Lian Li PC-TU200 Build

[TheGoodGeek]

It's time for a system upgrade, and I love Lian Li's new PC TU200 . I have a work laptop already for travel, want to add a portable gaming rig I can drag into the bedroom and hook up to the 46" TV, or over to the in-laws' during the holidays. This case will meet my needs, and I'll throw down my $$ to the first vendor to have it in stock. Would appreciate some feedback on choosing my first mini-ITX motherboard and cooler.

I've got a new i5 2500-K on the way (thanks NCIX price matching!) I have a spare Antec Kuhler 620, but I doubt it will fit in this case, so #1 son will likely find it under the Christmas tree. Recommendations for a low profile cooler to replace the stock?

I have some Kingston HyperX 8GB DDR3-1600 leftover from a build earlier this year (went with a 16GB kit instead), that would be nice to use.

I've got a Crucial M4 SSD 6GB/s that I've been saving for a special occasion. I'll probably skip RAID, but add a second 1TB.

Only need 1 gigabit LAN port. Due to limited ports on a mini-ITX motherboard I'd like to find integrated wireless N and bluetooth. I'll use my Razer Orochi (highly recommended if you have small hands!) via BT when moving the system around, wired up at when at the desk. Prefer BT A2DP so I can also use my Sony headset and keep the spouse happy re: noise levels.

I'll probably re-use my Geforce GTX 460 for now.

The Asus P8H67-I would be perfect, except it's SoDIMM. The ASRock Z68M-ITX/HT can handle my spare RAM, but doesn't have wireless or bluetooth, and I'm concerned about stable overclocking. Suggestions? (No Zotac please, I only want to build this thing once.)

 

[Soulkeeper]

PC-TU200 is not for sale anywhere yet ?
I also like the way it looks
around $200 is the rumored price however, this seems kinda steep

 

[TheGoodGeek]

Yeah, $200 is high. I've decided to pretend I'm in a commercial and declare "I'm worth it"! I got great deals on some of the other components to balance it. Just gotta figure out cooling and motherboard.

 

[Minion4Hire]

You really don't have a lot of options. Realistically you probably need to focus on the WiFi portion and just pickup a micro USB bluetooth adapter.

If I were you I think I would be looking at the Zotac board Anandtech just reviewed, or it's H67 brother.

 

[CEEREAL]

Hi, though I've been visiting this site often recently, I've found this thread via Google. I'm not really good at this stuff but I am interested in your build.

But I have a question, will this Intel Gaming SFF fit in this 'suitcase'?
Or anyone else have a suggested full build using this case that is powerful to some degree? TY!

 

[Zap]

But I have a question, will this Intel Gaming SFF fit in this 'suitcase'?

Hello CEEREAL, and welcome to AnandTech Forums.

Yes, it will fit. The Lian Li PC-Q08 series is the same as the TU200 with the differences being:

TU200 has a handle on top.

Q08 has a fan on top.

 

[TheGoodGeek]

Yes, the case sizes are the same. I went with the Asus P8H67-I ($140 Mwave) for the SATA 6GB, also mini-ITX. This board requires SoDIMM, haven't checked to see if the P8H61 does also.

The PC-TU200 arrived yesterday and is just amazing ($180 Newegg). I'm not sure I'd ever want to try and go through airport security with this baby, it looks like a nuclear suitcase. Maybe if I'd gone for black instead of silver? Nice satin finish, no fingerprints. Handle is nice and sturdy. Case metal is thickest I've seen. I love the way the sides latch! Easy in and out on both. Nice graphics card pillar to keep everything steady. Not worried about traveling anywhere (except airports) with this.

I got my i5-2500k via NCIX ($180 price match to MicroCenter B&M deal). The case specs say there will be room for an 80mm tall CPU cooler in the case, but I'm going to pop the MB and power supply in and measure. CPU cooling is my biggest worry since the case has a single fan. Definitely no room for a water cooler between the front of the case and the hard drive cage. Bummer.

The bottom of the case has machined holes for air flow similar to the front, with a dust filter on the outside of the case. This can be moved to the inside which i will probably do to avoid tears. It will be interesting to see how much the built-in fans of the PSU and graphic card really contribute to venting heat from inside the case.

I've got 4 hard drives to load in her initially because I'm too lazy to do the data backup. I'll do a fresh OS install on the new SSD and then drop to 2 or 3 once I can delete backups and re-organize files.

I'll run stock speeds for a week to shake it out and if temps look good try some OCing.

 

[Anosh]

Just a heads up..
If you went with the h67 chipset you won't be overclocking much.

 

[Zap]

I got my i5-2500k via NCIX ($180 price match to MicroCenter B&M deal).
...
I'll run stock speeds for a week to shake it out and if temps look good try some OCing.

Lucky! They only offered me $190 for the same pricematch.

As mentioned, no CPU overclocking on H67 chipset (but can overclock IGP if BIOS supports it). To overclock a K series CPU, you need a motherboard (with BIOS support) based on the P67 or Z68 chipset. For mini ITX, you only have two choices. Both are Z68 chipset and one board is Zotac, the other is ASRock. I'd recommend the ASRock (can add WiFi via USB).

 

[lsquare]

Lucky! They only offered me $190 for the same pricematch.

As mentioned, no CPU overclocking on H67 chipset (but can overclock IGP if BIOS supports it). To overclock a K series CPU, you need a motherboard (with BIOS support) based on the P67 or Z68 chipset. For mini ITX, you only have two choices. Both are Z68 chipset and one board is Zotac, the other is ASRock. I'd recommend the ASRock (can add WiFi via USB).

How's the ASRock Z68 itx board when it comes to overclocking?

 

[Anosh]

I read on hardforum that the cpu down clocks it self due to heat issues on zotac and asrock z68 mini-itx boards.

 

[lsquare]

I read on hardforum that the cpu down clocks it self due to heat issues on zotac and asrock z68 mini-itx boards.

Yea, that's what I just read. Is this an anomaly or it's what ASrock normally does with their MBs?

 

[Zap]

The ASRock mATX board overclocks decently. I think the throttling issues are with only the mini ITX boards. I guess those companies don't want their boards to cook the VRMs overclocking quads like the DFI 1156 ITX boards did.

 

[Anosh]

If i don't recall incorrectly the vrm on the asrock don't have heat sinks. Someone tried mounting some heat sinks and it seems to help but doesn't resolve the downclock issues.

It sucks since many where planning on using the xxxK cpus with z68 on the itx boards. Me included.

 

[Skott]

NewEgg has them in two colors

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...cription=tu200

 

[TheGoodGeek]

OK, I've posted complete details on my build, along with good and bad component choices, and pics on my blog. Comments and criticism welcome. Details on build, components, and dealing with heat and space issues. A bit too long to post here, but the highlights are: don't go with a stock ATX PSU, get one of the shorter SFF ATX PSUs, and don't throw more wattage at it than you really need. 850W is overkill and will add to heat issues. Definitely find a quality low profile CPU cooler, not the Intel stock cooler. I prefer the Asus P8H67-I to the Zotac Z68 that Anand chose for their test build. Maybe they've had better luck with their Zotacs than the rest of us, but I just wouldn't trust it. Be willing to adjust your initial build until you get the cooling performance you need. After about 7 hours use, temps are currently at: 30C CPU, 32C motherboard.

 

[TheGoodGeek]

Oh, and this case can survive a 3 foot drop onto concrete, no damage to components.