Lian-Li PC-S80

Sleek, silent and stunning. Lian-Li contests the case crown.

Everyone knows Lian-Li. As one of the first manufactuers to put an ounce of thought into case design the company has garnered a huge following from geeks the world over. The company was one of the first to banish beige, integrate functional features, and make use of intelligent design -- right down to the god-send that is tapered edges to prevent cut fingers! It's fair to say it set the bar for others to follow, with the Lian-Li PC-60 being one of the most popular cases of all time (and still sells even today).

However these days quality cases abound, and it's fair to say Lian-Li has fallen behind compared to manufacturers like Coolermaster with its CMStacker and Antec's P180. Not to mention its 'sea shell' case was just plain odd.

But this is about to change. Lian-Li's latest build, the PC-S80, is one of the most over-engineered cases we've ever seen.

Built with a solid aluminium exterior it oozes a classic sleek style. USB, Firewire and audio ports sit sunken into the top of the case, while a shroud extends from the rear. This is just one of the impressive design features -- the shroud independently directs airflow out from the PSU as well as into the CPU via seperate chambers (so no cross flow occurs) and, most importantly, is lined with acoustic dampening material on the inside to reduce noise. Shrouds like this have been available for a while for silent PC enthusiasts, and the PC-S80 comes with it built-in. It's removeable, too, if that's not your thing.

The door is another masterpiece. Dual-layer aluminium with rubber cushions helps to absorb noise and allow it to sit comfortably against the case (no problems with warping here). Two spring-loaded ball bearings clip the door open and shut. It's hard to explain, but the mechnism is a pleasure to use.

Inside the facia Lian-Li has borrowed a little from Apple, with just two centered silver buttons for power and reset sunk flush in the centre of the case. The door can be key-locked, and while it's not exactly thug-proof, it's a darn sight stronger than most lockable doors.

The side panels use thumb screws and a pull-out lever mechism to unlock (in fact the entire case is tooless). The left hand panel includes a pad-lock loop, so you can physically prevent innards being removed. Both panels have a thin mesh near the rear, which actually allows airflow into the case via the front -- more on this in a moment.

Inside is just as majestic. Both sides sport a series of aluminum layers covering the 5.25" drive bays and central chamber, effectively creating a box with a box. Again, this is all to reduce noise. A strip of acoustic dampening material lines the central chamber cover above where cards and CPU fan lie. Beneath this, a height-adjustbale shroud directs airflow from a rear intake vent to the CPU, powered by a 120mm fan attached with rubber grommets.

The top section houses the PSU -- which sits on four shelves that are backed by rubber grommets to absorb vibration -- and interestingly above this is fixed a 80mm fan, again mounted with rubber, to direct air out the rear of the case. Finally, above this the roof of the case is lined with more acoustic dampening foam.

The 5.25" bays are nothing special, but the 3.5" bays certainly are: positioned sideways -- making it easy to attach drive cables -- four clippable aluminium bays with fins double as heatsinks, and sit behind two 120mm intake fans, again mounted with rubber grommets to absorb vibrations. Unfortunately the heatsink bays don't follow this silent philosophy, and the fit leaves no room for silicone or rubber dampners. While the clip mechanism is plastic, this will still happily conduct resonance to the cage and then the case.
The 120mm fans pull air in from the front sides of the case, directed along the aluminium main chamber cover inside to the meshed vents on the case housing at the rear.

To give you an idea of the airflow design -- the front two 120mm fans pull air in over the drives while a single 120mm fan pulls air in, and directs it via a shroud, over the CPU cooler. The case relies on heat rising to be expelled by a top mounted PSU and the 80mm fan above this. Finally, the rear attached silencing shroud directs is partitioned to direct hot air from the top of the case downwards and out, while at the same time pulling in cooler air for the CPU intake. It's all extremely nifty.

About the only complaints to make is that the motherboard tray isn't removeable, though there is plenty of room inside to work with, and the door cannot be opened more than about 130 degrees. Its picky, but we'd love an option for the door to slide back along the side as with the P180 -- if you use any sort of bay bus device, like fan controllers, LCDs, or the X-Fi panel you'll have to fight with the door to access these.

Overall the PC-S80 is a masterpiece. It successfully mixes form and function to create a beautiful, silence-focused, case that's a pleasure to use. If black isn't your style, it also comes in silver with a black stripe. A hot award well deserved.