Lian Li PC-Q07 ... Mini ITX

Info & chat about quiet prebuilt, small form factor and barebones systems, people's experiences with vendors thereof, etc.

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Cov
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Post by Cov » Fri Jun 12, 2009 1:59 pm

There is a red PC-Q07 out apparently ....

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click >>> YouTube <<<


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bmcwilliams
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Post by bmcwilliams » Sun Jun 14, 2009 12:32 am

Some details on my build:

The problem is the cheapo power supply had a very noisy fan, and that big perforated panel let all the sound out. So I opened up the powersupply and swapped it with a $10 SilenX fan from NewEgg. 11db rated. I used the silicone mounts instead of screws, and turned the fan towards the inside instead of the perforations. That way it can suck air out from the case rather than pulling fresh air, and leaving the case air to stagnate.

One major problem with this case is it seems as though Lian Li didn't bother to measure anything. It has a slot for a PCIe card, and I used the Zotac 9300 ITX WiFi mainboard, which has a PCIe slot. So one would guess a PCIe card would fit. As you can see, even a one slot PCIe card interferes with a standard size hard drive. The interference was such that it pushed the PCIe card over 1/8". Something had to be done. If Lian Li wouldn't do it, I had to. So I relocated the hard drive to the front panel. I used double sided foam tape to stick the bracket to the front. It is rather secure.

Once this was done, it all fit rather well. The power supply is nice and quiet, and the components fit without interference. The foam tape even added a bit of vibration dampening to the hard drive.

The case still suffers from being overly thin aluminium and it is over-ventilated. The next step is to line it with acoustic dampening foam and close up some of the ventilation to make it more strategic. Leave the bottom vents and top open, so the power supply pulls air over the video card and the processor/northbridge, and exhausts it through the PSU. I'll monitor temps and see how many holes I can block without problem.

I can't post the pictures directly, since this is only my second post here, but if you want to see the power supply bracket and the interference problems and the fix, you can see them at phukuandursuv(dot)com/zotac/.

-Bill

Linnaeus Tripe
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Post by Linnaeus Tripe » Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:30 am

I picked up one of these cases. I am using the Intel DG45FC. Originally I had a pretty quiet FSP full ATX PSU in there, but I found the combination of the PSU fan + Arctic Cooling 7 LP heatsink/fan was very audible and annoying, with only adequate cooling (E8400 idle ~39c, load 49c.)
So I swapped out the PSU with a Pico unit. The added space in the case allowed me to replace the AC7LP with a big tower - so I tried a Xigamatek 1283 (I have had it for awhile, so it make actually be another model, but it looks like the 1283.) It "barely" fit under a standard optical drive (barely=scrapes the bracket.) With no case fan, I put the Xigmatek fan on this positioned to blow through the heatsink and out the back of the case (which now has a big hole where the PSU used to be!) However, the contact with the optical drive bracket/thin alluminum/fan allowed a fair bit of vibration and noise. I noticed that my Ninja 1000 actually is a few mm smaller than the Xigmatek, so I swapped heatsinks and put the big Ninja on (which fits nicely!) I put a 120mm Nexus Real Silent fan on it (again blowing across the heatsink, out the back) and using an old Zalman fan controller that I found in my basement I slowed the fan down as much as possible. SpeedFan does not detect the fans on this MB, so I don't know the speed, but it is pretty quiet, but not "silent" and can be heard easily from 2m away. Temps remain adequate with idle ~39/40c, similar load temp with fan speed at slowest.
I put the "backplate" on by positioning it on the motherboard before sliding it into the case, then reaching in and snapping it in to place.
I, too, am disappointed that there are no USB ports on the top of the case.


Addendum:
I wonder if I would be better served by running the Ninja passive and jerry-rigging the 120mm fan to exhaust the case through the hole left by the absent PSU. Any thoughts?

Cov
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Post by Cov » Fri Jun 19, 2009 7:32 am

Hi, only a few hours ago I received the PC-Q07 and what can I say ?

Wow, I cannot imagine the material quality to be any better than that.
It has to be the lightest PC case I ever had, plus it feels special everytime I touch the surface.


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It looks in real life so much better than any picture would be able to display.



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I'm so impressed, that I will get the red version as well.


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... oh, and a black one too :wink:


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erkan
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Post by erkan » Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:34 pm

I am very interested in a red version of this case, anyone knows where can I order one?

IMHO it is very nice that you can use a proper ATX PSU in a Mini-ITX case, put in a high quality PSU there and it will help cool down the system.

Cov
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Post by Cov » Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:43 pm

erkan wrote:I am very interested in a red version of this case, anyone knows where can I order one?
As far as I know, the red version will be available in Europe end of July 2009.

erkan
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Post by erkan » Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:59 pm

Thanks for the info!

Is there space under the graphics board for a passive cooling solution such as AC Accelero (the smaller version) ?

Cov
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Post by Cov » Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:55 am

erkan wrote:Is there (enough) space under(neath) the graphics board for a passive cooling solution such as (the) AC Accelero (the smaller version) ?
The space between point A and B is 40 mm:

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The AC Accelero has the dimensions: (L x W x H) 215 x 140 x 33 mm.
I guess it would fit.

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rsreign wrote:That is (an) incredible CPU you ha(ve)!!!
What do you mean, CPU ?

erkan
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Post by erkan » Tue Jun 23, 2009 11:03 am

Wow, thats great news that it would fit!

In combination with a PCIe ITX-motherboard supporting quad-core you can really build a small silent super-computer with this case IMHO.

Cov
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Post by Cov » Tue Jun 23, 2009 11:07 am

Please make no mistake.
The dimensions of this case are: 193 (W) x 280 (H) x 208 (D) mm.
Meaning the total depth is only 208 mm.
High performance graphics cards are usually longer than 208 mm.

erkan
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Post by erkan » Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:56 pm

My Radeon 4670 will fit, so thats all i care about right now :)

Cov
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Post by Cov » Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:05 pm

erkan wrote:Wow, thats great news that it would fit!
I have to apologize because there is one problem though.
The HDD cage is fixed on the bottom of the case, making it impossible to use a third party VGA cooler actually.
The only way would be to unscrew the HDD cage from the bottom.
I personally don't see a problem to find an alternative (vertical) place for the HDD within this case.

Sorry that I forgot to point that out earlier.

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Picture from a work log.

erkan
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Post by erkan » Wed Jun 24, 2009 12:21 am

NP, the 3.5" cage will go away, I am not going to run internal DVD-player on my future computers anymore so HD is going there. DVD-drive wastes energy and space IMHO.

I have all my files on my own 4TB fileserver and have an external USB DVD-writer (that takes power from USB port) instead.

zodaex
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Post by zodaex » Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:28 pm

Is it possible to use that Aopen case and have a DVI out, for high quality LCDS?

Cov
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Post by Cov » Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:58 pm

Hi, you mean the A Open S 120 A Mini iTX PC case ?

Well, I'm not sure what the DVI output has to do with the PC case.
All Mini iTX motherboards (for example) have the dimensions 170 x 170 mm and come with a (metal) panel that has to be fit into the PC case of your choice.
If that motherboard comes with DVI output, the (metal) panel will have taylored cut outs already.

thegoldenstrand
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Could 1/2 height slot be modded to full height?

Post by thegoldenstrand » Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:24 am

Cov wrote:
erkan wrote:Is there (enough) space under(neath) the graphics board for a passive cooling solution such as (the) AC Accelero (the smaller version) ?
The space between point A and B is 40 mm:

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Is there any easy way to mod a half height pci slot to being a full height one? Lian Li tells us all they designed case for "standard" sized gear and then wrecks our option for choosing a video card with this half height pci slot.

Found a just less than 8 inch (200mm) long BFG 9800 GT with no power connector that could fit in Lian Li if pci slot could be modded to full height. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814143187 It is supposed to work with GeForce 9300 for hybrid power and was designed with its underclocking and 30% less energy use than standard GeForce 9800 so no power connector was needed and card size was shortened in length by over an inch.

How could mod from half to full height best be accomplished? Would it make sense with the case and its air flow? I was thinking of snipping and bending case at full pci height area like lian li did at the half height area to replicate what half height looks like and drilling hole for card to attach to. :D

Cov
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Post by Cov » Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:12 am

Hi, first I checked what the difference between full size and half size PCI cards are.

Wikipedia explains all about the PCI standard, but I got really confused about the other de-facto (sub) standards.

Been lead to a PCI FAQ site which covers many interesting questions, but it did not enlighten me really.

Besides the NewEgg website, I found Amazon's offer interesting too.
But the product dimensions given as 8 x 3 x 10 inches doesn't make sense to me at all.

Although I did not find more info on BFG's website, I would suggest to call them for advise.
Maybe they can clarify a little.

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By the way, I was very tempted to get the Radeon 4770 because of the following reasons:

1. The price / performance ratio is incredible.
2. Core Clock: 750 MHz
3. Memory Clock: 3200 MHz
4. Graphics Card Memory: GDDR5
5. Unified Shader / Stream Processing Units: 640
6. Process: 40 nm â†
Last edited by Cov on Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:29 am, edited 7 times in total.

Cov
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Post by Cov » Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:14 am

...

huguberhart
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Flip it!!!

Post by huguberhart » Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:07 am

I wouldnt install these puny VCs. Id buy GTS 250 and flip it inside the case so it would use the space. Power seems to be the problem but maybe could get 450W smaller PSU. Some SFX or mATX? I just wonder why dont they make VCs with PCB extended over 110mm width and 180mm short (heh it would be just me using them ;). Great looking case.

Cov
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Post by Cov » Wed Jul 22, 2009 4:52 am

Have just ordered my new parts last night ... finally ...

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Well, I would have prefered 2 x 4 GB module over 2 x 2 GB ones, but they don't seem to be in stock anywhere.

Then, I'm gonna build the 140 mm fan from Scythe into the front pane of the PC case.
Only problem is going to be, how to get an accurate circle cut into the aluminium.
Never done this before, hmm ..

Once I had a fan with blue LEDs built in, the PC case looked so awesome at night.
That's why I'm gonna try to put these blue LEDs from Revoltec in the new PC-Q07.

And regarding the mouse, I had tried so many mice in my life (I mean PC mice, doh !).
But to be honest, I always come back to this Basic Mouse as it seems to be tailored for my hand.
That's maybe just a question of taste.

The Xilence CPU cooler is not the strongest one around, but there are not many coolers for Mini iTX existing.
Besides this, it has propper fixing on the motherboard and not the stupid push-pin solution, that can bend the board.
Had loved to get Thermaltake's MeOrb but that was not in stock.
Maybe I will get that one later.

Ahhh, and my new Quad ... I was thinking so hard of what CPU to get, Wolfdale or Yorkfield.
Looking all over the internet did not enlighten me much. There seem to be only few situations where a quad was much better than a duo.
Video processing (rendering & encoding) and some PC games (GTA IV) for example.
For all other purposes, the duo is more economical.

Someone said that Duo was ideal for games and the quad better for applications.

Then someone else stated that he had both and found the duo to be the best CPU that he ever had ... but his heart stuck on the quad.
That sounds funny because what would I do wih that information ?

Well, I'm gonna see if the quad is gonna work in the Mini iTX system, and if not - I can always swap for the E8400 (that is currently in my mATX system).

The HDD was easy to decide for. The new Samsung F2 drives seem to be rather nice as well, with their 500GB platters.
They suppose to run cooler and quieter, but at the end I decided for WD because of the consistent good reviews.
Reliabiltiy is very important in regards to storage devices as you know.

I would have love to get an SSD, but the new Intel Postville are just hitting the market these days.
AnandTech: >>> Intel's 34nm SSD Preview: Cheaper and Faster? <<<
Many retailers in our country have these drives listed on their website, but they're not quite available yet.
They're gonna have stock within the next few weeks I guess.

Yay !!

erkan
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Post by erkan » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:19 pm

I dont know about duos, but on my Quad I can start as many apps as I want to and the system just begs for more. The only bottleneck is the harddrive.

Now with that said, I only did it in the first week, then I went into my old behavior of surfing the web with 3-4 explorers open and a couple of other apps open, so I guess a duo would have been fine for me. I would chose a duo today because they idle with lower watt.

thegoldenstrand
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Looking forward to seeing what can be fit in the case?

Post by thegoldenstrand » Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:51 am

Michael,

Will you be able to fit a HD 4770 or other 8 inch full height card? Is a mod of the pci-e slot from half height to full something you would want to do? Could you fit longer card with one of these? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 90281#shId

Where are you going to mount your hard drive(s)?

Really looking forward to what you can do and if you can do it fairly quietly.

:D

Mike

Cov
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Post by Cov » Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:24 am

erkan, you system begs for more ? LOL, that was a very funny expression !
I just imagine my PC would say: "Please Michael, please ! Give me something to do ... I feel so bored !"
I would then reply: "I'm busy right now, get lost !"
Hahaha ...

Regarding the power consumption of the CPU ... if the Quad goes into my mATX system (Asus), I just undervolt.
Someone reported that undervolting from 1.25V (stock) to 1.05V had been done successfully without any stability issues.
However, the Mini iTX system (Zotac) has no undervolting feature, unfortunately.

Hey Mike, I would love to get a Radeon 4770 for the PC-Q07 but it just would not fit ... the conventional way.
If the card was short enough (within 19.5cm), I'm sure I could squeeze it in somehow.
I would just leave away the panel thingy of the card on the side where the sockets are. This way there'd be nothing that obstructs the frame of the case.
Saying that, I just presume there would be enough clearance at least for the sockets.

And regarding the Flexible PCI-E PCI-Express 16x Riser Card Extender ... WOW ! That is a nice find.
Don't know if this extension might cause a problem in how the HF signal is being transferred, but it looks long enough to twist the card that way, that it might just about fit into the case.
The DVI connector would have to go inside the case (and is therefore not easily accessable anymore), but if that's not an issue ...

But there is another problem: if you really use an external VGA card, the PicoPSU would not be sufficient anymore.
How would you solve that problem because I can't see any room for the idea above, if you used a full ATX PSU.

Anyway, look at these pictures in order to estimate whether the 4770 could be put diagonal, going from the bottom left / to the right hand side top.
If the ODD case can be removed, then of course, there would be even more space.


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Original size pic 1

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Original size pic 2

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Original size pic 3

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Original size pic 4

I'm not sure of how using a third party VGA cooler would affect that idea.
But the best case scenario would be if one of the two big VGA-card manufacturer would come out with a small high performance card.
How can they ignore / neglect us SFF fans so much ? :)

I personally am going for the onboard solution in my PC-Q07, to keep things simple.
As you know, I have still my other mATX system for PC games.

PS: I'm looking so much forward to get one of these new SSDs !

thegoldenstrand
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Fortunately, better video cards will come out in time

Post by thegoldenstrand » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:17 pm

Michael,

It would be great to get input from Neil Blanchard and Mike Chin...

In regards to HD 4770 not fitting... that is just not yet. I imagine a year from now cards faster and using less power will fit. What about raising pci slot from half height to full height? Is that something you plan on doing?

How do you think an SFX power supply like the FSP or Seasonic 300W would work in the case? They both have adaptors to fit in ATX opening.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817104044

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151058

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage ... r%20Supply

Cov
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Post by Cov » Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:41 pm

Although I'd prefer the 4770, aparently there is a shortened GF 9800 from Zotac existing.
It doesn't need a 6-Pin power connector.

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Ordered one of Intel's new gen SSDs before my retailer run out of stock.
Lucky me.

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ntavlas
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Post by ntavlas » Fri Jul 24, 2009 9:46 pm

Cov, where did you get the silver q7 from? There`s only the black version everywhere I`ve looked.

Cov
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Post by Cov » Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:04 pm

I received that silver anodized case from a Lian Li production manager, as part of a business deal.
As far as I know, this model does not come in silver (yet).

However, these pics are from their website: ... Link 1 / Link 2 / Link 3

ntavlas
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Post by ntavlas » Fri Jul 24, 2009 11:28 pm

Thanks for clearing this up. So I guess the silver model will appear at the end of this month along with the red?

While this case is a bit too big for those after a minimalist build, it could be perfect for a mini itx gaming machine as long as the pcie issues can be fixed.

Cov
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Post by Cov » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:03 am

Hi, I wrote an email to our local PC case retailer CaseKing, and they confirmed to expect stock of the red version from 21st August.
Sorry, but I have no information reg availibility of the silver model.

JamieG
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Post by JamieG » Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:28 pm

Hi Cov,

I have a Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L mATX motherboard that is a little smaller than a typical mATX motherboard at 19.4 x 24.4.

Based on this picture, do you think it would be possible to fit my undersize mATX mobo into the PC-Q07 if I drilled a few new holes for the motherboard standoffs in the correct mATX position?

I guess I might have to cut out some extra space in the rear panel to accommodate the changed position of the I/O area, as well as maybe remove the DVD drive holder (which isn't too much of a loss as I don't have one installed normally on this particular PC).

If it isn't too much trouble, could I get you to do some further measuring to see if my mobo might fit on that side panel area?

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