Evolution of Lian Li's SOHO Server Cases

PC-V2000 - Interior

Both the V1000 and V2000 allow you to open up both sides of the case with identical ease for very unrestricted access to the internals.

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With the reversed motherboard orientation, the main side for getting at internals is the right side of the case. Right away we can recognize typical server-style design choices. Perhaps the most prominent is the expansion card support bar, which of course is removable.

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After removing the few screws holding it in place, the bar slides easily out. There are two main sections to the inside of the V2000: the upper portion for the motherboard, expansion cards, and 5.25" drives; and the lower portion for the hard drives and power supply. Large cutouts sit between the various areas for cable management.

Here's the support bar from the other side. The plastic clips can individually swing into place to help hold the far end of longer expansion cards firmly in place during transport.

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The rear of the case pretty much offers everything expected from seeing it from the outside. A 120mm fan takes on the bulk of the cooling duty, pulling air through the ventilated front top part of the case, and the bottom portion relies on the power supply and the 120mm fan mounted in the front, unless a user installs additional 80mm fans over the two grills. Extra holes are punched in the visible plate in the above picture, most likely to keep airflow restrictions and overall weight as low as possible.

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Turning our attention back to the front, one can get a better sense of how these hard drive holders actually work. Four special screws go into each drive and serve as 'pegs' for the drive to slide along these plastic rails. Once slid into place horizontally, two plastic clips slide down vertically behind the peg to hold the drive in all the way. It's easy and secure, and doesn't take very long either.

Also notice how in this picture air is discouraged from leaking around the fan from the backside - the fan shroud keeps entry air coming primarily through the front bezel. The fan can be pulled out to clean it and the filter as well.

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Overall, the horizontal slide-in hard drive design works very well, and there's enough space between drives for adequate airflow even if the case is completely filled. It takes a lot of cabling to connect 12 hard drives, but thankfully Lian Li has already planned for the potentially extreme cabling accommodation needs.

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The large cutout is big enough for several IDE cables of course, but more importantly it's big enough to make the actual act of routing cables through it painless. The smaller cutout is for the motherboard power connector, and is just big enough to pass that through.