The most prominent feature on the exterior of this case is the perforated front and rear faces that are designed for aesthetic value as well as function; they provide 90% of the ventilation for the components. The front also includes a panel on the lower left side containing the power, reset switches, and indicator LED's as well as 2 USB ports, an IEEE 1394 Firewire port, and audio jacks. The three 5.25" expansion bays are located toward the center of the case on a removable rack.

   The top is a spring loaded door to conceal your DVD/CD-ROM device, the center is an empty slot, and the bottom has a 3.5" adapter and floppy drive face plate. The 5.25" bays fit all Lian Li's add-on components and replacement parts. I opted to remove the floppy bay and install a Sunbeamtech Lightbus instead (You will understand why later).

Building in the PC-800:

Specifications:

• Abit KD7E Motherboard

• Athlon XP 2400+ processor with Thermaltake Volcano 9 HSF

• 1 Gigabyte Kingston RAM

• TTGI 520 Watt Power Supply

• BFG Tech GeForce FX 5500

• Soundblaster Audigy

• NEC DVD-RW

• 2 IDE Western Digital 250GB 7200RPM Hard Disks

• Netgear 10/100 PCI network card

 The lid of the case is held in place by a lip on the right side and a sliding rail with teeth on the left side. One thumbscrew is all it takes to disengage the locking rail and release the top of the case. The top of the case is made from 1/8" aluminum and is quite sturdy. It is also mounts very securely so you don't have to worry about setting CDs, another computer, or even your CRT monitor on top. Situated on the top left of the lid is an 80mm fan that, if you are lucky enough, removes air directly from your CPU heat sink and fan.

   The inside of the case is somewhat less than spacious. When there is nothing inside, it looks large, but you will soon see how cramped things get after you start installing parts. The first thing to do is remove the 5.25 bays. I had a little trouble with the screws on the left side because my screwdriver wasn't long enough and it was blocked by the front hard disk cage. Thankfully the front cage is removable.

   Now that I have the front hard disk cage and the 5.25" bays out, I have more room to work. Several screws and risers later my motherboard is installed. Due to the proximity of the rear hard disk cage and the motherboard, it would have been impossible to mount the HSF in its current state. I ended up disassembling my HSF, flipping the bracket, mounting it to the motherboard, and finally reassembling it. I then mounted the 5.25" drives into the cage with no problems, and I remounted the cage into the case. The hard disks have a rather creative mounting system which I really like: four studs screw into the hard disk and slide into the cage, which then clips down over the studs to keep the disk immobile.

Ventilation

As previously stated, there is a fan on the lid of the case that draws out air. This significantly increases the effectiveness of an CPU fan if it lines up under the vent. Overall, the ventilation and air circulation seems to be adequate for most systems. CPU temperatures are in the 50 degree C area, but reporting on that alone is very subjective because my thermal compound might be conducting heat differently than say another brand, and not everyone is going to be using the same heat sink and fan. So, in comparison to my Antec server chassis where the components originated, the temperatures are about 5 degrees cooler.

There is no way you are going to be able to fit a water cooling system in here, unless you mount the radiator and reservoir on the outside of the case. There is also the dust factor associated with air cooling. The cage is essentially open to anything that may be floating about. This leaves it vulnerable to dust buildup that requires a complete disassembly to clean up.

The Bottom Line:

Another item of consideration is the noise levels of the case. Since the case is mostly open, the fan noise permeates every opening, and if you have loud fans, you will be regretting it down the line. Thankfully the fans included with the case are quite enough to where it was unnecessary to change them out. The Thermaltake Volcano 9 is not a quiet device, but it cools very well. I wanted a way to dial it down to a lower volume (around 2000 RPM it is inaudible) which is why the Lightbus was installed.

On that note, the only modifications I would recommend attempting for this case would be lights. I installed 2 CCFL tubes, a lighted fan, and Sunbeamtech's Lighted Fan Screws in the case. A soft blue glow comes out the front of the case when turned on and the Lightbus allows me tone down the glow if I want. Installing a window on the top would only compromise the strength of the panel and expose the cramped and potentially untidy insides to the world, and the problems with water cooling have already been covered.

The Lian Li PC-800 is best suited as an HTPC case or as a desktop PC that won't require much maintenance. This puts it out of the purview of my operations since my case is cracked open four and five times a week to do only God knows what. The dimensions of the PC-800 will fit into pretty much any entertainment center since the width is less than that of most DVD players and 5.1 receivers (Less than 15"). Overall it is a pretty decent case, but some of the design aspects could have been done differently.

Pros:

• Compact, stylish design
• Solid, sturdy form with parts that fit perfectly together
• Good ventilation and air circulation
• Hard disks easily accessible and well ventilated
• Front mounted USB, Firewire, and Audio
• Comes in black and silver
• Lightweight

Cons:

• Everything regarding the power supply
• Too much work to change a 5.25" device
• Not easy to work on
• Potentially high noise levels
• Dust magnet