Lian Li PC-7B PLUS II Case Review

[Yellowhello]

Lian Li PC-7B PLUS II Case Review
By Nate Phillips

Looking for a new case? The Lian-Li PC-7B PLUS II may be the one. Read on to see whether Lian Li gets your money or not.

Exterior

When I first saw the Lian Li PC-7B PLUS II, the first thing I noticed was the incredible finish on it. The case is constructed entirely out of brushed aluminum and painted black. Lian Li also makes a silver version on this case called the PC-7A, but today I will be reviewing the black version. The black paint is pretty easy to scratch, though, so be careful when removing them. One good thing is that the case is black, so a Sharpie will cover it right up.

This case has four 5.25" drive bays and two 3.5" drive bays. All the drive bay covers are aluminum. Next to the 3.5" bays are the power, reset and LEDs. Under that are the air intake holes for the included 120mm fan. A microphone and a headphone jack as well as two USB ports and a firewire port are located at the bottom of the front bezel. These would have been nicer at the top, as many people have their computers sitting on the floor, but I am fine with it, as I have my computer sitting on a desk.
At the back you see a place for the PSU at the top, a place for the I/O shield plate, a 120mm exhaust fan, and seven PCI expansion slots.

120mm Exhaust Fan

One thing about the mounting of the PSU. You mount the PSU on a special bracket and then slide the PSU in from the back. Other than that, nothing much special.

PSU on special bracket mounted in the case.

There are minuscule "rails" for the PSU, but they don't really help. However, I do feel safer with these in place instead of the PSU hanging from the four screws.

Small ledge for the PSU

Back of the Lian Li PC-7B PLUS II case

Both side panels can be taken off. To do this, remove the to thumb screws on each side panel, pull back, and lift upwards. It was a little different than with other cases, as I am used to pulling straight back. No biggie, though. Big thumb screws are included so people with bigger hands won't have trouble at all. The panels themselves are thin and flimsy, but if someone's not bashing it with something it should be fine. One thing about the side panels. They can rattle when the hard drive is going. This does not happen all the time, but it can happen. Just something to keep in mind.
At the top you have a place to mount an optional 80mm fan.

Place to mount optional 80mm fan

Thats pretty much it for the outside. Now for the interior.

Interior

Parts going to be installed:
ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300
Corsair XMS2 675MHz 2x512MB DDR2
BFG GeForce 8600GT OC
Soundblaster Audigy
WD 250GB 16MB Cache
DVD Drive
Floppy Drive
Thermaltake Toughpower 650W Modular

The inside of the case is all just plain aluminum. Nothing special. You might be able to fit an 8800GTX in this case, but definitely not an 8800GTX SLI setup with some modding.

Interior of case as well as components going to be installed

There is a place to mount three hard drives in front of the intake fan.

Hard Drive Cage and Fan

One thing to point out about the USB connections for the front panel.

Block style connections and individual pin connections

This really shows that Lian Li thought out the case to be used with a variety of motherboards. Though now a days the standard is really the block style connection, some motherboards may require a different connection and Lian Li makes it possible.

There are no sharp edges to be found in this case. My fingers were nice and happy. Also, this case does not make use of tool less installation. The PCI slots as well as the drive bays and hard drives have to be screwed in with screws. While some people may complain, I'm not because screws are way more sturdy than a tool less installation. It only takes a couple more seconds and your expansion card, optical drives and hard drives will really stay were their supposed too.

Installation of all the components was relatively easy and not unlike any other case. The motherboard tray is not removable and this is a mid-sized case, so it's kind of cramped to work.

Motherboard installed

Cable management was easy, if you know where to hide cables. Because of the large shroud covering the PSU, you can hide lots of cables up in there. Also, behind the 5.25" drive bays is a good place.

Hiding power cables behind 5.25" bays

Overall, installation was very straight forward (except for the PSU mounting bracket).

Verdict

I would recommend this case to anyone looking for a case to house there everyday system. I don't think the gamers would be happy with it. Someone who likes to mod would like this case because it's a very clean, simple design and easy to drill additional places for fans and such. It is relatively light, to this might or might not be your choice for LAN partying. Because it's light, it couldn't withstand someone falling on it, and there is no way to lock the case. For my uses (light gaming, light overclocking, general use) this case does just fine. It's pretty much an ordinary case, but a nicely finished and very classy ordinary case at that. Again, I would recommend this case for your general use system.

Hope this helps!!

Oh, and by the way, put this among your top picks!!

[RAID]

i think lian li and silverstone make the best looking cases. i've always liked the classic, elegant looking cases that look like high end home theater equipment. before i bought my tj-03, i was looking at lian li cases and i remember coming across this one.

nice review nate, keep pumping them out!

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by RAID

i think lian li and silverstone make the best looking cases. i've always liked the classic, elegant looking cases that look like high end home theater equipment. before i bought my tj-03, i was looking at lian li cases and i remember coming across this one.

nice review nate, keep pumping them out!

I also like the simple cases. And thank you, I WILL keep pumping them out!! (Unless you guys are tired of me)

[sean126]

Yellowhello,

You might want to add your own personalized signature ranking system.

From bad to good: You have to be drunk to buy this, this deserves a second look, put this among your top picks, and finally : You have to be drunk not to buy this.

[stinger608]

Actually, I found the review to be pretty damn good!!!

Just haven't gotten the chance to post here until now!

Thanks for the heads up on this "sub $100.00" case Yellowhello

[Yellowhello]

Thanks, stinger. And I do love your beer computer.

[Capper]

Guys, as I'm sure you've noticed, some posts got deleted. I accidentally deleted some posts while trying to merge them.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by Capper

Guys, as I'm sure you've noticed, some posts got deleted. I accidentally deleted some posts while trying to merge them.

Yea, but how was the review?

[stinger608]

Originally Posted by Capper

Guys, as I'm sure you've noticed, some posts got deleted. I accidentally deleted some posts while trying to merge them.

Yea, that is kind of easy to do LOL