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Much like fine wine and perfectly aged cigars, Lian-Li has carefully cultivated its line of aluminum enclosures to perfection. For over twenty years, this Taiwanese company has produced some of the most elegant and exquisite enclosures that the computing industry has ever seen. As the de facto manufacturer to which all other enclosures are compared, Lian-Li has continually striven to provide their customers with rock solid, high quality products.
“In 1993, Lian-Li introduced new lines of computer hardware, including brackets (for case and interfaces), mobile racks (for HDD), mounting kits (for FDD and HDD), aluminum PC cases, IPC, external cases, server cases and more. We also provide OEM and ODM services, and you are assured of designs that will meet your exact specifications, innovative ideas in manufacturing that will give your products an essential market edge.†– Read more...
New to Lian-Li’s enclosure lineup in 2007 is the PC-A70B, a simply massive enclosure aimed towards enthusiasts looking for a big case to solve big problems. Billed as the premiere enclosure on the market today, Lian-Li hopes to solve the many problems that plague many of today’s computers: heat, small interiors, and lack of pure versatility for those looking for upgrade options down the road. Let’s get cracking and put this monster enclosure to task!
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The bundle for the PC-A70B is a veritable smorgasbord. In an era where most enclosure manufacturers seek to cut costs by limiting their accessory packages, Lian Li has upped the ante by providing everything you need and then some to get you going.
Hardware included in this bundle consists of (are you ready?) 20 screws and 16 copper standoffs for the motherboard, 30 unique screws (and 30 matching rubber grommets) for the HDD’s, 20 screws for 5.25†peripherals, 12 screws for the power supply, 3 nuts, 1 thumb screw, 3 cable ties, an Intel Nocona Xeon adapter plate, a little mainboard speaker, and a screwdriver to assist in the assembly of the motherboard.
Also included is an extra PSU backplate and optional rear fan grille, along with a manual with plenty of pictures of the different features of the case and diagrams of the USB, HD Audio, and FireWire header pinouts. Without a doubt, this is one of the most solid accessory bundles we have ever seen at HardwareLogic. Other case manufacturers would do well to take note of the bundle that Lian-Li includes with this chassis.
The front of this enclosure is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Clearly showing off its handsome lines, the PC-A70B exudes coolness without resorting to plastic accents or fancy alien or robot heads (popular schemes among the Ritalin deprived gamer crowd). With solid aluminum power and reset buttons, this enclosure gives off a professional appearance. However, during our appraisal of the exterior, we did notice a few minor dings and scratches in the aluminum that detracted from the overall sexiness of the case, as is common with brushed aluminum finishes.
At the top left of the case lie the red HDD and blue power LEDs. Beneath the grille, four 120mm ball bearing fans (two stacked behind another two) are responsible for ingesting cool air into the case. The front panel is easily removable in order to gain access to the dual 120mm washable dust filters beneath it.
As you may have no doubt noticed, there is no external 3.5†floppy bay, and to be quite honest, there really is little need for it. Floppy’s have effectively out-lived their usefulness with the advent of USB thumb drives. In any case, we are not sorry to see the missing drive bay, but do take note if you still find yourself using those plastic floppy disks of yesteryear. But not all is lost, as Lian-Li does make a 3.5†transfer bracket that fits in an available external 5.25†drive bay.
As you can see, the front façade is held by four plastic retaining clips located at each corner of the case. A simple matter of lightly pulling on the face of the case allows you to remove the front panel completely. Underneath it, we can see two of the four 120mm intake fans which, with the help of a bracket, hold the dust filter in place. To remove the washable dust filters, grasp the filter bracket and lift up and then pull out.
Looking closely, the location of the power and HDD lights can easily be seen as they are located at the top right corner. The five 5.25†drive bay dummy panels are easily removed by gently squeezing the sides of the panel together and pulling outward. There are no screws holding these panels in place, just a simple friction lock, which works quite well.
The brushed aluminum side panels of the PC-A70B are thick and heavy. Held in place by three thumbscrews and a unique steel spring clip and plastic tab system, the side panels are free from causing any kind of vibration. One notable feature is the locking system on this side of the enclosure. A tab that slides through an opening in the rear edge of the side panel allows the user to secure the panel with a small lock. However, there is no such locking system for the removable panel on the other side of the case, so you may consider storing your valuable keepsakes in a place other than your computer case.
The rear of this enclosure contains a bevy of features not commonly found on your ordinary run-of-the-mill enclosure. The first thing that smacks you in the face is the option of installing dual power supply units; one at the bottom, and another at the top. By simply removing four thumb screws, a fan grille, and a 120mm exhaust fan with its bracket system, a user can install a power supply in the top mounting area.
Or, if you don’t need an extra PSU (or want to install your power supply up top), leave the configuration as you see it now, and you have a dual 120mm exhaust fan system. The nice thing about this is the fact that Lian-Li includes an extra PSU backplate in the event you wish to go the redundant PSU route. It’s totally up to you.
Next up: two cutouts rimmed with soft plastic for a water cooling system. This is something that we would like to see more enclosure manufacturers include in their offerings. It is the simple things, like this, that separate a good case from a great case. For an enclosure this size, it may be possible to install a reservoir, pump and the necessary equipment for a water cooling setup inside this enclosure, either at the top or bottom PSU mounting areas.
With the seven requisite PCI slots, an I/O shield, and a non-stamped out rear fan exhaust grille, this is the most functional rear end of an enclosure we’ve ever seen (and we do so appreciate functional rear ends...). Granted, in an age where looking at the back of a computer case can make one fall into a coma with boredom, the PC-A70B has enough features and goodies to make us more wide eyed than a pastor at a nudist colony.
Located on the top front of the case, a small door contains the enclosure's headers. Opening the door reveals two USB 2.0 ports, a microphone, and a High Definition Audio (HDA) jack. With a bit of a surprise, we noticed that the header area also includes an aging IEEE 1394 port. We find this inclusion to be a bit of a letdown considering that Lian-Li spared no expense when designing and building the rest of this case; why would they skimp on this? An eSATA port would have been a welcome sight as this technology has slowly been evolving into mainstream enclosures for months now. This is a definite disappointment in an otherwise awesome case.
The bottom of the enclosure utilizes four hard plastic feet that are attached to the case. They provide a very stable and firm foundation for the case, something that is definitely needed for a case that weighs nearly 20 pounds sans components. Although we would have liked to see Lian-Li incorporate soft, non-marking rubber feet in lieu of the hard plastic, we understand that for a case this big and heavy when fully loaded, soft rubber will literally be squashed and not provide a stable or firm foundation whatsoever.
We at HardwareLogic like to call this particular photo the money shot. Why? Because one look will make most men weep with the thought of stuffing the cavernous interior of this case with goodies. The sheer amount of space inside this enclosure is absurd. With space available to fit two power supplies, six hard drives, a full complement of peripherals, along with a motherboard and its associated cards, there is no doubt that one will be hard pressed to find something that won’t fit in it.
This case practically encourages you to play with cable management.. There is so much room that effectively running wires and harnesses in it is a cakewalk. There should be no excuse for not being able to tidy up your wires and cables in this enclosure. Heck, Lian-Li even goes so far as to include a couple of integrated purse clasps throughout the case to aid in wire management duties.
In any event, Lian-Li has ensured that while you are busy squirreling away your mess of wiring, that you will avoid painting this case crimson. Every edge is either milled, rolled or folded over. The paper napkin test revealed a single trouble spot when we ran the napkin over the hard drive cage area where the cutouts were at. Other than that, expect an injury-free installation.
The PC-A70B offers the familiar requisite harnesses for the power and reset switches, and the power and HDD activity LED’s. For some odd reason though, they are not all the same length. The power and reset wires are very long, reaching the far side of the enclosure. At the same time, however, the hard drive and power LED wires are a bit shorter, although they are easily long enough to allow connection to a motherboard. In the end, longer harnesses mean more opportunities to hide and otherwise route obtrusive wiring. But the shorter length of the hard drive and power LED harnesses may effectively prevent this from occurring in some setups.
The four 120mm intake fans (as well as the two rear 120mm exhaust fans) sport dual connection molexes which allow a user to utilize either the male or female end to obtain power for their fans. Additionally, Lian-Li added the option by giving enthusiasts the choice to use either the four pin molex or the standard 2-3 pin motherboard connection using a quick disconnect feature on the fan wire harnesses.
The front header wiring includes two USB 2.0 harnesses, a FireWire 1394 cable, and the High Definition Audio cable which is split off to also incorporate the AC ‘97 wiring for those with legacy components. These harnesses are extremely long. They handily reach the other side of the case with ease and there should be little problem in routing or otherwise hiding these wire bundles. As mentioned earlier, the lack of eSATA as a front header port is a bit disconcerting as IEEE 1394 technology is well on its way of being phased out completely.
Simply put, it would have been nice on Lian-Li’s part to have included eSATA in their header array. They thought of just about everything else that would make an enthusiast’s life easier when building and using a system in this enclosure. Not including eSATA in the header is definitely a draw back in an otherwise excellent case.
Lian-Li uses a unique design in securing and preventing vibration when it comes to hard drives in this enclosure. The rubber grommets are indented in the middle all the way around which allows the rubber to slide into their notches in the hard drive cage. Special screws are used to securely hold the rubber grommets in place and are completely inconspicuous when installing the hard drive in its cage. The drive simply slides into the bracket system, its own weight keeping it firmly in place.
Flanked by four 120mm intake fans, part number LI121225BL-4, the hard drive cage is well situated to receive plenty of air. Seven hard drives can be installed in this specially designed bracket system.
For those want to bolt down their drives, they can do that too. By removing the plastic VGA rail slats (they simply snap in and out) you can guide a HDD screw through the 120mm fan blades and into the hard drive itself. Or, you can remove the entire fan bracket assembly for easier access as well.
It is worth noting that this cage has the ability to be positioned 180 degrees if one were so inclined. However, during testing, we found that the current orientation of the hard drive cage seen here is best since the connection points of the hard drives are towards the opposite side of the case, not directly in front. This allows the power and data connections to be made much more surreptitiously.
As mentioned above, the white plastic rails you see, coined “VGA card slots†by Lian-Li, are designed to support videocards that are 12†long. This ensures that your monster videocard isn’t just flopping around inside the case when you are moving it. This is a pretty nice inclusion, considering that videocards are not only getting larger and heavier, but expensive too. Being able to effectively support them is becoming more important; no one wants to damage an $800 videocard because it did not receive enough support.
The VGA pillar extension is another attempt by Lian-Li to further support videocards that have steadily become larger and heavier, thus requiring more support. The idea behind this is to use the black plastic rails to slip underneath the edge of a videocard(s) in order to provide more stability to the card itself. This in itself is a great idea, as it allows the card little room to move around thus causing either damage to it or surrounding components. The pillar bracket system extends nearly the entire height of the enclosure and is removable.
The seven PCI slots utilize thumbscrews in order to secure PCI cards. While we here at HardwareLogic have seen many new, and at times, ingenious methods of securing PCI cards, nearly all leave a lot to be desired; bad design being the main culprit for these failures. However, as the old adage goes, keeping things simple usually wins the race in the end, and Lian-Li follows this true to form. Screws have always done a great job securing PCI cards in their place and quite frankly, why try to reinvent the wheel?
Beneath the PCI slots we can see the power supply mounting area at the bottom of the enclosure. With a removable back plate, this area can either be used to mount a power supply, water cooling kit or simply nothing at all. The only caveat that we have with this PSU mounting area is the bracket that supports the power supply. Granted, it is adjustable by loosening two screws at the bottom of the case, but power supplies these days, especially the long, heavy 1Kw monsters, need a lot more support than what a flimsy aluminum bracket can offer.
The PC-A70B incorporates an additional hard drive cage at the rear of the case that has the ability to hold three hard drives. This brings the total number of potential hard drives installed in this enclosure to ten. Not that anyone would be inclined to do this, but it’s a nice gesture on Lian-Li’s part to offer it nonetheless. The biggest issue we see with storing your hard drives in this optional hard drive area is that there is no active cooling. A lone 120mm exhaust fan sucking hot air over your hard drives and out of the case is a huge no-no. It is our opinion that they are better stored in the main hard drive cage located at the front of this enclosure.
However, this hard drive cage is easily removable, and with the help of a power supply back plate and a couple of screws, a redundant PSU can be installed in its place. It may also be possible, depending on size considerations and a few modifications, that a watercooling setup could be mounted within this area. Regardless of how one chooses to use this area, we appreciate the fact that Lian-Li has chosen to design as much functional versatility as possible in a rather confined space.
The back side of the PC-A70B sports a removable motherboard tray (a rarity these days) that simply lifts up and out once the screws are removed. It does not slide on rails. This particular design feature is unique, as most removable motherboard trays use a rail system. However, we experienced no complications or difficulties when removing and installing this tray.
Looking closely at the top and bottom edges of the enclosure, we can see that Lian-Li, in an effort to reduce and prevent vibrations from occurring, used steel springs at the top and plastic, Teflon-like pressure bearing tabs on the bottom. When installing the side panels on this enclosure, the steel springs and plastic tabs offer firm resistance against the panel which in turn negates vibration since the panel is solidly against the frame.
It is important to note that there are copious amounts of room behind the motherboard to stuff, store, route and otherwise manage wires, harnesses and wire bundles. As mentioned earlier, this enclosure encourages you to adopt wire management duties since there is simply so much room to really make a wiring job shine.
The PC-A70B does not utilize a tool-free installation process for the PCI cards and the 5.25†external bays. Quite frankly, we've seen very few tool-free installation designs that were both secure and reliable. Typically, you would see a tool-free installation be one or the other; but rarely both. Eight screw slots per bay (four on each side) are available to secure the five 5.25†devices in their bays. All in all, the build went flawlessly, a testament to Lian-Li’s commitment to producing solid, quality enclosures.
Section | Grade | Comments |
| Build Quality (Durability & Construction) | 18/20 |
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| Aesthetics / Appearance | 17/20 |
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| Internal Layout & Installation | 18/20 |
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| Performance (Sound & Cooling) | 10/10 |
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| Bundle | 10/10 |
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| Warranty & Support | 8/10 |
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| Price / Value | 7/10 |
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Our Reccomendation
If there is a single hallmark that exists with companies today that ply their products, it is proclaiming, “More is better!†We, as consumers, demand it. We go to McDonald’s to order a meal, and we Super Size it. We buy a car, and we want those extra liters. We like having ‘more’ and we expect it in every product we buy. And Lian-Li has certainly not overlooked this.
The Lian-Li PC-A70B is for those people that demand ‘more’ out of an enclosure. This is a case that strives to provide what other chassis’ do not: the sense that everything you could want is contained in this case; that this is your one stop shop - buy this enclosure and know you have the very best. There will be no buyers’ remorse, no feelings of regret – you are the owner of the best case on the market today.
And in this regard, Lian-Li has succeeded. The PC-A70B is one of the more complete enclosures we've reviewed here at HardwareLogic. Every detail of this chassis speaks volumes of the design behind its inception. This enclosure assures the owner that this was no hashed together monstrosity of aluminum. Rather, this is a chassis that was carefully designed and crafted with a single purpose in mind: more is better!
But things are not completely gravy with this enclosure. The lack of an eSATA header port really chafes our hide to no end. FireWire 1394 is soon to be, if not already, on its way out, so the inclusion of its successor, eSATA, would have been nice. While not as annoying, yet still puzzling was the use of a flimsy aluminum bracket to bear the full weight of a power supply. And finally, we discovered scratches and a substantial gouge in the front façade of the enclosure. While these imperfections did not prevent the case from performing its duties, they did detract from it visually.
These gripes aside, this case is intended for those people who want the absolute best in an enclosure and are willing to pay for that privilege. Granted, there are cheaper solutions on the market that do the job that the PC-A70B does, but few do the job as well as this case does. This enclosure simply covers nearly every base where others sacrifice too much in one area to succeed in another.
Other Reviews of Note
It’s always nice to have more than one opinion on a component before you spend your hard earned money. For one, we may see something others missed, or vice versa. As with all reviews published at HardwareLogic, we'll not only give you our recommendation, but also point out reviews from some other great sites around the Web.
Hexus
Virtual Hideout