LIAN LI Black PC-C50B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

Comment:
General very good design and style, but verify cons. Front port cables (eSATA and USB three.) are too extended, but a lot worse is that the expansion card slot openings do not open on leading of slot and opening stops beneath the best of the slot (closer to the motherboard). This is almost certainly to improve rigidity of the case but the outcome is that removal of cards that use the complete card height for connections, like these that have dual DVI with a mini-DIN connector in amongst, is tricky. If Lian-Li would repair just the expansion card difficulties, I would rate the case 4 eggs. If the the cables were somewhat shorter as well, I would give it 5.

Comment:
I needed a micro-ATX case to fit a Media Center Pc into a new 18" deep cabinet for my HT setup. This case is 13"deep, and fits perfectly. I also wanted all-aluminum building for heat handle so I don't will need to run fans as rapidly, maintaining down noise.The case cleverly hangs drives in up to 3 mounts more than the PS and MB. You need to have to eliminate 4 little screws from every single mount to access the drives and/or the wiring to the MB. A very good tradeoff to get the case size down, in my book.I can match two 3.five" drives easily, and nevertheless have fantastic access and cooling more than the motherboard by leaving out the third hanging drive mount. But if important I can mount three 3.5s PLUS two 2.5s for a total of 8TB of internal storage. Don't laugh! Saving your favored HD applications eats up storage quicker than the tiny Japanese guy at the Nathan's Hot-dog-eating contest! Cables. Lian Li makes use of a neat front-panel assembly with three USB three., 1 eSATA and 1 front-panel audio cable. These are practically three feet extended! Apparently they use this in massive tower cases also. Crazy in a compact case like this. I tied these into a bundle under the best help bar, which helps neaten items.As others state, the USB cables terminate in sort A (flat) male connectors rather than the 10-pin "harmonica" connectors that match most motherboards.My MSI MB has two USB 3. connectors on the back plate. I added a two-port USB three. card with one particular external female A connector and 1 internal. I connected 1 front-panel cable to the internal. Lian Li contains a short Y cable that goes from a USB harmonica connector to two USB females, so I plugged the other 2 front-panel cables into a USB 2. header on the MB, providing me 1 three. and two 2. front-panel jacks plus four two. and 3 three. jacks on the rear. And NO cables coming out of the case plugging into the rear I have employed low-energy components to reduce fan noise. An inexpensive 45 W AMD 600e quad-core and the ATI 4250 integrated graphics on my MSI 880GMA-E45 mb do a Wonderful job on HD record/play, and an 80+ energy supply cuts heat. The aluminum case aids as nicely. The stock case fans are a bit noisy so I may possibly replace them or add a speed handle to slow them down. The case is cooler than important now.I use an HD Homerun box with 2 tuners (tunes and transmits Television more than my residence Ethernet) rather of internal tuners. Works effectively and keeps heat out of the cabinet. I also program to use the USB 3. connections for external drives for simple backup and further heat reduction inside the case.

Comment:
Nice finished look to it. No cuts on the hands even though the space is quite tight to perform in. Excellent air flow if you commit time zip tie all the loose "ends." The energy light is way also bright for an HTPC. Lian-Li you must look at a much more subtle glow, not a BAM!!! Right here I AM!!! light. The trusty sharpie fixed it even though. I purchased a LG Model UH10LS20 BD player and the button lines up with the case button.

Comment:
Nicely constructed and stamped sheet metal. Heavy gauge and nicely completed. I bought the unit for a compact in a shelf pc / tv program connected to a 60" lg plasma screen. Air flow is effectively thought out and case remarkably cool for such a tight/small package.Sufficient space inside for three cards (including a largish 9800 GT video card) on a micro atx mobo. I have 1 BD drive / 1 ssd for operating technique above the BD drive / two 1-TB storage drives in the case and could have place 1 a lot more 1-TB drive in if it hadnt been for the length of the BD drive. A dvd/cd would have provided it enough area to fit. For a case of this all round top quality and design and style, two smaller but considerable issues come to thoughts in the makeɅ. The connectors to the case front USB ports are not the normal eightቦ pin connector block but an actual usb connector. Where did that come from. The front usb connectors require to be the typical connector block that 1 plugs into a mobo. This is serious simply because the case so tight and any loose/extra wires are a issue. Besides who in their suitable thoughts would have an internal usb case connection with that arrangement. 2. The power indicator light connector block is useless for 99.9% of the mobos. Again. This is element of the front panel block for usb/hdd/power indicator. Wood shed right here i come (see beneath)!Other than these two seemingly modest items this is an outstanding case. Possible six eggs but minus 1 egg for every of these products. I would have offered case six eggs if it hadnt been for front panel usb connections. Whoever thought of that requirements to be taken to wood shed and talked to - seriously - otherwise this is a actually nice case. Exceptional for that matter. When undertaking the develop, feel it through. This case is quite compact and you can't go back and plug in a mobo connector at the end. You may possibly have to take apart the whole case and rebuild it once or twice if you find stuff you forgot. Put the processor and it's fan in last. It is in a wide open spot in the case and that offers a lot of space for operating. Also, get a fully modular energy provide. Wire management with ties is a have to. This is extremely important due to the fact there is no space to spare. Air circulation is incredibly great. I experimented with several choices on the bench and monitored mobo/processor/video card temps for a whilst with heavy use. Ended up closing off the vent and adding 1 other 120 mm fan on the power supply side of the case for best air flow.

Comment:
Lovely situation that fits in the vast majority of media cabinets. This is perhaps the 10th unique Lian Li case I've employed in a make, and the construct good quality does not disappoint. Excellent airflow. If you're making a affordable HTPC without any frills, then this is an superb option. Sad to say, they missed the mark with this situation by more than-promising and under-delivering.... read on... Bought this case due to the fact of expertise with Lian Li, great looks, outstanding size, three slots for internal HDD. Except it is not doable to insall three internal three.5" HDD's in this situation with no creating concessions AND/OR modifications. I have not however figured out how it is even achievable to install far more than one particular 3.5" HDD in this case if you have each a PCI-E video card more than 165mm extended (aren't they all bigger than that?) and a BluRay drive installed. Purchased this case due to the fact of experience with Lian Li, excellent looks, great size, three slots for internal HDD (wow!). 1st issue-very same as earlier reviewer; internal HDD bracket behind BluRayǘ.5" SDD ought to be 1ǚ" farther back. No biggie, I modified the BluRay with a Dremel and got it all to match. 2nd difficulty-exact same as each other reviewers; the front panel connector cables are WAY also lengthy even if you program to route them out the back and connect to the rear facing USB headers. Plus, they're stiff so folding them up is a discomfort. 3rd challenge-here's the true kicker; the 2nd HDD cage (holds two 3.five" internals as shipped) cannot be set up if you have a PCI-E card better than 165mm extended in PCI-E slot ş AND/OR a CPU cooler that is ᡹mm tall and wider than 105mm diameter (or width, based on shape). Meaning you should use mobo with video or set up your vid card in PCI-E slot 2 to permit HDD cage Š. Except installing vid card of any length in PCI-E slot two interferes with HDD cage ş AND BluRayǘ.five" HDD cage. So far I'm still thinking it could be feasible to find an extremely brief CPU cooler and fabricate some brackets that make it feasible to set up HDD cage Š. However, the word "fabricate" and the phrase "may be feasible" are not the kind of language I count on to be working with when making a Computer from a Lian Li case that costs more than 贶. I bought mine elsewhere mainly because Newegg was out at the time (sorry guys, I purchased the rest from you). Looks like I might just bite the bullet and build a true storage server with ten HDD's out of a tower and get in touch with it a day.