PC-9300 Aluminum: Lian Li Enters the Small Form Factor Race

Construction

The first impression we got from the PC-9300 was that the case looked like nothing we have ever seen before, yet at the same time strikingly familiar. As expected with any Lian Li case, the chassis was constructed of 1.0mm brushed aluminum.  Although no different than any other material on the market right now, the aluminum does scratch easily when another sharp surface makes contact.

We have done some extensive tests on aluminum cases in the past and apparently the advantages in cooling are minimal.  The lightweight of the entire chassis makes this case a desirable enclosure for the LAN party enthusiast.  Cooler Master's ATC-610 and Shuttle/AMS are no longer the only players in this niche market.

Anyone who has worked on a desktop PC in the 90's remembers the hassle of removing the covers on horizontal PC cases.  Usually, the case cover had to slide back a few inches, and then the cover was pulled upwards to remove it from the case.  Some of these cases required you to warp the cover just a fraction of an inch to completely separate it from the case; woe, the agony.  Well, unfortunately, the PC-9300 is no different.  To add insult to injury, the instruction manual for removing the case cover was found inside the case.

Furthermore, Lian Li neglected two inner edges underneath the cover.  The two edges are not very sharp, but a little bit of carelessness will result in an awakening pinch.  As we have stressed before, there is no excuse for sharp edges in an aftermarket PC case, especially in an area that needs to be touched often.

Cooling

The case came with only 2 exhaust fans, which somewhat puzzled us.  Since it is a small unit however, the negative pressure should not affect cooling performance much.  Perhaps some small intake holes or an additional fan would go a long way to improve the airflow in this case.  There is no airflow flowing past the drive bays.

The PC-9300 takes up a super small footprint of only 360mm x 132mm x 430mm (WHD), but uses the microATX rather than VIA's extremely small mini-ITX form factor. 

Breakdown