Lian Li A70B Review - BRAND NEW

I like the look of the A71 more. Really wanted that case. Just taking for ages to come out.
 
It looks much better with the additional 120mm fan where the drive bays are. I can see this case stretching towards the £200 mark though. The features are superb.
 
Looks a nice case, but surely 4 fans around the HD seems a bit excessive? What's wrong with 12cm fans behind them? Certainly similar style to old Stacker, with large front bay fans.
 
It's a great case -

Azza, the A71's a darn good looking case too. :cool: I originally got my 101 because of the door, i loved the clean lines.

Trevor, you're right about the fan bay. Looks much better! Hopefully it will be closer to £150 but i suppose we'll have to wait and see!

badbob, I think Lian Li's idea for the extra fans over the HDD's was to help draw air completely over them and cycle more air into the motherboard area. I agree though... it is a lot of fans for a case.

gt
 
I've decided what isn't right about this case.
It is solely the fact it doesn't look like a Lian Li. It looks like an ATC / Silverstone (not that that's a bad thing) Just a bit odd :p
 
But there is a fair bit of restricted airflow from the two vertical metal cages, most of the surface area is blocked off. It's not like the airflow is "through and through" I think LL need to spend time with ariflow control, most of there cases with direct airflow over HD need to be improved. Pic from module, the metal bits can be removed (red line) so unobstructed airflow. IMO a better design, although LL quicker to fit.

STB3T4F101.jpg


My god, that VGA cooler + fan takes up all PCI slots! :-O
 
Last edited:
Brilliant review mate.

I'm impressed that basically all you had to do was say that you want to review a case for here and they gave you one. :cool:

InvG
 
Great review GT, and i have to say this is probably 1 of the best looking cases i have seen in a long time, i dunno why some people think its ugly.
 
To InvG and Jonny L... Cheers guys - i really appreciate the comments! :)

badbob - yeah, the airflow could be improved by opening it up a little. But with low rpm/cfm fans the restriction won't matter too much.

I agree there are things they could have done better but as far as a high performance air/water cooling case goes this is probably the best.

Silverstone's G70 was widely regarded as one of the (if not the) best cases to watercool from but is quite poor for air cooling since it has no through flow from the front of the case to the rear. Likewise there are cases that are incredibly well suited to aircooling but can't support water cooling ancilliaries properly.

This offers pretty much the best of both worlds as far as i can see but there will always be exceptions. ;)

gt
 
Last edited:
I have a PC-A71B comming next week courtesy of axer on MM....... looking forward to it.

Looks to be an almost ideal air/water case..... tons of space for a 120.3 up top, and i recon you could fit a 120.2 on the fans behind the HDD cage too...... lots of air throughput (it sure will when i put Sharkoon 2000s on it) and pleanty of space to work and cable route.

It is a lot of fans for a case.... and if you've seen the 2x120mm fan top panel that Lian-Li have on their site it's a little overkill....... but i LIKE overkill...... and at least the air takes a logical path, rather than being messed around like some other case designs (Stacker 830?)
 
Last edited:
Now then great case but how comes they never make them wider ? it baffles me just make a case like this with fully removable front hdd bays so you have the option of better airflow and as wide as the eclipse and you will sell loads.I am very keen on this case though but i don't think it is worth laying down much more than £150 for it.
 
Last edited:
C64 said:
Now then great case but how comes they never make them wider ? it baffles me just make a case like this with fully removable front hdd bays so you have the option of better airflow and as wide as the eclipse and you will sell loads.I am very keen on this case though but i don't think it is worth laying down much more than £150 for it.
Click to expand...
Removable drives would be nice but would probably add weight, cost and possibly even sacrifice quietness as it might be more susceptible to resonance.

As it stands airflow is excellent so you should have nothing to worry about... plus there's plenty of space to work in as it's both longer and taller than the Eclipse while only being 2cm narrower.

gt
 
Very nice review and photos :)

I told myself I'd never get a case with front mesh grilles in front of the dust filter though as I have laminate flooring and those meshes collect so much dust requiring a weekly clean! I am happy with the P281 though, none of that to bother with :D
 
gt_junkie said:
You'll love it Simon,

Was that the one that Shiz sold after his review?

Plenty of space to work in as you say... have fun! :D

gt
Click to expand...

nah, its from Axer, he was advertising it on MM Price Checks, so i dropped him an email and we worked out a deal.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17782961&highlight=PC-A71

I'm awaiting it with eager anticipation as i'm running an open rig at the moment, which isnt ideal.....

I'll get some picys up when it arrives and i get all my bits&bobs into it..... HX520, DFI ICFX3200, E6400, X1900XTX w/ Arctic Cooling S1, & 4GB Crucial Aniv DDR2. Running in a P5K Deluxe atm, but going to swap back to the DFI when it comes back from RMA.
 
Sounds like a sweet set up you got there - you'll be very happy with it! I loved my old socket 939 DFI board!

I only mentioned Shiz as i believe Axer bought it from him about 3 months ago... i was super tempted to take it off him when he had it up for sale you see! ;)

gt
 
just need to add another X1900XTX, and it'd be perfect....... thus the DFI over the Asus, 8x/8x > 16x/4x crossfire. Cant clock as high, but my chip maxes out at about 3.6Ghz anyway, and its better for RAM ocing (can get 1175Mhz off my 4 sticks)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom