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Skrying
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Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:37 pm

First... I'm a huge fan of Lian Li cases. They've continued the clean look where many computer case manufacturers have strayed. I still cry at night when I think about Cooler Master's current products compared to the classic ATC line (too bad the ATCS 840 interior is so bad). But... back again to Lian Li... I'm a huge fan. I love the extensive use of aluminum, easy moddability and intelligent design not seen on the vast majority of cases.

This brings us to the current state of mATX cases. It is rubbish. You have maybe three quality cases out there not in the "Shuttle" form factor. Those are Antec's NSK3440, Silverstone's TJ08, Cooler Master's Elite 341. But now... now! we have the best option yet and it is from Lian Li!

I present you the Lian Li PC-A03!

Beautiful brushed aluminum! Properly aligned front 120mm fan! Room for three 3.5" hard drives and a properly placed gap for a long graphics card! A body that not just encourages but screams "cut me and replace that rear fan with a 120mm!" but not in the flawed way but in that beautiful and easily tooled aluminum way! All in a sub $100 package!

I am in love!
Last edited by Skrying on Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
bdwilcox
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:42 pm

Someone needs to get out more...
 
Hance
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:48 pm

I tried to go to the link and chrome flips out says the site contains malware. I would go to the link at your own risk guys !!!!!

Safe Browsing
Diagnostic page for lian-li.com

What is the current listing status for lian-li.com?
Site is listed as suspicious - visiting this web site may harm your computer.

What happened when Google visited this site?
Of the 10 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 3 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2009-11-21, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2009-11-21.
Malicious software includes 2 trojan(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 3 new process(es) on the target machine.

Malicious software is hosted on 4 domain(s), including mirroronerofive.com/, 95.211.8.0/, 213.108.56.0/.

1 domain(s) appear to be functioning as intermediaries for distributing malware to visitors of this site, including prerre.com/.

This site was hosted on 1 network(s) including AS3462 (HINET).

Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?
Over the past 90 days, lian-li.com did not appear to function as an intermediary for the infection of any sites.

Has this site hosted malware?
No, this site has not hosted malicious software over the past 90 days.

How did this happen?
In some cases, third parties can add malicious code to legitimate sites, which would cause us to show the warning message.

Next steps:
Return to the previous page.
If you are the owner of this web site, you can request a review of your site using Google Webmaster Tools. More information about the review process is available in Google's Webmaster Help Center.
Last edited by Hance on Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
dalisam
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:49 pm

Yea so does AVG. VIrus Threat.
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:52 pm

Google does it for all of the Lian Li sites... why? I have no idea. Anyway, here's the SVC link for it. http://www.svc.com/pc-a03b.html
 
Hance
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:57 pm

Ok I checked out the case on your second link. The case is not big enough for me. Two dvd writers and a creative font panel means I am SOL. Its a fairly nice looking case though way better than the new lights and windows style of most cases.
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:02 pm

Hance wrote:
Ok I checked out the case on your second link. The case is not big enough for me. Two dvd writers and a creative font panel means I am SOL. Its a fairly nice looking case though way better than the new lights and windows style of most cases.


Sure, it's a mATX. But I personally have zero reason for owning an optical drive at all these days (installed Windows via USB). I'm hard pressed to imagine needing two DVD writers. Each person is unique but I will say a case like the PC-A03 and other mATX cases are far better designed and would be much more appropriate than what the general "gamer" buys.
 
Flying Fox
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:20 pm

I kind of like the P180 mini's slightly subdued look a bit more.
The Model M is not for the faint of heart. You either like them or hate them.

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Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:24 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
I kind of like the P180 mini's slightly subdued look a bit more.


My plan is to remove the fans included in the case and replace with silent solid black ones (or maybe white, though the black/white themes are popular these days). I also plan to place a black metal mesh behind that grill. Lian Li has a mid tower with a similar grill but with mesh behind it. Much better looking. A Lian Li is all about the potential. The P180 Mini, besides being way to large for a mATX only case, is made out of materials that greatly limit the potential to mod it.
 
blitzy
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:45 pm

that's a pretty sweet case, id consider something like that if i ever get around to needing a new pc.

the only thing im not wild on about it is the front grill, its tolerable but id probably pick a different look if i could
 
Voldenuit
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:22 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
I kind of like the P180 mini's slightly subdued look a bit more.


Unfortunately, the mini P180 is HUEG. It's as big as some compact full ATX cases (it's a good 2 inches taller than the full ATX Lian-Li A05), but still has less expandability. You're better off getting a smaller mATX case or going for full ATX altogether (such as the full P182).

I'm not a fan of the A03, though - that front grille looks garish and ugly. I had a Silverstone TJ-08, and though it was missing several amenities (vented expansion slots, rubber feet, could be quieter), it had 2x120-mm fans, could accommodate long GPUs and full tower heatsinks and had a very nice brushed aluminum fascia. I had 5 HDDs and a 4850 (with an Accelero S1) chugging happily away in it.
Wind, Sand and Stars.
 
Voldenuit
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:31 pm

Skrying wrote:
Flying Fox wrote:
I kind of like the P180 mini's slightly subdued look a bit more.


My plan is to remove the fans included in the case and replace with silent solid black ones (or maybe white, though the black/white themes are popular these days).


If you're after white, the Enermax 'Batwing' fans are available in black, white and red, and by all accounts are super quiet while moving lots of air.
Wind, Sand and Stars.
 
edh
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:45 pm

This is strange. I was on Lian Li's site yesterday with no problems whatsoever. Today, Google flags their site as having malware. Considering that Lian Li's site is a corporate site and that it has not changed in a couple of months, I suspect that Google is having a heart murmur or something.

Regardless, here's a link directly to the PC-A03 on Lian Li's official corporate website.
pc-v600b, ss-860xp, max V gene, 3770k, 4x8gb ddr3 2400, i520 240gb ssd (os/apps), i520 480gb ssd (workspace), 2x3tb wd30efrx (raid-1) & i525 60gb ssd (cache), 2x GV-R795WF3-3GD, 2x u3014, leopold/cherry brown kb, g400, intuos5 pth650, win.7.x64.ult
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 11:00 pm

Voldenuit wrote:
If you're after white, the Enermax 'Batwing' fans are available in black, white and red, and by all accounts are super quiet while moving lots of air.


Yep, I've seen them. My current build plan includes Enermax's ECO80+ 400W PSU that has a Batwing fan inside. After SilentPC Review spoke so highly of them in their review of the ECO80+ 500W review it seemed like a must have for my goal.

The other three cases I mentioned in my first post highlighted the mATX cases that are of correct size and air flow design. Specifically meaning they can handle the huge cards if need be (and much better than the countless terrible full ATX cases so popular these days) and tower heatsinks. The A03 can do it too and the only air flow issue I have with it is the rear mounted fan not being 120mm. I can live with that though because... well I'll mod it so it doesn't matter to be honest. Probably a funnel with the 120mm attached to a heatsink.
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Wed Nov 25, 2009 9:36 pm

Changed my mind. Rather have this: http://www.lan-gear.com/index.php
 
Airmantharp
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:02 am

Skrying wrote:
Changed my mind. Rather have this: http://www.lan-gear.com/index.php


I really like these cases, and have wanted a real SFF for a while- and this would be as close as I would get. Don't think I'll really do it, no need, just a want, but it's a nice solution and I'll keep it in mind :).
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:34 am

For those wanting more information there is a lengthy thread at HardForum: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1455817

It's designs like this that make me really question the decision making process of larger case manufacturers. I'm tired of seeing 4 revisions of a case line yet all have major fundamental flaws (*cough* Silverstone SUGO, Thermaltake Lanbox, Apevia QPack *cough*). I've looked at every mATX case available on Newegg and many other sites over the past week and they all have some flaw that I can't imagine getting past the drawing board of someone who actually uses these products.
 
Flying Fox
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:32 pm

Micro ATX case is all about compromises in order to fit a smaller size. What do you have in mind anyway?
The Model M is not for the faint of heart. You either like them or hate them.

Gerbils unite! Fold for UnitedGerbilNation, team 2630.
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:48 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
Micro ATX case is all about compromises in order to fit a smaller size. What do you have in mind anyway?


Compromise for who? For most people it is the ideal solution. Most people have only one or two hard drives, a video card and maybe one or two expansion cards, a single optical drive. Intelligently designed mATX cases can also easily fit long graphics cards and large tower style heatsinks. Plus more than enough cooling potential. I'm just tired of seeing people with massive mid towers and full towers and having zero need for something so large.

The rig I'm planning right now is looking to be a Phenom II X3 720, Gigabyte or MSI (still deciding, MSI superior layout but Gigabyte leans towards super OCing from reviews/forum posts) 785G board, HD5770, 4GB RAM and Corsair 400W PSU. I have room in my budget, $650 or cheaper, to either grab a Samsung F3 1TB and go with Cooler Master's Elite 341 case or skip the hard drive upgrade for now and go with the Lan Gear case. I've also, clearly, consider the Lian Li PC-A03 case closely and Antec NSK3480 (and skip the Corsair PSU). I also considered momentarily the Antec Mini P180 but its size and weight would not be ideal, I would probably just go with Cooler Master's Storm Scout if I were going to go that heavy/large (with mods to tone its "gamer-ness" down a bit).

I prefer "plain" looking cases personally. Long term would probably be a pearl white against soft black powder coat.
 
michael_d
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sun Nov 29, 2009 7:47 pm

I like Lian-Li cases too but they are extremely expensive.
This is my favourite. http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/pr ... s_index=67
 
l33t-g4m3r
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sun Nov 29, 2009 8:23 pm

blah. generic.
raidmax has better designs/features/value.
case I have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811156078
Last edited by l33t-g4m3r on Tue Dec 01, 2009 4:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sun Nov 29, 2009 10:32 pm

l33t-g4m3r wrote:
blah. generic.
raidmax has better designs/features/value.
case I have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811156098


Wow. I hope you are kidding. But I know you're not. Which makes this all the more sad.
 
Airmantharp
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sun Nov 29, 2009 11:01 pm

Besides being full of cheap plastic, not being upside-down, and not having cable routing behind the motherboard and a cutout under the CPU, it actually looks like a decent inexpensive case. I like the looks of it too, something I would give to someone that likes flashy stuff. Granted, personally, I'd much rather go for an understated P183- but that thing doesn't quite fit Skrying's bill of being small now does it :).
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sun Nov 29, 2009 11:33 pm

You can get a Cooler Master Storm Scout or Haf 922 for that price if you want to go with the gamer look! Both of which are MUCH MUCH MUCH better cases in every way. Unless you honestly put value in a Raidmax PSU and I feel bad for someone who does. Sorry... I just don't understand the thought process of someone who finds "SMILODON" on their case acceptable.
 
Flying Fox
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:57 am

Skrying wrote:
You can get a Cooler Master Storm Scout or Haf 922 for that price if you want to go with the gamer look! Both of which are MUCH MUCH MUCH better cases in every way. Unless you honestly put value in a Raidmax PSU and I feel bad for someone who does. Sorry... I just don't understand the thought process of someone who finds "SMILODON" on their case acceptable.

The look of a case is a very personal choice. What does not work for one may work for another. As for the included PSU, I think 133t knows better to ditch the included PSU. He's going for the look and then throw out the included PSU, or keeping it as an emergency/diagnostic spare (nothing wrong with that).
The Model M is not for the faint of heart. You either like them or hate them.

Gerbils unite! Fold for UnitedGerbilNation, team 2630.
 
l33t-g4m3r
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Mon Nov 30, 2009 3:12 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
The look of a case is a very personal choice. What does not work for one may work for another. As for the included PSU, I think 133t knows better to ditch the included PSU. He's going for the look and then throw out the included PSU, or keeping it as an emergency/diagnostic spare (nothing wrong with that).

yup. I didn't get the case+psu combo. Using a tagan bz800 psu.
I like my case's tool-less features, and the overall design simplifies installing/upgrading.
The motherboard tray can also fold out the side of the case.

The A03B has some tool-less features, which is good, but I don't like the front/fan design.
edit: didn't initially notice it was a mini case. that would make things more understandable.
The front pic is bad.
You can't tell that it has a mesh grill. That would certainly improve looks vs. not having a grill.
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:31 pm

Personally I don't see any real value in tool-less features. Any case I've used in a build that has them does not use them. I'm not going to trust them with a heavy expansion card. The amount of time they save is measured in the seconds and the drop in security is simply not worth that. Be my guest if you want to but you won't see me putting it in the "Pros" area of my comparison.

As for design... I fail to see how the SMILODON is superior. Yes, it has a slide out motherboard tray which is useful. But it doesn't support extra long video cards easily (must remove the hard drive cage). It doesn't allow you to run cables behind the motherboard tray at all. It's made out of steel and plastic. Finally the worst "oops that was kind of stupid" mistake is covering up the front ports with the door! I'm fine with optical drives being covered (I never use mine and the new build won't have one at all) but covering the USB and audio ports with the door is simply boneheaded.
 
Airmantharp
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:10 pm

I like tool-less only where it might help- like hot-swappable hard drive bays. That's just too cool, all things considered.
 
Bauxite
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Sun Dec 06, 2009 10:27 pm

Skrying wrote:
Changed my mind. Rather have this: http://www.lan-gear.com/index.php


Looks similar to this, though it has a different PSU arrangement...and your find seems too much of an overall compromise:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811133035

I use it with a full ATX psu, although modular for less cable cram. I'm 99% sure it would hold a 5970 with the spare hd cage removed :p

They used to make an aluminum version, but I gave up finding it.

Note: I have tried probably a dozen uATX (non-tower, if its a tower why bother going smaller?) cases by now, this is it until they retool it or something seriously different comes out.
Not impressed with that expensive import with even worse front bays.
TR RIP 7/7/2019
 
Skrying
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Re: Lian Li Saves The Day!

Mon Dec 07, 2009 12:04 am

PSU over CPU is incredibly stupid. It amazes that even the good case manufacturers continue to do this. It makes so much more sense to location the PSU over the graphics card and place a 120mm directly over the CPU. Allow for a tower heatsink and excellent exhaust on a small case. Thermaltake's hard drive cage location is also poor.

As for tower vs box layout in mATX... what? mATX is good for an overall reduction in size and weight. If someone prefers to maintain size in width (as seen in the box layouts) or height (tower setup) is up to them. They're both of valid purpose.

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