Back to basics
Lian Li has today announced the latest addition to its rapidly-growing range of computer chassis. The new arrival, dubbed the PC-9, is a classic midi-tower that boasts "outstanding quality with a clean simple style".
Simple is precisely the word we'd use for the chassis' aesthetics. Its looks are about as standard as they come, and it measures 209mm x 435mm x 488mm. Despite its basic appearance, Lian Li claims the chassis exemplifies its usual attention to detail.
The removable front panel houses five 5.25in bays, and below that is an integrated hard-disk drive cage allowing for hot-swappable access to four 3.5in SATA drives. Very useful for RAID users in the habit of swapping disks, and there's added features too - the hard-drive cage has a lockable door and a 12cm 1,500rpm cooling the drives from the left-hand side and venting on the right.
PC-9's motherboard tray supports ATX and micro ATX boards, and provides a built-in cable-management solution. There's seven PCI slots on the rear, with grill covers to supposedly improve air flow.
Speaking of air flow, the chassis' second fan is 12cm rear exhaust which can be adjusted via the built-in three-speed controller. Lian Li has placed the PSU bay at the bottom of the chassis, and the top of the chassis has a selection of multimedia ports - two USB, FireWire and audio.
As you'd expect from a Lian Li chassis, there's the usual selection of refinements. The PC-9 uses anti-vibration couplings, finely-filed edges, bezels fitted with removable nylon filters, rubber strips to ease vibration, pre-drilled holes for water cooling kits, and there's a choice of metallic silver or a black finish for the hair-line brushed anodised aluminium.
It doesn't reinvent by the chassis by any means, but the PC-9 looks to cover all the basics with Lian Li's high standard. If the price is right, it could be a competent solution. Head on over to page two for a handful of additional images.
Official product page: Lian-Li.com
