Lian Li PC- Q08 itx case : Specification & Feature

zillac said:
Thanks for all the input.

I've realized I'm not quite sure on what I really want, but I think I probably do need the quad-core processing power, and the Clarksdale's price and dual-core doesn't seem to be very appealing. I'll look for some video card less cheap and powerful like GT220/240...
Click to expand...

I believe ATI has some good cheap ass cards as well, that are powerful enough for pretty much any non-gaming task.
 
Hm, I noticed that on the Lian Li website the Q08 comes with motherboard thumb screws. I know I didn't get any. Did anyone else get them?
 
nope, didnt any motherboard thumb screws, i got everything that was in the color directions, which was not motherboard thumbscrews... not sure how motherboard thumb screws would work without interfering with other parts.. don't need motherboard thumb screws for this microserver build either...
i'm gonna pick up another couple cases for gaming machines... and maybe another microserver...
 
Yeah I wouldn't be able to use thumb screws in this case anyway, lol. I had a hard enough time snaking the screwdriver in there with the screw on it for 2 of them. But a lot of that was the H50 being in the way.
 
Interesting. I've purchased three PC-Q08Aa. Two came with motherboard thumbscrews. One did not.
 
bastage said:
I think thats the Big Shuriken judging from how far down on the mobo it comes.
Click to expand...

Ah Eff, just realized it's the regular Scythe Shuriken (3 heat pipes) and not the Big Shuriken (4 heat pipes). I got all excited thinking I could just rotate the Big Shuriken and be able to use the PCI-E slot. Guess not :X
 
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yeah .. rather ugly .. but even if it was pretty -- not sure what the justification for $700 price tag would be
 
I have a question on how to connect the USB3 ports. I just don't see any opening where to route them to the back of the case. Sure you can use the PCI slots, but what to do when you install a dual slot graphics card?
 
hybry said:
I have a question on how to connect the USB3 ports. I just don't see any opening where to route them to the back of the case. Sure you can use the PCI slots, but what to do when you install a dual slot graphics card?
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You use the supplied adapter and connect them to the internal USB 2.0 headers on your motherboard :) haha. That's what I did anyway.
 
mrmylanman said:
You use the supplied adapter and connect them to the internal USB 2.0 headers on your motherboard :) haha. That's what I did anyway.
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You missed the point. I want them to remain USB3 ports, and only way to do that is to route them somehow out the back.

I suppose the best way is not to use or cut the PCI slot tightener thingy... Is that safe?
 
It is safe to do that. Most cases do not have that black PCI slot bracket "clamp". As long as the cards are screwed down they're fine.
 
Has anyone used a Seasonic X650 PSU in the PC-Q08?

Reason I ask is that one of the reviews I read on another site said that PSU’s that are 160mm long or longer conflict with the 4-bay hard drive cage. I planned on removing the lower 2-bay hard drive cage for my video card, but had intended on using the 4-bay cage.

The X650 is 160mm in length while most ATX PSU’s are 150mm (like my other PSU a Corsair HX620). I wanted to use the X650 as it is fully modular whereas the Corsair HX620 has the 20+4 pin ATX, 8-pin CPU and 4-pin CPU hard wired and then the rest are modular cables. I only need the 20+4 pin and 4-pin CPU for my GA-H55N-USB3 and had hoped to use the X650 to avoid the extra 8-pin CPU cable.

Anybody got an X650 in the PC-Q08? Did you have to remove the 4-bay HD cage to get it to fit?

Thanks, Bill
 
radeon962 said:
Has anyone used a Seasonic X650 PSU in the PC-Q08?

Reason I ask is that one of the reviews I read on another site said that PSU’s that are 160mm long or longer conflict with the 4-bay hard drive cage. I planned on removing the lower 2-bay hard drive cage for my video card, but had intended on using the 4-bay cage.

The X650 is 160mm in length while most ATX PSU’s are 150mm (like my other PSU a Corsair HX620). I wanted to use the X650 as it is fully modular whereas the Corsair HX620 has the 20+4 pin ATX, 8-pin CPU and 4-pin CPU hard wired and then the rest are modular cables. I only need the 20+4 pin and 4-pin CPU for my GA-H55N-USB3 and had hoped to use the X650 to avoid the extra 8-pin CPU cable.

Anybody got an X650 in the PC-Q08? Did you have to remove the 4-bay HD cage to get it to fit?

Thanks, Bill
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I have a X650 with the H55N-USB3 in a PC-Q08. It fits perfectly fine although I have mine set so the PSU fan is facing the motherboard. I think I had a semi-hard time trying to fit the 24-pin connector in with the PSU fan facing away from the motherboard.

DSC07321.png
 
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Hi,

I'm new here, but have lurked for quite awhile and have learned a lot. So thank you guys!

I've just built my first pc and I am looking to add a graphics card to do some gaming with.
I have the H55N-USB3 in the PC Q-08 case with only an I3 cpu and the 450w Silverstone ST45SF psu. I wasn't originally going to try and game with this pc and built it more as a HTPC.

Would that PSU be powerful enough to run one of the new AMD 6850 cards? I also have a Seasonic M12 520W psu, but the Silverstone fits in the case a lot better. Would I be better off getting a 5770 card instead?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
hogan972 said:
Hi,

I'm new here, but have lurked for quite awhile and have learned a lot. So thank you guys!

I've just built my first pc and I am looking to add a graphics card to do some gaming with.
I have the H55N-USB3 in the PC Q-08 case with only an I3 cpu and the 450w Silverstone ST45SF psu. I wasn't originally going to try and game with this pc and built it more as a HTPC.

Would that PSU be powerful enough to run one of the new AMD 6850 cards? I also have a Seasonic M12 520W psu, but the Silverstone fits in the case a lot better. Would I be better off getting a 5770 card instead?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I'm 99.99% sure the ST45SF will power the 6850. I'm actually quite sure it can power a 6870 or even worse, a GTX460.

I'm actually thinking of getting the 6850 with an i3 and the 300W Silverstone made by FSP...
 
hogan972 said:
Hi,

I'm new here, but have lurked for quite awhile and have learned a lot. So thank you guys!

I've just built my first pc and I am looking to add a graphics card to do some gaming with.
I have the H55N-USB3 in the PC Q-08 case with only an I3 cpu and the 450w Silverstone ST45SF psu. I wasn't originally going to try and game with this pc and built it more as a HTPC.

Would that PSU be powerful enough to run one of the new AMD 6850 cards? I also have a Seasonic M12 520W psu, but the Silverstone fits in the case a lot better. Would I be better off getting a 5770 card instead?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

You should be more then fine with 450W.

Look at the 6870 reviews with i7 rigs I don't think I have seen one go over 350W at load, so you should be more then fine with i3. And Silverstone is not a brand that will not deliver what it says on the box.
 
Anyone replace the power and reset switches with vandal switches? I've been reading that the power switch on most Lian Li cases is big enough to accept 22mm vandals without much modification.
 
can anyone with 4-5 HDs installed kindly take a pic.

thinking of this case as a NAS box and wanted to see configuration options.

thanks!
 
^
Man this makes me want to pick up the case even more.

Got any shots of it complete?

(Dang... posted a second too late...)
 
Not really. Just wanted to have the 4 drives to be conveniently removable in case I want to swap drives. The bottom 2 is for the OS RAID configured.:)
 
does anyone have the 4 drive support piece that they can sell to me? OR know of where to get one?
 
Wow I missed the boat on this one! Time to take those new PC plans off the shelf and plan another build. Last time I decided against building a new PC because the Lian Li V352 case was just a little too big to fit into what I want to put my computer in, and there were no real good mITX cases out there that I liked. But this q08 looks promising...

Need a new PC for some gaming. Not ultra hard-core but I do like to run games on max settings. I classify it as upper level midrange, or lower level high-end for the target I am trying to shoot for. My monitor is 1680x1050 so no need for 60fps@2560x1600 here. No intentions to overclock, in fact I may try to undervolt to get temps down some. Noise/cooling are important to me.

Here's my speculative build:

-LL Q08 case
-i5 760 CPU
-Zotac H55 mobo (I want this for the built-in wifi as my computer will need wifi)
-8GB RAM (I was thinking DDR3-1600, is that worth it vs. DDR3-1333?)
-ATI 6870 GPU (seems it has the potential to draw less power and thus be cooler/quieter than the nvidia offerings? Intend to buy some model with aftermarket or non-reference cooler so that it is quieter)
-Some kind of HD (perhaps a 2.5" model so that I can dispense with the drive cages altogether)
-DVD drive or maybe a Blu Ray... Although it's possible I might just buy an external USB DVD drive and utilize the upper 5.25" bay for a 3.5" HD... I rarely use optical media anyways
-Seasonic X750 Gold PSU (or can I get away with even a lower PSU, like a 650W? If I buy a good model, can I get lower temps/noise buy buying an over-capacity PSU in that it would work at a lower percentage of its maximum load?)
-Replace stock 140mm fan with some kind of quieter model (or at least one that does not light up)

For the CPU cooler I am intrigued by the H50 setup, mounting it to the 120mm upper hole. How loud is the slim 120m scythe you used in your build? Possible I might just mount the 120mm fan externally on top of the case but if I can get it all inside and do it quietly/efficiently, then no harm in that. I'm a little concerned that if I set it to exhaust the case might go to negative pressure and suck in all kinds of dust what with the incredible amounts of vent holes in this case.

How does that setup sound? Any major deficiencies that I am missing, or perhaps can I optimize it better (i.e. a much smaller PSU, different cooling configuration, etc)? Remember the goal is to get good performance but not the extreme, I don't intend to overclock and would rather have it quieter than faster.

Ruahrc
 
If size is an issue a 6850 should fit's well int he smaller Q11 & a 6870 can cram in there given some finesse & a hammer. And at 1650x1050 the 6850 should still be plenty of horsepower.
 
Ruahrc said:
Wow I missed the boat on this one! Time to take those new PC plans off the shelf and plan another build. Last time I decided against building a new PC because the Lian Li V352 case was just a little too big to fit into what I want to put my computer in, and there were no real good mITX cases out there that I liked. But this q08 looks promising...

Need a new PC for some gaming. Not ultra hard-core but I do like to run games on max settings. I classify it as upper level midrange, or lower level high-end for the target I am trying to shoot for. My monitor is 1680x1050 so no need for 60fps@2560x1600 here. No intentions to overclock, in fact I may try to undervolt to get temps down some. Noise/cooling are important to me.

Here's my speculative build:

-LL Q08 case
-i5 760 CPU
-Zotac H55 mobo (I want this for the built-in wifi as my computer will need wifi)
-8GB RAM (I was thinking DDR3-1600, is that worth it vs. DDR3-1333?)
-ATI 6870 GPU (seems it has the potential to draw less power and thus be cooler/quieter than the nvidia offerings? Intend to buy some model with aftermarket or non-reference cooler so that it is quieter)
-Some kind of HD (perhaps a 2.5" model so that I can dispense with the drive cages altogether)
-DVD drive or maybe a Blu Ray... Although it's possible I might just buy an external USB DVD drive and utilize the upper 5.25" bay for a 3.5" HD... I rarely use optical media anyways
-Seasonic X750 Gold PSU (or can I get away with even a lower PSU, like a 650W? If I buy a good model, can I get lower temps/noise buy buying an over-capacity PSU in that it would work at a lower percentage of its maximum load?)
-Replace stock 140mm fan with some kind of quieter model (or at least one that does not light up)

For the CPU cooler I am intrigued by the H50 setup, mounting it to the 120mm upper hole. How loud is the slim 120m scythe you used in your build? Possible I might just mount the 120mm fan externally on top of the case but if I can get it all inside and do it quietly/efficiently, then no harm in that. I'm a little concerned that if I set it to exhaust the case might go to negative pressure and suck in all kinds of dust what with the incredible amounts of vent holes in this case.

How does that setup sound? Any major deficiencies that I am missing, or perhaps can I optimize it better (i.e. a much smaller PSU, different cooling configuration, etc)? Remember the goal is to get good performance but not the extreme, I don't intend to overclock and would rather have it quieter than faster.

Ruahrc
Click to expand...

1) DDR3-1600 is unnecessary since you're not overclocking so stick with the DDR3-1333.
2) Someone else can comment on GPUs. I used integrated graphics :/
3) Any 2.5" HD or SSD can fit in the 5.25" bay leaving space for an ODD or a 3.5" hard drive like you mentioned. Removing the hard drive cages gives you a lot of room to work with.
4) That PSU is a lot more than you need but if you already have it then I see no problem with it. You can definitely get away with a 650W PSU, 500W, and possibly lower.
5) Agreed about the front intake fan.
6) Can't comment on the H50 and top exhaust slim fan.
 
Would there be a big performance hit if I went with a 2.5" HD vs. a 3.5"? I love SSDs (my macbook pro laptop which is my main computer has a 256GB SSD and I don't regret spending the money at all) but I feel that it would be too costly for a secondary PC which won't see extensive use. I was thinking perhaps the Seagate Momentus XT since it's kind of a hybrid SSD which seems to be fairly well received. I'm just a little worried about 5400rpm though, maybe I should pick up a 7200rpm 2.5" drive instead.

Thanks for the info on the RAM and the PSU. I thought there was a way to run the RAM at DDR3-1600 speed while not overclocking the CPU, but I may need to go back and do a little more research. Or maybe your point was that to run DDR3-1600, you would be OCing the mobo's FSB, something that I may not want to fiddle with.

As for the PSU, I will go for a 650W model I think then, and save a little money. I will probably get the Seasonic X650 gold one. I seem to be a proponent of the Energy Star gold rated ones. More efficient, less heat, probably less noise. I don't own any of the above-listed parts, this would be an essentially ground-up rebuild, salvaging only peripheral items from my old PC like keyboard, monitor, etc.

Re: the Q11, actually it's kind of funny because the Q11 is actually too large for me. I have a small cubby-type area I have in the bottom of my desk where my current PC sits (it's a Shuttle XPC case). It's about 11" wide by 12" tall, and around 20" deep (open to the back). The Lian Li V350/1/2 were all borderline on width, giving me only about 1/4" on either side, but enough room on top. Obviously it would not have worked as the optical drive slots in the side. The Q08 measures out to fit, with about an inch to spare on the top, whereas the Q11, at 12.8" tall, would not fit in the cubby.

Ruahrc

P.S. does anyone have any pics/diagrams of how a 2.5" HDD fits underneath the 5.25" bay? Is there some official mounting mechanism there or is it a jury rig thing where you kind of just sit the drive in the slot, utilizing the space? Do you need some kind of bay adapter to mount it?
 
Ruahrc said:
Would there be a big performance hit if I went with a 2.5" HD vs. a 3.5"? I love SSDs (my macbook pro laptop which is my main computer has a 256GB SSD and I don't regret spending the money at all) but I feel that it would be too costly for a secondary PC which won't see extensive use. I was thinking perhaps the Seagate Momentus XT since it's kind of a hybrid SSD which seems to be fairly well received. I'm just a little worried about 5400rpm though, maybe I should pick up a 7200rpm 2.5" drive instead.

Thanks for the info on the RAM and the PSU. I thought there was a way to run the RAM at DDR3-1600 speed while not overclocking the CPU, but I may need to go back and do a little more research. Or maybe your point was that to run DDR3-1600, you would be OCing the mobo's FSB, something that I may not want to fiddle with.

As for the PSU, I will go for a 650W model I think then, and save a little money. I will probably get the Seasonic X650 gold one. I seem to be a proponent of the Energy Star gold rated ones. More efficient, less heat, probably less noise. I don't own any of the above-listed parts, this would be an essentially ground-up rebuild, salvaging only peripheral items from my old PC like keyboard, monitor, etc.

Re: the Q11, actually it's kind of funny because the Q11 is actually too large for me. I have a small cubby-type area I have in the bottom of my desk where my current PC sits (it's a Shuttle XPC case). It's about 11" wide by 12" tall, and around 20" deep (open to the back). The Lian Li V350/1/2 were all borderline on width, giving me only about 1/4" on either side, but enough room on top. Obviously it would not have worked as the optical drive slots in the side. The Q08 measures out to fit, with about an inch to spare on the top, whereas the Q11, at 12.8" tall, would not fit in the cubby.

Ruahrc

P.S. does anyone have any pics/diagrams of how a 2.5" HDD fits underneath the 5.25" bay? Is there some official mounting mechanism there or is it a jury rig thing where you kind of just sit the drive in the slot, utilizing the space? Do you need some kind of bay adapter to mount it?
Click to expand...

I have the system you are considering running right now (see my sig). I use Enermax Pro82+ PSU and I have problems what so ever with the setup stability under load. I have had few BSOD only when idle :S Only thing I somewhat regret is not going modular.

If you want a faster RAM, look into getting tigher timings, CL7 or something. But overall from all the reviews I have seen the difference is very small. around 1% or none in many cases.

there is one 2,5" mount on the bottom side of 5,25" bay to which then drive cages attach. At least in my case the screws did not come included. :( But then again I use 3,5" bays.

In terms of temps and noise. It could be quieter. 6870 is OK at low noise, but it is noisy on full load. I have all at stock, just slightly undervolted CPU (1.1v stock speeds) and during gaming CPU sits at around 68-70C, GPU ar 78-80C. Undervolted the CPU because it was hitting 100C in Prime95. Sits at around 80-82 in Prime now.

I recomend making the top fan as intake or do some modding because there is a mesh like back so if it is exaust it takes a lot of air from the back and does not exaust as much heat from the case as it should. Or alternativly mode the mesh shut.
 
Ruahrc said:
Would there be a big performance hit if I went with a 2.5" HD vs. a 3.5"? I love SSDs (my macbook pro laptop which is my main computer has a 256GB SSD and I don't regret spending the money at all) but I feel that it would be too costly for a secondary PC which won't see extensive use. I was thinking perhaps the Seagate Momentus XT since it's kind of a hybrid SSD which seems to be fairly well received. I'm just a little worried about 5400rpm though, maybe I should pick up a 7200rpm 2.5" drive instead.

Thanks for the info on the RAM and the PSU. I thought there was a way to run the RAM at DDR3-1600 speed while not overclocking the CPU, but I may need to go back and do a little more research. Or maybe your point was that to run DDR3-1600, you would be OCing the mobo's FSB, something that I may not want to fiddle with.

As for the PSU, I will go for a 650W model I think then, and save a little money. I will probably get the Seasonic X650 gold one. I seem to be a proponent of the Energy Star gold rated ones. More efficient, less heat, probably less noise. I don't own any of the above-listed parts, this would be an essentially ground-up rebuild, salvaging only peripheral items from my old PC like keyboard, monitor, etc.

Re: the Q11, actually it's kind of funny because the Q11 is actually too large for me. I have a small cubby-type area I have in the bottom of my desk where my current PC sits (it's a Shuttle XPC case). It's about 11" wide by 12" tall, and around 20" deep (open to the back). The Lian Li V350/1/2 were all borderline on width, giving me only about 1/4" on either side, but enough room on top. Obviously it would not have worked as the optical drive slots in the side. The Q08 measures out to fit, with about an inch to spare on the top, whereas the Q11, at 12.8" tall, would not fit in the cubby.

Ruahrc

P.S. does anyone have any pics/diagrams of how a 2.5" HDD fits underneath the 5.25" bay? Is there some official mounting mechanism there or is it a jury rig thing where you kind of just sit the drive in the slot, utilizing the space? Do you need some kind of bay adapter to mount it?
Click to expand...

There isn't really a point to get DDR3-1600 unless you're overclocking and since you're not, you might as well save some money. The X650 is a fine PSU and I had it in the Q08 when I had both of them. As for the Momentus XT, I can't really comment on it since I've never had any experience with it. Maybe someone else can chime in. As for how the 2.5" HDD fits in the 5.25" bay, the 5.25" is a little bigger than the normal 5.25" which is how a 2.5" HDD fits in the bottom of the bay. It's screwed in via 4 screws which screw into the bottom of the HDD/SSD through the bottom of the cage. The following picture shows the side. I wish I had a better picture for you but I don't own the case anymore :/
 
for the PSU since it seems you dont already have it I would strongly recommend the Silverstone Strider Modular PSU's & the PP05 short cable kit (20 bucks on newegg) unless your planning on modifiying the PSU cables.. The short cables will help keep the whole build cooler since you wont have to shove every nook & cranny with the excess cables..

Also on a side note, I know the i5-760 is a good performer, but if onboard wifi is a requirement I would move to an AMD setup & use the Asus M4A88t-i board. Much much better quality then the Zotac (but I am biased since all 3 of the zotac products I have every purchased all had major issues, 2 had to go back & get replaced with something else)
 
hybry said:
In terms of temps and noise. It could be quieter. 6870 is OK at low noise, but it is noisy on full load. I have all at stock, just slightly undervolted CPU (1.1v stock speeds) and during gaming CPU sits at around 68-70C, GPU ar 78-80C. Undervolted the CPU because it was hitting 100C in Prime95. Sits at around 80-82 in Prime now.

I recomend making the top fan as intake or do some modding because there is a mesh like back so if it is exaust it takes a lot of air from the back and does not exaust as much heat from the case as it should. Or alternativly mode the mesh shut.
Click to expand...

I see your specs are largely the same as what I intend to build, did you also use the H50 cooler though?

The point about the upper fan as an intake is noted. I think you're right too considering the mesh that is there. Again I think it is better to keep this case under positive pressure as there seem to be many vent holes in it, and it would be a dusty nightmare if air was always flowing inside those vents. What I might do though is have the PSU oriented such that the fan is pointed inwards, to help with hot air case exhaust.

bastage, is there a reason you cannot use a short PSU cable kit on the Silverstone x series? They are also modular PSUs after all...

I am looking at the MSI R6870 GPU with the Twin Frozr cooler as it seems to have good cooling and also is reported to be very quiet.

Ruahrc
 
Ruahrc said:
bastage, is there a reason you cannot use a short PSU cable kit on the Silverstone x series? They are also modular PSUs after all...
Click to expand...

Only that Silverstone doesn't make an X series.. The X series is SeaSonic.. I know that you can get short cables for the X series from performance-pcs.com, but its like a 100 dollar investment instead of a 20 dollar investment.

The silverstone strider series are also good PSU's though. I have the same one as I linked above in my rig driving my Phenom II & a 6850.
 
bastage said:
Only that Silverstone doesn't make an X series.. The X series is SeaSonic.. I know that you can get short cables for the X series from performance-pcs.com, but its like a 100 dollar investment instead of a 20 dollar investment.
Click to expand...

Whoops- yeah you're right I got the manufacturers messed up. The question still stands though, it seems from the pictures that all modular PSUs share the same standardized connections for their power supply cables. What's to stop one from buying the short cable kit and using it on a different PSU?

Perhaps the best strategy would be to use some standard PSU first, and get a feel for what cables and lengths you would actually need in this case, and then purchase/mod yourself some new cables if you want to optimize aesthetics/airflow. ATM I don't even know how many cables one would need, or how long the standard ones are (i.e. extra length might be good for cleaner routings).

What are some alternatives for CPU cooling in the Q08? For those of you not using the H50, what do you use? I like the H50's ability to move the heat around (i.e. moving the radiator to different areas of the case) but I'm a little concerned with having to use a slim 120mm fan for a top-mounted H50 setup as the selection of slim 120mm fans seems sparse and noise might be an issue. How much blockage is there from the PSU if you mount a standard thickness fan there? Ideally I'd like to use a Noctua 120mm fan to cool the H50 as it would be very quiet but this may not be feasible due to the height restrictions. Perhaps I should look for a more traditional heatsink with a 120mm Noctua instead...?

Maybe, since I'm not planning on having the drive cages present, I can mount the H50 rad on the front and just cool it with a larger 140mm fan. That would solve the clearance issues at the top vent.

These builds get so elaborate once you get down to the nitty gritty, maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist. But then again that's what makes it more fun and more [H].

Ruahrc
 
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