Lian Li PC-A16B

[GhostlyPea]

There was a thread about this a few pages back but not much info in it. What i'm interested in is whether anybody has bought one? I'm looking to upgrade to this but im a bit concerned about -

- Noise as the whole thing is alu, also considering the side fan that is supplied. Is it loud/replaceable/removable?
- Whats it like for cable hiding?
- I read on a review site the top bay is "not useable" for 5.25" drives due to some cables or something, any truth in this?
- Is the case supplied with rubber feet?
- Whats the space like for a Tuniq Tower size cooler? I know the GFX space is ok but I'm not sure about its width.
- The rubber gromits supplied for the HDDs, do they fit well and how effective are they?

any decent pics would also be appreciated (preferably the back plate, internals and a front shot with the bezel removed)

Cheers guys
- Pea0n

 

[GhostlyPea]

Bumpy

- Pea0n

 

[karoshi]

i bought one, have had it for close on 6 months now.. don't have a digicam so can't really supply photos but..

- Noise as the whole thing is alu, also considering the side fan that is supplied. Is it loud/replaceable/removable?

it's pretty noisy on aircooling, the whole front is meshed so there's very little sound deadening, i'm running mine at the moment with a Noctua NH-U12 cpu cooler with two 120mm fans on it, it's not noisy enough to be intrusive when gaming but it gets to me a bit if i'm just browsing

i removed my side fan so can't comment on it, but the fan in it is the same as the rear exhaust fan and that doesn't appear to be that noisy

- Whats it like for cable hiding?

so-so, it's ok but nothing special

- I read on a review site the top bay is "not useable" for 5.25" drives due to some cables or something, any truth in this?

very true, the cables for the usb2/mic/headphones and the ones for the lights and power button are only just long enough to get to the headers on the motherboard without a drive there, with a drive in the top slot = no chance.

- Is the case supplied with rubber feet?

pre-attached

- Whats the space like for a Tuniq Tower size cooler? I know the GFX space is ok but I'm not sure about its width.

if you don't mind running without a side panel..

i have a tuniq tower that was on my intel PC build, ditched it when going to this case and AMD but offering it up i'd say it's about an inch too tall

- The rubber gromits supplied for the HDDs, do they fit well and how effective are they?

fit quite well, no complaints


overall, i bought the case for it's looks and i'm happy with it, it's slightly larger than the ATC201b it replaced but it doesn't feel like there's any more room inside.. only complaints i've had are:

- the front bezel on mine vibrated / rattled constantly when it was new, it seems to have bedded in now though

- the top mounted USB2 slots are really useful but attract dust and you have to be careful not to scratch the top plate with any devices you connect

 

[b0rn2sk8]

very true, the cables for the usb2/mic/headphones and the ones for the lights and power button are only just long enough to get to the headers on the motherboard without a drive there, with a drive in the top slot = no chance.

I have to disagree with this point, as iv got 2 CD drives in the top 2 slots and all the USB and sounds ports plugged into the headers on my motherboard. I slid the cables downt he back of the motherboard between it and the motherboard tray.


Also i dont see how a Tuniq Tower cooler can be too tall, iv got a thermalright Ulta 120 which is 7.5mm taller and fits in with loads of space to spair. Also my scythe ninja fits in fine which is 3mm shorter. Let me dig out a Pic.

 

[C64]

PinkFloyd built a pc in this case a while back and said the quality wasn't as expected as the usual lian li.

 

[GhostlyPea]

Ill be honest, im really dissapointed at this info. I love the looks of the case, but it seems that thats all it has. Ho hum i guess ill just continue my search for a new box :<. thanks for the input guys, after OCUK dropped them I wasnt expecting such a detailed answer. thanks again

- Pea0n

 

[karoshi]

I have to disagree with this point, as iv got 2 CD drives in the top 2 slots and all the USB and sounds ports plugged into the headers on my motherboard. I slid the cables downt he back of the motherboard between it and the motherboard tray.

could possibly depend on the layout of the motherboard? on mine the header bank for power switch / reset / lights / etc is mounted horizontally along the very bottom of the board, with a dvd/rw drive in the 2nd bay down, the connection cables in the case are *just* long enough to go over the end of it and down to the headers

Also i dont see how a Tuniq Tower cooler can be too tall, iv got a thermalright Ulta 120 which is 7.5mm taller and fits in with loads of space to spair. Also my scythe ninja fits in fine which is 3mm shorter. Let me dig out a Pic.

well, i did say that this was based on offering it up to the system, my tuniq tower is from an intel system and i'm currently running an AMD chip & board, so that would possibly explain it?

i'm curious too but i'm not sure i'm curious enough about it to find a tape measure when i get home