My Lian Li htpc build

finally got all the parts together and have now started to build it so i though i would post a few pics of how i am getting on



the case as ordered from overclockers which is not pc-c33b as described and as such has no ir remote but its still a really nice well built case and i like it more than the antec htpc cases .


all the internal components apart from the gfx card (passive msi 2600 xt) which is still sitting in my current htpc untill i put the rest together tomorrow.


i knew the drive was never going to match that well but the flash makes it look worse than it actually is though


not really much i can do to tidy the front up untill i get the mobo in


i took the internal fan guards off the exhuast fans and it made them a bit quieter and also used a zalman 7v fan thingie i had lying around on the 14cm intake to keep that quiet also.
pity the psu has to be fitted with the fan pulling air from outside but im not away to start drilling into the case to change this and hopefully the 2 exhaust fans will be enough for the mini ninja to run passive.

thats all for today as the footie will be on soon but any comments, tips or suggestions for finishing it tomorrow would be welcome

finished my build off today so here are some pics of the rest of the build process


everything installed without any problems


while i was installing windows and running tests before i tidied up the cables


everything looks a bit neater with the cables tidied up

full spec -
lian li pc-c33 htpc case
celeron e3200
gigabyte g41m-es2l motherboard
2gb kingston hyperX ddr2-6400 cl5
intel x25-v 40gb ssd
seagate 2tb barracuda lp
toshiba hd dvd rom
scythe mini ninja
msi radeon 2600 xt
ocz stealthxstream 500w psu
windows 7 home premium

one question though, i just installed windows onto the ssd and haven't changed any settings or anything in windows for it, do i need to do anything or will windows 7 sort it out ?

and finally a couple of pics of it where it will now live


i had to take the feet off to get it to fit into my unit



cpu temps are around 25 c and gpu about 45 c playing films so i think the airflow and cooling seems okay and it is quieter than my ps3 when on .

Nice build, is'nt the SSD a bit wasted though in a HTPC?

Nice build, never seen the inside of that case and always thought it looked pretty neat, I think you can get a rack mount kit to for those who have the luxury of a rack at home.

DIABLO: The SSD is a brilliant idea as the main problem with HTPC's is noise caused by the moving parts. My HDD's are the main source of noise in my HTPC (which I hope to resolve by switching to laptop HDD's).

that case looks so much tidier than its predecessor without those mid case fans..

nice work

the reason i went for the ssd is that it was replacing my hd dvd player and multi region dvd player so i wanted it to boot as quickly as possible and it is useable about 30 seconds after i switch it on so its actually quicker than toshiba hd-ep 30 it replaced.
the case actually came with the rack mount handles so it would be ideal if you had that kind of set up.

chipps101 said:

the case actually came with the rack mount handles so it would be ideal if you had that kind of set up.

Click to expand...

same as the previous version.. shame they dont include rails but theyre easy enough to source

neil_g said:

that case looks so much tidier than its predecessor without those mid case fans..

nice work

Click to expand...

yeah it does seem quite roomy inside without those, i doubt i would have gotten my gfx card in if they had been there.

thanks for your pics to give me an idea of what it was like and i am glad i went with this case instead of the antec's now

no worries

this looks really nice, i do like the look of the new 34f too, love the hotswap hdd bay at front. looks a bit bigger than this though.

according to the lian li website the 34f is only 7 mm wider and the same length and height, i've never seen that for sale anywhere yet though but can highly recommend lian li for build quality and finishing after building mine.

i decided to run prime 95 on my machine to test the cooling of the case and the passive mini ninja with only the 2 stock 80mm fans as exhausts and the 140mm intake running at 750 rpm with the 7v zalman adaptor as i was a little paranoid about temps as i'd never used a passive heatsink on a cpu since i had a 486 .
i am happy to report that after an hour of running prime 95 my cpu temp peaked at 41c and the gpu stayed at a constant 37-38c.
it appears that even with minimal airflow and noise this case is able to keep my components very cool

thats good news stil a bit worried whether id have enough space for seasonic x650 psu, h50 cooler and plenty of hdds and still keep it all cool.

i dont think you'd have a problem fitting in the power supply and the 140mm fan would keep the hard drives cool. the only place i can think for you to mount a h50 would be on the left side at the back beside the card slots there is a grill which you may be able to mount your radiator on.
i hope this helps

great help thanks. tryin to find a happy medium between a small case and plenty hdd space.. not easy lol

if you got a 5.25 to 3.5 adaptor you could stick another hdd under the optical drive also so that would be 4

i have replaced the two 80mm stock fans (which were really quiet already) with sharkoon silent eagle 1000's today and now you have to stick your ear up to it to hear it
silence is golden

yes i had ordered the same case, and they too sent me the wrong one, so i am returning the pc-c33 and hoping to get the pc-c33b( it says it takes an ATX mobo, and i do hope the pc-c33b has the remote window or i will be returning it again, due to misleading info)

what connection have you used to connect it to your tv and the sound?

thanks