mATX mobo in Lian Li Q11 mini-ITX build

WhiteFireDragon

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
495
hi guys, starting another SFF build. my previous (build #3) was small, lower power, and quiet, with an emphasis on size and portability. this build will be similar, but with an emphasis on quietness. with this build, i'll be fitting a mATX board in this mini-ITX case, and will be using a huge passive cooler. i already ordered some of the stuff, but haven't decided on all the hardware yet, so i'll be updating the specs as i get them:

case: Lian Li PC-Q11B
CPU: undecided
mobo: ASRock H61M-VS
cooler: Thermalright HR-02
GPU: undecided
memory: undecided
storage: undecided
PSU: undecided
fan: undecided

i got some of the toys :D
 
that looks like it will fit fine just know you will loose your usb / audio connector i think . also if your going to use the same hard drive cage at bottom it also needs modification. the fan shroud as well needs to be remade or modified for the atx connector to fit


Jen
 
that looks like it will fit fine just know you will loose your usb / audio connector i think . also if your going to use the same hard drive cage at bottom it also needs modification. the fan shroud as well needs to be remade or modified for the atx connector to fit


Jen

nope, shouldn't be a problem. i did research and a lot of measurements before purchasing the parts. it should be a perfect fit.
 
I only did a quick glance, but does this motherboard offer anything that isn't available on a mini ITX board? I see it still only has two memory slots.
 
NOTE: i bought this MSI H67MA-E35, but this will NOT be the motherboard in the final build. i mounted it just to show what a mATX board will look like in this case.

most of the stuff is stripped to see how the mobo fits inside






the fan and hard drive brackets has enough clearance, but new screw holes needed to be drilled on th bottome of the case for the hard drive bracket because you can't push it in all the way.




 
more narrow than i thought it would be , my only concern then is hard drive cage if it touchs motherboard and hard drive when in place. i know i had to move the hard drive cage due to hard drive touching motherboard

Jen
 
I see a couple of issues, with the HR02 (btw beautiful heatsink) it will limit the PSU you can use, so you are kinda bind external brick + PSU, maybe something like PICOPSU-160-XT + 150w AC-DC Power Adapter, 12v 12.5A, but the psu connector on the mobo seems very close to the fan, idk if there is enough clearance. And what gpu you are planning on getting.

The idea seems great for one fan setup with huge heatsink, but the mobo seems to be not ideal for this, i would just go mini itx mobo like ASRock H67M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard.

I did a similar build, just with Q08 and 3 fans, but with Q11 i think you will be fine with 1 fan. The only issue i do see is you want a gpu in? the Q08 facing up should give you clearance to use the PCIe slot, but idk if a 160xt can drive any GPUs.

Or if you really want to use the micro itx board, just dont use the lian li hdd cage, still dont see much benefit though, specially with the psu.
 
I only did a quick glance, but does this motherboard offer anything that isn't available on a mini ITX board? I see it still only has two memory slots.

Only option I see might be the ability to go P67 or Z68. But not with this mobo. You're right. I dont see any advantage.
 
I only did a quick glance, but does this motherboard offer anything that isn't available on a mini ITX board? I see it still only has two memory slots.

Only option I see might be the ability to go P67 or Z68. But not with this mobo. You're right. I dont see any advantage.

I see a couple of issues, with the HR02 (btw beautiful heatsink) it will limit the PSU you can use, so you are kinda bind external brick + PSU, maybe something like PICOPSU-160-XT + 150w AC-DC Power Adapter, 12v 12.5A, but the psu connector on the mobo seems very close to the fan, idk if there is enough clearance. And what gpu you are planning on getting.

The idea seems great for one fan setup with huge heatsink, but the mobo seems to be not ideal for this, i would just go mini itx mobo like ASRock H67M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard.

I did a similar build, just with Q08 and 3 fans, but with Q11 i think you will be fine with 1 fan. The only issue i do see is you want a gpu in? the Q08 facing up should give you clearance to use the PCIe slot, but idk if a 160xt can drive any GPUs.

Or if you really want to use the micro itx board, just dont use the lian li hdd cage, still dont see much benefit though, specially with the psu.

ya with the HR-02, i obviously won't be able to use a normal ATX PSU. i already planned for a picoPSU, but not sure which wattage version yet. as for the mobo, the benefit of using the ASRock H61M-VS mATX instead of the mini-ITX variant is the layout. you can see with the mini-ITX, the CPU socket is closer to the pci-e slot, so the HR-02 will interfere with the GPU no matter which orientation i mount it. with the mATX variant, it's longer so they put the southbridge below the pci-e slot, which gives room for the CPU socket to move up just a tad, which is just enough clearance for a GPU and HR-02. basically here are all the reasons why i picked this mobo over a regular mini-ITX:

  • southbridge chipset below pci-e slot
  • CPU socket not too close to pci-e slot, and not too far up towards the top edge, which gives clearance to HR-02 on both sides
  • undervolting option in bios
  • perfect SATA port placement for the positions that the hard drives will be in
  • has additional pci-e x1 slot
  • no need to mod fan/shroud or hard drive brackets to make it fit
  • it's the cheapest s1155 mobo
*pic stolen from newegg*


for those worrying if everything will fit, i just mounted it and it all fits fine. i'll post the pics in a moment
 
Last edited:
here is just the mobo mounted. the reason why the hard drive cage fits without mods is because the mATX mobo is actually just 3 expansion slots tall, not the standard 4 slot in a typical mATX. also, the 24-pin power cable or a pico PSU will fit fine because the mobo is also not as wide as a full sized mATX. i can have a choice to mount a regular ATX PSU or a picoPSU and plug in that 24-pin power without any problems. in the case, i'll be using a picoPSU since i'm using an oversized CPU cooler.




 
for mounting and testing purposes, i'll be using a gt240 with a thermalright HR-03 vga cooler. i may be upgrading to something like a HD6670 with this HR-03 in the future. this VGA cooler can be mounted in two different orientations: one, with the heatsink wrapping around to the top of the card, and the other, the heatsink will be at the bottom of the card. for now, i mounted it wrapping around to the top so the fan can also cool it.






 
Last edited:
these are the two thermalright heatsinks together. it barely fits this way. in fact, the HR-02 and HR-03 are just touching each other. they aren't pushing on each other, so there's no pressure or no need to worry about bending






 
Looks like you are enjoying yourself. I might not agree with some of your logic, but hey, if it makes you happy I am all for it. Some people didnt see the logic in my build either!
 
Impressive, just hope the two heastinks touching wont create noise with vibrations. Either way looking forward to see your temps on both gpu/cpu.
 
Interesting build which makes me wanna do the same! No more pics and updates?
 
hi..sorry to bump an old thread but I would like WhiteFireDragon's update on this. WFD, were you able to finish your project? Did everything fit properly without any mods?
 
Back
Top