Lian-Li PC-V300 Micro-ATX case review

Small form factor (SFF) cases are inherently warmer and noisier, but arguably possess more “cool” factor due to pleasing aesthetics and space efficiency. Lian-Li is a Chinese computer case vendor that has gained a reputation within the PC builder community for high-quality, stylish aluminum cases. The PC-V300 is a great product for Lian-Li as it incorporates the great build quality and pleasing aesthetics that the company has become known for. I recently rebuilt my PC inside this case and have prepared a review of the case and the build experience. Building a PC inside a SFF case is certainly more challenging than a traditional ATX case, how did the PC-V300 fare?

The following Lian-Li PC-V300 photo set is displayed as a Flash slideshow from unpacking the case, to the final, assembled and running computer. The white optical drive is temporary, and the blue LED I find annoying and plan to disable. I also have a large Zalman 92mm heatsink fan unit that did not fit with the 80mm case fan that comes with the PC-V300. I opted to remove the 80mm fan, running with 2 instead of 3 case fans, then I taped the grill cover into place with electrical tape. So far heat has not been an issue. Some people have noted there is room to mount a (or possible two) 120mm fan in front of the case, and water-cool the case if you are into that sort of thing.

Assembly

Allow 3-4 hours for assembly depending on experience level. I have also built a SFF computer inside the Antec Aria, which was much more difficult than the PC-V300. If you are working with aftermarket heatsink fan units, you may encounter more difficulty. Fortunately Lian-Li has kept the corners and sharp areas of this case rounded and smooth. I received no nicks or cuts during the assembly process of this computer, which is saying a lot since there is so little room inside the case to position one’s hands.

The vendor includes a specialty wrench to screw the motherboard standoffs into place. I used a pliers since I had not noticed this wrench until all standoffs were screwed into place. Mounting the motherboard on the slide out motherboard tray was very easy. Sliding the motherboard tray into place was also a piece of cake.

One complaint I have is that Lian-Li could have designed this case with fewer screws. There are 6 very small screws for each side panel, 4 screws holding the side fan in place, 4 thumbscrews and 4 traditional screws on the back, plus all the screws inside the case. The small screws are barely noticeable once in place, so as long as you are not opening and closing the case frequently, the numerous screws should not present too big of a problem.

As with the Antec Aria case, order of assembly is very important. The English on the manual is very poor, such as “Open” and “Luck” positions, and advice to “assemble the screws on the hard disk stiffly.” The steps are confusing, you might as well forget about the manual being much help. I slid the motherboard tray into place first before realizing I needed to screw the power supply into place before putting the motherboard tray in. Since the case affords very small wiggle room, order matters. Before putting all the screws in, take your time and think through each piece you are assembling.

The hard drives are slid into place, and snaps are slid down in front of them that lock (note: not “luck”) into place. This works alright, but rails would probably work better, since it seems the hard drive can still slide back and forth a fair amount.

Video card length can be an issue in this case. Unfortunately Lian-Li designed the case such that if you have a new, high-end Nvidia video card, it will likely be too long to fit into the case without some case modification (using a rotary cutting tool to cut through the 3.5 bay area). Most people are not comfortable cutting out pieces of metal inside the case, so you will want to check technical specs of the case, forums and other resources, before purchasing this case. Since I was simply moving older components into a new case, I knew size would not be an issue.

Finished product

I am very pleased with the look of the case. The case is available in silver or black. I opted for black so that the color and style matched that of a stereo receiver. Noise levels are acceptable, but I would have preferred one or two (I believe two would fit) low RPM 120mm case fans instead of noisier 80mm case fans. Hard drive or CPU heatsink fan noise will probably be more noticeable than it was with previous cases, since ventilation holes in the front of the case let a lot of noise (and air) through, and the case may be positioned on your desk closer to your ears. Noise is very subjective however, so your results will vary. This case offers a nice mix of size (it’s not too small) with room for aftermarket cooling or modification, and price. The Lian-Li PC-V300 is priced around US $100.

BoxGods review of PC-V300