Lian-Li PC-A05 Mid-Tower Case

Reviews: Cases

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Alex Ksiazek
Kurtis
N/A
Jul. 11, 2007

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Quality Check

Our quality check basically consists of three things: Structural Integrity, Installation, and Safety. Structural integrity testing is where we apply pressure to the case from different directions and check to see if the frame can be easily bent or twisted out of shape. Installation is the process of installing the various system components and making sure that installation goes smoothly. Lastly, the safety testing is a result of the installation process. After installing everything, I should be left without any open wounds.

Structural Integrity

In comparison to other cases the PC-A05 is small. It is very literally made up of only a top, bottom, front and back, and left and right sides with a motherboard tray and some mounting cages. The case flexes about a 1/4" along its diagonal axis from the bottom front to the top back. That is with the side panels off, however. With the side panels installed, the case is solid and shows no signs of flexing.

Installation

I did not have any issues working within the small confines of the PC-A05. I wouldn't call the inside cramped as there is plenty of space to mount most everything you could think of. Rather, the inside of the case utilizes every inch of space it has and sometimes I needed to think ahead about potential clearance issues. I mentioned before, on the opposite side of the HDD cage and optical drive bay there is plenty of space to hide and route wires. The package includes a few zip-ties and an adjustable wire clamp, in addition to the one already mounted on the 'ceiling', which can be mounted anywhere in the case.

Overall, the install was painless. There are a few moments I had trouble that I would like to mention, however.

Mounting the motherboard was harder than I feel it should have been. The mounting holes didn't quite line up and I had to apply a slight pressure on the inside edge to get them to line up. I don't think this was an issue with the case but an issue with the rear I/O bracket.
With a graphics card installed, the middle HDD rail is inaccessible, because the drive needs to be lifted up and pulled out. Long graphics cards will just get in the way. Mounting the drive before installing the card would not cause an issues though.
The first time through, I mounted the sound card in the middle PCI slot instead of the top (bottom). Later, I decided to move it to the top slot in an effort to give the graphics card more breathing room. The tapered end of the bracket on the card absolutely refused to fit into the slot on the tray. I ended up applying way more pressure than I felt safe to install the card. Upon further inspection it appeared that the hole lined up, but was just too small.

Safety

The only edges that weren't rounded off were those of the optical drive bays and HDD cage. Lian-Li mounted a plastic guard on the top edge of the HDD cage. After the initial install, I was more worried about some of the power cords rubbing against the opposite edge, and moved the guard to the other side. The rear grill isn't exactly an ideal filter when it comes to dust, so you may find yourself blowing out any HSF every month or so.

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Page 3 of 4

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Page 1: Introduction & First Impressions
Page 2: Inside the Case
Page 3: Quality Check
Page 4: Conclusion

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