Hello,

it is my first post here, sorry in advance if not the right topic.

I am looking to build a high-quality miniITX PC in a Lian-Li PC-Q11 (or similar size and quality case), it need to be a good gamer and extremely silent.

I honestly don't build a pc since some years and I'm not update to last tech news.
Can some expert advice me top quality and top silent part to use in my build?

CPU Intel i5 2500
CPU heatsink?
Motherboard?
PSU ~500W?
2x4GB RAM?
SSD HD?
GPU GTX560?

As said I need to get best silence from it. I have doubts that fanless PSU or passive CPU heatsink could work, but at least without load I would like it to be close to fanless noise. I am willing to replace all stock fans or stock heatsink even from GPU that I imagine will be the most audible under load.

I'm just starting this project but any help will be apprecieted.

Thanks guys!

Since the PSU cannot draw air from the outside it will get hot and probably loud. I had this problem with a 750W PSU, it's in my sig.

If you are set on the Q11, check New Lian Li PC- Q11 itx case : Specification & Feature, you can see a lot of builds and combos there,

CPU Intel i5 2500 , its good quad, but check if you really need that much cpu power, else an i3 might be enough..

CPU heatsink? = In the thread above you will see some builds using the Thermalright AXP-140, i believe the 140x25mm fan wont fit with a standard psu inside, but there is one using a slim slipstream, the good thing about it is that it will not block the pci slot of most of the mini itx board, while still being relatively low profile cooler. Other are using Big Shuriken, but i might block the PCIe slot, check the thread for what coolers they have used.

Motherboard? = Here you have a lot of choices, since you are not OCing, go with H67 mobo, get one with the features you want.

PSU ~500W? = Seasonic SS-560KM or KINGWIN LZP-550

2x4GB RAM? = Here go with ram that has been used already with the mobo you end up choosing, personally i like gskill eco, ripjaw and snippers, check the CPU heatsink you end up buying, for the AXP 140 is like 40mm, so check the ram doesn't exceed this height.

SSD HD? = Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB, a proven ssd, good price and performance.

GPU GTX560? = Gainward GeForce® GTX 560 Ti 2048MB "Phantom" or Gainward GeForce® GTX 560 1024MB "Phantom", are well regarded (personally i havent tested it), but its not available everywhere.

Just a heads up: Q11 supports card lengths up to 240 mm. If you ever want something longer than a 560 (like an awesome cooler) it won't fit.

Q25 have more room, 320 mm long cards, and it seems like triple card solutions would fit. You have to double check that tho.
Most decent aftermarket GPU coolers needs three slots of height (in total, including the card itself) inside the case, but not necessarily three actual slots on the back.
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/pr ... =64&g=spec

When will Lian Li realize that their ITX cases need to have the PSU in the front?

The Phantom is available in Europe: http://geizhals.at/de/?cat=gra16_512&as ... %20phantom

Go for a quad, the price difference between i3 and i5 is small.

Upon trying to help another SPCR forum fellow, i found your post on HardOCP,


Be careful on the mobo, as there is another user here that its having issues mounting the AXP 140 on the Asus P8H67-I Deluxe, Thermal right axp 140 on Asus p8h67 I deluxe, so keep your eyes on that thread to see if it finally works or go with another mobo or another heatsink.

After 3 cpu's, 5 coolers, 2 Psu's, 2 VGA's and 2 motherboards with my PC-Q11 here is what i settled on:

1-Asrock Z68 motherboard or H67 ( very good fan control)
2- 2600S I-7
3- silverstone strider plus 500W fully modular psu with SilverStone PP05 Short Cable for PSU Set:
the cables are fully modular and with the short cable set ( optional / bought separate ) you save a lot of space, also this psu fan runs faster at idle which is important because it acts as a better exhaust fan than my previous seasonic 430 which dropped internal temps a lot
4- you can go for Deep Cool Theta 31 CPU Heat sink as it will not interfere with the vga cards as many scythe and other compact coolers did

How many degrees the temperature dropped?

3 ~4 degrees idle and 10 ~14 load (prime 95)
But I cant say that the drop was because of the psu alone, since i changed the cpu cooler also at the same time !