My New Baby Mini-Q09FB Build.

[chinaguy]

It all started when a friends Laptop got fried by a back EMF when the local substation blew and I had to recover her MSc thesis. The laptop was basically toast with only the HD,DVD and Samsung RAM in working order. The cost of repair was greater than getting a new one. So I got the bits as payment for recovering 6months worth of college notes.

I have always wanted to build an ITX system so now I had some of the parts already. So as a rule all the parts had to cost less than $50 US Dollars, so it also turned into a scavenger hunt.
First thing I picked up was an AOpen Mini ITX Motherboard. Build quality is better than a “Budget” maker but not up to the same standard as Asus or Gigabyte. The overall layout is fine with only an ill placed capacitor by the sata ports that make it difficult to use spring clips on the sata connecting cables. The ones I have would be impossible to remove as you could not press the clip in to remove as the tall capacitor is in the way.

http://usa.aopen.com/products_detail.aspx?Auno=2973

But for $48 USD and it used the type of Memory I had what more could I ask for in an ITX MoBo . I purchased a E2140 from a member of this forum and it was shipped all the way Rhode Island to Shanghai.

So I few weeks go by and I pick up a second 2GB stick of Samsung DDR2 800, so I now have 4GB of matching RAM. Cost of around $21 US Dollars.

This is where I got my fingers burnt and I decided to purchase a CHEAP iTX case and PSU, lets just say it was a PoS. The PSU turned the whole case into a toaster oven and the computer turned its self off to avoid overheating. So I went for a good one this time and broke my $50 rule and purchased a Lian Li Q09FB. The build quality on this case is faultless and so it should be for the price. But you get what you pay for in life.

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product...25&ss_index=64

The case is small 265x120x200mm (WxHxD), to give you some idea of the small size the footprint is smaller than an A4 piece of paper.

WARNING this case is only designed to fit one 2.5inch drive, so if you want more find another case. It also will not allow for a graphic card to be fitted, so again think about what you need before you buy.
This model came with a 150W FLEX PSU. As you would expect the case comes with all the screws and cables you need to complete the build. The Slim SATA cable for the DVD drive has an extra long cable to fit the installation under the mobo.

This would almost be the perfect iTX case if it would allow two 2.5 inch drives to be fitted and the possibility of fitting a slim low profile AGP card like the HIS 5450.

The top and bottom plate are held in place by 6 screws and the HD and DVD fit under the MoBo and you access by removing the bottom. Very easy fit for the HD on rubber mounts into the holder and the DVD fits into the try provided. The sata cables and power can go up the side of the case either way. I have fitted an extra molex splitter as I have fitted a second HD.

The mother board fits nicely into the top and then it’s a question of folding cables in the right place. Warning as there is nowhere to tie cables too inside the case. The use of plastic cable tidies that are self-adhesive is a good suggestion.
There is a 2cm gap or so between the PSU exhaust fan and the ventilation holes in the case, make sure you keep the cables clear of this to allow hot air to escape.

[HuffPCair]

Nice! Really like that

[chinaguy]

Well I finally got all the wires "STUFFED" in around the edges so they did not hit any fans. Even managed to squeeze a second HD in between the front of the case and all the wires. Its held in place by the self-adhesive Velcro tape you can buy at the local store.

I wanted to keep the case clean on the outside, so the wireless keyboard and wifi usb adapter are on the inside. Used an external USB bracket with the support taken off and connected to the spare usb header on the mobo.

There is a 3.5 inch HD in one of the pictures to give an impression of size.

I do not like the way Lian Li provide a USB 3 pass thru cable so you can connect the USB3 ports on the back to the front of the case. This means you have two extra long cables you need to fold away inside. I wish they had provided a standard USB/Audio cable to reduce the amount on connectors inside.

Maybe they will sell a conversion kit later(please).
When testing the unit it got too hot running Prime95 so had to change the 80x25mm fan that came with it for a Notcua NF-R8. The running temperature now at full load is only 64C.

The finished Pic has a DVD case to give the final proof of how small this case is, the LCDs are 17inch for more scale.

I would like to thank Panda for keeping me company as I did the build as he was always expecting food to appear at some point.

[chinaguy]

What would be a better upgrade for the E2140? I can pick up an E6700 for about $90 US or should I try for a Q9400S/Q8400S on Fleabay?

[TJ TRICHEESE]

Go for the Q8400s/9400s because the tdp is the same as the e6700

[chinaguy]

But the cost here in SHanghai is to high, I can get a SandyBridge here G840 for $100 US, a Q8400s is the same price.

[chinaguy]

Well I did not hit the pub for a couple of weeks so had some spare pocket money as a result of zero beer intake. Just fitted a Wolfdale E6600 3.06Ghz S-spec, Batch #3122B987 as they where on special offer and $25 cheaper then the E6700 at 3.2Ghz!

So just fitted it and it all Booted up without a clean install, thank you Intel. Just changed the FSB to 1200 and now its clocked at 3450Mhz, Core V 1.72 and temp stable 65C after half hour Prime95.

[alpha0ne]

Nice build and case ....................too bad they are not available in AU

It looks like there is plenty of room above the I/O plate to fit a vga card with a little modding if you use a board with a PCI-e x16 slot

[[XC] Oj101]

1.27v surely??!

[chinaguy]

ops yes 1.276 volts

[chinaguy]

Nice build and case ....................too bad they are not available in AU

It looks like there is plenty of room above the I/O plate to fit a vga card with a little modding if you use a board with a PCI-e x16 slot

I am sure we could come to some deal on me posting one of these babies to you at cost. The case is great but if I was designing it, I would make some small changes. It would not take much to enlarge the case to allow 2 *2.5 inch drives and room for one PCIe expension slot to take a slim AGP card like the HIS 5450 I have.

I will send a post a picture of it sitting on my desk at work with 2 ex IBM 19inch monitors as the displays. One using the DVI port the other using the HDMI with a HDMI/DVI cable. Both monitors at 1280*1024 resolution and they look great compared when using the vga connection with my old IBM Think Center.

[shazza]

Nice build! Just wondering if you've had any issues withe the included PSU?

[ExodusC]

Nice! I really like the case.

I would have suggested you go for a Q8400 or something of the sort, but it's understandable if they were so expensive. A 3.0GHz+ Core 2 Duo should definitely be fine for general stuff.

How are the temperatures in the case? What model of motherboard did you purchase? It seems there is version with a GeForce 9400 and another with a GeForce 9300.

I thought about trying to build a mini-ITX gaming PC, but that requires careful planning, skillful cable management, and probably a little bit of luck, so I decided to go with a mid-tower for my latest build.