Lian Li's PC-A05FN: Alternative Thinking at a $99 Price Point

Conclusion: The Dubious Value Proposition

Once again I'm left with an enclosure whose needs are fairly clearly beyond the scope of our standardized testbed, and to me that's too bad. Under the circumstances I don't think the testbed is really that brutal, at least at stock settings, and this is a case that should be able to handle the most challenging part of the overclock with aplomb: the processor.

First, the good stuff: if you're overclocking the CPU, you have a few options with how you want to configure the Lian Li PC-A05FN. The processor cooling seems to be the reason for the case design, and everything else is secondary; if you're operating on a budget of less than $100 for the case and just want the CPU to scream, Lian Li has you covered. The PC-A05FN is also one of the more attractive cases I've tested, and it's also among the lightest due to the all-aluminum design. You sacrifice a little bit in the way of durability, but for most of us it's probably worth the tradeoff, especially at this price point. (The silver version is going for just $89 on NewEgg as of this writing.)

My biggest issue with the PC-A05FN is that once again with a Lian Li case there's a gulf between what the case is ostensibly capable of and what it's actually capable of. Can it handle our testbed? Well, nothing overheated, so that's a "yes", but the GTX 580 is probably more than you should plan on for this case—a GTX 560 or HD 6950 would be a better fit. A better question is whether it can handle our testbed better than other enclosures in its price range. That's a lot foggier, and where things get even more complicated is when you realize that the other cases are almost uniformly easier to assemble your system. The other enclosures may be a bit bigger, but they're also far less "special needs" than the PC-A05FN; you can do a quick-and-dirty build in a BitFenix Shinobi without too much trouble, but the PC-A05FN more or less demands you carefully select your components to maximize the value of the enclosure. It's going to be a bit more work to assemble to boot.

So what's the verdict? By the end of this review, you should have a pretty clear idea of whether or not the Lian Li PC-A05FN is right for you. This just isn't one of those "this is the best enclosure for under $100" situations where I can sign off on it and tell you "godspeed". I wouldn't fault anyone for buying it provided they did the research first and carefully chose the parts used to assemble the build because the case does have potential. For more generic, less specialized builds, though, I'd advise most users to look elsewhere.