CPU and PSU in that Lian Li case. Choice of heatsink is the greatest limitation of this case.

My take is that there is no such thing as overkill when it comes to trying to cool a PC quietly, assuming of course that the part fits easily in the case and doesn't stress the motherboard. The Ninja's tower profile, large surface area and wide fin spacing make it perfect for fanless implementations.

In the US, the cost for either heatsink is basically the same.

floffe · Post by **floffe** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:01 am

Hmmm, it seems the cheapest reputable online store in Sweden that carried the XP-90 have dropped it, and the Ninja is a bit cheaper than I remembered. I am however a bit worried about the weight of the Ninja should I decide to go over to a friend's for a mini-LAN. Pricewise, the G50+Zalman 7000 would sum up to ~$20 more than Solo+Ninja. I'm pretty sure the Solo and Ninja will be more quiet, but the question is whether the 7000 will be quiet enough for me.

And that 85mm estimate seems pretty good: One of the reviews for it says approx 3 3/8 inches up to the power supply, which is 85.7mm

floffe · Post by **floffe** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:58 am

OK, looked around a bit and found that when you include shipping the two options above add up to about the same. That'll probably mean I'll go with a G50 and Zalman 7000, at least if I'm not going AM2...