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Great case, probably too small for high end componentsJul 07, 2008
By John W. Graham
I got the PC-65 Plus II to replace a first generation PC65USb case. One of the reasons I got this case was for the redesigned cooling configuration and the high quality and thought put into the old case.
My configuration consists of the following components: Asus Rampage Formula, Corsair Dominator DDR2 (with fan array), Western Digital SATA2 hard drive, Intel E8500, BFG 9800 GX2 video, Ultra X3 800w PSU and a LiteOn DVD burner, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 heatsink & floppy drive.
Installation of the motherboard was easy thanks to the slide-out mobo tray. The only complaint I had in this area was the case did not come with motherboard mounting screws. Luckily I had some on hand. The motherboard fit quite well, taking up pretty much all of the mobo tray space.
There are a couple of "gotchas" with this case. First, the 9800GX2 or GTX 280 vid cards will be so long that they will interfere with the drive cage which must be removed. You will have to mount your hard drive(s) in the 5.25" bay, which may be preferable anyway since they would be horizontally mounted. I used a Zalman heatpipe drive mount for this. Second, the fan in the top blowhole must be removed for most of the latest high power PSUs. The Ultra X3 was about 0.5 inches too long and overlaps the blowhole. Most >500W PSU's these days are longer than their predecessors so please measure before you buy. I am currently experimenting with using an 80mm to 40mm fan adapter to at least get some air out of that blowhole.
The metal guard that directs CPU airflow is too small to allow most aftermarket heatsinks like the Freezer Pro 7. Another gotcha is the side panel fan aligns directly with the 9800 GX2's fan and the GX2's fan is much more powerful to the point of disabling the Lian Li fan under load.
Another complaint is the fans in the case (Lian Li fans) are kind of noisy at 35db each. You can get aftermarket SilenX fans that run much more air through the case (higher CFM) and they operate at 14dB or less at full RPM.
If you want a clean look, you'll need to invest in some optional upgrades. You will need Lian Li drive bay covers that cover the optical drives. You might also want a Lian Li TR-5A 5.25" bay thermal fan control and a Lian Li card reader to fit in one of the the 3.5" bays. You might as well also get a flopy drive bezel. All of these little things add up to make this a much more expensive case.
Cons aside, I was able to get everything in this case without resorting to the Dremel or blueprints. My setup runs at about 40C in the case (using stock fans). Upgraded fans brought this down to 38C. The exhaust fan does put out some serious heat but my components all run fairly cool.
I give this case 4 stars for several reasons. First, it would be a great case for middle of the road components - stock systems with average gear. Second, it is built really well and is well-thought out and sturdy. I dock one star because of all the extras you need to buy to get the case looking nice. I dock another star because it is not really compatible with modern high end components. Look elsewhere if you have high end components that need room to breathe. Get this case if you have an average system that needs a really well built case.
As far as features, the only thing to report is the front panel which has 2 USB ports and a firewire port as well as audio and mic ports. The first gen model had 4 USB ports. I could do without the firewire up front and just have 3 USB and the audio ports. Otherwise this thing is completely bare bones.
Final word: the aluminum used in this case is slightly thinner than my first generation Lian Li case. I would have to say that this case is probably one notch down in quality from what Lian Li used to build.
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