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Lian li prototype A61

E

ep0x73

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Sep 5, 2013
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Figures they would come up with another unique way for drives to be mounted.
Each one on a metal hanger like the old metal storage rack shelving.

A back shot of the unit suggests they finally figured out they need more room for cabling and made it wider.

Also they finally thought putting grommets on like Corsair and Fractal is a good thing :rolleyes:

346mj4i.jpg

2l90emg.jpg
 
looks like front fans might be starved for air OR suck tons of dust however I really like the harddrive trays provided they are robust, enough room for decent component use AND wiring room.

Lets not forget to not use extremely thin aluminum or a ton of plastic and charging a fortune, from the angles though does look cramped and if you remove the drive trays to gain room, you lose drives :( very few holes where they are not needed I like swiss cheese in sandwiches not towers.

Also notice the front panel seems to have a dedicated and not interfering wiring panel, all makers need to do this ffs and not wired to the front either.

Thanks for pics btw.
 
Looks like decent space between the trays so flow should be decent. The side holes remind me of my old Antec solo and it actually had some great airflow and only had duel 92mm fans.

The hanger idea is brilliant though so you can adjust to your liking or just remove them. I count 6 pegs that look usable with the removable 5.25 still intact and a 7th that looks doable with a SSD or 2.5 spinner.

Just good to see Lian li finally has grommets, that was a big bitch.
I had to take neoprene trim and do it myself to give some cushion for the sharp edges when routing
wires.

Seems like the two major complaints, grommets and lack of rear wiring space have been fixed.

29bzegy.jpg


http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2014/02/11/lian-li-previews-pc-b16-and-pc-161-atx-towe/1
 
I very much like those trays - as was said, looks like a setup for very effective cooling for HDDs. From that backside pic, it looks like you could remove the top bay adapter and have three higher tray spots to play with, making it easier to free up space for a longer gpu, and still keep a DVD/BR at the top space.
Might be an attractive candidate for a replacement for my HTPC case (who's HDD cooling I'm less than in love with). Depends on what they want for it, though, I guess. Knowing Lian Li, I suspect it won't come cheap.

-Tuthmose
 
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280mm to 420mm max, course since the trays are adjustable you could move them up or down to make room which is nice instead of gutting your entire cage.

The 3 5.25 cage can be removed too leaving you with one 5.25 for a burner and then you can move the drives but they won't have any airflow.

Lian li will probably come out with a fan adapter you could mount in the front or if your using just SSD airflow does not matter.

As for price it's hard to say but I picked up my PC-7HX for $60 after MIR and promo from NE, that is dirt cheap for any aluminum case.
 
I would assume similar pricing to this? though of course taller it doesn't look any longer., but does look like much better wiring room in comparison, if they are taking some of the basic design I think this is very rad, for me being able to mount the drive to side of tray area rather then having to use tray only is great as this really would open the ability of course for liquid or just to make sure air flow is great, A51 is a back to front type airflow which quite makes sense to me provided there is a fan up top and was "zoned off" a bit or heat would be bad(for gpu especially but fine for cpu as the air is straight shot out) a more conventional method with nice open area as A61 seems would be even better though it does seem like dust will be an issue going by the way the A51 is in its design to the way A61 changes the layout some for more front to back but still leaving holes unfiltered :(
http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-a51/
http://hexus.net/tech/news/chassis/66089-lian-li-announces-pc-a51-mid-tower-chassis/
c5edf496-98d9-4810-9211-cd8aad1b60a9.jpg
 
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First time I have seen this, but looking at the back 120mm intake fan and the water cooling holes, it looks like you could actually mount an AIO radiator on the outside of the case. So something like a h80i with one fan and the radiator on the outside and one fan on the inside of the case. Or the whole thing on the outside.

a51-f-07_zps15304ba7.jpg


h80i_hero_fan_zpsca26518c.png
 
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hmm but would the pipes be long enough to reach these seperations or for that matter the holes themselves large enough, I forget which but I do believe 1 or more of the newer AIO are thicker then average diameter. That and there are plenty of great air coolers now that are much more worth their cost then the AIO, just saying.
 
Even though I am using a h90, I have to agree that the top air coolers are every bit as good for cooling. The amount of space they take up though and how hard it is change out components with them hanging out there does make AIOs a viable option. What really gets me thinking though is this design could be great for smaller cases with limited room for air cooling. Having the option to stick the radiator and fan on the outside of the case without modding things would make for more options on builds. The slots are one of those "why didn't I think of that" kind of things to me.
 
I like this and the v700. Maybe ill wait for the 61. As long as it supports atx.
Edit: oh wait is this reverse airflow too? If so I'm out.
Edit 2: tech power up said front intake.
 
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THUMPer1 said:
I like this and the v700. Maybe ill wait for the 61. As long as it supports atx.
Edit: oh wait is this reverse airflow too? If so I'm out.
Edit 2: tech power up said front intake.
Click to expand...

Lian Li's website shows it as back to front airflow. I have never had any problems with this though. I've had reverse airflow in two cases and worked just fine, although they were both single GPU builds.
 
The top lifts off with just a latch to change fans or if you have a rad up there.
It might make the front streamline but I don't care for the power button on top or USB ports under the door.

Hope they make the ports better because they suck on my case, they are not aligned well and are way too tight.

27yzi49.jpg
 
Direfox said:
Lian Li's website shows it as back to front airflow. I have never had any problems with this though. I've had reverse airflow in two cases and worked just fine, although they were both single GPU builds.
Click to expand...

The a61 looks to be front to back. After comparing the pictures to the a51. The 61 would have be front to back. Plus it looks like the fans are pointing in the front to back position.
Edit for clarity.
 
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The PC-B16 and PC-A61 prototypes are both standard front to back airflow with twin fans in front and single in back for a positive pressure setup.
As of now they are 120mm but they really should do 140mm in front and make some adjustments for room.

There is one 5.25 on top that comes with the facade which is nice and then 3 bays which is overkill and a waste of space to me.

ditching one 5.25 bay should allow 140mm plus free up another HD bracket making 8 pegs.
 
yes too many 5.25" bays. I don't even have an OD in my gaming PC. That's why I still want the V700WX before it disappears from the internet.
 
I use back to front in my NZXT Vulcan, 240mm rad at front, better to remove the heat from the case then add it.
 
I don't see how gpu can get air without side fans pumping more in, seems like they would be fighting a losing battle trying as air is being pulled in a direction it doesn't want to go (heat and such) then being told to reverse, like said though for cpu cooling wise absolutely makes sense to me, it makes heat and that goes away right away with the coolest air possible, though in this aspect, coolest air is ground level so this air should be shot at the hottest parts asap so front to back does make sense, decisions decisions :p
 
The cool part is Lian-li is basically taking feedback on what people want so they can have a hit.
 
yay i can finally go back to lian li... I could work with that case... first one I've seen that I like since about 2006
 
Direfox said:
First time I have seen this, but looking at the back 120mm intake fan and the water cooling holes, it looks like you could actually mount an AIO radiator on the outside of the case. So something like a h80i with one fan and the radiator on the outside and one fan on the inside of the case. Or the whole thing on the outside.

a51-f-07_zps15304ba7.jpg
Click to expand...

I have a case with grommets just like that above the rear exhaust 120mm. So you thread the pump through the hole with no fan in it... hmmm. I like the idea! It will work better this way with the grommets below the fan.
 
1337m0dd3r said:
yay i can finally go back to lian li... I could work with that case... first one I've seen that I like since about 2006
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. Although I will have to modify a hole to the right of the power supply to fit cables through.
 
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