hey guys I'm hoping for advice on a potential mini ITX build I want to do. I'm in canada so I'll be using canadian retailers. Case: lian li q03B 115$ http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=601&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=64 Cpu: i3 3220T 35W 125$ Mobo: asus p8h77-i 100$ ram: 4-8GB of whatever ddr3-1600 ~40$ psu: heres my biggest concern, thinking either the seasonic x-560 (modular), possibly waiting for the yet to be released modular 450w seasonic modular psu http://www.seasonicusa.com/G-series-450-550-650.htm or get the seasonic G-360w which isn't modular http://www.seasonicusa.com/G-series-360.htm I know the system won't go anywhere near maximizing those psu but there aren't many gold, modular and small psus. I've looked at the new silverstone sff 450w gold modular but hear about loud fans and I'm weary of buying one. I will add an extra 2.5inch hdd as well as one 3.5 inch hdd without an optical. My question is, will this get too hot with no fan besides the psu and potentially a cpu fan which I was considering running passively. NOTE: I won't be using an external gpu, just onboard. I'm not worried about the winter temps but in the summer it gets 35C here. I'm not after extreme performance, I'm using an e5300 right now but that pc is very old and I want to replace it which something of a bit better performance while using the onboard gpu to help keep things cool and quiet. What is the best psu / cpu cooler configuration I can use here, or will things just be too hot regardless? Any help is appreciated
go for a case with front to back airflow if you are worried. like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112364
I've been looking at all the lian li ITX cases, I really like the q03, I was just wondering other people's opinion on the heat situation. thanks
Silver Stone Fortress Has good cooling if you like the tall cases. You will have to find a US seller, but it is quite popular so that should be easy.
Get an SFX PSU if you can: 350W is plenty. You can set it up with a CPU fan exhausting into a fanless PSU, or fit a CPU cooler under the PSU fan, which will then cool it. I've done that in the Q11 with an AMD mini-ITX and the P8H77-I recently. The Q03 is even smaller than the Q11 and it's difficult to fit an X-series in there. For a 35W CPU you'll be fine. I've run a full 77W/95W one in there. The HDD area will be hotter, but I've run HDD in there for a year with no issue. EDIT: Btw - you can only have 1x HDD or 2x SSD in the Q03, not both SSD + HDD.
im cooling a 35w i3 passively at the moment using a case similar to this one. http://quietpc.co.uk/st-fc8-evo Im using a 120w pico psu with it.
thanks Bindi, according to the lian li website I can put a 2.5 inch drive in the slim optical bay so i was intending to do that unless their website is wrong or I misunderstood it. In terms of the psu, I wanted x-series because of the amazing reviews but if that isn't possible do you think that the seasonic g-360 would work? I know in the bit-tech review for the q11 it says a modular is a must but the g-360 is 140mm vs the standard 160, is that a big enough difference to allow for non modular? When you had your q11 build what did you use for the psu and cpu cooler, did you go passive? As for the HDD temp, in my current case they run at just under 40 in the summer, 30 in the winter, how hot were yours? did you use a video card because I don't intent to, which I hope will make it safe for the HDD. thanks for your help
what cpu cooler do you use and do you have a recommendations for a pico psu if I were to go that route?
if you do not need more than pcie-4x, then get an intel DQ77KB or a DH61AG. The thin ITX is not the reason, but it has built-in power circuitry. just plug a laptop brick to power it. then you can use the Psu cutout of the pc-q03 to fit an exhaust fan. Both mobo have cpu and system fan header.
Silverstone have just released a gold modular sfx psu, link here It's a bit expensive but would be ideal for allowing more space. I have read of a few ones having slightly noisy fans but that generally seems to be an issue only if you're pushing it to it's limit (overclocking + gtx680 sort of thing). Edit: Sorry didn't read where you said you looked at it already, if you aren't drawing much power I'd have thought it would be fine though. However if you can fit within the power spec of a pico psu then that would be both smaller and quieter.
I was looking at this PSU too, but @ 120€ it's not a good match for an "daily use" computer. I think a PICO PSU or a mobo with built-in power circuitry would be a better option.
