Lian Li PC-TU200: On the Road With Lian Li
by Dustin Sklavos on October 31, 2011 12:45 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Mini ITX
- Lian Li
Noise and Thermal Testing, GeForce GTX 580
I actually tested the Lian Li PC-TU200 with the GTX 580 installed first (it's easier to remove a component than add one), but the results on the previous page should have given you some pause about adding another 244 watts of heat to the mix. The TU200 does cope with the increased thermal load, but we're really starting to push the limits of what it can handle here.
Outside of the odd chipset temperature results, the TU200 suffers for the inclusion of the GTX 580 across the board. The case has a tremendously hard time coping with the resulting heat radiating off of the 580, and this is the first time I've seen the heat coming off the back of a video card do this much damage to a case's thermals. Look at the temperatures of the SSD sitting close to the back of the GTX 580: a load temperature of 46C on an SSD is insane.
It gets worse, too: the Core i3 is now getting perilously close to the max spec for load temperatures. The questionable airflow design plays hell on the processor, and while it never crashed I wouldn't be comfortable running my system at these temperatures.
The increased thermal load and difficulty dissipating it plays out in the noise levels. The GTX 580's fan has to run much higher just to keep the idle temperature at the target, while the similar (but cleaner) airflow design of the TJ08-E allows everything to get fed with cool air to the point where the whole system runs quieter to begin with. SilverStone's enclosure may be a sight bigger than the TU200, but it gets an awful lot of mileage out of it. Whether at load or idle, the case fan is basically maxed out and we get 49dB of noise.
To put it bluntly, while you can fit a GTX 580 into the TU200, you really shouldn't. The case is made for lesser configurations, and really even lesser GPUs are going to cause some problems. You'll probably want to stick with GPUs that don't require any PCIe power connectors in this case.
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apparition47 - Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - link
I built a mini-ITX rig for the gf using this case about 1-2 months ago. It was my first non-ATX build, so it was an interesting project. I managed to wedge a GTX 560 Ti in there with a i5 2400. I'm still dumbfounded how you can get so much power into a case like that, having built all my gaming rigs on ATX up til now.Hopefully when it's time for my next PC, another mini-ITX case will be suitable.
n13L5 - Friday, September 7, 2012 - link
Check the PC-Q18 case. same size, no optical drive bay, no external bay at all, actually.I was looking at it, but I need a BD drive cause I do watch movies sometimes.
ac2 - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
Dustin (and Jared), first just want to thank you for all the stuff you put out here. I really don't give a **** about all the smartphone/ tablet reviews so particularly look forward to your work on systems/ mobos/ cases/ PSU. If you could do a roundup of the most popular LCD monitor size that would be great.Re UEFI, there is a lot of discussion re the secure boot option being mandated by MS for Windows 8 and how this may be interpreted by OEMs to lock out other OSs from Win 8 pre-installs. This may be a storm in a teacup, but could you please keep a eye out for this on future mobo/ system/ laptop reviews, particularly calling out such systems that do not allow the user to install other OSs as a result of this.
anikolayev - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
Seconding IkethWHY, WHY do I need an optical drive on the road? WHY?
When are these manufacturers going to figure it out that there's a market for mATX cases that have room ONLY for an SSD.
Even on my main rackmount PC I tossed out the optical drives just last week.
WHO NEEDS A DVD BURNER WHEN YOU CAN HAVE A SECOND OR FULL SIZE GPU? Seriously people, seriously.
Dustin Sklavos - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
While digital distribution is more and more becoming a way to go, every so often there are still games that will need disc authentication to load. It's stupid and I have VERY few now, but nonetheless it's a consideration.7Enigma - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
That's what a USB external optical drive is for. I personally only use mid-tower desktop systems but if I was more mobile-oriented I would love a smaller box similar to this.It is crazy that no one seems to understand what enthusiasts want in a particular case. We seriously need to start an Anandtech hardware company. "Hardware by enthusiasts for enthusiasts" or something like that.
Ditch the drive cage, ditch the optical drive, increase the space behind the mobo by 1" to allow for the 2.5" SSD/HDD and cable routing. You'd have a clean wiring on the component side, and enough space on the backside for wiring and drives.
This is so obvious I'm surprised Apple hasn't tried to patent it yet (yup I went there).
Who's going to be the obvious genius to build this simple design?
Taft12 - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
A consideration that should be met with external DVD drives onlyhttp://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82...
BansheeX - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
Why does these dinosaur drive sizes persist? Slimline and 2.5 need to become standard already, good god.Dustin Sklavos - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
5.25"...the slimline form factor makes it a bit harder to fit certain types of drives into, which drives up cost.3.5"...we may be up to 1TB in 2.5" mechanical hard drives right now, but we're up to 4TB in 3.5" mechanical hard drives, so that pretty much speaks for itself.
saurey - Monday, October 31, 2011 - link
I'd remove the cage altogether, then get a 1x5.25 to 4x2.5" drive bay - only takes 1 power connector to run 4 drives and have that be my storage solution.I'd also put some rubber feet stick ons underneath the existing case feet to raise it a about a cm higher for better intake for GPU.
Also would play with the idea of mounting the PSU upside down to help pull air out of the case.
I wonder how high the maximum cooler on the CPU is? I really like the corsair hydro coolers but there doesn't seem to be a way to fit that... Maybe where that dumb drive bay is?
Agreed no need for 3.5" drives, especially in this case and 5.25 bay is just a bonus so I can use my 4x2.5" rack in it.