pablopicasso
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2012
- Messages
- 144
Might be my new case for mini itx build
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
For anyone thinking of picking up a Q25 now is the time, it's one sale today on Newegg:
LIAN LI PC-Q25B Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case
$69.99
With Promo Code: EMCYTZT2927
After $15 MIR with Free Shipping!
Just ordered one myself... been on the fence for this case for a while. Every time it was on sale for like $80 I thought about it a lot. Then when the sale was over and it was back to $120 I told myself I should have picked one up for $80 (which was like a week or so ago)
I have a similar issue with my Q25B; the SATA connections are rotated 90 degrees such that they are now horizontal. Additionally, I don't have SATA power connections on my backplane; only 3x Molex. I'll take a picture and post when I get home tonight.Edit 2: I seem to have a different SATA backplane than the others in this thread. Mine has 3 Molex power connectors, 5 SATA data connectors, and 5 SATA power connectors. The SATA data connectors are also rotated 90 degrees from the pics in this thread. It seems to be the Q18 backplane plus an additional separate single drive PCB with both SATA and Molex connectors on it.
^
max length of PSU is 150mm
but best is 140 mm because you still have wires coming out of the PSU
http://www.techspot.com/review/446-lian-li-pc-q25/page2.html
im not sure what type of PSU to buy that can fit
It took a while, but I'm finally done!!
First off, the updated hardware list:
Case: Lian-Li PC-Q25
Motherboard: Intel S1200KPR (Mini-ITX)
Processor: Intel Xeon E3-1265LV2
Power supply: Kurotoshiko KRPW-PT500W/92+
Memory: Kingston 2x 8GB ECC DDR3-10600
HBA: IBM ServeRAID M1015
HDD: Seagate Momentus XT 500gb
Storage drives: WD Green 3TB x6 + Hitachi 5K3000 3TB x2
I've installed Ubuntu and use ZFS and Samba. Also installed Apache to do some light webhosting of my personal site.
Overall I'm very happy with how this is going, despite running into some problems. I've managed to fit 8 3.5" drives into a case which supposedly only allows 7, and drive temperatures appear to be OK (around 33C).
First problem - my M1015 is faulty. Port 3 doesn't appear to work - it isn't a cable or drive or firmware issue, I think maybe the connector on the card is faulty. So I have only 7 drives connected and 1 drive directly on the motherboard - bummer.
Second - dust. Oh god, so much dust. I'm going to put it up on top of my bookshelf once I'm done, and that should fix that problem. Worst case I'll put dust covers over the openings on the sides of the case - all the fans have dust covers already.
I created a Samba share, and from my desktop just copying files in explorer I get about 95mb/s - not great, but good enough for now.
Next step will be to install some extras on the box - Nagios is first - I'm interested in basic temperature statistics, and also want to capture some stats from my APC UPS which has a network card installed.
So here are some photos -
This is the right side with side panel removed.
Note the two 3.5" HDDs on the bottom - I used a bracket like this to stack them together, then it was a very tight squeeze to get them onto the bottom bracket. They have no airflow, so those two drives are my 5-yr extended warranty WD Greens - if they die, I'll just have them replaced
Also note that the 5th drive in the quick remove rack has its own little backplane, which I have removed to make connection simpler for that drive, as it is directly connected. The backplane felt a little redundant.
From the left. On the bottom bracket from the left is 1x Hitachi, middle 1x Seagate 2.5", right 2x WD Green connected by a bracket. 4 more WD Green and 1 Hitachi in the trays above. The PSU sits over the motherboard, and I've tried to bundle all the spare power cables as close as possible using velcro. You can just see where the M1015 sits by where the SATA cables are going on the bottom left.
For this photo I pulled the PSU out - extremely easy to do on this case. Undo four large thumbscrews and gently pull it out. You can see the low profile Intel stock cooler, and the M1015.
More than anything I'm impressed with this case - it is extremely easy to use, and very well laid out - no wasted space, but not so tight it is hard to use. The side panels are completely tool-less - they have metal pins on the side panels that push into plastic holders on the main case - feels solid and reliable. All the drives are mounted with big thumbscrews as well.
Maybe my only regret is my choice of PSU - something modular might have been better, and I may replace it in the future if I find a use for the current power supply.
The 5th backpane is a little redundant, but without it you don't have the hotswap feature. Not really a problem, as long as you plan for it.Also note that the 5th drive in the quick remove rack has its own little backplane, which I have removed to make connection simpler for that drive, as it is directly connected. The backplane felt a little redundant.
i think i might replace the fans as well with Noctua. I did buy that Noctua lowprofile cooler they released (pretty nice)I am working on using this case for a gaming build. I have an i5 3450 that I have gotten to 3.9GHz on a Z77 ITX board with 16 gig of RAM and a 240 Gig SSD. I am using a Silverstone SFX 450watt Gold for the PSU and a 7950 for the video.
I did find I needed to replaced the stock 120mm fan as it is loud. I put in Noctua fans for front and top as well as a Noctua low profile cooler
I am still debating the idea of taking out the HD cage, it would give more room but I do not need it. Putting in a AiO would be nice but having it put the air back into the case seems like a bad idea to me with only the 120 really pulling the heat out.
gj, never hear of your psu name. good to know another brand
i had the e3 1260l for my inital build but later replace it for an i3. moved my 1260l to my esxi cuz it was over kill for my zfs. the L series TPU is really good but it pricey
btw hows the linux zfs?
It took a while, but I'm finally done!!
First off, the updated hardware list:
Case: Lian-Li PC-Q25
Motherboard: Intel S1200KPR (Mini-ITX)
Processor: Intel Xeon E3-1265LV2
Power supply: Kurotoshiko KRPW-PT500W/92+
Memory: Kingston 2x 8GB ECC DDR3-10600
HBA: IBM ServeRAID M1015
HDD: Seagate Momentus XT 500gb
Storage drives: WD Green 3TB x6 + Hitachi 5K3000 3TB x2
Yes, because I need 44 TB's... Haha, I worry about what I would do with that much storage. I would just have to get into some sort of trouble, just to find something to copy. I've been thinking about getting into web storage hosting anyway.
Haha, I wouldn't have any way to connect them anyway. I could pull off 9 with 6 native SATA ports, 2 ports off of a Mini PCIe Adaptor (PM362), and one more off of the eSATA port re-routed into the case.
Although one; re-routing a cable back into the case would look pretty dumb, and two, I can't get a straight answer as to whether that eSATA port is getting its own dedicated channel, or if it's a switchable channel from one of the interior ports.
Actually, I had something like the ASRock C2550D4I server board in mind for a maxed-out configuration: http://www.asrock.com/server/index.asp?CPU=&Type=&Form=mITX.
Cable management would be interesting...