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A Whole New Line of Unique Lian Li mini-ITX and uATX cases

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:59 am
by ces
A Whole New Line of Unique Lian Li mini-ITX and uATX cases!
You have to study them for a while to really understand them and how you can use them. Each one has its own unique little tricks. What they all share though is that you will want to use esata for your data drives.

Some real nice design work!
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/pr ... _index=127

1. The T7 looks very interesting, especially with the fan. And it has USB 3 connectors. I think it is the first case that I know of that has adopted USB 3.

I wonder if you can fit in a tower cooler onto the T7, near the optional fan, without running into the handle? It would be a perfect place to put a ThermalRight HR-01+ with a 500 rpm fan feeding a duct to it.

2. The shape of the T1 appears to be highly configurable. I don't think the shape they use to model it is the most practical. But I think it can be made to be practical.

3. The PC-Q06 specs indicate it can handle itx, matx and atx.

4. I don't like the T60. It is a bit too large and gawky for me. But maybe its just for someone else.

What Do You See? What unique things in these cases do you see in these cases. How would you use them?
What are your impressions or thoughts?

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 11:31 am
by jaydeesan
Oh yeah, I've seen those a while ago. What a waste of aluminum.

(And 'cases'?)

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 11:44 am
by faugusztin
I still miss the PC-Q09 ( http://www.homemedia.fr/actualites/5367 ... -slim.html ), i would replace my Antec ISK300-65 with it any time (-10cm in legth is a noticeable difference). Too bad they probably decided not to make them.

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 11:48 am
by ces
faugusztin wrote:Too bad they probably decided not to make them.
Why do you say that? It is listed on their website:
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/pr ... dex=63&g=d

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 12:22 pm
by ilovejedd
ces wrote:
faugusztin wrote:Too bad they probably decided not to make them.
Why do you say that? It is listed on their website:
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/pr ... dex=63&g=d
The product page is available but it's not exactly listed in the Mini Tower Chassis page which doesn't bode well for the product.

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 12:31 pm
by BlackWhizz
I agree. That IS a waste of aluminium.

Where are the sleek, straight lines of lian li? The only cases i still like are the PC-7 PC-60 V351 and X1000.

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:33 pm
by Jay_S
Agreed - waste. CES, you should add a 'none of the above' option to the poll.

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 4:48 pm
by ces
Looks like I am a minority of one :)

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:35 pm
by ces
Jay_S wrote:Agreed - waste. CES, you should add a 'none of the above' option to the poll.
It's too late to do that. Once you launch a poll you can't change it.

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:39 pm
by zansiball
something like this would be more lian li style http://www.emko.cz/catalog/it-cases/min ... /em-154alu

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:48 pm
by ces
zansiball wrote:something like this would be more lian li style http://www.emko.cz/catalog/it-cases/min ... /em-154alu
Is that a clear front on that case?

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 5:25 pm
by theycallmebruce
OK, practicality aside, how can you not like the spider? That's just plain awesome.

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:20 am
by kencheeto
I would totally get the T7.

Any news on release dates or US availability?

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:23 am
by Redzo
jaydeesan wrote:Oh yeah, I've seen those a while ago. What a waste of aluminum.

(And 'cases'?)
+1
Pathetic was the word that came to mind when I saw that "design".

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:26 pm
by Mats
That title is very miseading, I didn't expect test benches.

I want better looking µATX cases that's good looking AND small. That's hard to find.

I mean why didn't Lian Li make room for µATX in Q08?. Or, make a similar case for µATX. I'd like a Q07 that's 50 mm deeper.

Silverstones ITX cases looks good, like PT-09 and SG-05, their small µATX don't.

NSK-1380 looks like ten years old.

The good looking cases are big, I'm not interested in that. How hard is it to make it 260 x 260 x 200 mm? I'm willing to use a slim DVD and only room for 2 x 2.5" HDD's.

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:02 pm
by ces
Mats wrote:That title is very miseading, I didn't expect test benches.
I think all of them except one are no more test bench than the Antec Skeleton

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:04 pm
by ces
Mats wrote:I want better looking µATX cases that's good looking AND small. That's hard to find. I mean why didn't Lian Li make room for µATX in Q08?. Or, make a similar case for µATX. I'd like a Q07 that's 50 mm deeper.
I agree with you. But it is just a modding opportunity.

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:14 pm
by Mats
ces wrote:
Mats wrote:That title is very miseading, I didn't expect test benches.
I think all of them except one are no more test bench than the Antec Skeleton
Lian Li calls them test benches in your link, you call them cases. :wink:
And I wouldn't consider Skeleton either, because it's not a case. I'd love it when I was 13 tho.

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:52 pm
by ces
Mats wrote:
ces wrote:
Mats wrote:That title is very miseading, I didn't expect test benches.
I think all of them except one are no more test bench than the Antec Skeleton
Lian Li calls them test benches in your link, you call them cases. :wink:
And I wouldn't consider Skeleton either, because it's not a case. I'd love it when I was 13 tho.
You're no fun :cry:

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:13 am
by Mats
Hey, cheer up! I'm just looking around for a nice µATX case, it's me hijacking your thread, sorry.. :wink:

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:58 am
by ces
Mats wrote:Hey, cheer up! I'm just looking around for a nice µATX case, it's me hijacking your thread, sorry.. :wink:
I think that is right on topic. You weren't hijacking anything. You were just thinking wrong. :)

Here is a list of small cases that I have compiled. It is fairly complete, at least for what is available in the US. Please let me know if I am missing anything that should be added.

LIAN LI V351 W 10.98; H 10.31; D 14.69; (ITX? & MATX)
BGEARS BG01206 W 11.20; H 9.00; D 14.70; (ONLY MATX)
APEVIA X-QPACK II W 11.25; H 9.00; D 14.50; (3 WINDOWS) (ONLY MATX)
APEVIA X-QPACK W 11.2; H 9.00; D 13.80; (3 WINDOWS) (ONLY MATX)
LIAN LI PC-Q07 W 7.60; H 11.02; D 8.19; (ONLY ITX)
LIAN LI PC-Q08 W 8.94; H 10.70; D 13.58; (ONLY ITX)
ARK MINI ITX PI-01 W 8.00; H 7.00; D 12.75;
SUGO SG05 W 8.74; H 6.93; D 10.87; (ONLY ITX)
SUGO SG06 W 8.66; H 6.97; D 11.26; (ONLY ITX)
SUGO SG07 W 8.74; H 7.48; D 13.78; (ONLY ITX)
SUGO SG02F W 10.6; H 8.30; D 15.50; (ONLY MATX)
SUGO SG03B-F W 7.87; H 14.17; D 12.28; (ONLY MATX)
APEX MI-100 W 8.70; H; 5.10; D 11.80; (ONLY ITX)
APEX MI-008 W 8.70; H; 5.10; D 11.80; (ONLY ITX)
LIAN LI PC-Q09 W 7.85; H 3.86; D 7.85; (ONLY ITX)
ANTEC NSK1380 W 10.60; H 7.90; D 13.20; (ONLY MATX)
ANTEC NSK 3480 W 7.87; H 13.78; D 13.98; (ONLY MATX)
ANTEC NSK 3300 W 7.80; H 13.80; D 13.80; (ONLY MATX)
ANTEC NSK 4400 W 7.80; H 16.50; D 16.60; (ATX & MATX)
ANTEC NSK 4480 W 7.80; H 16.50; D 16.60; (MATX & ATX)
LIAN LI PC A03 W 7.40; H 14.49; D 17.60; (ITX & MATX)
LIAN LI A05 W 8.27; H 15.00; D 19.29; (MATX & ATX)
LIAN LI PC-A06F W 7.36; H 14.76; D 19.29; (MATX & ATX)
ANTEC SOLO W 8.10; H 17.00; D 18.50; (ITX, MATX & ATX)
CENTURION 590 W 8.27; H 17.32; D 20.08; (MATX & ATX)
ANTEC ELITE 341 W 7.28; H 14.37; D 15.75; (ONLY MATX)
SHUTTLE SG41J1 W 8.46; H 7.48; D 12.79;
LAN-GEAR.COM W 11.4" X H 8.6" X D 14.6" (ONLY MATX)

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:35 am
by Redzo
You could add IN WIN BQ656 to your list.
Smal review of it can be found HERE

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:55 am
by Mats
ces: Thank you for your effort. However, I'm looking for a µATX case that's no more than 11 x 11 x 8 and with the looks of a Q07 or SG-05 (yeah aluminium), and that's hard to find.

It's not like I can't use a larger case, it's just that small size have been the primary obsession the last few years, and before that it was low noise.
This doesn't mean that I want ITX though, becaure the difference to µATX is too small.
An ITX system for gaming got the same height and length as a µATX if you use something like a 5850, the graphics card becomes the limiting factor.
With a dual slot card it gets about 8" wide, and a µATX is 9.6", big deal..

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:12 am
by ces
Mats wrote:ces: Thank you for your effort. However, I'm looking for a µATX case that's no more than 11 x 11 x 8 and with the looks of a Q07 or SG-05 (yeah aluminium), and that's hard to find.
Please let me know when you find such a case.

I believe the only way to do that is to modify an existing ITX case. I think there are two instances of people doing that somewhere in these forums.

Maybe a handful of us could get together and get someone to do such a modd on 5 or 10 cases at once. That might keep the cost down and generate a higher quality end result.

Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 10:55 pm
by QuietCat
Ouch! My eyes! Please make them stop. The Antec 200 virus - it's in the wild and mutating.

I vote none of the above. If this was a democracy, I'd petition for impeachment.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 12:28 am
by Mats
ces wrote:(ONLY MATX)
I'm pretty sure all µATX cases can be used with ITX boards.

Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 5:12 am
by ces
Mats wrote:
ces wrote:(ONLY MATX)
I'm pretty sure all µATX cases can be used with ITX boards.
That is how it should be, but most uATX cases decline to mention they are compatible with ITX. That is not something most marketing departments would ignore.

And some companies will state that some cases do both while declining to state that other uATX cases in their line of cases will.

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 1:51 am
by ces
QuietCat wrote:If this was a democracy, I'd petition for impeachment.
At least one other person here likes them:

New Lian-Li case : T1
viewtopic.php?p=508478#508478

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:03 am
by jaydeesan
ces wrote:...
At least one other person here likes them:
He said it's a strange new case... how that implies that he likes it is lost on me. Quite the opposite if anything.

(Are you trying to get a job with Lian-Li or do you just have too much time on your hands?) 8)

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:17 am
by ces
jaydeesan wrote:
ces wrote:...
At least one other person here likes them:
He said it's a strange new case... how that implies that he likes it is lost on me. Quite the opposite if anything.

(Are you trying to get a job with Lian-Li or do you just have too much time on your hands?) 8)
Just a little obsessive with Lian Li, that's all. And I am sort of in the process of triangulating on my next case - which is likely to be either a Lian Li or a Lan Gear case.