Performance m-ATX system in Lian Li PC-A01B

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:29 am

EDIT: WARNING! seems the motherboard doesn't support the 125W Phenom X4 9850 so this setup whit this processor wont work, less powerfull cpu's should be all fine though.

edit2: if you read newest posts I did build a quite similiar system whit a little bit lower performance. (13 may 2008)

Hi all, just joined as I need some help and advice which I don't seem to be able to get at my usual hardware forums.

I'm on my way on buying myself a new computer as my old one well has gotten old(3 years).

What I'm planning to build is a semi-performance silent m-ATX computer, a rarity maybe?

The main parts are as follows:
AMD Phenom 9850 Black Edition Quad-Core (2.5Ghz)
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H, AMD 780G+SB700
Corsair Dominator TWIN2X8500C5DF 4096MB

accesories:
PIONEER DVDÂ±R/RW DL 20X DVR-215 SATA BLACK
COOLTEK 80MM FAN 11DB RETAIL

I'll buy a high-end graphics card later and will use the integrated one for now.

And the case/chassi I have set my eyes on is the Lian Li PC-A01B.
http://gtek.se/index.php?mode=item&id=3157

I'm wondering if this case will give enough cooling. Off what I've read this far it should be ok, but whit the parts I've choosen it will probably get somewhat warm in ambient case temperatures. CPU should be all ok as it will get cool air straight from the outside pushing it inside whit a top-down cooler.

Problem is I don't know for sure which coolers will fitt in this case whit that motherboard

Here is a image that displayes how it will probably look like and the restrictions in choosing cpu-cooler I have.

I'm not ewen 100% the AMD stock-cooler will fitt becouse off the location of the cpu and bracket.

I've been thinking maybe the Scythe Shuriken would work? (that is if the stock cooler fits in the first place)

I'm also planning to use Be quiet! PC noise absorber kit to make it ewen more soundproof.
http://gtek.se/index.php?mode=item&id=2600

ntavlas · Post by **ntavlas** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:38 am

Hello,

Phenom is a power hungry chip so I suggest to start with a case that doesn`t restrict your choices on cooling.

The Lian Li A05 is a nice compact case and can take any heatsink.

If you`d rather go with the A10 you`re probably looking at low height top down cooler like the zalman 8700.

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:21 am

ntavlas wrote:Hello,

Phenom is a power hungry chip so I suggest to start with a case that doesn`t restrict your choices on cooling.

The Lian Li A05 is a nice compact case and can take any heatsink.

If you`d rather go with the A10 you`re probably looking at low height top down cooler like the zalman 8700.

It's either the A01B case or V350B, I don't want towers. But here it's questions related to A01B that I'm after. (A01 can be used as desktop or tower, it's the desktop orientation I'll be using)

Zalman 8700? hmm I checked the size of the thing which is 123x67x120mm. It might fitt or not. As I don't have the case or motherboard yet I can't know exact measurments but 67mm in height might be at the limit, the case is designed for Intel stock, but AMD stock will also work whit height of 64mm. 67mm I don't know if it will work. The Zalman will go outside the specified area so it should have been max 64mm for me to have considered it.
maybe will work but I can't know unless someone whit this case can measure or has same parts and has valuable input to share.

adpalcze · Post by **adpalcze** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:46 pm

I want to build almost the exact same computer. I am just waiting for my Tax rebate. (9550 and different ram)

A word of caution, I think some people are having trouble using the 9850BE on the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H, AMD 780G+SB700 because it only have the 4 pin CPU power, Check out the Newegg reviews of the motherboard.

As for a cooler I was thinking of using a SilverStone NT06 but now that you posted the opening I don't think it would fit without a small cut, And if I went with this I think the heat pipes would block the first RAM slot.

Depending on how you measured
ZALMAN CNPS 7500
ight work,

Please let me know if you find a good configuration

Ari

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:26 am

adpalcze wrote:I want to build almost the exact same computer. I am just waiting for my Tax rebate. (9550 and different ram)

A word of caution, I think some people are having trouble using the 9850BE on the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H, AMD 780G+SB700 because it only have the 4 pin CPU power, Check out the Newegg reviews of the motherboard.

As for a cooler I was thinking of using a SilverStone NT06 but now that you posted the opening I don't think it would fit without a small cut, And if I went with this I think the heat pipes would block the first RAM slot.

Depending on how you measured
ZALMAN CNPS 7500
ight work,

Please let me know if you find a good configuration

Ari

Yeah this setup won't work. no 780G board supports 125W processors yet (which 9850 is), over at anandtech it kills the motherboards in a few second to a few minutes.

Though a less powerfull cpu as 9550 should work if you do not try to overclock to much or so(but still they haven't updated the cpu compatibility charts whit the new B3 phenoms for this board, so it's not 100%)

You can find posts about it in cpu & motherboard section

The measurements are rough guesses so it might be smaller or bigger by a little, hench the "~" marks before the measurments

And about the ram, I went a bit overboard there, you should go whit regular 800Mhz ones I think or take a look at the memmory compatibilty list for better knowledge as to just what 1066Mhz memmory works(there ain't many(many will get demoted to 800Mhz) and the one I choose is not listed at all)

So my choosing of parts wasn't the best. (too powerfull? lol

)

As the motherboard didn't work whit my planned 9850 I had to cancel my orders.

Will have to wait for better motherboards if there will come any.

sherifone · Post by **sherifone** » Fri May 02, 2008 3:54 pm

Have you built this yet? I just ordered the Lian Li A01B as well and have all my parts but I was wondering if the Zalman 7500 fits in the case.

I went with a Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2L and an Intel Q9300 Core 2 Quad 2.5ghz.

Can't wait for the case to come in, got all these parts sitting here and I was wondering if I should order the fan.

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Sat May 03, 2008 6:30 am

sherifone wrote:Have you built this yet? I just ordered the Lian Li A01B as well and have all my parts but I was wondering if the Zalman 7500 fits in the case.

I went with a Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2L and an Intel Q9300 Core 2 Quad 2.5ghz.

Can't wait for the case to come in, got all these parts sitting here and I was wondering if I should order the fan.

Actually I did buy a somewhat similiar system but I did not buy the case yet.

I got the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H whit a Phenom X4 9750 instead (the cpu-support list for this motherboard lists that as compatible) Have had it for 2 weeks now whitout any problems.
I got some more compatible ram Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4DHX DDR2 4096Mb. (800Mhz) the 1066Mhz I first had thought off was overkill and unsure if they would work(not many 1066Mhz memory are cleared to work/many go down to 800Mhz speeds)

As I don't have the case. (I still might buy it but not so sure anymore) I can't answer if Zalman 7500 will fitt. And you picked another motherboard so the cpu position can be entirly diffrent... Did you look at pics and measuremnts to get a grasp if that motherboard should work fine?

sherifone · Post by **sherifone** » Sat May 03, 2008 8:42 am

Nighthog wrote:
sherifone wrote:Have you built this yet? I just ordered the Lian Li A01B as well and have all my parts but I was wondering if the Zalman 7500 fits in the case.

I went with a Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2L and an Intel Q9300 Core 2 Quad 2.5ghz.

Can't wait for the case to come in, got all these parts sitting here and I was wondering if I should order the fan.
Actually I did buy a somewhat similiar system but I did not buy the case yet.

I got the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H whit a Phenom X4 9750 instead (the cpu-support list for this motherboard lists that as compatible) Have had it for 2 weeks now whitout any problems.
I got some more compatible ram Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4DHX DDR2 4096Mb. (800Mhz) the 1066Mhz I first had thought off was overkill and unsure if they would work(not many 1066Mhz memory are cleared to work/many go down to 800Mhz speeds)

As I don't have the case. (I still might buy it but not so sure anymore) I can't answer if Zalman 7500 will fitt. And you picked another motherboard so the cpu position can be entirly diffrent... Did you look at pics and measuremnts to get a grasp if that motherboard should work fine?

I can barely find any info on this case. I really like the size and aesthetics, so I'm willing to risk it. I'm fairly certain stock cooling will fit, but its looking like I'm going to have to be the guinea pig on this venture.

I will definitely post pictures when I get the case in. I was just hoping to find some better information since installing the 7500 after I mount the motherboard will be a lot of extra work.

In the newegg reviews @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe ... 6811112143 a user mentions cutting the drive mount to fit a large cooler in... Always a possibility.

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Sat May 03, 2008 10:49 am

I just made a new order whit this case in it and a cooltek/fractal design 80mm fan and be quiet! soundproof stuff.

Will be interesting to se how it works out when I get them stuff. I'll give my input aswell when I get mine, but I'll probably get my stuff after you.

sherifone · Post by **sherifone** » Sat May 03, 2008 11:07 am

Nighthog wrote:I just made a new order whit this case in it and a cooltek/fractal design 80mm fan and be quiet! soundproof stuff.

Will be interesting to se how it works out when I get them stuff. I'll give my input aswell when I get mine, but I'll probably get my stuff after you.

Haha, awesome! Yea I went nuts too and picked up a SilenX 80mm case fan, 9dba! Definitely worried the stock cooler will be the most obnoxious part of the build.

I'm also glad to see someone else keeping it simple. Its tough to find a case that isn't completely gaudy these days isn't it? I'm sick of the LEDs, clear side panels and funky designs. Look how great the Mac Pro towers look... I was quite pleased to find this Lian Li.

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Sat May 03, 2008 3:52 pm

sherifone wrote:
Nighthog wrote:I just made a new order whit this case in it and a cooltek/fractal design 80mm fan and be quiet! soundproof stuff.

Will be interesting to se how it works out when I get them stuff. I'll give my input aswell when I get mine, but I'll probably get my stuff after you.

Haha, awesome! Yea I went nuts too and picked up a SilenX 80mm case fan, 9dba! Definitely worried the stock cooler will be the most obnoxious part of the build.

I'm also glad to see someone else keeping it simple. Its tough to find a case that isn't completely gaudy these days isn't it? I'm sick of the LEDs, clear side panels and funky designs. Look how great the Mac Pro towers look... I was quite pleased to find this Lian Li.

I'm not so all to impressed whit macs. They are nice but they would not fitt whit me. I like darker. Black whit maybe touch of metal/aluminium(not colored) somewhere(only seen white macs.. so...). But I agree that I hate those clear side panels and some off those just disgusting "gamer" chassis... who else but 12 year old's would might think looks cool...

This chassis is all ok(better than the majority) but I would maybe have choose the Lian Li PC-V350 instead, but if I would have choosen that the extras I would have must put into it would made it so I would pay 2x the what I will need to get for stuff for this chassi instead(can't spend that much). the V350 had a major flaw... only 2 hdd places... I have 3... just could not exclude that third drive, just could not. then there was space I have on my computer desk. the V350 where I would have needed to put it would have shrunk my desktop area quite alot. I like that spot to put random stuff. In comparison where I could put the A01B was perfect really. an empty space where I keep nothing and is in the way in by no means and hiden halfly away (a space below the keaboard/mouse holder one can pull out from under the monitor place). the easy acces to the power and cd beat the V350 damnly. the cd on the 350 would have been somewhat of a hassle whit it on the side of the chassis. V350 does look DAMN GOOD though...

For my current needs and practicality the A01 beat the V350 by far so why I choose it.
I might build another comp later whit that V350 if I have the cash/need and the chassi is still around by then when I get around to it.

sherifone · Post by **sherifone** » Sun May 04, 2008 10:31 am

The new iMacs are actually black with aluminum... if only the 20" had the 8800GTS i'd actually own one now. They only have that video card available in the 24" and thats way out of my price range.

2 more days till my case comes in!

sherifone · Post by **sherifone** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:26 pm

I think I may have found a cooler. The case came in today, can't wait to get of work and put it together

I'm sure the stock fan will drive me crazy so I'll likely be ordering this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... k=CNPS8000

Zalman CNPS8000... Very small, seems to have very low clearance @ 63mm.

Edit:

Well it came in and I got everything up and running with the stock cooler. The case is very understated but I don't think it exudes "sexy". Its very well ventilated which is a plus. It makes a little more noise than the P180 mini I had, likely due to the thin aluminum.

When I can spend some more time with it tonight I'll take some pics!

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:47 am

Great to hear!

I'll probably get my case on friday or saturday. They sent it away in the post today, usually only takes 1-2days to ship.

About the noise, hmm well seems it was a good decision for me to get those sound proffing mats/carpets or boards then aswell(whatever they are called in english)

Gotten any pictures or input to share yet?

How tall does the stockcooler look in the case? does it fitt outside the hole area or does it need to be in the hole area to be able to fitt? Would be nice if you gave some measurments.

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Tue May 13, 2008 11:41 am

I did finally get my Lian-Li PC-A01B case and have now installed my new computer parts from my old case into the new nice Lian-Li. It was quite the hassle and took some time and did need a little off modification and sawing and filing to get it all together.

I needed to file the cpu-cooler place hole in the cd/dvd bay bigger as my motherboard had the cpu-socket a bitt off to far to the side. Took a few hours of sawing and filing the hole to fitt over the cpu-cooler.

It was a damn tight fitt whit the harddrives and the psu... took me some hours to get them all there. not the best hdd bay in either location or technical solution or orientation... my harddrives makes the case vibrate like crazy. good part is the vibration doesn't give sound but you sure as hell can feel all that vibration through out the whole case. Getting the cables into position was fÂ¤&%ng hard...

Second... it's hot... literally HOT! damn hot! need to figure out how to make it cool better. Probably can mount some 60mm fans in the various air hole areas. I can probably get two 60mm fans into those, there is enough space if I can just mount em somehow(probably through the mesh holes)

Whit 20min of 4threaded Prime95 whit maximum heat I got 60C core temps on my Phenom X4 9750 and 50C system temperature!! 50C!! The case was hot all over, and you could really feel the hot air gushing slowly out from the airholes in the back.
I had the case in desktop mode and not maybe the best position as where I have the case seals in the hot air around the computer. If in vertical and open place it should get alot better cooling and temps.

All that is left to do is install the Be Quiet! pc noise absorber kit and getting the cd/dvd aluminium front bezel installed... these will be saved for later as they will require quite alot of work and time to get right and probably need some time thinking for solutions. Can't bother whit that now. Was a pain to get everything to what I have now allready.

Well the complete computer consists off the following parts:
LG L245WP-BN 24" LCD
Lian-Li PC-A01B
Corsair HX620W
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G+SB700
Phenom X4 9750 (JAAFB AA 0809CPMW) 2.4Ghz
Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4DHX DDR2 4096MB (4.4.4.12@800Mhz)
Maxtor 10 200Gb SATA + 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2
Pioneer DVDÂ±R/RW DL 20X DVR-215BK SATA
1x 80mm Nexus real silent fan.
AMD stock heatpipe cpu-cooler

The pictures I took off the completed setup:

amyhughes · Post by **amyhughes** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:01 pm

Would the PSU be better able to remove case air if it was flipped?

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:23 pm

amyhughes wrote:Would the PSU be better able to remove case air if it was flipped?

hmm. probably could, right now the psu is getting cool air from the outside directly and maybe steals a small touch hot air but not that much from the system... but the psu can't be mounted on the other side, no screw holes and the cables and the hdd's... that was such a pain I really don't want to do that again. I almost broke my hdd's and motherboard in all that.. I actually did some small dmg... Luckily all stuff still worked.

I think the best would to add wto 60mm fans to the back where the cpu is. if I can get some screws or something through the air-holes to stick a fan there it would be perfect.

amyhughes · Post by **amyhughes** » Tue May 13, 2008 1:36 pm

Nighthog wrote:I think the best would to add wto 60mm fans to the back where the cpu is. if I can get some screws or something through the air-holes to stick a fan there it would be perfect.

To mount a fan once I used twist ties and rubber bands

I save the twist ties that come wrapped around cables in electronics devices, and I also have saved a few of the wide rubber bands that come wrapped around broccoli. To mount a fan, I cut the rubber bands in two (they're wide but short), folded each piece in three and poked a hole through them. A twist tie then gets pushed into the folded rubber band so that you end up with a piece of rubber with a twist tie through it. Do this four times. Mount the fan so that the rubber is between the fan and case, and just use the twist tie through any convenient hole.

Not pretty but it works

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Tue May 13, 2008 1:46 pm

now the problem... which 60mm fans are any good?

The case has room for 60x60x25mm fans. can probably fitt 3 in total. 2 in the back and one to the side down beside the cpu-cooler. could put the side one to blow in cool air while the back ones push it all out in desktop mode. If I mount the case vertically as a tower then the side airintake/went should push out as it gets to the top of the case.

The best 60mm fan I seem to find for buying seems to be Cooltek/Fractal Design 60x60x25mm 19dB, 16.1 CFM, 3000rpm. but is it any good?

sherifone · Post by **sherifone** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:38 pm

Hey Hey. Sorry I haven't posted any pictures, I lost my camera charger but I ordered a new one today.

The case does run quite hot, but I've read that reversing the front fan actually can help a bit with the case heat. I have a relatively cool video card (XFX 8600GT w/Zalman Cooler) but I think the fan is working a bit harder than it should.

You're definitely right about the HDDs being way too close to the PSU, I have a second WD 640gb drive coming in tomorrow and I'll have to squeeze it in there.

Overall though the case is very attractive and I can't wait to install the C01B optical bezel. With a little elbow grease this can turn out to be an excellent case. Its one of the few attractive towers left on the market.

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Wed May 14, 2008 3:47 pm

DAMN! took damn 12hours but I got that damn silencing kit installed inside the case!

The endresult got damn nice and the sound level got dropped to about half maybe?

I used about 90% off the kit in total consisting off 5pc. 400x220mm whit 2,2 mm-bitumlayer and 8 mm-dampening. 1pc. 400x220 mm whit 20 mm-dampening.

I'll take some pics new pics tomorow maybe if I feel like it.

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Fri May 16, 2008 5:21 am

Took some new pics yesterday but most became really bad. but got a few good ones.

The pc noise absorber kit installed.

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Sat May 17, 2008 8:29 am

I have a bad problem whit my computer concerning the cpu-fan... When the cpu-fan goes to rpm off 2500 or more I start to get BAD air turbulence/sucking air sound from the airintake for the cpu... it's really bad sounding and ALOUD!! the turbulence eats and envelopes all other computer sounds kinda, sound levels rise several dB instantly! >_>

If I put my hand in a special way limiting the airintake area the sound stops but I can't be sitting whit my hand over the airintake whenever the computer starts to use some cpu power and the fan starts to go faster to create the turbulence sound in the 2500 rpm and above, there actually starts hint of turbulence at 2450rpm but at 2500 it's really bad allready.

I thought it would be all good allready but seems it needs a bit off more work. I wonder how I should solve this air sound effectivly... need to form some kind of form/obstacle above the cpu-fan for it not to create the air turbulence when it speeds upp...

sherifone · Post by **sherifone** » Sun May 18, 2008 5:43 pm

Yea the acoustics of this case aren't too impressive are they?

The fan noise is driving me nuts, I just loathe pulling everything out to reinstall the mobo (zalman mounts with support behind the board !!!). Will be a nice weekend project I think. If you go with an aftermarket fan you can just hard set the fan at a lower RPM which could prevent that buffeting or wind noise you're complaining about

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:37 am

sherifone wrote:Yea the acoustics of this case aren't too impressive are they?

The fan noise is driving me nuts, I just loathe pulling everything out to reinstall the mobo (zalman mounts with support behind the board !!!). Will be a nice weekend project I think. If you go with an aftermarket fan you can just hard set the fan at a lower RPM which could prevent that buffeting or wind noise you're complaining about

I did remove the wind noise by just installing a bit of cardboard above the cpu fan to direct/limit airflow and i was pretty effective in noise removal but the temperatures went upp 5C(cpu temp got to high under 100% load)... I tried to cut it smaller and suceeded to only get about 3C increase and then wind sound does not come whit 2500rpm anymore.... now it's instead at 2900rpm... >_> Need to figure out the best size/form for the cardboard.
With the small 3 degree increase the fan now goes upp to the 2900-3000rpm so I still get that whining wind sound... AAAHHH!

I'm trying to do some undervolting now instead if I can get the temps down that way and then through that get lower fan speeds and not get the wind turbulence. I still have loads of cardboard at hand so I can redo that as often as I like... but it's bothersome to open the case etc =_=

Currently trying my Phenom at 1.1volts

sherifone · Post by **sherifone** » Mon May 19, 2008 12:29 pm

I just put in an order for a few things to get the case quieter:

Zalman 8000 Low Profile CPU Cooler, sound of the cooler is only marginally lower but the lower temps should help the rest of the case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835118005

SilenX IXG-80C GPU cooler, I'm a little disappointed with the stock Zalman cooler on the GPU since I can't figure out how to control its fan speed. (Any ideas)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835226018

and finally a small thermaltake blower that claims its rated at 21db. if its loud i'll just donate it to someone else

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835106104

Nighthog · Post by **Nighthog** » Tue May 20, 2008 3:20 am

What graphics card do you have?

And about the pci-slot cooler. I have heard Thermaltake only have loud fan stuff... Well you could just rewire the cooler so it draws from the 5volt instead of the 12v standard. should lower noise quite alot but at the same time not getting as much cfm.

Why not try for some bigger cooler for the graphics you could probably run it passive if you get one of the bigger coolers?

My phenom sadly wasn't 100% stable at 1.1volt... prime95 would just crash or shutdown whitout notice after a while. Currently at 1.125volts. Need to stresstest it some more to see if it's enough. Temps dropped about 6-7C whit the volt at 1.125 compared to te 1.3v orginal at idle. Currently idling at [email protected]@1.125v and having 43-44C system temp whit hdd's at 48-51C.

sherifone · Post by **sherifone** » Tue May 20, 2008 3:50 am

I'm pretty low on space, and from what I've read the passive coolers just seem to raise temps in the chassis. The Silenx had some decent reviews and it lowed the temps on peoples cards.

I have an XFX 8600GT with a stock overclock @ 680mhz. Pretty swanky card for $70 after rebate, lets me play all the Orange Box games and Age of Conan well!

For the slot cooler, I wanted to give it a shot... anything to help eject the hot air floating around the pci/cpu area. At 5v I don't expect it to make any noticeable sounds.