Our previous posts:
- A New Client Desktop Platform For Us
- Intel Desktop Board DQ77KB Slim Mini-ITX - Anyone Have a Brick/Adapter They Use?
We have our power brick as per the first linked blog post above.
Here are a few notes as far as how we need to configure this system.
Cooling Solution
The cooling solution comes with a backing plate:
The plate needs to be installed on the bottom of the motherboard _before_ installing the board into the PC-Q05 case.
We need to move the cross-member as well as the plate in the cooling channel before we can install the cooling solution onto the CPU.
Note that there are two small screws that are on the cooling fin block that need to be set in place along with the four screws around the CPU itself.
Make sure to have the SATA power cable set plugged into the motherboard prior to re-installing the case cross-member.
Now, the fan itself presents a bit of a conundrum:
Intel provides two screws with the HTS1155LP that are too _small_ for the standoffs that are in the PC-Q05. Note that the standoffs use a fine thread so any screw used to mount an optical drive will do (Shown above).
The catch is that the plate between the cooling fins and blower that mounts to the PC-Q05 has two screws that are a bit too long. So, when it comes to installing the fan do _not_ try and tighten up the screws 100% as that will push the fan’s metal base plate into the fan itself. One does not need to deliver a PC that will start humming and/or rattling a few days or weeks down the road.
On the plus side the fan standoffs in the PC-Q05 are just a tad off so one can snug up the screws once the fan base hits the buffer plate screws and not worry about them backing out.
SATA Cable
In the picture shown below the SATA connector on the motherboard side is straight. This type of connector is a bit too tall as the cover of the case will not close properly.
Make sure to have some short SATA cables that have one straight and one 90 degree connector on it. That will allow the cover to close without issue.
Windows 7 Installation
We have a bit of a catch when it comes to installing Windows 7. The Intel Desktop Board DQ77KB only has USB 3 SuperSpeed ports on the back. There are USB 2 headers on the board itself but no connectors are provided with the motherboard or case.
So, if the Windows 7 ISO does not have the USB 3 drivers slipstreamed into it we need to use a USB 2 connection as shown above. Fortunately we have a number of those old USB header kits in a bin that will now come in handy. :)
Once the base OS is in place we needed to install the most current driver set for Windows 7.
Please make sure to install the following:
- Intel PROSet NIC Drivers
- Graphics Driver
- Intel Chipset Driver
- Intel MEI/AMT Driver
Once our system was completely set up we finished off with the BIOS update for the board.
We now have a really slick looking system that is _fast_ in its base configuration!
- Intel Desktop Board DQ77KB
- Intel Core i5-3470S
- 8GB or 16GB Kingston SO-DIMM RAM
- 80GB Intel 320 Series SSD (or larger depending on application)
- Lian-Li PC-Q05 Slim Mini-ITX case
- 19 Volt at 8.4A (160 Watt) AC/DC Power Brick
One small caveat with the setup: The PC-Q05 comes with two Power LED headers. One for the button and one for the front mounted LED. Since the DQ77KB only has one header we chose to modify the front LED header (3 hole block) to have the dark wire (positive) in the middle. That header was then plugged into the Power LED header on the board.
That is one smart looking system. :)
Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book
