| Lian Li PC-AO4 Aluminum Mini-Tower PC Case |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |
| Written by Bruce Normann | |
| Sunday, 24 April 2011 | |
|
Page 1 of 9
Lian Li PC-A04 Aluminum Mini Tower Case
Manufacturer: Lian Li Industrial Co., LTD Full disclosure: The product used in this review was supplied by Lian-Li Just for a minute, we're going to stop looking for the biggest, baddest, most ferocious PC gaming case and look at something a little less hardcore. It's not even black, if you can imagine that..... Another thing that sets the PC-A04 apart from the norm is that it's limited to micro-ATX motherboards. Two or three years ago, this would have been a showstopper, but in recent times there have been some excellent uATX boards hitting the market. There are even some offerings that forgo integrated graphics in favor of more performance-oriented chipsets. ASUS and MSI both make X58 boards for instance, and there are also several P67 choices available. So, don't feel that you have to reign in your performance expectations just because you want a smaller, more attractive box beside your desk. Lian Li has an enviable reputation for fine metalwork, particularly in aluminum. They also offer a very wide range of designs, from massive eATX towers, to special editions with AMD dragons decorating the side window, to tiny iTX hatboxes, and finally the middle ground. Today we're looking at the PC-A04 Aluminum Mini Tower Case, in silver. With its clean and sleek profile, it could pass for an Apple product. In fact, it's probably the perfect case for that hackintosh you've wanted to build after reading this article.
The outside of the case is a very strong visual statement that will appeal to a certain segment of the market that longs for the Apple style, but can't stomach the closed architecture or the pricing that goes along with it. In black, which is the other available color, it probably blends in a bit more with modern decor, but in silver it really stands out and says, "Hey, look at me!" So far I've focused on the exterior, but don't worry; we'll spend equal time looking at the interior and even look at a build sequence to show how it all fits together. Next, let's take a look at the actual features and specifications for the PC-A04, direct from Lian Li. Lian Li PC-A04 Mini Tower Features
Lian Li PC-A04 Mini Tower Specifications
|
|
Comments
I'm curious what CPU cooling solution you ended up with, on your build. I bought the Coooler Master COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520, which looks like one of the better 92mm units out there.
#forum.benchmarkreviews.com/showthread.php?t=17082
You're right about Lian Li; as I said in the review, they may have some equals, but there are none that are better.
It'll be interesting to see if others move towards that type of modular architecture. One problem with it, is cost. To me, that's one of the required functions, and I don't see how to make a case like the level 10 as cheaply as you can make a rectangular box. Sadly, most consumers will buy anything, as long as it is cheap!
The case: needs to be 12mm wider, to provide room for full tower cpu coolers and to provide a little more space behind the mb. 210mm would be better still, of course.
The rear fan opening is just right . . . for a front-to-back heatsink setup. It should be bigger, of cousre, which it would be if the case were wider. And it needs a fan fingerguard rather than a grill to facilitate easy outflow.
I continue to be disappointed by Lian Li's providing cases only with rear fan positions on the tops of many of their cases. With provision for two fans you could have a top intake in front and block off that rear top fan position. That would allow room for a cpu heatsinkk to be mounted front to back. Then with three intake fans the air would easily and quietly make its own way out the back, no exhaust fan required. Air goes where you push it. It need not rise.
I like reviews like this. They tell me when I should not buy a case. For this I am grateful. Thanks for this review.
It's funny, I don't think I've ever seen the perfect case. Logically I think it must exist, somewhere.
I think I'm going to pick up an 80mm finger guard for the back; the mesh part is easily removed and replaced, if desired. Should work nice with the Hyper N 520 I just got.
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz, 6MB, LGA1155, BOX
+ Zalman CNPS 10X Performa Cooler
RAM: GoodRam 4GB (2x3GB) 1333MHz CL9
MOBO: AsRock H67M-GE/HT mATX
GPU: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD6950 1GB DDR5/256bit DVI/HDMI/mDP PCI-Express
AUDIO: Asus Xonar DX
WLAN: D-Link DWA-131
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB SATAII 7200rpm 32MB cache
SDD: Ocz Vertex 2 OC2SSD2-2VTXE90G 90GB SATA II
PSU: XFX Core 550W
ODD: Liteon iHAS124 SATA (black)
CASE: Lian Li PC-A04 + Lian Li USB3.0 connector UC-01
And I'm wondering if mentioned graphic card and cooler will fit in this case. What do you think Bruce?
Since you are only looking at two drives, the graphics card possibilities are unlimited. Unfortunately, Sapphire does not publish the dimensions of the card you mentioned, so I can't say if it will fit without removing one of the drive cages. My ruler says anything less than 250mm will fit, and the Sapphire has the power cables at the top of the card, so that's not an issue.
Sounds like a nice build.