Lian Li's PC-A05FN: Alternative Thinking at a $99 Price Point
by Dustin Sklavos on December 7, 2011 10:15 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- Lian Li
Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
Given the emphasis on processor cooling in Lian Li's PC-A05FN, hopefully the enclosure's unusual design will pay off with the substantially increased thermal load that the overclocked processor and RAM bring. That said, we can expect increased ambient heat in the process and with no directed airflow going towards the GeForce GTX 580, I'm at least a little concerned about the heat and noise that card may put out.
Processor temperatures wind up being excellent, and the chipset and DIMM results are also excellent, but sacrifices are made. The SSD runs hotter than almost any other enclosure we've tested (not really a concern for an SSD, but we'd be wary of using a 2.5" HDD), and the GeForce's cooler is definitely being taxed more than usual. That idle temperature is pretty much the worst we've seen, and the load temperature is mighty close.
Unfortunately, while noise in the PC-A05FN is good, it's not great. While the processor stays cool enough, that GTX 580 is roasting. It's among the quieter enclosures we've tested under load, but at idle the GTX 580's fan is already working harder than we'd like.
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jigglywiggly - Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - link
I just bought a 30$ xigamatek pc case from newegg that craps all over this.This case is too small first of all.
The xigamatek is fairly large, fits 3870x2 + 3870 in CF np, fits big heatsink.
it has a hole to remove the heatsink from the tray so no need to take mobo out.
Fits 630watt psu, totally tooless.
30$!!
This case is more than 3x the price and I would pick the xigamatek. It's also incredibly light so it's probably easier to transport.
insurgent - Thursday, December 8, 2011 - link
The Xigmatek is also a boring steel case while this is made of brushed aluminum with superior build quality. The Xigmatek doesn't "crap" all over this, they belong in different market segments: those who are poor/cheap and those who appreciate nice things and have money to spare.james.jwb - Thursday, December 8, 2011 - link
I had an A05nb that i cut a PSU 120mm hole for, and added a top panel identical to this one for a 140mm fan.It's a great looking case, there is no denying it, but it's quite flimsy. The aluminium is very thin, you get no extra features either. No good cable routing, no sound dampening. I just swapped it out for a Define R3 and it really shows how Lian Li seem to be falling behind on what is now standard on most cases.
There is no other case like it though. If you what a great looks and a small footprint, it's as good as it gets, especially now it has those extra fan placements as standard, because my god, it needed it with my old 4890 installed :)
With the right fans, it can definitely handle a 6970 setup fine, mine did.
ckryan - Thursday, December 8, 2011 - link
The old version of this case is where it's at. I don't like the new version as much.Ben90 - Thursday, December 8, 2011 - link
I just found a piece of cardboard from the dumpster that craps all over the xigametek.That case is too small first of all.
The cardboard is fairly large, fits Bitchin' Fast 3D 2000 in SLI np, fits autocascade.
It has no fasteners anywhere so no need to take anything out.
Fits a bin of extra computer parts, totally tooless.
0$!!
This case is more than infinite the price and I would pick the cardboard. It's also incredibly light so it's probably easier to transport.
Gazziza - Sunday, December 18, 2011 - link
"This case is too small first of all.The xigamatek is fairly large, fits 3870x2 + 3870 in CF np, fits big heatsink."
You're obviously not the target market for this case then. The whole point is that this case is supposed to be smaller than most mid towers. Not everyone has the space to fit in a larger case. You're making an apples to orange comparison. This Lian-Li and your Xigmatek occupy different parts of the market.
Iketh - Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - link
Lian Li must have read my mind regarding HD temps. If you're using 5400-5900 rpm drives, they get far too cool with fans blowing directly on them (20-25C). The approach in this case alleviates that, but what happens to HD temps when you're running a full load on the cpu for several hours straight?? That heat is blowing right over the hard drives. I can't see how they won't reach at least 50C, especially if using 7200rpm. That front fan should just be an intake also and open the top cover.beginner99 - Thursday, December 8, 2011 - link
plus with this design they are countering natural air flow (warm air is lighter) forcing it to flow down a bit. Inputs at the fronts bottom and top-rear exhaust makes more sense.Alecthar - Thursday, December 8, 2011 - link
The actual effect of convection for PC cases is usually overstated. Air, even warm air, is going to go where the fans draw it. There's also no reason to believe that "countering" the natural direction of air flow is in any way significant. Should you draw warm air over your HDDs? Maybe not, but that really has little to do with whether or not the case should be working with, or just ignoring, convection.Strunf - Thursday, December 8, 2011 - link
Why do you say the HD get far too cool? as far as I know 25°C is the optimal temperature for all electronics devices.