Quickie Lian Li Q07 mod

[widefault]

Bought a Lial Li PC-Q07 (http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=319&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=63) mini-ITX case to use as a new HTPC. The case uses a standard ATX PSU, but with it being so small, and the hardware not needing much of a PSU, I set out to work around it.

First off, the hardware list:
Intel DG45FC mini-ITX
C2D E8400
2GB DDR2
500GB WD SATA
LG Blu-Ray drive
Avermedia Hybrid ATSC/NTSC tuner

Because I work with a lot of small boards, I also have a lot of small power supplies. I had contemplated using a PicoPSU on this setup, but I didn't have a spare power brick over 60 watts. That would have been just enough for this setup, but just enough isn't what I prefer.

I also have a few power boards. These have special bricks that won't work with the PicoPSU, but will go up to 150 watts with the power boards.

Did a little measuring and found the mount points on one board matched up with the side venting on the Q07. Some stand-offs and nuts and it was installed and all cables hooked up.

The problem with this is that it creates a giant hole in the back of the case where the PSU would otherwise be.

A few pics...

Splayed open with the big hole in the back where a PSU should go. Power board attached to side panel.
http://www.widefault.com/q07/q07001.jpg

The big hole.
http://www.widefault.com/q07/q07002.jpg

The guts. The front panel USB cables JUST reach the board
http://www.widefault.com/q07/q07003.jpg

Power board
http://www.widefault.com/q07/q07004.jpg

Non-blurry power board
http://www.widefault.com/q07/q07005.jpg

Side panel back on, back of the power board visible. Look close and you see the nuts on the standoffs, the one bad thing.
http://www.widefault.com/q07/q07006.jpg

The next step was to dig into my parts for some spare aluminum mesh, cut it, and fit it to the back like so.
http://www.widefault.com/q07/q07007.jpg

And with the power plugged in. The power board has the plug for the brick right on it, so this was my only choice.
http://www.widefault.com/q07/q07008.jpg

Also added an 80mm Panaflo fan to the mesh since the case was getting toasty. With a normal ATX PSU, that will exhaust the hot air. With my setup, the only fan is on the CPU. The Panaflo is very quiet, even with the mesh, and does a good job keeping temps down.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the case and very happy with my own "upgrades" to the design. I do think Lian Li should have built it with small PSUs or power boards in mind instead of full ATX. The only reason for a full ATX PSU would be for a higher-end graphics card, and you're just not going to fit one into this case.

[SXRguyinMA]

nice work! I want to do an HTPC sometime n the future, maybe next year. hell I've still got 2 mods to finish lol

[billygoat333]

looks good! now you just need to paint that silver black! :P

[x88x]

Looks nice. I always like to see people doing tiny stuff :D

OOC, what's the internal depth of that case? Lian Li must have had some good reason to put a mount for full ATX instead of mATX/etc.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

The other reason for permitting full-ATX, reusing old parts, doesn't really apply in Lian Li's price range. They should have at least included an adapter plate for a mATX PSU. You couldn't very well get in a high-heat CPU, either, with the limited heatsink clearance.

Nice job working around the gaping hole! The mesh looks great.

[widefault]

Internal depth is about 8", too short for any "real" graphics card. Plus the one slot is very close to the hard drive mount, so even a single slot card will be sucking hot air off the hard drive, if it can even get any air.

The biggest issue I see with full ATX is the amount of cabling most now come with. That's a lot of spaghetti to hide, and even more material to block airflow. They came close, but the design needs tweaks.

[x88x]

Hmm, yeah, any of the current generation of good cards are at least ~9in long. That is quite odd then; they could have made the case a good deal smaller if they'd gone with a mATX PSU mount instead.