Lian-Li PC-B25 - bit-tech.net Forums

Da Dego · 5th Sep 2007, 04:23

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...an-li_pc-b25/1

There's nothing quite like the strong, sleek and senuous feel of a Lian-Li case - having one is like falling in love would be if you ever fell in love with an aluminium PC case. Or is it? We found out.

MoRBiD · 5th Sep 2007, 05:07

Looks aaight i guess ... woulda rather have seen more space on the bottom of it for ie water cooling ... but oh well

btw ... FIRST!

Techno-Dann · 5th Sep 2007, 05:15

Welcome to the Lian-Li fanboy club. There aren't that many of us, and we aren't as vocal as the Antec die-hards and the Silverstone people, but we do exist.

You forgot one key step on the hard drive installation - you need to run some 6-32 screws through the middle holes in the cage into the middle hole in the hard drives - that holds them down, keeps them from bouncing out the exact same way they went in. I don't know what Lian-Li was thinking with this new mount, the old-school ones in the V-1000 are a ton easier to use.

Those stubby things on the PSU bracket are supposed to be facing out - they mount a duct/shroud thing that vents PSU air to the side, rather than just letting it blow free. They were originally on the V-1000 first revision, when Lian-Li converted the back exhaust into an intake to cool the CPU better, and added the squirrel-cage blower fan up by the PCI cards. The duct would blow the hot air to the side and away from the case, rather than letting it rise for the rear fan to blow it onto the CPU.

(yes, I'm a Lian-Li fanboy who knows his trivia. Why do you ask?)

But yes, looks like a remarkably good looking case - I think the comparison with the monolith is very apt. I'm not sure if I care for the beveled side panels, but it wouldn't be too hard to swap on a pair from a 7H+. And concerning the weight, I suspect a PC7H+ would be even lighter - no door or double-layer side panels.

M_D_K · 5th Sep 2007, 07:03

Didn't look very special from this angle maybe if it was infront of you yeah would look ok, Lian Li have done some really nice looking case for me this one isn't one of them, also it doesn't look like it'll be such a good modding canvas like many of there other cases.

zr_ox · 5th Sep 2007, 07:47

Nice review as always.

I have to agree with M_D_K though and say that it does not look very special.

It's design is bizzare with a futuristic looking door and some weir art deco style panels, if you did not mention that it was Lian Li then I would have thought Aerocool had introduced a new case.

The internals look nice and show typical Lian Li quality.

I have to question the decision to rate this 10/10 (build quality) since this means that it's perfect!

No room for improvement????

There is always going to be room for improvement somewhere!

Fod · 5th Sep 2007, 08:31

not bad, although the side bezelling sotra kills it for me.

also.... i believe the frontpage summary should have the word 'sensuous' in place of 'senuous' which i have never heard of.

Ed! do your job! (whoever this guy Ed is <boom boom> *dies*)

capnPedro · 5th Sep 2007, 08:33

I don't really like the looks of it (and the p182 and lookalikes). They look like bloody fridges! I like my computers to look a little special, a little exciting. However, if they made the case in a smaller (mATX) size, it would be perfect for a server/torrenting box.

Also, any word on price?

naokaji · 5th Sep 2007, 08:34

Lian li should just stop to try to design a fancy looking case.... they are the company i love for their high quality lots of room big towers with a very "plain" design (but in a way that if your familiy sees it the first time they know that it costs more than the entire pc you built for them), those sidepanels are just plain ugly.... its something i would have expected from one of those companys (sunbeam, aerocool and the likes) that try to create cases with so called gamer bling bling... not from lian li...

whisperwolf · 5th Sep 2007, 08:37

One query, if the blue circle on the front is so good to look at that you mention it twice, why not show a picture of it lit up? Oh and do the bevelled doors do anything, noise reduction for example, or are they just for decoration? Okay so that was two questions.

Fod · 5th Sep 2007, 08:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by capnPedro

I don't really like the looks of it (and the p182 and lookalikes). They look like bloody fridges! I like my computers to look a little special, a little exciting.

Spoken like a true fan of iCute cases....

xrob · 5th Sep 2007, 09:10

agree with you there naokaji, those side panels are horrendous, certainly isnt going to replace my g90 with my ridiculous water setup, 2 x 120rads + 1 x 360rads.

Hiren · 5th Sep 2007, 09:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by capnPedro

Also, any word on price?

Read the article

Quote:

There’s no word on pricing just yet

CardJoe · 5th Sep 2007, 09:14

Sorry - no word on pricing yet, this is something of an exclusive and the case isn't available for a week or two yet. We'll let you know when we do

capnPedro · 5th Sep 2007, 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fod

Spoken like a true fan of iCute cases....

Chenbro Xpider II

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hiren

Read the article

It's easy to miss a single line of text when you're scanning for a £ sign/link to Bit shopping.

[USRF]Obiwan · 5th Sep 2007, 09:27

I wish manufactures would think ahead and have some toughts about making space for dual 120x radiators,pumps and reservoirs inside a case. And also make doors where there is one dvd/cd drive slot free to acces without opening the door everythime to swap/burn a disc.

I know i have dozens of great ideas to make a wc ready cases, and i think a lot of others BT'rs too.

Bindibadgi · 5th Sep 2007, 09:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by [USRF]Obiwan

I wish manufactures would think ahead and have some toughts about making space for dual 120x radiators,pumps and reservoirs inside a case. And also make doors where there is one dvd/cd drive slot free to acces without opening the door everythime to swap/burn a disc.

I know i have dozens of great ideas to make a wc ready cases, and i think a lot of others BT'rs too.

Very few people use watercooling and the size of the case doesn't lend itself easily to this. If it were larger or significantly geared towards performance then yes, I'd be looking for it too. Also wanting a DUAL rad, rather than setting for a single in the size is over optimistic imo

Door - yes, it annoys me too, but unless you're going slot loading it's an inevitable trade off.

Pricing - I have emailed but typically our contact at Lian is very behind when it comes to replies so it takes a few days.

Iago · 5th Sep 2007, 10:08

Looks like an Antec P180 ripoff to me. From the understated, matte black looks, to the front bezel, it looks like Lian-Li designers didn't really felt like trying hard to come with an original design.

This said, my last rig was housed into a Lian-Li, my current one into an Antec Solo, and there's simply no contest. The Antec trounces the Lian-Li in so many ways it isn't even funny. For half the price it's sturdy steel made with sound dampening panels (aluminum is for pussies...or the deaf...the amount of rattling and vibrations one has to cope with a Lian-Li case is simply mind-blowing), has cable management tools included (my cable-fu sucks -not as much as Joe Martin's given the pics, though- but the Solo made tiding the system a piece of cake), suspended hard drives for 0 vibrations, a Antec TriCool fan with fanmate for silent operation and the best 5.25 bay rail mounting system I've seen to date. The Lian Li has a slightly higher build quality, but that's it.

wuyanxu · 5th Sep 2007, 10:24

apart from PSU on top, i also feel this is a p182 ripe off. even the holes on the mobo tray feels like Antec (out of interest, and shows how little i know, apart from Antec, who else has had the holes pre-cut on mobo tray?)

naokaji · 5th Sep 2007, 10:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iago

Looks like an Antec P180 ripoff to me. From the understated, matte black looks, to the front bezel, it looks like Lian-Li designers didn't really felt like trying hard to come with an original design.

wrong
"understated but yet done in a way that it screams expensive look" was invented by lian li many many years ago....

you have to accept that there are people that prefer cases without that cheap looking wow bling bling crap.

Bindibadgi · 5th Sep 2007, 10:45

Yep, I'm afraid if anything Antec "borrowed" it from Lian, even if Antec "does it better for less money" it's still not an alu case.

5th Sep 2007, 04:23	#1
Da Dego Brett Thomas Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Cleveland, OH USA Posts: 3,906	Lian-Li PC-B25 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...an-li_pc-b25/1 There's nothing quite like the strong, sleek and senuous feel of a Lian-Li case - having one is like falling in love would be if you ever fell in love with an aluminium PC case. Or is it? We found out. __________________ "Frankly that seems overkill. iluvtrees2 arguing with spec is the intellectual equivalent of a bunny rabbit taking on a pissed-off lion." - Nexxo

5th Sep 2007, 05:07	#2
MoRBiD Multimodder Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Canada Eh! Posts: 169	Looks aaight i guess ... woulda rather have seen more space on the bottom of it for ie water cooling ... but oh well btw ... FIRST! __________________ *DiBRoM*

5th Sep 2007, 05:15	#3
Techno-Dann Disgruntled kumquat Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Pullman WA, USA Posts: 1,572	Welcome to the Lian-Li fanboy club. There aren't that many of us, and we aren't as vocal as the Antec die-hards and the Silverstone people, but we do exist. You forgot one key step on the hard drive installation - you need to run some 6-32 screws through the middle holes in the cage into the middle hole in the hard drives - that holds them down, keeps them from bouncing out the exact same way they went in. I don't know what Lian-Li was thinking with this new mount, the old-school ones in the V-1000 are a ton easier to use. Those stubby things on the PSU bracket are supposed to be facing out - they mount a duct/shroud thing that vents PSU air to the side, rather than just letting it blow free. They were originally on the V-1000 first revision, when Lian-Li converted the back exhaust into an intake to cool the CPU better, and added the squirrel-cage blower fan up by the PCI cards. The duct would blow the hot air to the side and away from the case, rather than letting it rise for the rear fan to blow it onto the CPU. (yes, I'm a Lian-Li fanboy who knows his trivia. Why do you ask?) But yes, looks like a remarkably good looking case - I think the comparison with the monolith is very apt. I'm not sure if I care for the beveled side panels, but it wouldn't be too hard to swap on a pair from a 7H+. And concerning the weight, I suspect a PC7H+ would be even lighter - no door or double-layer side panels. __________________ The intellitxt demon fell dead, Sir Tim's lance embedded in its heart. The fair land of Bit-Tech was free from its influence once more. And there was much rejoicing.

5th Sep 2007, 07:03	#4
M_D_K Kiteninja Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: 2Bed Flat Posts: 5,225	Didn't look very special from this angle maybe if it was infront of you yeah would look ok, Lian Li have done some really nice looking case for me this one isn't one of them, also it doesn't look like it'll be such a good modding canvas like many of there other cases. __________________ MY Flickr -- My Website Canon 50D, 24-70L, 70-200L,1.4&2x TCs, 17-50, 10-17fish, Nifty, 580EXII, Lencarta Studio.

5th Sep 2007, 07:47	#5
zr_ox Whooolapoook Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Stalking Orco Posts: 1,117	Nice review as always. I have to agree with M_D_K though and say that it does not look very special. It's design is bizzare with a futuristic looking door and some weir art deco style panels, if you did not mention that it was Lian Li then I would have thought Aerocool had introduced a new case. The internals look nice and show typical Lian Li quality. I have to question the decision to rate this 10/10 (build quality) since this means that it's perfect! No room for improvement???? There is always going to be room for improvement somewhere! __________________ 0ptimizm :PC under review

5th Sep 2007, 08:31	#6
Fod what is the cheesecake? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: London Posts: 4,912	not bad, although the side bezelling sotra kills it for me. also.... i believe the frontpage summary should have the word 'sensuous' in place of 'senuous' which i have never heard of. Ed! do your job! (whoever this guy Ed is <boom boom> dies) __________________ "Sesame Street is brought to you by the letters P, W, N, the number 3, and the letter D." I'm a pretentious git with a camera. ISPs want to spy on you. Join the fight against phorm XBL/PSN/Steam ID: FodT

5th Sep 2007, 08:33	#7
capnPedro Deaf forever to the battle's din Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: North-East England Posts: 2,988	I don't really like the looks of it (and the p182 and lookalikes). They look like bloody fridges! I like my computers to look a little special, a little exciting. However, if they made the case in a smaller (mATX) size, it would be perfect for a server/torrenting box. Also, any word on price? __________________ ASUS M4A785TD-M Evo \| AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE \| D-Tek FuZion 4GB Corsair XMMS3-10666 \| Corsair TX650 Point Of View 8800GTX \| EK FC-8800

5th Sep 2007, 08:37	#9
whisperwolf Ultramodder Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 1,194	One query, if the blue circle on the front is so good to look at that you mention it twice, why not show a picture of it lit up? Oh and do the bevelled doors do anything, noise reduction for example, or are they just for decoration? Okay so that was two questions. __________________ "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. " Voltaire. My Flickr

5th Sep 2007, 09:10	#11
xrob Modder Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Manchester Posts: 64	agree with you there naokaji, those side panels are horrendous, certainly isnt going to replace my g90 with my ridiculous water setup, 2 x 120rads + 1 x 360rads. __________________ Lian-Li V1000+, DFI SLI-DR VENUS, X2 3800(2.8), Team Group 2Gig, 8800GTS, 1 x 36Gig Raptor, 2 x 250Gig Spinpoints, 2 x Koolance HX-360 Rads, Koolance CPU-305-V10, Laing DDC-1 with Plexi Res.

5th Sep 2007, 09:14	#13
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 8,011	Sorry - no word on pricing yet, this is something of an exclusive and the case isn't available for a week or two yet. We'll let you know when we do __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

5th Sep 2007, 09:27	#15
[USRF]Obiwan Ultramodder Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,220	I wish manufactures would think ahead and have some toughts about making space for dual 120x radiators,pumps and reservoirs inside a case. And also make doors where there is one dvd/cd drive slot free to acces without opening the door everythime to swap/burn a disc. I know i have dozens of great ideas to make a wc ready cases, and i think a lot of others BT'rs too. __________________ Mascleta: "The most accurate simulation of thunder, humans can simulate..." The answer is 42, so... whats the question again? If you know what 'Peek' and 'Poke' represents, then you are probably as old as me.

5th Sep 2007, 10:08	#17
Iago Multimodder Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Madrid Posts: 202	Looks like an Antec P180 ripoff to me. From the understated, matte black looks, to the front bezel, it looks like Lian-Li designers didn't really felt like trying hard to come with an original design. This said, my last rig was housed into a Lian-Li, my current one into an Antec Solo, and there's simply no contest. The Antec trounces the Lian-Li in so many ways it isn't even funny. For half the price it's sturdy steel made with sound dampening panels (aluminum is for pussies...or the deaf...the amount of rattling and vibrations one has to cope with a Lian-Li case is simply mind-blowing), has cable management tools included (my cable-fu sucks -not as much as Joe Martin's given the pics, though- but the Solo made tiding the system a piece of cake), suspended hard drives for 0 vibrations, a Antec TriCool fan with fanmate for silent operation and the best 5.25 bay rail mounting system I've seen to date. The Lian Li has a slightly higher build quality, but that's it. __________________ May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.

5th Sep 2007, 10:24	#18
wuyanxu quad fuelled, GTX200 powered Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: in a room near Soton Uni. UK Posts: 3,943	apart from PSU on top, i also feel this is a p182 ripe off. even the holes on the mobo tray feels like Antec (out of interest, and shows how little i know, apart from Antec, who else has had the holes pre-cut on mobo tray?)

5th Sep 2007, 10:45	#20
Bindibadgi Richard Swinburne bit-tech Staff Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Omnipwntent Posts: 28,294	Yep, I'm afraid if anything Antec "borrowed" it from Lian, even if Antec "does it better for less money" it's still not an alu case. __________________ Made you look, made you stare, made you clicked this in your underwear! Den of Geek!