Lian Li's PC-V1000: A Case Exclusive
by Purav Sanghani on April 29, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Installation
As we installed our test bed, we noticed it took less time to install the components in the PC-V1000 than in a standard style ATX chassis, at about 10 minutes for all necessary hardware. The 3-1/2" drive bays faced the side, which made HDDs extremely simple to mount.To install the 3-1/2" floppy drive, the drive bay converter needs to be removed by unscrewing it from the bay. Place the floppy drive in the mount and insert a floppy disk to displace the eject button. Use this as a measure of how far to place the drive from the front of the mounting. Then screw the drive in place using the provided drive screws.
Click to enlarge.
Mounting an optical drive with the included matching bezel is slightly different in that the eject button remains in the same position at all times. To mount the drive, slide it in from the inside of the chassis until the front bezel of the drive is flat against the bezel, making sure not to apply too much pressure (pressing the eject button). Then, screw the drive in from both sides as needed with the provided screws.
One major flaw in the design of the power supply compartment was the size limitation. We tested an oversized power supply, TTGI TT-550SS, with the PC-V1000 and it would not fit. About an inch of the unit hung out the back and there was no space for the internal wiring, as you can see in the picture below.
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
The motherboard consumed most of the installation time, since the tray was not removable and the mounting nuts were a bit tedious to install. But when in place, everything fit in perfectly.
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GokieKS - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
I second the notion that I'd rather get a real G5 chassis and build a PC out of it than get this. And there are just too many not-well-thought-out touches (lack of Reset button, inproper mounting of IDE drives, PSU area not large enough, etc) for it to be a great case.If I've got that much money to spend on a case, I'd still go with a Silverstone SST-TJ03 Nimiz for the time being.
Gromis - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
#6: That very same method of drive mounting has been used in HP servers for a good deal longer than G5 has been around... doesn't change the fact that 95%+ of cases out there cost <$30, and this monstrosity will sell *maybe* a few hundred units. It's no TNN-500, but for $270, one can get a whole *computer*.PuravSanghani - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
#8: We actually did benchmark the V1000 with a standard sized power supply, the TTGI 520Watt, in the pictures we wanted to show an over sized power supply like the TTGI TT-550SS, or any other for that matter, would not properly fit into the mounting.In general: While the V1000 does look similar to the G5's case by look, when you open the case up and look at all of its functionality and features, you'll notice 2 completely different designs.
nitromullet - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
Can we see a picture of the entire install? I'd like to see how the completed rig looks like with the side open. There are only closeups of certain places, a shot of the whole thing would help put stuff into perspective.LoneWolf15 - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
I'd argue that testing with that silly oversized power supply completely invalicates any cooling testing. Who is going to use one of these when they buy one of these cases, rather than a standard size that looks right and makes a proper seal against the back of the case? And why in the world doesn't Anandtech have a standard sized Antec, Enermax, or other power supply in their lab that would do this job?Mickey Mouse work, IMHO.
buleyb - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
What's the deal with the need for removable motherboard trays in ATX cases.Every case I've had that had a removable tray rattles now, its just another thing to vibrate and make noise.
Oh, and this is a pure G5 copy...no argument there
makron - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
Yeah, and the "screwless drive mounting, with special screws, is ripped straight out of the G5...I'd much rather get a surplus G5 case and put a pc in it....
Chuckles - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
It really tries to look like the G5 cases. I wonder how long it will take for a C&D letter to show up at headquarters.Based on it's lower temperatures, I would say that it validates both its and the G5's design.
00aStrOgUy00 - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
Yep, first thing when I saw this case, it reminded me of the "cheese grater" G5 case...WileCoyote - Thursday, April 29, 2004 - link
I am a big fan of Lian-Li cases - I've loved them from the start and still use my pc60. I think the internal case design is great - I fix a lot of computers and the hard drive bays are easy to swap drives in and out of. The only other good quality case with this feature is the Antec Sonota. I gotta admit... the case looks pretty ugly for Lian-Li. If it looked better, I would swap it with my Antec.