Lian Li Expands All-Aluminum Mini Chassis Line With PC-Q38

News
By Steven Lynch
published

Expanding its line of all-aluminum small form factor chassis, Lian Li announced the launch of its PC-Q38 mini-ITX case.

Continuing the company’s recent “back to basics” trend, this chassis has no tempered glass or RGB lighting functionality. The PC-Q38 does have a side panel window, but it's made of acrylic. Lian Li proudly stated that even though this chassis, measuring 180 x 295 x 372mm (WxHxD), might look like a classic HTPC, it is optimized for modern full-sized hardware.

To that end, this mini chassis supports CPU coolers as tall as 140mm, graphics cards up to 315mm, and small form factor power supplies up to 140mm in length. Standard ATX power supplies can be installed using an optional mounting bracket. Although the PC-Q38 doesn’t ship with fans from the factory, the chassis has mounting locations for two 120mm fans in the top of the chassis. Radiators and all-in-one coolers up to 240mm can be installed in the top (or side, depending on orientation) of the case.

There are mounting locations for a single 3.5” and two 2.5” hard drives. I/O options include two USB 3.0 and HD audio jacks on the top panel of the case. The 2mm thick aluminum panels are held in place by metal push pins and are completely tool-less.

The rubber-padded aluminum feet can be easily relocated to allow the PC-Q38 to be used as traditional vertical desktop PC or positioned horizontally for use as an HTPC.

The PC-Q38 is available now with a MSRP of $110.

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Header Cell - Column 0 Lian Li PC-Q38
Case SizeMini Chassis
Motherboard SupportMini-ITX
Expansions Slots2
Dimensions (WxHxD)180 x 295 x 372mm
Drive Bays1 x 3.5"2 x 2.5"
Fan Support2 x 120mm Top
Radiator Support240mm Radiator Top
I/OUSB 3.0 x2HD Audio
CPU Cooler Max Height 140mm
GPU Max Length315mm
PSU Max Length140mm SFX (ATX PSU Bracket Optional)
Price$110
Steven Lynch
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10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • why_wolf
    A bit bigger than the Ncase. But in terms of coming with a side window this looks to be a good choice if that's your thing.
    Reply
  • tkline
    Looks good, but I wish it had a usb c port on the top.
    Reply
  • 2Be_or_Not2Be
    Hmm... no picture of the case here?
    Reply
  • bit_user
    http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-q38/

    IMO, they should make a mini-STX case.
    Reply
  • lieutenant.tofu
    What's the deal with the radiator support? Lian Li says it supports a "260 x 50mm radiator". 50mm must be the thickness, but what's with 260? The only modern radiators I know of come in lengths that are increments of 120 or 140mm. I'm not aware of anything in increments of 130mm.
    Reply
  • shrapnel_indie
    20221362 said:
    What's the deal with the radiator support? Lian Li says it supports a "260 x 50mm radiator". 50mm must be the thickness, but what's with 260? The only modern radiators I know of come in lengths that are increments of 120 or 140mm. I'm not aware of anything in increments of 130mm.

    They probably mean dimensions, again, of the radiator: putting it squarely into 240mm class radiators. I wonder though if that 50mm includes the fans.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    20222762 said:
    20221362 said:
    What's the deal with the radiator support? Lian Li says it supports a "260 x 50mm radiator". 50mm must be the thickness, but what's with 260? The only modern radiators I know of come in lengths that are increments of 120 or 140mm. I'm not aware of anything in increments of 130mm.

    They probably mean dimensions, again, of the radiator: putting it squarely into 240mm class radiators. I wonder though if that 50mm includes the fans.

    Either that or there's a radiator that is designed to accommodate specifically one 120mm fan and one 140mm fan. lol
    Reply
  • kyle382
    omg with the effin side windows. Is there some evidence that everyone loves side windows now? STOP!
    Reply
  • Dante F B Colo
    ryzen pinnacle ridge will drink all this coffee...hahahah
    Reply
  • bit_user
    20223305 said:
    omg with the effin side windows. Is there some evidence that everyone loves side windows now? STOP!
    In the past, they've been pretty good at providing both window and non-window versions of their cases.

    I don't see a windowless version of this chassis (yet), but they do still offer a number of windowless mini-ITX cases:

    http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio_category/chassis-for-mini-itx/


    Like you, I'm not a big fan of windows. But they make one of the few windowed cases I actually like:

    http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-o5/


    That said, it costs 2-3x what I'm willing to spend on a case.
    Reply