Lian Li launches the PC-Q15 mini-ITX case
Lian Li's PC-Q15 includes automotive design cues, including wheel-like stubs which are - sadly - non-functional.
If you're imagining taking your mini-PC for a walk on a lead, however, you're going to be disappointed. What appear to be four wheels at the base of the case are, in Lian Li's words, 'wheel-like stubs.' Rather than portability, Lian Li had silence in mind with the rubber stubs designed to reduce the transmission of vibrations from the case to the surface on which it sits.
While we can't help but feel a little disappointed that the wheels don't work, the case does have plenty to offer the mini-ITX enthusiast. Internally, the case is laid out so that it can accept a single hot-swap 3.5in hard drive in addition to a trio of non-swappable 2.5in drives. A 5.25in drive bay provides room for an optical drive, too.
Interestingly, Lian Li has opted to have the motherboard plate lie completely flat against the bottom of the chassis, while a pre-routed cable provides connectivity for the dual front-mounted USB 3.0 ports. Cooling is provided via a 120mm fan with removable, washable filter, and Lian Li is included a 300W 80-Plus power supply as standard.
Despite the case's svelte dimensions of 210mm x 216mm x 330mm, it can cope with some surprisingly large components. According to Lian Li, the PC-Q15 will accept graphics cards up to 250mm in length and CPU coolers up to 90mm in height without issue.
As you might expect from Lian Li, the PC-Q15 is constructed from aluminium and will be made available in silver and black finishes. Total weight, for those who frequently find themselves travelling with a PC, is 3.3KG excluding components but including the PSU.
UK pricing for the PC-Q15 has yet to be confirmed.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyPC-Q25 - mini-ITX NAS case, 8 HD's (inc. 5 hot-swap), standard ATX PSU
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PC-TU200 - mini-ITX LAN case with handle on top and "ruggedised" corners, takes 300mm GPU's
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PC-100 - E-ATX with a rotated m/b
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PC-Q02 - a bit more ventilated PC-Q07. Whatever.
PC-Q03 - fat brother of PC-Q02. Whatever.
PC-Q05 - case for one specific board. Whatever.
PC-Q09FN - a higher version of PC-Q09F with a SFX PSU instead of the TFX or whatever they used in the older version. Good, now you can finally get a silent PSU for this small case, unlike PC-Q09F.
PC-Q12 - maybe someone will like it, for me it is in whatever category too.
PC-Q15 - someone at Lian Li got drunk together with his boss. Fan intake - what the hell ? "Wheels" - what the hell ? Remove the divider section at front, make a full hole for the front fan, put the feets on bottom instead of the side - and you got a pretty nice case. But this ?
PC-Q16 - can't see much, so for now - whatever.
PC-Q18 - PC-Q08 with better side panels (no million screws as i see), but the hard drive rack is not removable. Why oh why ? 16cm is not enough for Seasonic X and unlike PC-Q08 you can't solve it by removing the HDD rack.
PC-V700 - looks like ventilated version of PC-A05 with just one 5.25" bay. Nice, if you need such case.
My suggestion to Lian Li ? Stop using rivets for your hard drive trays, especially in the ITX cases! Use screws, so if someone wants bigger flexibility like me, then he should have the option. For example PC-Q25 is an awesome looking case, but because of the HDD rack, i can't use it. I don't need 5 hard drive bays, i got one SSD like many of those building small ITX systems. And SSD hardly needs more than velcro :).
Then I discovered that those aren't actually wheels; that gave me a sad face.
I don't see this as a bad thing.
"While we can't help but feel a little disappointed that the wheels don't work"
Should read:
"While we can't help but feel a little disappointed that the wheels don't work yet"
This is bit-tech after all, Im sure someone has a spare wheel chair motor lying around! :D
Then why bother protruding them into the case taking up room?
I have been on the hunt for small cases lately, and wow, manufacturers really are missing the ball on this segment. This is just another example, though it is better in some ways.
And yeah it does look like a double-decker bus, that was my first impression as well.
I don't even use dvd-roms very often anymore, so I use an external USB when I need it. My file server has a single 2TB drive, my dev box has a single 1tb drive, and my desktop has twin SSD's. I don't need 8 internal bays plus 3 externals... My Antec 300 looks absolutely silly with only 2 SSD's in the drive bays.
I get it that many people do use lots of drives, but they are becoming fewer and fewer and they do need some cases, but there is no reason for every case to cater to that anymore. We have massive drives and many are using SSD's at this point. The average person simply doesn't need tons of bays.