Product Listing

Lian Li PC-A10 Aluminum Casing

By Vincent Chang - 15 Jan 2007

Conclusion

Conclusion

Enthusiast oriented full towers are usually the flagship representatives of a manufacturer's product line up. Packed with features that appeal to them, like transparent side panel windows, dedicated fans for hard drives, allowance for water cooling kits and more, these giant towers are not only huge but they almost always have the latest innovations too. The demand for such large casings is mostly driven by those with multiple hard drives and running RAID. For these power users, keeping all the components cool is as important as having the expansion options.

Hence, aluminum is quite popular among these casings, reinforced sometimes with steel. Since these casings are high-end and more expensive than usual, using the more expensive aluminum option all round is no issue, especially considering its lightweight and thermal conductivity attributes. Lian Li is one company that has banked its success on aluminum and its latest PC-A10 casing sticks to the same tried and true formula.

Lian Li's aluminum casings are among the most well known in the industry and the PC-A10 proves why that is so. Solid construction and user friendly features make this an excellent full tower.

Personally, the well-built Lian Li PC-A10 comes across as rather distant and cold, an impression reinforced by its cool metallic surface. That is however its strength. Its excellent thermal conductivity will probably be very useful once a full system is running and generating tons of heat. It is also a casing of right angles and sharp corners and though some of the edges have been dulled, we still found some that could be rather painful if you're not careful. While the tool-free fad has not really taken this Lian Li casing by storm, as witnessed by the overwhelming screws and accessories that we found, many of the screws were fortunately of the thumbscrew variety. So after we loosened them initially, they were as good as tool-free.

When it came to the crowd pleasing features, the PC-A10 has quite a few of them up its sleeves. First, enthusiasts and their power hungry components should welcome the dual PSU bay. A special cable that helps start both PSUs at the same time is included to ensure that you can get things started immediately. Then there are the pre-drilled holes for water-cooled units and their various tubes. The presence of a removable motherboard tray and up to four adjustable system fans are other notable features that are not found in less expensive casings.

Make no mistake, this aluminum full tower is not for the riff raff. Even power users who don't mind paying for their toys may baulk at its whopping US$310 price tag. The average consumer will find it a massive overkill and would probably be better off spending the money on bettering other components of the PC. In short, this casing is strictly for the hardcore crowd who doesn't mind the exorbitant price for its gargantuan and well built full aluminum construct, but we don't count ourselves as one of them.

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.