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Mid-Tower Mega Roundup

 by Joshua Buss on September 8, 2005 12:05 AM EST
48 Comments | Add A Comment
48 Comments
Lian Li PC-V1000 (cont'd)

The first of the two extra cooling accessories is a large blower fan designed to help draw the rising hot air out of the inverted case.

This piece simply mounts with included screws directly to the perforations in the back of the case, which allows for the fan to be moved to many slightly different positions.

The second addition is simply an attachment for the included rear 120mm fan.

Normally, the fan just pulls air in the surrounding area equally, but after attaching a special piece, a shroud can be added as well.

With the shroud attached, the fan should only pull air directly around the CPU area.

If one wants, the shroud could be locked in a position that keeps it at a good distance from the CPU cooling hardware, allowing for more air from the rest of the case to be pulled out here as well.

However, the shroud can also be lowered very close so that the CPU is pretty much the only hardware benefiting from the additional cooling. We will test the PC-V1000 in this configuration to see how well this approach works.

Overall, the PC-V1000 is a joy to work in - the side panels are second to none, the side-mounting hard drive system works flawlessly, and the inverted design actually makes the case quite easy to work in, as opposed to the P-180's "half inversion", which can be very limited by the length of the power supply leads.

However, cases like the P-180 and Eclipse implement many more sound dampening features, and we'll notice that when we get to the sound benchmarks. In the end, we think the price-premium for a case like the PC-V1000 is a tough sell, considering how much you can get for your money from other manufacturers.

Lian Li PC-V1000 Benchmark Comparisons
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  • Quanticles - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    $200 for a case really isnt that bad when you're paying $400 for a GPU, $300 or more for a CPU, $200 on memory, etc etc etc. If you're building a budget system, then of course this would be a horrible buy. But if you're building a nice system, then you might want a nice case. I have a black v1000 w/ window and it looks great, and was great to work with. As far as noise, I have 4 120mm fans in here, but the system is nearly silent with the help of a cheap sunbeam rheobus.

  • OvErHeAtInG - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    Exactly. Check out the V1100 , it comes with sound-damping precautions. I'm a 3-year user of the PC60 (old kind before they changed it) and I still love it. Yes, a little loud, but hey. Drooling on the V1100.

  • flatblastard - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    ...to only include one fan with their best-looking case. Then the P-180 comes with 3 fans, more features/functionality and doesn't really cost that much more than the sonata. I guess the Sonata is the better value overall considering the included PSU but damn that P-180 doesn't look too shabby either. Dang ole decisions, decisions...man, i tell ya whut....man, dang ole Antec man.

  • swtethan - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    made the right choice buying one :-)

  • imaheadcase - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    Because half of those cases just screamed "Burn me in the nearest fire!". lol

    I mean seriously, why do case manufactors make these crap cases, I would rather have a plain beige case than something made with freakin lights all on the outside covered with cheap plastic peices. Not to mention looks like they had there 3 year olds draw out the designs on ourside.

    I don't care care if its the best case in the world inside, if its ass on the outside im not buying it. I can get the same thing in beige..hehe

    Some of those look ok though..except.

    1. Aspire: Oh please tell there designers to stop asking there 3 year old kids to do there work for them. This case screams crapplastic. it would prob melt if your coffee was to close..
    2. Dynapower: This one does not look half bad, the drive bays could use a all black cover or a matching grill cover.
    3. Sunbeam: Pretty cool looking case. Remove the lame blue circles though, all the stuff you can do when on the PC, who is going to glance at that anyways when most are on the floor or out of the way.
    4.coolmaster: What would make it cool is without the pillars of salt on the side...hehe Remove those it would look sweet.
    5. Both Antec cases: Looks good to me. Antec seems to make some nice cases in the budget area.
    6. ThermalRock: What in gods name is that red circle for? That ruined the front of case, without that red circle it would look good.
    7. Lian Li: Ohhhh Ahhhh! me likey alot.

  • Bonesdad - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    Gotta agree on the Coolermaster case...I got the Centurion 5 last year...glad I didn't wait. The older Centurion 5 is a really nice looking, well made case that looks like it was made for someone with a level of maturity over 16 years old. I can see using this case for many years to come...

  • manno - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    you're not kidding out of all those cases the only ones I would touch with a 10' foot pole were the Antech's, and the Lian Li. For the love of god stop putting side windows on your cases it's drinking beer with a straw tacky.

  • Tamale - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    a LOT of people still look for windows on the side - it's still a fad that's 'catching on' to most people.

  • Quanticles - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    I have a window so I can check my watercooling easier. Besides, they look cool.

  • ElFenix - Thursday, September 8, 2005 - link

    no, they look dorktastic.
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