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When aluminum cases first hit the market, they were anything but cheap. Times have changed though, and there's nothing like a little competition to drive prices down. Although it's pretty common to find aluminum cases for under 100$ these days, compared to more expensive cases, the lower price does generally mean a lower quality aluminum chassis. Lian-Li falls under the category of "top-tier" case manufacturers. The high-end Lian-Lis will cost you a pretty penny, and at this time last year, the midtower PC65U was close to 200$. The price hovers at about now, which still isn't exactly cheap, but that is still a price drop. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for, and for 130$, you're getting a well designed aluminum case that includes a pre-modded case window.
Is being made out of aluminum anything special? Well, as we already know, aluminum is a popular material used for heatsinks due to its thermal properties. Manufacturers claim that aluminum cases carry the same benefits over from heatsinks, which should result in lower temperatures for your equipment.
Specifications
Chassis Color: Silver
Chassis Style: Tower (Midsize)
Cooling Fans (Max): 3
Device Height Supported: Half-Height, Slim-Line/Low Profile
Device Width Supported: 3.5", 5.25"
Included Components: Bezels, Blanking Panels
Number of Drives Supported: 12
System Board Style: ATX
Number of Externally Accessible 3.5 Bays: 3
Number of Externally Accessible 5.25 Bays: 4
Number of Internal Bays 3.5: 5
Dimensions
Height: 490 mm
Width: 210 mm
Depth: 450 mm
   
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There are only a couple of differences between the PC65U and the PC60 we've reviewed earlier, and that is the case window, as well as the front mounted USB ports. The USB ports are USB1.1, so don't expect to plug any high speed devices into there. There's a door to cover things up, and although it isn't spring loaded, at least you won't have to worry about it slamming shut on your USB cables.
 
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Personally, I'm not a fan of the rubber trim that comes standard with most window kits, and always thought they'd clash with the brushed silver look of the Lian-Lis. I always preferred a more industrial look, and in my opinion, Lian-Li does a nice job of this. Compared to many case windows I've seen, one of the first things that grabbed my attention was the size of the window. It's safe to say that it's huge. Measuring about 13"x11", it is actually made of acrylic, and not glass. The good thing about this is that acrylic is light, which would otherwise defeat the purpose of a low weight aluminum chassis, but I do find it somewhat of a dust magnet.
   
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Moving to the back of the case, you can see that Lian-Li went thumbscrew crazy. Everything from the side panels to the motherboard tray, to the PSU attachment are secured by thumbscrews.
 
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Going back to the front, we can see the black fiberglass trim on the front bezel. I'm not sure why they made it black, but I guess it was to just break up the monotony of silver. The front bezel detaches pretty easily, no tools needed, and reveals some other features worth mentioning. the first thing you'll notice is the air filter for the front intake fans. The filter is easily removable, and can be hand washed, or air gunned to remove any debris.
 
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The next thing you'll notice is the speed control for the intake fans. The PCB pictured on the right is inside the case, and is what speeds up, or slows down the fan when you flip the switch on the front. One thing that bothered me is that honestly, there isn't much difference in noise when set to low, when compared to high. Another annoyance is you'll have to remove the bezel to get to it, which can be a hassle if your PC is buried somewhere under the desk.
 
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There are three external 3.5" drive bays on the PC65U. I doubt any of you will have more than one floppy, and maybe a Zip drive, so three is plenty. Like everything else on the Lian-Li, the drive bays are removable via three thumbscrews.
  
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The PC65U comes stock with three 80mm ADDA cooling fans. They're not terribly noisy, but they are a little louder than those found on the Cooler Master ATC-201A-SX2. The intake fans also serve as hard drive fans, as the hard drive rack is located directly in front of them. People concerned about maximizing airflow will almost certainly want to replace the stock grill, and to dremel off the rear ventilation grill. Standard fan grills (or none at all) will allow for a little more air to pass through.
 
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A nice feature is the removable hard drive rack. A couple of thumbscrews to be removed is all you need to release the rack. The only thing I don't really like about it is that if you have a RAID capable motherboard, in most cases, the RAID connection is located in the bottom half of the mobo. This does make hiding the IDE cables a little trickier because there isn't a whole lot of distance between the rack and mobo. If you're concerned about a PCI card bumping into the rack, there is no need to be worried. I popped a Matrox RT2500 (a fairly large card), and I didn't encounter any issues.
  
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Rather than the standard screw on standoffs, Lian-Li has opted for the clip on variety. I will admit, installing these is both easier and faster than screwing them in, but they are a pain to remove. In fact, if you aren't too careful, you can render them useless.
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Lian-Li has taken some care to fold and sand down the edges of the interior, but they have also added a plastic guard to prevent you from cutting your hands when installing your optical drives. Since I'm on the topic, although installing the drives isn't really a problem, I found the upper most bay fairly cramped. I've addressed this in our Cooler Master review, but basically, the top bay has a "shield" that runs across the length of the case. Once you have a PSU installed, and maybe another optical drive in the 2nd or 3rd bay, the top bay is a bit annoying to access.
  
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Rounding things out are the cables. I've already mentioned the USB ports in front, and the required cables are included, but they are USB1.1. The cables for the front bezel and speakers to be connected to the motherboard are woorth mentioning, because they are detachable at their mid point. For me, attaching and detaching these cables is the most frustrating part of any time I need to remove a motherboard tray, but the clip makes life much easier.
Cooling Performance
Other than the aesthetics, an important aspect when shopping for a case, is the cooling performance. Contrary to popular belief, having a large tower with 10 fans blowing in every direction is not necessarily going to mean it's going to keep your components cool.
Test Bed
AMD Athlon 1700+ w/Swiftech MCX462+
MSI KT3 Ultra2
2 x 256MB Crucial PC2700
2 x 80GB Maxtor 7200RPM
PNY Verto GeForce 4 Ti4600
Plextor 24/10/40 CDRW
AOpen 1640 DVD
Enermax 430W
Comparison cases will be a Cooler Master ATC-201A-SX2, which is also a mid tower aluminum case, as well as a full tower, steel construction AOpen HX-08. All three cases are configured with their stock cooling for the initial tests. The second group of tests will be with all three cases with all their fans off (except on the power supply).
I should note that for the first two tests, we have removed the Air Guide from the ATC-201A, and taped the side screen shut. Because neither the Lian-Li or AOpen have any blowhole or side duct, this will level out the playing field. Temperatures were read with the Vantec Multifunction Panel, except for the CPU and system temperatures, which were gathered from . Temperatures will be presented in Celcius, but you can grab a Celcius to Fahrenheit converter . Temperature readings are taken at full load, with Prime95 and Folding@Home enabled.
Stock Fans On
Both the Cooler Master and Lian-Li are the top performers of the three. Between the three, the AOpen seemed to be the noisiest, as I would guess that the larger case echo'd a little more. Hard drive cooling was led by the ATC-201A, as well as the video card and system cooling tests.
Stock Fans Off
By turning off the fans (and taping shut any ventilation, save for the power supply), we can get a better idea of how well each case handles heat. The AOpen does the worst, but not really as bad as I thought it would do. It's possible that being such a huge tower, there's just more air volume to heat up. The Lian-Li fairs much better, but like I said earlier, the interior is a bit more cramped when you load it up. The CDROM drives are very close to the PSU, and being a shorter case than the Cooler Master, wiring becomes more of an issue.
Final Words
The only thing keeping me from 100% recommending the Lian-Li 65U is the fact that almost everyone has one, or some variant of it. I wouldn't exactly call it a clone, but if you look at the , it looks a lot like a Lian-Li. This is a really petty thing, I know, but the fact that your dream machine is going to be housed in a case that doesn't stand out like it used to makes it lose a little of its lustre.
That being said, the Lian-Li PC65U would still make a fine case to house your fancy gear. It's well made, fairly easy to work with, and does aid in overall system cooling. The thumbscrews are a godsend, as is the removable motherboard tray. the tray itself lacks some reinforcement, but only the biggest of heatsinks will make the mobo tray flex. I do like the case window, and find it a much nicer application than standard window kits. The front mounted USB1.1 ports will be handy if you make use of a lot of USB devices.
Case modders will almost certainly want to do something about the rear cooling. The default setup isn't optimal, and a little modding would almost certainly improve the airflow. I liked the clip-on motherboard standoffs, but hated the fact that removing them will probably break them. If Lian-Li continues to use these, I suggest they toss in a shoehorn-type removal tool, similar to what a lot of techs use to remove screw brackets on rack mount cabinets.
Although may seem like a lot for a case without a power supply, the price isn't out of reach for most people who splurge on their PC. Chances are, you, the reader, already has a power supply that you like, and any quality case will cost you from 120$ and up. If you're ready to drop some cash, you may want to give this case a hard look.
Pros: Removable motherboard tray, thumbscrews, quality construction and good cooling properties.
Cons: Starting to look generic, rear fan assembly needs work, clip-on mobo standoffs.
Bottom line: If everybody in the world didn't already have some variation of the PC65U, I'd say go for it without any hesitation. It doesn't have the drool factor it once did, but it's still a nice case, and well worth the investment.
Agree? Disagree? Discuss it in our forums
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Lian-Li PC65U: Once reserved for those with deep pockets, the PC65U by Lian-Li is much more affordable than it once was. It's a quality tower, and will look very nice housing your PC peripherals.
