Lian Li PC-A17 Aluminum Mid-Tower Chassis

Mine is shipping tomorrow, I'll post an opinion on it when it arrives.
 
BF-2 said:
Nice, thanks... I will look forward to it.

What color did you get, Black or Silver?
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Black.

I ordered it from Newegg.

I also ordered the EX-33B. I don't think one quiet 120mm fan is enough intake for a 8800GTX and a C2Q @ 3.2ghz :p Especially with two HDs creating heat and blocking some of that intake.
 
Eagle156 said:
What's the diff between this and the A16?
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Not sure exactly but i think the A16 does not have a top fan as the A17 has a 140mm fan and the external connections the A17 has ESATA which is cool.
 
Just built my brother's new rig with it. Typical Lian-Li quality, but two of the holes on the HDD bay got cross threaded so I'm trying to find a tap to clean the threads.

Very quiet case with two 120mm and one 140mm fan. Fans can be connected via 3 pin headers or with the included molex adapters. Removable motherboard tray makes installation a little easier and the holes on the tray make cable routing very clean.

I plan on building my new setup with this case in the future.
 
Silentbob343 said:
Just built my brother's new rig with it. Typical Lian-Li quality, but two of the holes on the HDD bay got cross threaded so I'm trying to find a tap to clean the threads.

Very quiet case with two 120mm and one 140mm fan. Fans can be connected via 3 pin headers or with the included molex adapters. Removable motherboard tray makes installation a little easier and the holes on the tray make cable routing very clean.

I plan on building my new setup with this case in the future.
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Sweat!! Thanks for the info.:)
 
BF-2 said:
Sweat!! Thanks for the info.:)
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As point of reference I own an older PC-60USB so it was my second Lian-Li build.

The price jumped $20 at Newegg. My brother ordered his about two weeks ago for $169 and today the price is $189.

If you have any specific questions ask away. I built the comp this past weekend so it's still pretty fresh in my head.
 
What are your thoughts on the quality of the top fan (mesh included) and the door to the external ports? I've heard that good 14cm replacement fans are hard to come by.
 
I think this case is similar to the 900, but wayyy better. I'm trying to get rid of my modded 900, so I can pick one of these up. I got mine up in craigslist but no takers yet :(
 
I got my case in today. I'll sum up the experience quite simply:

Pros:
-Light
-Wiring is made extremely simple

Cons
-Cheap screws for the top of the case, be careful not to strip them
-Front fan has an extremely annoying ticking noise

I wholeheartedly recommend this case to anyone interested. I have purchased Scythe S-Flex fans to replace all the 120mm fans, I suggest you do as well if you purchase the A17.

And now, pics!

Inside:

DSC00133.jpg

Time to clean the floor! lol

DSC00136.jpg

Top view:

DSC00137.jpg
 
I'm thinking about getting myself one, the only problem i see in these Lian-Li cases is the drive cage and consequently the hard drives being too close to the VGA. Did you have any problem? are they too close to the VGA?
 
There was probably 1mm between the SATA power connector and the card if the PCB were at level with it. The PCB is actually slightly above the power connector so it that respect it is roomy enough. A close fit but it slid right in naturally.

The only problem I ran into was installing the mobo tray. I almost had to remove my CPU heatsink. I was able to angle it in between the top mobo heatsink and the CPU heatsink and seat it in place without too much hassle.

EDIT: I'm a terrible photographer so excuse this out of focus image but it shows quite clearly what I had explained:

DSC00139.jpg
 
Yeah, seems to be a little cramped... I think i'm gonna wait for the new cases coming in April.
 
I cant tell from the pics, but isn't it possible to turn the harddrives around and plug the wires in at the front? Or can the hard drive cage be removed and just attack the hard drives directly to the drive walls? Thanks for the pics, love that LL build quality.
 
Bop said:
There was probably 1mm between the SATA power connector and the card if the PCB were at level with it. The PCB is actually slightly above the power connector so it that respect it is roomy enough. A close fit but it slid right in naturally.

The only problem I ran into was installing the mobo tray. I almost had to remove my CPU heatsink. I was able to angle it in between the top mobo heatsink and the CPU heatsink and seat it in place without too much hassle.

EDIT: I'm a terrible photographer so excuse this out of focus image but it shows quite clearly what I had explained:

DSC00139.jpg
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Why not move the hard drive down to the middle slot?
 
Anyone know if they're selling side panels with windows for these?
 
BF-2 said:
Why not move the hard drive down to the middle slot?
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I figure slightly more air will reach the GPU in the current configuration. Besides I don't think its proximity is much of an issue.
 
Is it me, or can you look from outside into the computer through those holes in the front?
Or is that only possible from 1 feet away? I am thinking of buying this case, but only if i dont see the ugly inside of my computer. :)

Also is there fan and hd noice leaking through those holes?
 
Wow said:
Is it me, or can you look from outside into the computer through those holes in the front?
Or is that only possible from 1 feet away? I am thinking of buying this case, but only if i dont see the ugly inside of my computer. :)

Also is there fan and hd noice leaking through those holes?
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The flash from the camera lit up the interior. Unless you have a light shining directly on the case you'll be quite alright in that regard. :D

Don't expect silence in terms of fan noise unless you replace the 120mm fans and unplug the 140mm. That 140mm fan creates a "whooshing" noise from under my desk at ~900rpm. The hard drives are not audible to me fortunately. With my older Antec 900 they made an annoying high pitched noise due to its drive cage, this is not the case here.
 
Bop said:
The flash from the camera lit up the interior. Unless you have a light shining directly on the case you'll be quite alright in that regard. :D

Don't expect silence in terms of fan noise unless you replace the 120mm fans and unplug the 140mm. That 140mm fan creates a "whooshing" noise from under my desk at ~900rpm. The hard drives are not audible to me fortunately. With my older Antec 900 they made an annoying high pitched noise due to its drive cage, this is not the case here.
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Did you have to unplug the 140mm fan?
 
{pdX}addict said:
What are your thoughts on the quality of the top fan (mesh included) and the door to the external ports? I've heard that good 14cm replacement fans are hard to come by.
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Heh funny you ask about the top door. My brother mentioned how impressed he was by the fact it was Aluminum and not plastic. The fan seems to be of good quality, all of the fans seem to be, and all are quiet. Seems some may feel otherwise in regards to the fans, but they were quiet to both of us.

We kept the HDD rack on the bottom so we didn't have any issues with power connectors coming close to the motherboard.
 
BF-2 said:
Where did you see a door with window located on there site?

I cannot find one anywhere and i want a door with window for my build.! Help...please..
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I emailed them and here is what they said:

The PC-65 windows will fit.

Best Regards,
PPCS Sales
 
I decided to post these pics for people interested in using water cooling with this case.

DSC00158.jpg


DSC00160.jpg
 
It's nice to see pictures of this case start to appear! Few people seem to be discussing it.
I've been waiting for a Canadian supplier to stock one of these; whatever stock of the black version of this case seems to have been sold out to the lucky few first buyers. I've seen an ETA of April 18th on one site, so hopefully they'll start appearing next month.

Bop- thanks for the pictures with that Samsung drive; I just bought that same burner for the new machine and I was wondering what it would look like installed. I think I may get the black faceplate Lian Li makes. I know the brushed aluminum doesn't always match the brushing on the case with those faceplates... but it looks like it might match more closely than Samsung's plastic faceplate...

I'm starting to think about how I'd mount another 120mm fan in the middle section in such a way that it looks similar to the 120 fan mounted to the drive cage. You probably couldn't see the difference unless you were to shine a flashlight inside.. but I'd still like for it to look like it was meant to be there.
 
A 3X120mm Radiator also fits inside the front of this case FYI for anyone interested. Hard drives can be mounted sideways along the sides of the radiator. Some guy posted pics of his WC setup on XS forums. This is 1 badass case I would get if only I didnt see the S-09 coming.
 
Thanks for the pics Bop! Great lookin setup, although kinda busy in there, heh. Question for you or anyone else. Can the hard drives be mounted with connections facing front without any mods? Are there hard drive holes on the bottom center for a HD mount, like to show a raptorX? And I still haven't found a nice 140mm blue LED fan as a replacement for the stock, any luck anyone?
 
there's no reason you can't put the harddrives in 'backwards'; I'm not sure whether they fit but with some right-angle connectors they'd probably fit.

As for the mounting holes at the bottom of the chassis to show off your RaptorX- the floor is relatively smooth, with a few holes for the case feet. I think if you wanted to do something like that, you'd have to mod it yourself. It'd be noisy at hell if you didn't dampen it somehow.
 
Sanitard said:
there's no reason you can't put the harddrives in 'backwards'; I'm not sure whether they fit but with some right-angle connectors they'd probably fit.

As for the mounting holes at the bottom of the chassis to show off your RaptorX- the floor is relatively smooth, with a few holes for the case feet. I think if you wanted to do something like that, you'd have to mod it yourself. It'd be noisy at hell if you didn't dampen it somehow.
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You would have to remove the drive bay fan in order to install the HDDs backwards.
 
Bop said:
You would have to remove the drive bay fan in order to install the HDDs backwards.
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I was afraid of that. I had hoped that since this is the "The way you want it" case, they would have at least left enough room to hide the cables to let us make it look nice/not restrict some airflow. I guess once again, I presumed incorrectly. It's still a damn nice case, and I hope somebody posts some pics how they cleaned up most ALL the wiring. I'm all about clean looking as well as functionality.

May sound weird that I'd let something like this stop me from purchasing an otherwise nice case, but each to their own.
 
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