Author: Fido Posted on: 6/16/2002 Sponsor: KoolCases Discuss: In the forums

Introduction & Features Lian Li cases have long been some of the most sought after cases on the market. Granted, they're a bit on the expensive side, but as the old saying goes you generally get what you pay for. Specifically, this review will be on the Lian Li PC-61 case with a replacement pre-windowed side panel. We'll also throw in a cold cathode light along the way to brighten things up a bit. All items in this review, including the replacement side panel, and cathode light are available from KoolCases.com - the sponsor of this review. Now that we have some of the preliminary items out of the way, let's get started and see what this case has to offer. Features: (4) 5.25" Drive Bays (3) 3.5" Drive Bays (5) 3.5" Hard Drive Bays Black (Hard Anodized) Pentium 4 Ready Chassis Case made out of lightweight aluminum Includes (3) 80mm cooling fans (adjustable speed) Includes 4 Front Mounted USB Ports (with cover) Tool Free Access (Thumbscrews) Measures 492mm x 210x 450mm (L x W x H) Power Supply Sold Separately Taking it apart Fully assembled, this case is truly a work of art. We'll start this review with the case intact, but as we progress we'll tear it down - ultimately to the frame. The front of the case is home to four 5.25" drive bays located towards the top; with the three externally accessible 3.5" drive bays below and offset a bit. The power button, reset button, power LED, and hard drive activity LED are centered to the right of the 3.5" drive bays.                     The lower front of the case is primarily dedicated to ventilation, with the exception of the small door, which covers four front mounted USB ports at the lower most area. The door hiding the front mounted USB ports is very sturdy, and snaps into place when closed to make sure it stays that way. On many cases, these small doors can feel flimsy and cheap, but this one feels very "solid" and is made out of same aluminum used throughout the case's exterior.        A windowed side panel has replaced the access side of the case. The size of the window is large enough to show off all of the gear you have housed inside the case. The plexiglass has been secured to the panel using a series of 14 silver colored pop-rivets. At first glance, the silver color of the rivets distracts slightly from the black finish of the case, but do add a sense of "technology" to the overall appearance. The non-access side of the case has nothing really to talk about - it's simply a sea of black anodized aluminum. The top of the case has been secured using pop-rivets as well, so if you're planning on removing the top to install a blow-hole, you'll have to drill out the rivets, and replace them during reassembly.              The back of this case is literally covered with thumbscrews. There are two on each side, which can easily be removed to gain access inside either of the side panels, four located at the top which secure the power supply plate, and four more (two at the top and two at the bottom) which secure the removable motherboard tray. An 80mm exhaust fan is mounted near the area where your CPU will be setting up residence, with the standard 7 card slots down below. Three sets of ventilation holes have been punched into the area near the card slots to aid in the overall case ventilation. Finally, the plate that your motherboard I/O ports pass through includes holes for just about every possible port you could want.                           Removal of the front faceplate can be accomplished without the use of any tools. It snaps into place with four (one in each corner) male / female socket type connectors. There are no wires running from the chassis to the faceplate, which assist in the removal process. Beneath the faceplate you will find the actual power / reset buttons, the power / drive activity LEDS, a three-position switch used to control the speed of the intake fans (two 80mm fans), the four front-mounted USB ports, and the filter that covers the intake fans. The filter cover can be easily removed by sliding it upwards, and tilting it away from the case to allow access to the filter itself - a very handy feature, especially if you have dusty house or are a pet owner (cooling fans are notorious for sucking in every particle of animal hair within a six foot radius).                                         Installing a power supply is as easy as removing four thumbscrews located on the back of the case, allowing you the ability to remove the power supply plate. Mount your power supply to the plate, and then re-install the plate using the thumbscrews. One thing to keep in mind: if you're installing a power supply with an extra exhaust fan mounted on the bottom of it, you'll have to work a little bit to get it through the hole. Access to the interior of the case through either side panel is obtained by removing two thumbscrews located on the back of the case, and space is definitely not a problem once you're inside. Any sharp edges have been removed by rounding over the metal, and plastic "runners" are used in high-traffic areas to help keep all of your skin intact.              Many sections of the case are modularized from this point forward, and can be removed from the case to aid in the installation of your components. For starters, the entire externally accessible 3.25" drive bay can be removed from the front of the case by removing a set of three thumbscrews. The internal 3.25" drive bay is also a modularized component, and can be removed from the chassis after removing two thumbscrews. One thing to keep in mind when you're installing drives - if you completely fill all five slots available in the internal tray, you run the risk of disturbing your airflow.              The final modularized piece is the motherboard tray. It can be removed from the chassis after removing four thumbscrews located on the back of the case. The tray will then slide out the rear of the case, to allow easy installation / tweaking of your motherboard. The motherboard tray does not accept traditional motherboard stand-offs. It uses tiny metal clips that snap into the square holes punched into the tray. There are plenty of these clips included in the "bag of goodies", so even if your cat eats a few, you'll still have enough to install your board.              Wires running to the power button, reset switch, speaker, power LED, and hard drive LED are a ribbon-like cable with a detachable end. This allows you the ability to disconnect the connecting ends of the cable, which not only aid in motherboard installation, but also keep the functionality of the removable motherboard tray intact.        The exhaust fan mounted on the rear of the case is built into the removable motherboard tray. It has a guard mounted on the interior side, as well as the external side to help keep your fingers at their proper length. Final item on the removable motherboard tray is the inclusion of thumbscrews to secure the PCI / AGP cards. This case takes the phrase "tool free" to a whole new level.        We talked briefly about the front intake fans back at the beginning of this review, but that was from an "outside the case" perspective. Now that we've opened this case up, we'll take a closer look at the fans. A company called ADDA manufactures the fans in our particular case. The model number on the fan is AD0182MS-A76GL - if you would like to decode the entire model number, here is a link to the ADDA model-numbering scheme. They're essentially medium speed, low noise, 80mm, 12 volt, seven blade fans with a built in speed sensor. Their speed is controlled using a set of resistors located a tiny board behind the three position switch on the front of the case (behind the front panel). The default speed setting is 3 (Low).              At this point we have stripped the case down as far as we can go leaving us with a very lightweight aluminum frame. The entire disassembly process required no tools, as everything was held together using thumbscrews. All told, this case is assembled with about 30 thumbscrews!                           We're near the end of this journey, and it is now time to install a cold cathode light tube to show off some of the insides of this case. I really liked the fact that this particular light kit came with a power switch. I've seen many around that simply come with a Molex connector, or worse no connector at all. For some reason, the frequency at which the cold cathode tube operates really screwed with my camera when the lights were off, so some of these pictures have some weird lines going through them. Aside from the strange lines, the light kit really adds a great deal to the overall appearance of this case.                     Conclusion I'm not going to beat around the bush when it comes to the conclusion of this case. It has been quite apparent from the beginning of this review - this case is awesome! The sponsor of this review, KoolCases.com is currently selling the Lian Li PC-61 for $160.00. This may sound a little high for a case, but like we said in the opening paragraph of this review, you get what you pay for. The "pre-windowed" replacement side panel sells for $35.00 and the Cathode red light used in this review sells for $34.00, and were also provided to us by KoolCases.com. Below is a list of the features we liked about this case, followed by a list of things we didn't like. The Good Lightweight aluminum construction. Without a power supply installed, you can easily pick up the case with one finger. Very strong and sturdy. You wouldn't think something with such a small frame underneath would be this durable - heavy gauged aluminum is very strong. Plenty of room for expansion (lots of drive bays). The black anodized finish is beautiful. Modularized drive racks, make installation and maintenance a breeze. The removable motherboard tray is very nice. It slides in and out easily, and is very sturdy. If you manage to cut your hands while working inside this case, I'd be very surprised. All sharp edges have been rounded over, with extra plastic molding installed in high-traffic areas. "Disconnectable" LED / Power wires make the removable motherboard tray even more useful. Three fans are included. The speed control settings on the front fans is an excellent idea, and all the fans are very quiet (even when they are running at full speed). Four front-mounted USB ports. Intake fan filter is very beneficial, and is easy to clean. Thumbscrews: no tools are needed to completely disassemble this case down to the frame. The pre-windowed replacement side window is great. If you're going to drop down the cash and get yourself a Lian Li case, spend the extra thirty-bucks and get a panel that has already been windowed. The light kit - if you have a window, you must have a light inside. Pre-wired power switches, and cathode tubes are the things to look for when you're out shopping around. The Bad At $160.00 the price must be mentioned here. But I don't have a problem at all; telling you this case is worth every penny. There is no power supply included. This will increase the overall cost of your case, unless you are moving your components from an older case, into a new case. If you're using a power supply that has a bottom-mounted fan, you may have a bit of difficulty getting it to fit through the hole in the back. It will fit though, you'll just have to squeeze / wiggle it a little to make it fit. Loading up all five slots on the internal 3.5" drive bay with drives, could hinder airflow.

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Published on: 2004-02-01 (33180 reads)