Lian Li Releases PC-V351 HTPC Chasis
Lian Li's PC-V351 HTPC chassis brings style to HTPC systems that will make even the Borg jealous. Resistance is futile.
Friday Lian Li Industrial Co. Ltd revealed the PC-V351 desktop HTPC chassis, an all-aluminum frame that features dual front mounted 120 mm @ 1000 RPM fans - with special anti-vibration grommets to prevent noise - as well as an additional rear mounted 80 mm extraction fan @ 1200 RPM. The chassis stands 262mm tall, is 279 mm wide and 373mm deep, and comes in the colors black, silver and red. The company said that aluminum can remove heat four times faster than steel, making the new PC-V351's design more effective in keeping the system cool.
Apparently, the chassis is also quiet, too. "Lian Li engineers have optimized the airflow while maintaining relative silence throughout," said the company. "The removable motherboard tray allows for easy setup of the system, while the elegant minimalist design gives the aura of class and sophistication."
Lian Li said that the chassis supports 2x 5.25-inch optical drive bays with one optional 1x 3.5-inch external (using the 5.25-inch). Depending on the user's setup, the ODD is accessible from either the right or the left side panel, leaving the face of the PC-V351 "clear and nicely presentable." This design comes in handy in situations where consumers need to optimize space.
The chassis also supports two additional internal 3.5-inch bays in an anti-vibration cage for HDD's; each HDD utilizes anti-vibration grommets to prevent noise from HDD vibrations. The chassis is also designed for Micro-ATX motherboards and includes four PCI expansion slots that are well ventilated with special vented brackets. The company also said that the side panel contains multimedia I/O ports including HD+AC97 audio, 1x IEEE1394, and 2x USB2.0. The chassis is also environmentally friendly, using 100 percent recyclable parts.
Ahh I suppose its a matter of personal preference. Personally I love my A43 Situat 6P Xi Turnover 63B7N double X T-Bird Case made by Thermasutek.. Yup, It has 1 Fan thats 30mm big, no room for cable management, no drive bays, and cost me $349.99 because its made out of carpet.. let me tell you, the static problem, pff, only 1-2 shocks a day, not bad at all.
Anywho... Neat case, Don't see myself using it lol, little red box, i've got myself a Vento 3600
I use a quite small but conventional ATX tower computer in my home theater. The HTPC, projector and soundsystem are really the center of my home theater, I don't have any game consoles or cable/DVR boxes, or any other clutter really, very simple. A larger computer case allows you to add more components while still being incredibly quiet. I could even hide the case in the closet if I didn't want to look at it, but I don't mind it at all and its easy access to the blu-ray drive.
Don't you know that red cases increase CPU/GPU and memory performance by 1000%?
Only other thing it needs is more dakka.
No, not for HT, I don't care so much about that myself. I'm a gamer, but I'm going to mod my PC-V300b for my wife, who's not a gamer nor into HT. She's suffering w/my old towercase with a single core Athlon 64. I'm going to move the powersupply over the top of the card(s) and remove the drive cage. This will allow me to put a decent sized heatsink inside the case for a Q9550. It's going to be tricky because I want to provide support to the inside end of the modular powersupply. The HDD cage is riveted to the drive bay cage, so I'll have to make a piece that will do the job. I'll also put in one dvd burner in the top 5.25" bay, one 3.5" HDD in the other 5.25" bay and a floppy drive in the 3.5" bay (which has been removed from the V350 and V351 models). At this point, the soundcard may be the only card in the box.
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