Based on its very open architecture, this will never be accused of being the quietest of cases. The first power up proved that, but because of the use of 120mm fans, the Lian Li was still quieter then the outgoing Alienware with far from almost five years ago less airflow. Besides, the low hum of larger fans is soothing. Moreover, I did find some effort towards noise reduction has been made by Lian Li.

Nice Touch

During my XP installation (this is a new system after all), I noticed the first oddity. It seems the case side panel and my DVD-ROM cooperate and reverberate at middle spin speeds to create an odd shudder. I thought it was caused by a bad drive but reaching for the case panel silenced the muffled rattle. I may try swapping drive positions later to see if it stops the shudder.

Finished Product

Case temperatures at idle typically at the 33C mark. The 6600GT GPUS will idle at 43C and 39 for slots one and two, respectively, with Artic Cooling 6 GPU coolers installed. Obviously, the slot one GPU is obscured by the slot two GPU so the idle number would be higher. In going from load to idle, you notice that the system has fantastic temperature elasticity. By that, I mean the temperatures quickly drop and plane out to near post-Windows boot levels. Even with the best CPU cooling, if your case is not allowing “new air” to get to the heatsink, the CPU will not shed the built up heat.

Elasticity

When I finally got around to transporting the case to a LAN Party, fully loaded, you realize the benefit of aluminum. Yes, the panels are thicker than a steal case. However, the weight is lower and despite the size of the V1000, it was easy to maneuver into the cargo area of my car for its debut at my buddy's house for a LAN Party. (What good is having this stuff if you do not game?)

The Lian Li V1000 Plus takes the already admired and drooled upon design and adds additional elements to assist in keeping your hardware cool. System installation does present a few quirks which may or may not be present when it is your turn based on the hardware decisions you make. Keep CPU heatsink clearance in mind if you can not handle being slightly inconvenienced.

The fan filter, which I originally thought was silly in such an open design, actually became quite dirty in just three weeks of use about four hours a day. It was easily rinsed clean and reinstalled after drying.

Keeping Clean

The case was the belle of the ball at the LAN party, leaving attendees impressed by the ease of access and the inverted layout. This is my first high quality case and I fully understand why the asking price for this model is in the neighborhood of $200. Had I known then what I know now, I would have purchased a Lian Li many years ago.

Advantages:

• Outstanding appearance fit and finish
• Plenty of installation hardware
• Included tool for installing motherboard risers
• Great airflow
• Segmented compartments
• Lightweight given its size

Disadvantages

• CPU heatsink clearance (YMMV)
• Power Supply cable storage
• High price (but it is worth it)
• Not ideal for silent applications (HTPC)
• No reset button (but I didn't miss it)

Finally, I would like to extend big thanks to 3DCool.com for hooking us up the the latest from Lian Li.

If you have any questions, wish to see anymore pictures of specific areas or just want to let me know if this was a helpful review, please let me know here.

As always, thanks for reading...

Added comments on the lack of a reset button - Page 1 - 5/26/05

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