Home > Computers & Internet > PC Cases > Lian Li Industrial Co. LIAN LI PC-V351B (black) mini tower no power supply 2x5.25 1x3.5 2x3.5(hidden) w/ front i/o connecto... Micro ATX Mid-Tower Case
Lian Li Industrial Co. LIAN LI PC-V351B (black) mini tower no power supply 2x5.25 1x3.5 2x3.5(hidden) w/ front i/o connecto... Micro ATX Mid-Tower Case
KAR120C's Full Review: Lian Li Industrial Co. LIAN LI PC-V351B (black) mi...
I have been using Shuttle XPC form factor PC’s (3 of them) for the past 8 years or so. I recently need a faster PC to perform some video conversion tasks. Sadly, Shuttle does not offer motherboard upgrades to its XPC cases. The only way to upgrade to faster CPU’s was to replace the entire case and motherboard. As much as I love the small XPC form factor, I bit the pill and decided it was time to return to a more ubiquitous and non-proprietary form factor.
I have gotten very much accustomed to the small size of the XPC. Having the PC actually ON my desk is a great ergonomic ally as the drives, USB ports and switches are right at your finger tips. Having to bend over to switch on or fiddle with ports and drives on a floor standing mid or full tower case can be painful. I have certainly learned to enjoy having the XPC cases on my desk. With this in mind I began researching cases. What a hornets’ nest this has become! There are many PC case sizes and designs available. Sadly, there are no cases which can match the XPC size and fit a MicroATX board. The closest in size and character to the Shuttle XPC case I could find was the Lian Li PC-V351B. After reading a bit I realized that the Lian Li PC-V351B had a few features which made it an acceptable choice for my new PC these included:
1) Room for 3 internal hard drives as opposed to the XPC’s space for 2 internal drives. 2) Slide out motherboard tray for improved maintenance. 3) Good looks. 4) Solid construction. 5) Good ventilation. 6) Quiet design.
As Lian Li has a good reputation for case quality and design I decided that the PC-V351B would fit my requirements well enough.
First Impressions: The PC-V351B is apparently intended to be fitted out as a Home Theater PC (HTPC). The case has been reviewed online as a HTPC case and has generally been thought to be too large, too bulky and too ugly for HTPC use. I would not agree with such assessments. The PC-V351B with its sleek minimalist brushed black aluminum case looks very much at home in a home theater setup. While it will not fit in a slim rack mount space it can stand proudly next to other gear. There is another point sadly missing by those who would judge this case solely as a HTPC. The PC-V351B case size makes it a very strong choice for Desktop case lovers. The case looks great on a desktop and others space for 3 hard drives and 1 optical drive. The large interior also has room for large CPU fans and video cards. In my estimation this cases offers a great deal of potential for desktop case design.
Out of the box I was a little overwhelmed by the size of the case. Measuring 11" x 10.3" x 14.7" the box is a bit larger than I had envisioned. The case is however very smart looking. Offering side accessed optical drive slots and side mounted USB and audio ports the front of the case has a minimal look with a blue power button and small reset button/hard drive activity indicator. Overall I estimate that the Lian Li is about 30% larger in overall size then the little XPC cases I love.
Installation: After noting the quality construction I was anticipating an easy installation. As I was used to much more cramped installations on tiny XPC cases, it looked like installation on the PC-V351B would be a breeze. While in general the installation was simple, there were a few hitches during assembly.
Sadly there are no elegant side panel clips here. To open the PC-V351B requires removing 6 small black screws on each side panel. I had read from some reviews that these screws could be very tight and hard to remove, so I was ready. I found my sharpest small sized Philips screw driver and bared down with firm pressure. I was able to remove the screws using this careful manual method. I would not recommend using a power screwdriver certainly on first removal as you may strip a few screw heads. Once opened, the construction appears solid. Thankfully I found no sharp edges on which cut my fingers! All of the required screws and parts were found inside the case. The motherboard pull out tray is a little flimsy, but honestly, how often will it be slid in and out? Unless you upgrade your motherboard often, you will not have a need to pull the tray in and out with any regularity. Once assembled the motherboard and the tray are solidly connected.
Routing of power cables and data cables to the hard drive bays is pretty tough. Had I spent a few extra dollars on a modular power supply with removable cables, this installation would have been easier. You must plan the assembly procedure in order to make sure you don’t “paint yourself in a corner”. I would highly recommend a modular power supply for use with this case.
The slide out motherboard tray did make it somewhat easier to work with this case. Installing the motherboard to the tray was simple, as was installing a Thermaltake Ruby Orb CPU fan. There is plenty of room to accommodate this monster sized fan. The case itself comes with 2 120mm front intake fans and a rear 80mm exhaust fan. These stock fans run well and quiet. In fact even with the Ruby Orb fan this case is quieter than the Shuttle XPC cases!
Installation of the hard drives into the PC-V351B internal bay is made with vibration damping rubber gaskets. The gaskets are attached to the drive and the drive is slipped into one of the 2 internal hard drive bays. I installed a 3rd hard drive into one of the external optical drive bays. This was NOT easy as the optical bay is not really designed to receive a 3rd hard drive. I was able to figure out a way of securing the drive to the optical bay using the supplied 3.5 adapter parts. My clumsy workaround for installing a 3rd hard drive into the external optical slot works, but it isn’t at all elegant. There is very little room to the rear of the drive bays which makes the SATA connections a bit tight. Given the interior roominess of the case, I think a 1/2 inch more room to the rear of the drive bay would have helped.
Use: The PC-V351B’s stock case fans are quite quiet and the power on switch and side mounted USB connectors are solid in operation. The side mounted optical drives can be placed on either the right or left side of the case while the USB and audio connectors are on the right lower side of the case. Once built the case looks slick and is about 4 inches larger than the Shuttle XPC in each dimension. The large size offers space for 3 internal drives and an optical drive, and it fits a microATX motherboard on its slide out tray. Is this enough to make the switch away from the smaller XPC form factor? I think the move to the larger case may be worth my efforts as I can now easily upgrade to a new motherboard and CPU without being forced into purchasing and entire new XPC case and motherboard from Shuttle. Now I can upgrade every 2 years or so and ride the wave of faster CPU’s as price/performance improves. Space for 3 hard drives allows me to run RAID 1 with a separate internal backup drive.
Final Thoughts: I wish that Lian Li has not positioned this case as a HTPC category. Had the design been thought out as a desktop “XPC killer”, the case could fill the need for users who need upgradability, multiple internal drive bays and ease of maintenance. While the case looks elegant it could be refined more as to fit the needs of the performance desktop user. Perhaps Lian Li will upgrade this case to better fir this niche by offering improved performance PC features. Such improvements could include:
1) Intake air filters 2) Improved 3rd drive hard drive bay installation. 3) Improved side panel access using clips or other hidden fasteners. 4) Additional side USB ports and a side mounted eSATA port. 5) Improve stability of sliding motherboard tray. 6) Needs more space to the rear of the hard drive bay.
Taken as a whole I am happy with the PC-V351B. I think the case will pay off come time for my next upgrade. Until that time, I have a nice looking and quiet case, which is running 3 internal drives and a standard microATX motherboard. HTPC my _ass! Judge this case as a desktop PC.
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