Thoughts on Lian-Li PC-Q25B Builds


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All very good choices.

 

Since you've already ordered it all, I'd just leave it as is ...

 

... but for future reference, Silverstone now has a 300w SFX power supply that's a better choice for these builds:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256097

 

The lower wattage rating means the relatively low-power builds in the Q25B case will be running at a higher point on the power supply's efficiency curve ... and thus use a bit less power.

 

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For anyone reading this thread, there's now a very nice new competitor for this case !!

 

The forthcoming Silverstone DS380 is almost exactly the same size as the PC-Q25B (about 1/2" wider, 1/4" taller, and not quite as deep) ... with 8 hot-swap bays that have fans blowing from the side across the drives (this should provide VERY good cooling -- it's effectively the same thing the Q25B does).    It also has space for 4 2.5" drives internally !! 

 

This just may be my new "favorite" case  :) :)

[i'm going to buy one when they're available, and will post a note r.e. whether the build quality is as nice as the Q25B]

 

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=452&area=en

 

Seems like a nearly perfect case to match with this motherboard:

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-C275D4I

 

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I was also very impressed when I saw this.

 

I REALLY like the side airflow the Q25B has for the drives; and this new Silverstone does the same thing -- it's got 2 120mm fans that blow from the side directly across the drives (as opposed to the front-mounted fan that blows across the side-mounted drives in the Lian-Li).  Exactly the same effective airflow, so the drives should be very well cooled ... AND they're hot-swappable and removable from the front !!  (Not to mention there are 8 of them instead of the 5 in a Q25B)

 

Barring any build quality issues, this will almost certainly be my new "system of choice"  8) 8)

 

From what I've read, the price will likely be in the $170 range ... not at all bad for what you're getting.

 

The new ASRock Avoton board with 12 SATA ports came along just in time for this case  :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

For anyone reading this thread, there's now a very nice new competitor for this case !!

 

The forthcoming Silverstone DS380 is almost exactly the same size as the PC-Q25B (about 1/2" wider, 1/4" taller, and not quite as deep) ... with 8 hot-swap bays that have fans blowing from the side across the drives (this should provide VERY good cooling -- it's effectively the same thing the Q25B does).    It also has space for 4 2.5" drives internally !! 

 

This just may be my new "favorite" case  :) :)

[i'm going to buy one when they're available, and will post a note r.e. whether the build quality is as nice as the Q25B]

 

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=452&area=en

 

Seems like a nearly perfect case to match with this motherboard:

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-C275D4I

 

I'm all eyes and ears about the new best case but I have to tell you, that new Silverstone case better be something special to be better than the Q25.

 

At first glance I see it adds one extra drive, but costs twice as much. I do not like any case with a full door on it, that is a dealbreaker for me, (have you seen what my desk looks like?). Also, 8 tightly packed drives, compared to the loose/airy drives in the Q25, isn't an upgrade. More fans = more noise, and you probably don't even need both case fans on the Q25.

 

I just wanted to give a contrary opinion since everyone has been all for the Silverstone case. Lian Li has a lot of weird design choices but they nailed the Q25 as a NAS case. Running 4TB drives I'm far from being cramped with 20TB's of space with the Q25.

 

And to be honest, if I have to upgrade because I am cramped for space I am not upgrading to an 8 drive case versus a 7 drive case. I can also easily stack 2 more drives on the base of the Q25.

 

I am not saying the Silverstone is not a good case, I am just saying the Q25 is so good the Silverstone still comes in at second place, for most people.

 

 

 

 

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For anyone reading this thread, there's now a very nice new competitor for this case !!

 

The forthcoming Silverstone DS380 is almost exactly the same size as the PC-Q25B (about 1/2" wider, 1/4" taller, and not quite as deep) ... with 8 hot-swap bays that have fans blowing from the side across the drives (this should provide VERY good cooling -- it's effectively the same thing the Q25B does).    It also has space for 4 2.5" drives internally !! 

 

This just may be my new "favorite" case  :) :)

[i'm going to buy one when they're available, and will post a note r.e. whether the build quality is as nice as the Q25B]

 

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=452&area=en

 

Seems like a nearly perfect case to match with this motherboard:

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-C275D4I

 

I'm all eyes and ears about the new best case but I have to tell you, that new Silverstone case better be something special to be better than the Q25.

 

At first glance I see it adds one extra drive, but costs twice as much. I do not like any case with a full door on it, that is a dealbreaker for me, (have you seen what my desk looks like?). Also, 8 tightly packed drives, compared to the loose/airy drives in the Q25, isn't an upgrade. More fans = more noise, and you probably don't even need both case fans on the Q25.

 

I just wanted to give a contrary opinion since everyone has been all for the Silverstone case. Lian Li has a lot of weird design choices but they nailed the Q25 as a NAS case. Running 4TB drives I'm far from being cramped with 20TB's of space with the Q25.

 

And to be honest, if I have to upgrade because I am cramped for space I am not upgrading to an 8 drive case versus a 7 drive case. I can also easily stack 2 more drives on the base of the Q25.

 

I am not saying the Silverstone is not a good case, I am just saying the Q25 is so good the Silverstone still comes in at second place, for most people.

 

 

Many good points!

 

From what I have seen, it doesn't look like the Q25's front fan hits the top hard drive at all.  The Silverstone looks like all drives are directly hit by fans.  I am not overly concerned about fan noise, the fans can be sped down and/or replaced (at additional cost).  I like the door personally (young kids in the house) and I like the idea that I can replace drives without having to take the side panels off the case.  For me a six-port mini-ITX board + cheap four port SATA controller means all eight drives can be used, plus a 2.5" cache drive.  So I get maximum efficiency out of the case as configured.  I don't need a 25 drive system, but I need more than a five drive system, so the Silverstone fits the bill nicely.

 

Right now I am running five drives in an iStarUSA 5-in-3 cage.  I removed the rear fan from the cage and am using all of my case fans (five 120mm on very, very low RPM) as exhaust.  More than enough air moves over the drives, even though they are squeezed tight, to keep temps under 30C.  I believe the Silverstone will do as good a job or better.

 

I don't like the caddy system in the Silverstone (I am spoiled by my 5-in-3 dock) but I don't change drives that often so the impact to me will be minimal.

 

I think either case shines for a small home server.

 

What would truly be perfect for me would be a tiny case with six 5" external bays (and no more) for two 5-in-3 cages, with an internal 2.5" bay for a cache drive.  I think the Silverstone comes close enough to that to get my attention.

 

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As anyone who follows my posts on the Q25B knows, I consider it a nearly ideal case.  BUT the Silverstone looks VERY promising in that it has virtually identical ventilation (fans blowing across the sides of the drives);  holds 8 drives in hot-swap bays vs. 5 for the Q25B;  has additional 2.5" bays for laptop/SSD drives; is nearly identical in size (2 dimensions slightly larger; one slightly smaller);  and -- probably the most significant difference -- the drives can be changed without removing the side panel or moving the case (to access the side).

 

BOTH would seem to be superb choices -- I haven't "seen/felt/touched" the Silverstone yet, so I can't confirm that the build quality matches the Q25B, but as long as that's true, it's clearly a very attractive alternative.  One other minor but significant difference:  the Silverstone has two USB v3 ports in the front, whereas the Q25B has no front ports.  Not a factor with UnRAID, but potentially a nice feature if you're running VM's that need USB access.

 

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Many good points!

 

Just in case anyone just started reading this thread and doesn't know, I built a Q25 system and I think it is awesome. I couldn't have done it without all of the help from people on this site sharing what they know, and many times things improved when people shared what they didn't know and had questions.

 

We have 2 things going on now. One is what hardware to use going forward, and two being what case to put that hardware in. The Q25 has been, on this thread, positioned as being the perfect case for a Plus license, and I posted because I think it retains it's #1 rating.

 

From what I have seen, it doesn't look like the Q25's front fan hits the top hard drive at all.  The Silverstone looks like all drives are directly hit by fans.  I am not overly concerned about fan noise, the fans can be sped down and/or replaced (at additional cost).

 

I was worried about the same exact thing, and you can see early on in this thread I had my 3 starter drives positioned to best capture the front fan directly. Asked and answered, Gary told me all drives in the Q25 run cool. Which was confirmed when I got the rest of my cables and placed the drives where I wanted, they all run very cool. Can the tightly stacked drives in the Silverstone run as cool?

 

I doubt it, but I also doubt they would run hot enough to be a worry.

 

  I like the door personally (young kids in the house) and I like the idea that I can replace drives without having to take the side panels off the case.  For me a six-port mini-ITX board + cheap four port SATA controller means all eight drives can be used, plus a 2.5" cache drive.  So I get maximum efficiency out of the case as configured.  I don't need a 25 drive system, but I need more than a five drive system, so the Silverstone fits the bill nicely.

 

The side panels on the Q25 are tooless and both pop off in a second. The Q25 is an 8 drive case, it has a 5 drive hot swap cage and mounting for 2- 3.5" & 1- 2.5" drives on the bottom of the case.

 

Right now I am running five drives in an iStarUSA 5-in-3 cage.  I removed the rear fan from the cage and am using all of my case fans (five 120mm on very, very low RPM) as exhaust.  More than enough air moves over the drives, even though they are squeezed tight, to keep temps under 30C.  I believe the Silverstone will do as good a job or better.

 

I never said the Silverstone was defective, I just don't think it is the best for a Mini ITX build. I think there is a little window where it will be a best fit for somebody when they require the maximum capacity, but if I was looking at needing 20+TB I'd have to build in an ATX case.

 

I don't like the caddy system in the Silverstone (I am spoiled by my 5-in-3 dock) but I don't change drives that often so the impact to me will be minimal.

 

I think either case shines for a small home server.

 

What would truly be perfect for me would be a tiny case with six 5" external bays (and no more) for two 5-in-3 cages, with an internal 2.5" bay for a cache drive.  I think the Silverstone comes close enough to that to get my attention.

 

I should do a Youtube video about swapping drives in the Q25. I doubt it would need to run longer than 10 seconds, and take no tools.

 

If you have to do anything else the Silverstone is going to get complicated.

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As anyone who follows my posts on the Q25B knows, I consider it a nearly ideal case.  BUT the Silverstone looks VERY promising in that it has virtually identical ventilation (fans blowing across the sides of the drives);  holds 8 drives in hot-swap bays vs. 5 for the Q25B;  has additional 2.5" bays for laptop/SSD drives; is nearly identical in size (2 dimensions slightly larger; one slightly smaller);  and -- probably the most significant difference -- the drives can be changed without removing the side panel or moving the case (to access the side).

 

BOTH would seem to be superb choices -- I haven't "seen/felt/touched" the Silverstone yet, so I can't confirm that the build quality matches the Q25B, but as long as that's true, it's clearly a very attractive alternative.  One other minor but significant difference:  the Silverstone has two USB v3 ports in the front, whereas the Q25B has no front ports.  Not a factor with UnRAID, but potentially a nice feature if you're running VM's that need USB access.

 

All I can say is it would have to be VERY good to take the #1 spot. I think if you were selling an Unraid box the Silverstone would be best. "Here, plug your drives in and out, and leave everything else alone." That's a definate plus on that score.

 

Luckily we have 2 great cases to chose from, and personal choice comes into play. I like plain and simple but the vast majority of case buyers want spaceship looking things with windows and lights. Go figure.

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While the Q25B easily holds 8 drives (as long as 1 is a 2.5" unit), only 5 are in the slick hot-swap bays ... compared to 8 in the Silverstone (which also holds 4 additional drives).

 

But I fully agree that the Q25B is the "perfect" UnRAID Plus case ... I said that when I started this thread; and I still think that's true.  It is indeed trivial to pop off the side panel and get to the drives -- but many folks have the case in a position where side-access isn't as trivial as the front.

 

I really think this is an instance where there are 2 equally good choices  :)

 

I also agree that the 20TB (25TB with the forthcoming 5TB drives) capacity of a Q25B build is plenty for most servers !!  :)

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I like plain and simple but the vast majority of case buyers want spaceship looking things with windows and lights. Go figure.

 

+1 for sure !!  I love the plain front panel of the Q25B, and the nice brushed side panels.  No LED fans, etc.    I don't understand why folks like windows in their side panels; LED fans; etc.    I've bought a few cases that had LED fans ... I always clip the wires to the LEDs so they don't work  :)

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Truth be told I'd love to get my hands on the Silverstone case, but I doubt I ever will. I'm actually trying to sort out a companion for the Q25 with a Q03 case. I have an odd situation where I have a man cave with a big desk next to where the TV is, so it matters what the 2 machines look like.

 

I'd love to ask you guys for help but it isn't a server build.

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  • 1 month later...

SUPERMICRO MBD-X7SPE-HF-D525-O

would this board be ok too.  Only difference seems to be ipmi and onboard video is different.

 

That's an excellent board, and will work well.  HOWEVER, it is NOT a mini-ITX board.  It's very close; and I'm fairly sure would fit in the Q25B, but it's slightly longer than the mini-ITX version (SuperMicro calls this a "FlexATX" board.    It's 7.5" x 6.75" vs. the 6.7" x 6.7" of a mini-ITX form factor.

 

If possible, I'd buy the mini-ITX version  :)

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SUPERMICRO MBD-X7SPE-HF-D525-O

would this board be ok too.  Only difference seems to be ipmi and onboard video is different.

 

That's an excellent board, and will work well.  HOWEVER, it is NOT a mini-ITX board.  It's very close; and I'm fairly sure would fit in the Q25B, but it's slightly longer than the mini-ITX version (SuperMicro calls this a "FlexATX" board.    It's 7.5" x 6.75" vs. the 6.7" x 6.7" of a mini-ITX form factor.

 

If possible, I'd buy the mini-ITX version  :)

 

I'm using that board in a Q25B and it fits. The trick is you have to custom-cut some standoff's to support the "lower" edge of the board. I got "such a good deal" on that board; it was an "offer I couldn't refuse!"

 

I bought two nylon threaded spacers (1/4" diameter with 6/32 threads) from my local hardware store. I got them long so I had to measure twice and cut once, but still had to file them down a little. The standoffs are screwed down to the board and not the chassis, so they both rest on the chassis and support.

 

It worked well, but requires some workmanship. If the deal is a good one you have this option.

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  • 3 weeks later...

garycase,

 

I just built a new server with the PC Q25 and a Silverstone SFX power supply.    I orinetated my power supply upside down so the fan side is on the CPU side not the other. Any harm in this? Airflow issues with CPU fan?

 

Kryspy

 

I don't think it matters -- the airflow will clearly be a bit different, but it should still be fine.  As you know, I prefer the other orientation, but I if the cable routing works better for your setup with it mounted that way, it'll be fine.

 

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hey guys, great forum and some really helpful information in this thread, great work! i also have brought this beauty of a case with the Asus H87I-Plus motherboard, has anyone successfully installed any linux distro and managed to get it booted up? i've tried ubuntu/debian without any luck, it seems to be something todo with the EFI boot loader security? All that happens after install, is it reboots and goes into the BIOS setup, you select boot from hard drive, and it exits and reboots, then back to the BIOS screen again every time. I read Asus has a bug(?) in the bios that doesn't allow you to disable secure boot and that you have to deleted all the key files, which i have done, and now secure boot is disabled, but once again after a reboot it just goes back to the BIOS screen?!?

 

i have managed to boot unraid from a USB with no problems at all.

 

any help would be greatly appreciated, and many thanks in advance.

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