| Lian Li PC-V1020R Full Tower Computer Case |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |
| Written by David Ramsey | |
| Friday, 10 December 2010 | |
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Page 3 of 7
Detailed Exterior FeaturesMany "aluminum" cases these days are only partially aluminum, with substantial amounts of steel and plastic in addition to the aluminum. This is understandable: aluminum costs more than steel or plastic. This is not one of those cases. With the exception of a few tiny bits (steel thumbscrews, plastic internal cables, etc.) the entire case is aluminum. All of the aluminum is "grained" in the same direction and has the same texture, matching perfectly.
Under a small flap at the top of the case are four SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports, a microphone and audio-out port, and an ESATA connector. A space designed for a FireWire 1394a connector is empty. Just to the right of the I/O panel are the power and reset buttons. The reset button is small enough to require an implement to press— your finger will be too large. The top-mounted ports indcate that Lian Li expects you to use this case on the floor, but personally I want something this nice on my desk.
A closeup of the 5.25" drive bays shows the two "stealth" covers for the optical drives, and the 3.5" device plate, handy for card readers and the like. At the upper right you can see the power and hard drive activity LEDs. The power LED (upper) is blue and the drive activity LED (lower) is red.
Turning to the rear of the case we see the 120mm exhaust fan, two grommeted holes for water-cooling hoses or USB 3.0 cables, the removable power supply mounting plate, and a full eight card slots! Every full-tower case should have eight slots these days, but surprisingly many don't. 
Lian Li has upgraded their aluminum wheels by adding twin rubber runners. The lever in the middle serves to lock the front wheels in place, so you don't have to worry about the case rolling off your desk.
Let's take a look at the interior of the case now.
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Comments
(1) Cooling seems skimpy. I'm not talking about the included fans, but possible fan mounting options. Two front, one back, one top?
(2) What is the advantage of putting the PS under everything? Heat rises. I've never understood that trend.
(3) Waste of space taking up bays only for fans. My old 830 Stacker has space to include two 120mm front fans and bays all the way down, nine of them!
This case is not impressive to me from a technical point of view; however, it is nice to see a full aluminum case so nicely finished, so nice in fact it looks sterile. But I still like the case in a spartan way.
What I would like to see in case manufacturers is a fully removable slide out motherboard tray that includes the power supply and drives. In other words, the entire guts of the computer would slide out on a roller rack, like a drawer in your house. You would simply turn the case on it's end, for one example, and pull the entire guts out of the other end, complete, everything ready to work on. Once it's out a modular design would then allow you to separate the PS and drives from the motherboard, if one wished.
1. Cooling system is adequate for sure! The inside fans, both the rear and top fans, are optimally placed for efficient heat removal. The two 140mm front fans provides volumes of air to cool effectively.
2. The bottom-mounted power supply is the most efficient way to accomplish several purposes. First, the weight of the PSU is at the bottom preventing the case from being top-heavy as in older case designs. Second, the power supply has its own dedicated air vents on the bottom of the case so the psu fan is mounted facing the bottom vents pulling in cooler air and then venting out the rear of the PSU. Therefore the PSU's fan acts as a third vent fan pulling out the PSU heat most effectively.
3. The space is not wasted, it provide ample room for proper effective air circulation throughout the case.
4. Lian Li makes very well engineered and constructed computer cases. The "fit and finish" is bar-none in my opinion and their products excel and will last for many years. The front panel wiring, switches and connectors are all top quality and heavy duty.
I have owned a Lian Li case for a few years now and it is by far the best computer case I have ever owned.
Cable management looks as if it's adequate. The reviewer did a poor job of cable management in the product build photos. If he would have spent another 30 minutes, he could have cleaned up his cable routing significantly.
You both should better write "negative comments" after using the Lian-Li cases for a while!
We use Lian-Li cases since years from now, for industrial quality control systems, and... try to find better, and let us know !
Thanks for the review.
Jean
I think you wrote about it:
#benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3658&Itemid=47
Still, here's a video:
##youtube.com/watch?v=RIOP8-bt7tg
##vortez.co.uk/articles_pages/lian_li_pc_a77f_revi ew.html
I wonder how this compares to say, the HAF-X or 800D?
This gives the ability to mount the Lian Li Aluminum PCI Cooling Kit Model # BS-03
Lian Li cases cost about $350 here in Canada:
##newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112261&nm_mc=OTC-sho6b0tCA&cm_mmc=OTC-sho6b0tCA-_-Cases+%28Computer+Cases+-+ATX+Form%29-_-Lian-Li-_-11112261
and the US:
##newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112261&nm_mc=OTC-sho6b0tCA&cm_mmc=OTC-sho6b0tCA-_-Cases+%28Computer+Cases+-+ATX+Form%29-_-Lian-Li-_-11112261
Plus expensive shipping (as it's a case). After shipping is factored, that's more than double the price of the HAF-X (which I can get at a local computer store). That means about $200 less cash to spend on the parts in your PC, which is the difference between a mid-range GPU and a high-end GPU.
While this Lian Li case is gorgeous (not in red!) and I would like to have one, it's cooling options are not optimal, hopefully adequate, but not optimal.
The reason - you are moving the air in straight lines.
As soon as you add any fan to the side, you get turbulence and vortexes and the cooling performance plummets.
That is why every Lian Li I have built (at least 40) is always a lot cooler than almost any other equivalent case (several thousand - 1981 to date). Like most of the other guys in these comments, I now use Lian Li exclusively.
Oh yes, and I have tried almost every brand of case in BMR except the NZXT.
I plan on cutting a 2x120 rectangle on the top, and mounting the fans inside, and the rad outside the case. (I did this on a PC-V1100 and it works well.)
ie:
[ rad ]
---------- case
fan1 fan2
Is the top fan mount bolted in? Is it riveted in? If just a few screws, does it leave the top clean of obstructions once it is removed up there? You didn't show a god picture of it, and no mention of how it is held in.
This is the only big question I have before getting this case.
ie after removing the fan assembly, is it clear up there to then simply cut the 240x120 hole out of the top plate?
You can remove all the brackets for the top fan, leaving only the top panel.
Plus: As far as I understood, the reviewer installed a 10,6" larger-than-ATX-but-smaller-than-E-ATX mobo. As I intent to do the very same thing - would the cable management spare holes in the slide tray be covered and, in consequence, become useless?
Thanks for your comments, guys.
Thomas
At the bottom of the "Detailed Interior Features" page, I measured the specific clearances you're looking for. The "top of motherboard tray to left side panel" distance is 7.25", or a touch over 184mm, so the Archon should fit, although you might have to install it after sliding the motherboard tray in.
Any motherboard longer (front to back) than the ATX standard of 9.6" is probably going to cover some of the cable routing holes.
Thomas
Lian Li all the way!!!