Lian Li PC-A05

p4radox

p4radox

p4radox

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Who else absolutely loves the look of this case?

I'm planning on transplanting my current rig into one at some point soon, ready for a full system upgrade in summer. At the moment I've got an Antec Aria that's noisy as hell, and a bugger to work in.

The only disadvantages I can see to the A05 are the slightly non-standard airflow and the high price. For a little more I could get an Eclipse or Mirage which are my favourite big cases. But I really want to stay with a fairly small case for easy transport and more desk room.

Any comments/ other suggestions for cases around this price point?
 
I want one, like I mentioned in another thread I bodged my G50 so the layout is a lot like the A05... then Lian Li go and announce the A05 ><

Looks like a very nice case though, if I have enough left when I get back from holiday I am buying one.
 
It's a great case. I got one as a present for a colleague from a competitor about 4 weeks back after OcUK let me down on the delivery dates.

VERY small inside (but quite samll outside too) and the fans are quite loud at 12V, but perfect at 5V. It's surprisingly deep for something so short (you expect it to be shallower, but it can't be of course as it's ATX).

Overall it's a significant improvement over the V600 PSU layout but I don't think the HDD cage design is as good as the V600 one.
 
looks nice I was gona go for it but i liked the silverstone tj04 nicer but i may get it for my secondary computer
 
I am definately going to get it, I was looking at a sugo or V600,. but saw this and means i dont have to change anything at all. like with the v600 I would have to change my cpu cooler cause of the psu, with this its down the front, very cool i think
 
The only thing I would point out is that if you have the common type of PSU with the 120mm fan at the bottom, then you either have to mount it upside down or be prepared for the fan to be pulling against a very small gap (1.5cm?) right above (in my case) carpet so it's going to be a dust magnet like that. When I saw this, I swapped out the Akasa Paxpower I was going to use for a Tagan 380W which has a twin-fan 'tunnel' effect. As far as I know it's working fine as I've had no complaints, but I didn't like the closeness of the vent to the bottom of the case.
 
I would think the gap wouldnt be a problem, are they any big holes in the bottom of the case to pull in dust, shouldnt be. plus if its turned upside down, it should also be fine i would think, I have a corsair HX psu and there aint a rear fan, just the 120mm one in the bottom, so the back plate wouldnt be a problem, if if there is a smaller fan in the rear of the psu, I tihnk that the plate can be turned around to match to fan. mounting it upside down maybe cause the main cable coming out of the psu be closest to the door, so can make your case look less tidy, where as if its mounted normally the main cable would be nearest to the mobo, and easily have the ability to tuck away behind drive bays, i wouldnt think the small gap would be much of a problem, although i dont know how much space there is for the gap, proly 1inch or so.


EDIT: I found a very good review of this case, but its on another forum, is that allowed ?
 
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Really depends what forum, I would just quote them on here with their name rather than the forums though. Just in case.
 
Raikiri said:
Really depends what forum, I would just quote them on here with their name rather than the forums though. Just in case.
Click to expand...

Ok, so you mean copy the entire post, and just have a little sentence saying what forum its come from ?
 
Slinger said:
EDIT: I found a very good review of this case, but its on another forum, is that allowed ?
Click to expand...

Depends - do they carry advertising for OcUK competitors? If so then I'd probably leave it, if not then no problems.

As for holes, no there are no holes directly under the CPU but there are slots drilled in the front and rear end panels and air does get pulled in through there, but I much prefer the 'tunnel' as that way it's definitely forcing air out of the case.
 
Slinger said:
Ok, so you mean copy the entire post, and just have a little sentence saying what forum its come from ?
Click to expand...


Nah, just say the posters name, give credit etc. but leave the forums name :)
 
ARRRG, I just started doing it and then OCUK Forum says I got to many images in my post,

Guys, just go into googles and searh these exact words "Lian Li A05B Review" (without the quotes)

and its the first search result !
 
claude05 said:
I posted this case review just a little while ago at *********** and I thought you guys would like to see it. Thanks to Ryboto for his helpful and patient answers and thanks to the rest of you who helped me with my decision.

I've been looking for a small, stylish and most importantly quiet case for a while to house my computer. My previous case was a full tower cheming(sp?) case with 4 80mm fans. as far as cooling was concerned it no longer was capable of keeping my components cool without my having to ramp up the speeds on the fans to an intolerable noise level.
After doing some research and talking with the guys at Silent PC review I narrowed my choices down and finally made a decision. I purchased the new Lian Li A05B case. So far I am very impressed and thought you guys would like a small review in case you should be looking for something similar.

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The A05B next to my Cheming case


I needed something small since my apartment isn't very big and I need to keep as much real estate as I can. Also I needed the case to be as quiet as possible and I knew 80mm fans wouldn't cut it, so 120mm fans were a must. As far as looks, I wanted something Minimal, low on garrish LED's, and stylish.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e195/shaker718/_2180110.jpg
The A05B, like the V1000 series, places the MB upside down, notice the Power supply plug at the bottom, I'll explain this in a bit


The dimensions of the case are W8.26'' x H15'' x D19.3''. Despite its small size it's considered a Midtower case and in fact does hold motherboards up to 12"x9.6" in size with room to spare. It comes equipped with 2x 120mm fans that run at about 1500rpms, but unlike most (I imagine) cases, the airflow is reversed. This means that the hottest parts (especially the CPU) gets the coolest air first.

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The Airflow is from Back to Front!

Another unusual thing about the case is its placement of the Power Supply. The PSU is placed in the front of the case with what would normally face the back facing the front, in doing this the PSU is now also used as a front exhaust!

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e195/shaker718/_2180119.jpg
The A05B with the front cover removed.

The front cover easily pops off to reveal the Drive bezels, power buttons, front 120mm exhaust fan and the oddly placed Power supply. The case comes with a 90 degree plug that connects to the PSU and goes from the front of the case to the back socket where the normal Power supply plug is then attached. The Power supply is held in place by a face plate attached to the front by 4 thumbscrews for easy removal and is held up in the case by an "L" bracket that holds it about an half inch from the case floor.

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PSU face plate with thumbscrews

The case holds 2 DVD/cd drives and a Floppy drive. The Harddrive cage can hold 3 Harddrives. It uses rubber gromits that attach to rails, this keeps vibrations down and holds the drives securely. My drives are virtually silent now and that is a big improvement! Due to the size of my 8800GTS and the placement of its power plug it makes it difficult to place a drive on the top-most rail, those of you with smaller video cards will have no problem populating all three rails should you want to.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e195/shaker718/_2180125.jpg
The Harddrive cage. If you look at the top of the cage you can see the rail system

The panels on both sides of the case are held with thumbscrews and come of easily. Despite being made of thin aluminum, the panels feel sturdy and have some weight to them. They fit perfectly and tightly so there is no worry about them resonating.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e195/shaker718/_2180123.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e195/shaker718/_2180127.jpg
Both side panels off. The second image shows my quickie cable routing job.

The case gives you enough space to route and hide cables. I tried to keep the cables organized and once I have more time I will do a better job but so far, with minimal effort, it's much better than what was possible with my old case.

The top of the case sports hidden USB/FireWire/Audio ports. This is great for someone (like me) who likes to keep their case on the floor.

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Stealth Ports ***!

For this to be an objective review I have to give you some of the bad along with the good. The Airflow, while interesting, could be problematic with some configurations. I imagine it would be somewhat impeded if the entire Harddrive cage was populated. However I have to point out that quite a large volume of air can be felt coming out of the front so perhaps my speculations are incorrect.

My CPU runs very, very cool (remember it's getting the coolest air first) but, at idle, my 8800GTS is running about 3C to 5C hotter. Warm air pools at the top-back and keeps the area noticebly warmer than the rest of the case, despite all the perforations meant to let hot air seep out.I run everything at stock, so my heat output is much less than some of you on this site who are overclocking your components. I will add that I am happy with the temps in contrast to the noise levels. With this in mind, however, I would hesitate to recommend it for overclockers without considering modding the case to add a top or side fan for further ventilation or using it for a watercooled rig.

As it stands with its two 120mm case fans, my Zalman 7000alcu, single 120mm fan PSU, and the surprisingly quiet 8800GTS, the case is fairly quiet. It's not silent, but it is very quiet, especially when under my desk. I will be changing the fans someday soon to Yate Loons, and perhaps changing some other components to make it even more silent (this quiet stuff is addictive...)

One more thing, if you are looking for an HTPC case I think this would be perfect with one caveat: you need to be able to control the speed of the DVD drive. Since the A05B is so light, at 16x the drive spins fast enough to shake the case and this makes quite a bit of noise. I'm currently using Nero Drive speed to control the spinning of the drive. I set it to a minimum, about 4x when watching movies, and it's almost silent.


So far I am very happy with this purchase. The case is everything I wanted. I couldn't be more pleased. I hope this review helps you if you are looking for something similar. Thanks for your time and attention.:D
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I suppose it's unlikely that Lian Li will bring out a side panel with window. :(

It's no big deal - I hate lights and cathodes but I do like to be able to see inside without the sides off.

My proposed purchase:

Lian Li PC-A05b
Corsair 520W (will mount with the fan facing upwards)
Silentmaxx HDD enclosure
2 120mm Yate Loon fans.
Thermalright HR03

EDIT: I can't find the Silentmaxx enclosure on OcUK, where the hell is it?
 
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