Lian Li PC-Q30 Mini-ITX Case Review

1. Introduction2. Lian Li PC-Q30: Packaging and Bundle3. Lian Li PC-Q30: Exterior4. Lian Li PC-Q30: Interior and Installation5. Testing Methodology6. Thermal Dynamics7. Acoustic Performance8. Closing Thoughts9. View All Pages

Today we are going to look at the PC-Q30 which is one of the latest Mini ITX cases from Lian Li.  We have looked at a number of compact cases from Lian Li in the past and have been generally very impressed with what they have to offer.  This particular model has a very unusual design which features a large curved window in the front of the chassis.

Lian Li are one of the longest established premium case manufacturers and boast a massive range of all-aluminium cases.  This encompasses everything from full-tower enthusiast models to tiny HTPC cases like the one we are testing today.  We are excited to see how the PC-Q30 fares in our tests!

Features:

• Dimensions: 223 x357 x 300 mm
• Material: Aluminum
• Weight: 2.13 kg
• Hard Drive bays: 4x 2.5″
• Expansion Slots: 2
• Motherboard: Mini-ITX, Mini-DTX
• System Fan (Rear): 140mm Fan x1
• I/O Ports: USB 3.0 x 2 / HD Audio
• Maximum Compatibility VGA Card length: 200mm
• PSU length: 125mm
• CPU cooler height: 130mm
• PSU: SFX PSU (Optional)

The PC-Q30 is supplied in a very compact cardboard box which feels extremely light indeed.  This is thanks to the aluminium construction of the case within which keeps weight down to a minimum.  The front of the box features an image of the case itself.

Turning the box around reveals a list of features and specifications.  The box feels fairly sturdy and, combined with the polystyrene padding inside, should do a good job of protecting the case in transit.

Inside the box, there is only a limited bundle of accessories included which consists predominantly of the screws required for installation.  There are a couple of other items included, though, including a case speaker, an internal USB3.0 to USB2.0 adapter and some cable ties.

The front of the case follows the design cues we've seen before in Lian Li cases and has a very minimalist design indeed.  It consists of a single curved sheet of aluminium which stretches from the bottom to the top of the case.  This features a large acrylic window which lets us see the components within the system.

There are two colour options available, black and silver brushed aluminium.  The finish of the case is about as premium as you'll get and looks and feels great.  The build quality of the case as a whole is excellent and it doesn't seem that any corners have been cut in the design and manufacturing.

To find the front panel connections we have to rotate the case slightly as they are located on the left hand side.  Here we find two USB3.0 connectors and headphone and microphone jacks.  There is also a sizeable air vent in the case which consists of a series of holes drilled into the aluminium.

Turning the case around reveals a much less elegant design than the front of the case as it's clear that it's been designed around the components which need to be crammed into the case.  At the bottom there is a mounting bracket for a SFX power supply at the bottom with a large 140 mm exhaust fan further up, which draws hot air from behind the motherboard.  The I/O plate is located at the top of the case.

Accessing the inside of the case is fairly simple and only requires the removal of four screws to take off the front panel.  All of the important areas are easily accessible inside due to the shallow design of the case, although this does mean that component choices are somewhat restricted.  The inside is also finished entirely in brushed aluminium and is sure to complement most component choices aesthetically.

Over on the right we can see that there is a small collection of hard drive bays which can support up to four 2.5″ drives.  This isn't ideal for a media PC as there isn't enough room for large 3.5″ drives for storage.

We installed a 2.5″ solid state drive which requires four screws through the sides of the unit.

As we mentioned previously, the PC-Q30 requires a SFX power supply which is considerably smaller than a regular ATX model.  These can be difficult to get hold of, especially from respected manufacturers.  There isn't any provision for cable routing, so all of the cables have to go in front of the motherboard.

Installing a motherboard is very simple indeed as it only requires four screws to secure it in place.  We would recommend installing the CPU cooler backplate (if required) before installation as the rear side of the motherboard is completely inaccessible once installed.

Finally we installed a graphics card into the system which first required the removal of a small piece of aluminium blocking access to the expansion card covers. Once this was done, though, installation was fairly straightforward. There isn't a large amount of room for graphics cards and most of the high end models wouldn't fit so we chose a AMD Radeon HD 6670.

For our tests we will be using a Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro  to cool the Intel Core i7-3770K CPU in the Lian Li PC-Q30. Our test system also features an AMD Radeon HD 6670 graphics card.

We overclocked the system to 4.4 GHZ for our tests using a voltage of 1.25V.

Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K.
• Motherboard: ASRock Z77E-ITX.
• Cooler: Arctic Freezer 7 Pro.
• Thermal Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-2.
• Memory: 8 GB (2x 4GB) G.Skill RipjawsX 1600 MHz.
• Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6670.
• Power Supply: CIT 500w SFX.
• System Drive: Intel SSD 330 Series 120 GB
• Monitor: Viewsonic VX2260WM.

Software:

• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit).
• CPUID Hardware Monitor.
• Prime95 64-bit.
• Furmark V1.10.6

To test the thermal performance of the Lian Li PC-Q30 we loaded our test system for 15 minutes using Prime95 and Furmark and recorded the maximum temperatures reached using CPUID Hardware Monitor. We then restarted the system and left it for 15 minutes before recording idle temperatures.

Room temperature was maintained at 20 degrees C for the duration of our tests.

We are fairly impressed with the cooling performance of the system, considering it actually only features one fan.  It would be difficult to improve it by adding further fans, though, as none of the vents feature mounting points.

To conduct our noise level tests, we replaced the graphics card in our system with a AMD Radeon HD 5550 Silence which was passively cooled. We also momentarily disconnected the fans on the CPU cooler so we were only taking into account the noise generated by the fans in the case.

The case doesn't generate a lot of noise, so it will be dependant on the components you select inside during the system build.
Overall we are impressed with what the Lian Li PC-Q30 has to offer.  The design of the chassis is very unusual and is sure to appeal to an audience who want to build an eye catching system for media playback duties. The streamlined, modern design ethic will fit beautifully into a living room or bedroom environment.

As we have come to expect from Lian Li the build quality and the engineering standards are exceptionally high and it is clear that no corners have been cut. All of the panel edges are smoothed and there are no sharp corners either.

The system installation process is simple, however the case does limit component choices so it is important to plan the selection quite carefully before investing in this case.

One of our main issues with the case from a component point of view are a lack of 3.5 inch drive bays, meaning you need to buy a slower 2.5 inch mechanical drive for storage duties.  The other issue we have is that a user will be restricted to using an SFX power supply in the PC-Q30 … these aren't as readily available as standard ATX units.

The PC-Q30 isn't yet available for sale at any of the major etailers because it's only just released.  We have been instructed by Lian Li that the MSRP is £93.90. This puts it directly in line with the Silverstone Fortress FT03-Mini which offers a similar combination of style and excellent build quality.

Pros

• Beautiful design.
• Very well put together.
• Lightweight construction.

Cons

• Limited component choices.
• SFX PSU isn't ideal.

KitGuru says: An interesting design from Lian Li that will make an excellent HTPC case.

Become a Patron!