My LAN rig built for the summer :)

[LTC]

So I decided to build a LAN/easy transport build for the summer, as I was going to visit my parents, and I didn't want to bring my 500R :)

The case would be fitted with most of the hardware from my 500R, however a new motherboard was needed, and I treated myself with a Corsair 2x8GB Vengeance LP kit as well :)

SORRY for the bad pics, my only camera is my Galaxy Nexus :(

The case arrived!

A nice Lian-li PC-Q28. I have owned 2 Lian-li cases before, so I figured my first mini-itx build should be based off of this brand as well.

The motherboard arrived!

I went with the MSI Z77IA-E53 as I had read good things about it, also it seems like a fairly good overclocker! ;)

Motherboard installed!

The case was already stripped down, as I only needed two HDD's, so no need for the HDD tray, and the top fan will be replaced with a Corsair H60 anyway :) Lian-li made a huge mistake by having the front 5.25'' cover plate lock into the DVD tray, so that it can't be removed, without having to let go of the front plate as well, and therefor having a big hole in the front of the case :(

SSD and HDD installed!

I am using a old X25-m 80GB SSD, and a 320GB Fujitsu HDD, taken from my laptop.

I'm loving the 140mm fan in the front, it looks so massive compared to the mini-itx board :P

GPU installed!

This is where I immediately found a problem with this case. The GPU is so close to the SSD/HDD mounts at the bottom, that the fan on my GPU almost gets blocked by my HDD, as can be seen on this pic:

2-3 mm space :( Also that is a 7mm HDD, so if it was a normal thickness 2.5'' drive, it would have been even less! Also with a 3.5'' drive, there wouldn't have been space for the GPU!

PSU almost installed!

Oh yeah, there is absolutely no space behind the motherboard tray either, so even having the smaller SATA cables hidden is a no go :(

A modular PSU is crucial with this case!

That was it for now, I'm only waiting for my H60 to arrive, so I can get everything set up!

Specs:

Motherboard: MSI Z77IA-E53

CPU: Intel i5 2500k

RAM: 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LP

GPU: HD6950/70

PSU: Corsair HX520

Storage: Intel x25-m 80GB and a Fujitsu 320GB 7200RPM

[KaRiM_BoNd]

Looking nice ... As for the GPU is getting blocked ... You can mount the HDD instead of the SSD and ghetto mount the SSD anywhere, maybe in the 5.25" bay or above the I/O unless the H60 takes all the space
But I gotta say, cable management must be a nightmare in there!

[LTC]

Looking nice ... As for the GPU is getting blocked ... You can mount the HDD instead of the SSD and ghetto mount the SSD anywhere, maybe in the 5.25" bay or above the I/O unless the H60 takes all the space

But I gotta say, cable management must be a nightmare in there!

Well, I do have the lower 7mm HDD where the fan is on the GPU, so that is the most optimal way anyway :) Also, yes cable management is gonna be near impossible :( It is however only going to be used temporarily :) I might make it a HTPC later on, with a i3 and a low-end GPU :)

[LTC]

Another problem! The USB3.0 cable for connecting the two USB ports in the front to the motherboard, is to short!

[John haswell]

This case does not look very well designed the motherboard could have been moved up an inch or two to give the gpu some air but it does look great

[LTC]

This case does not look very well designed the motherboard could have been moved up an inch or two to give the gpu some air but it does look great

I agree! Also they could have made just a bit wider to make some space behind the motherboard, just for SATA cables and other smaller cables...

[atrash]

why choose that particular case?just curious

[LTC]

why choose that particular case?just curious

I love the quality of Lian-li cases, and this is no exception! The aluminium is beautiful. Also it fitted my needs, I didn't wan't a case as big as the Prodigy, so I chose this. 

[atrash]

can't argue having full aluminium case is pretty cool. I also wished I had one. but if you ever heard of the brand Jonsbo,with particularly their V4 case, they are pretty awesome too. and doesn't cost as much as lian li's cases, here in my place at least. and they have pretty good cable management spaces too. 

[LTC]

can't argue having full aluminium case is pretty cool. I also wished I had one. but if you ever heard of the brand Jonsbo,with particularly their V4 case, they are pretty awesome too. and doesn't cost as much as lian li's cases, here in my place at least. and they have pretty good cable management spaces too. 

Wow Jonsbo cases look great! However I can't seem to find them here in Europe :(

[atrash]

Wow Jonsbo cases look great! However I can't seem to find them here in Europe :(

 

Jonsbo is the oem for several different brands outside asia though they sell it under factory name here. You can look for the brand Cubitek Coolcube for europe market. 

[LTC]

Jonsbo is the oem for several different brands outside asia though they sell it under factory name here. You can look for the brand Cubitek Coolcube for europe market. 

Thanks! I will remember those, if I a day in the future decides to swap case :)

[atrash]

yeah.may another build log then.hoho

[LTC]

So I finally got the build together, as my H60 cooler arrived today!

 

Routing cables, and figured that the case simply was to tiny for my needs, so I needed to strip it down!

 

Stripping it completely down, so I basically had a square box, with no mounts for the SSD or HDD.

 

I'm not proud of this, however I needed to mounts the SSD and HDD, and the only thing I could think of was gaffa tape.

 

Look how crammed this is! Absolutely no space for cables, I could tidy it up, however when this picture was taken, I was already to frustrated. Also it was a pain to shove in that PSU from the back, as it made so many bad noises, it sounded like most of the connectors broke :(

 

However it booted fine!

 

 

So a little conclusion to all of this.

I would not recommend this case for a build like this, even though the exterior looks big enough, Lian-li has decided to mess up the insides, I had to flip the radiator, as the tubes would have interfered with the PSU. The terrible placement of SSD and HDD mounts in the bottom, which makes the GPU cooling suffer (in my case). The 5.25'' bay which can't be removed properly, as the front panel thing is mounted on it, and would cause the user to have a big hole, where the front plate should have been, (I used gaffa tape to hold it in place, it still wiggles though). Absolutely NO cable management, even though the case has a rather large width for a Mini-ITX case. I will probably come up with more things that irritated me through the build, however I'm pretty tired right now. It seems like Lian-li didn't give the case any thought, when they stated it as a full length GPU, and a standard size PSU compatible case, as this was not something that I would recommend to use it for! 

[TicTac]

Looking awesome for a little build keep up them pictures! 

[LTC]

I will post more pictures, what would you like to see? :) 

[atrash]

if you have power cable that that you dont use,just bundle it up together and put cable tie to it and tuck it away below the psu.you could also put your ssd and hdd the bottom of the cage and route the sata cable neatly coz i see some unutilised space just below the graphics card. use the tape to maximise the clearance with the graphics card.

[LTC]

if you have power cable that that you dont use,just bundle it up together and put cable tie to it and tuck it away below the psu.you could also put your ssd and hdd the bottom of the cage and route the sata cable neatly coz i see some unutilised space just below the graphics card. use the tape to maximise the clearance with the graphics card.

 

I use all the cables from the PSU. Also there is not that much space under the GPU :(

[LTC]

So a *CLUNK* was heard, and I looked inside the case, and my SSD had fallen down. So I needed to find a new arrangement.

 

Using strong double-sided adhesive tape to fasten these this time!  B)

 

Got the sata cables routed behind the GPU.

[atrash]

get a velcro dude.it'll look tidier. and try rotate the ssd and hdd with connectors facing the motherboard.then route all the cables behind the graphics card beside the motherboard. that way you get uninterrupted airflow from the front fan.

[LTC]

get a velcro dude.it'll look tidier. and try rotate the ssd and hdd with connectors facing the motherboard.then route all the cables behind the graphics card beside the motherboard. that way you get uninterrupted airflow from the front fan.

Thanks for the suggestions, however I will keep it like this right now, as the SATA cables is straight in one side, and angled in the other, it would be pretty hard to make the angled connectors fit under the GPU...

[atrash]

i see..well,congratulations on your new summer build.

[LTC]

i see..well,congratulations on your new summer build.

Thanks, and thanks for your support! It was appreciated! :)