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Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

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  • Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

    With CeBIT, one of the largest computer expos, coming up we wanted to preview two of our upcoming mid-tower models to the community: PC-B16 and PC-A61.


    These two models share the same internal design; the difference being that the PC-B16 has a noise-reducing front door for silent system operation.


    Major features of the PC-B16 and PC-A61 include:


    • Full aluminum construction
    • Modular 5.25” bay
    • Tool-less HDD bay system (first introduced on the PC-A51)
    • Top 240/280mm radiator support with 60mm of spacing
    • Front 240mm radiator support
    • Generous cable management support – 30mm space behind the MB tray


    As these two new cases are not in the final stages yet, we do welcome your feedback, and after making changes according to community input, we will debut the finalized PC-B16 and PC-A61 at CeBIT.


    Let us know what you think.


    PC-B16 Pics









    PC-A61 Pics









    PC-B16 and PC-A61 Internal Design















    Last edited by Lian Li Tech; 02-11-2014, 04:10 AM.

  • #2
    Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

    Thought I've often found myself reading through threads on this forum over the years, I specifically registered so I would be able to communicate directly with someone at Lian-Li.

    I have a lot of feedback for you which I hope you'll pass along to the appropriate people, as I'd really like to see your company regain your market position and prosper. I own many of your most famous and respected cases, am a seasoned veteran enthusiast, have an eye for design, and have read just about every review of your cases published for many years. I plan on posting several threads for you covering different Lian-Li cases - both past and present - with my own thoughts and those of the many other experienced reviewers whose opinions I highly respect if you're interested. It will take a considerable investment of my time, so please do respond honestly if I would be wasting my time.

    Now for my feedback on these two cases.

    To put it bluntly: your latest designs haven't been as compelling as many of your earlier ones, and you keep repeating the same mistakes which leads to poor reviews and (likely) poor sales.

    Here's a list of the problems that I'm able to identify with these two particular cases given the pictures:
    1. Any case with a lockable door needs to have the power and reset buttons behind the locked door! This one should have been obvious, but why bother with a lock at all if the power and reset buttons are left exposed? To protect the 5 1/4" bays? It makes no sense whatsoever, and it's why I specifically sought out a PC-A71F instead of the PC-A76 despite the great difficulty I had locating one after it was discontinued. I even would go so far as to have the door covering the ports lock as well when you lock the door, but that would add extra complication and cost. It'd be slick, though.
    2. The front intake fans appear severely restricted by the door or by the front of the case on the PC-B16 or the front panel design on the PC-A61. Was airflow measured? It sure doesn't instill confidence from looking at these pictures.
    3. All intake fans - or fans which could be converted to intake fans - should come standard with a filter.
    4. Fan filters should be easy to access without tools and without removing components after the system has been built.
    5. You have an extremely slick toolless expansion slot system, and yet it doesn't appear on this case. Start producing it in vast quantities to bring down the cost and include it in every case! You need standard premium features to justify your premium pricing.
    6. The back of the motherboard tray needs at least two additional cable management clips. Throw them in the accessories box.


    Here are some important things you're really getting right with these cases:

    1. The build quality appears outstanding. When combined with your restrained and elegant styling, this is the primary reason you have loyal customers. Thank you for not cheapening (most of) your products.
    2. You've made excellent accommodations for 2 1/2" drives. Support for these drives has been an obvious afterthought in many of your recent cases.
    3. You're finally paying proper attention to cable management. Reviewers will be very pleased by this, trust me.
    4. There is proper support for all-in-one water cooling solutions.
    5. The case window is nice. Make it a no cost option instead of charging a hefty added premium for it, or make it standard and offer the plain panel separately at near cost.
    6. The power supply fan has a filtered intake area.


    With a few changes I think you'll really have a nice pair of cases in the PC-B16 and PC-A61.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

      hello it´s my first post and i´m from linz / austria

      okay, in the near future i´m building a new audioworkstation and the plan was to built it with the pc-10nb the problem with the pc-10nb is the cable management (i don´t wanna say it´s not a very nice case) - with 1 bluray player, 1 ssd and 3.5" hdd it´s so lala, but in my case i need much more components so the case is near a no go especially with some isolation for less noise - there is really no place to talk about behind the MB tray

      the pc-b16 or pc-a61 (without window off course) could be near perfect for me, but what i don´t understand is why not 8 pci slots like the pc-10nb, this could be very helpful for add-on cards

      you could make one vertical over the psu for example

      next are the front fans - they should be outside - i use 1 or 2 2.5" ssd and 3 3,5" hdd drives - when there is some defective or whatever you must take away the whole drives, oouups, by the way dustfilters are a must have and cleaning must be easy as possible

      when they are available in europe especially austria or german?

      a nice time to all

      jamesie

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

        Originally posted by jamesie View Post
        hello it´s my first post and i´m from linz / austria

        okay, in the near future i´m building a new audioworkstation and the plan was to built it with the pc-10nb the problem with the pc-10nb is the cable management (i don´t wanna say it´s not a very nice case) - with 1 bluray player, 1 ssd and 3.5" hdd it´s so lala, but in my case i need much more components so the case is near a no go especially with some isolation for less noise - there is really no place to talk about behind the MB tray

        the pc-b16 or pc-a61 (without window off course) could be near perfect for me, but what i don´t understand is why not 8 pci slots like the pc-10nb, this could be very helpful for add-on cards

        you could make one vertical over the psu for example

        next are the front fans - they should be outside - i use 1 or 2 2.5" ssd and 3 3,5" hdd drives - when there is some defective or whatever you must take away the whole drives, oouups, by the way dustfilters are a must have and cleaning must be easy as possible

        when they are available in europe especially austria or german?

        a nice time to all

        jamesie
        Hi Jamesie, welcome aboard :) and thanks for your feedback.

        We will announce availability info for the PC-B16 and PC-A61 shortly.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

          Some questions about these two cases. The specs only state up to Atx support, but there looks to be enough real estate for Eatx if you remove the drive bays, save for maybe the bottom two 2.5, and maybe the top 5.25 bay. This would be pretty neat. Extra drives could be placed behind the motherboard. The result would be Eatx support in a compact format. (Compact for Eatx)

          Also, a nice cheap way to provide more cable management support is to have slots in the motherboard that are stamped so that they form a notch for twist ties. You guys also need to start stamping your motherboard tray to provide more strength to them. This sort of thing is done on Fractal, Coolermaster, cases. On aluminum cases it would be a God send.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

            hello mr lian li tech i have ordered a pc-b16 a few hours ago i think i´m one of the first in austria when not the first no risc, no fun, i always said

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

              Originally posted by themba View Post
              Some questions about these two cases. The specs only state up to Atx support, but there looks to be enough real estate for Eatx if you remove the drive bays, save for maybe the bottom two 2.5, and maybe the top 5.25 bay. This would be pretty neat. Extra drives could be placed behind the motherboard. The result would be Eatx support in a compact format. (Compact for Eatx)

              Also, a nice cheap way to provide more cable management support is to have slots in the motherboard that are stamped so that they form a notch for twist ties. You guys also need to start stamping your motherboard tray to provide more strength to them. This sort of thing is done on Fractal, Coolermaster, cases. On aluminum cases it would be a God send.
              Hi themba,

              We checked it out, and there's just not quite enough space for EATX - it will hit the top 5.25" bay.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

                Originally posted by jamesie View Post
                hello mr lian li tech i have ordered a pc-b16 a few hours ago i think i´m one of the first in austria when not the first no risc, no fun, i always said
                There should be plenty of fun and not much risk in this purchase ;) Enjoy your PC-B16!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

                  Originally posted by Lian Li Tech View Post
                  There should be plenty of fun and not much risk in this purchase ;) Enjoy your PC-B16!
                  thanx i´m sure i like it and hope it arrives end of this week

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

                    Hi Lian Li Tech
                    Hence you have said that work on PC-V2130 is still in progress, iam wondering about focusing on either PC-B16 or PC-A61 hence for I have some question and needs some clarification.
                    1.In your offcial advert on LIAN LI PC-B16 & PC-A61 - YouTube your spokesman clearly saying that he is using graphic cards which measures 287 mm and there is still some space to nearest hdd rack, when your specs on official site Lian-Li Global | PC-B16 Lian-Li Global | PC-A61 clearly saying 280 mm. Question is which is it really for the longest graphic card 290 or 280 mm?
                    2.Assuming I would like to go with originally provided (as per manual description) brackets and filter for 3rd optional front 120mm fan i would eneded with 1 naked space with fan covered only with filter on the front, am I correct? If so why wouldn't you provide some aluminium front cover for 3rd optional 120mm fan?
                    3.Without removing 5'25 cage there are 7 slots/places available for 7x3'5 HDD. Why you only provide 6x3'5 HDD racks HD-07, leaving 7th slot unused, in spite of providing 7x HD-07?
                    4.After removing 3x5'25 cage i would like to use all available slots for HDD racks. As per manual spare parts required, additional HD-07 HD-07 Lian-Li Global | HD-07 are not provided along with retail case so i assume, they need to be bought separately, am I correct? If so where could I buy additional 3 (i thinks 3 is max slots count i could use after removal 3x5'25 cage, which makes total 9x3'5 HDD possible, if I am correct) HD-07 Lian-Li Global | HD-07 and how much the price is?
                    5.Is EX-36B1 Lian-Li Global | EX-36B1 fully compatible with both PC-B16 or PC-A61?
                    6. Is BZ-502 Lian-Li Global | BZ-502 fully compatible with both PC-B16 or PC-A61?
                    7.I'm an AC man myself, prefering air circulation front intake to back outtake, without any top cover fans. My question is, why there is no included or at least optional removable top cover part without any holes as you have done previously in most cases (solid aluminium cover for fan holes, which are removable and might be exchange by mesh guard)?
                    8.My understaning is that sound absorbing cotton is exclusivelly for front, top, both left/right panels only for B-16 am I correct?
                    9.Is PC-A61WX internal black anonized or cheaply horrible black painted as you did in case of A75X?
                    10. Why you persist to use outdated 3x5'25 cage + 1x5'25 bay in spite of use only 1x5'25 for let say Blu-ray writer/player in spite of using by default 3rd front fans and more HDD 3'5 racks which both are really needed these days (it concerns either PC-B16 or PC-A61 and PC-V2130 )?
                    11.Why there is no your excellent PCI card locking system, or at least holes in which it can be mounted?
                    12.Why there is no your excellent PSU holder locking system, or at least holes in which it can be used?
                    13.Why there is no all black (internal) version without a window? In my case window is not needed but black internal is.
                    14.Why there is no reset buton on PC-B16 and PC-A61?
                    Uffff... i hope thats all my questions. Pls reply.
                    Last edited by SidiousX; 05-31-2014, 01:05 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

                      SidiousX touches on some great points: It would be nice to have the holes for your PCI card locking device, and your power supply hold down bracket. Both are excellent innovations.

                      Also, I really think you should consider offering a version without any 5.25 drive bays but just the 3.5 drive brackets/system it currenly has. ( another awesome Lian Li innovation) This version would need to be deeper to accomodate a push pull radiator setup in the front (120/140 fan support) and still keep the 3.5 inch drive bracket in the same place. Add a full mesh to front in place of the 5.25 drive bay openings and you are in business. or you could leave the openings there for those wanting to fall back to the 5.25 setup.

                      You could end up with a case with tripple 120/140mm rad support up top and in front, room for tons of hard drives, and great cable management.

                      Nowadays, flexibility is the name of the game to attract as many people as possible with different needs. I like the fact that this case already has a lot of flexibility added into it. It has to much potential to ignore.

                      We checked it out, and there's just not quite enough space for EATX - it will hit the top 5.25" bay
                      If I decide to buy this case and be as crazy enough as to stick an EATX board in there, then I will be taking that top bay out. I would still have 2 3.5 drive bays left , the rest would go around the back.


                      Next stop a mini-itx version with dual 120/140mm rad support up front and up top, about 6 3.5 inch drive bays (less with a full size graphics cards), great cable management around the back.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

                        i´m not lian li tech but i have the b16 now and it´s really nice made and i like it

                        first, 5.25" is not outdated, okay maybe for gamers but not when you want to built a workstation - there are lots of goodies out which uses 5.25" like hot sap and so on

                        i think when you need that much on hdds it´s better to buy a server tower and a server mainboard (like tyan for example) which are most e-atx or even bigger and they are too big for the b16

                        nothing is everybodies darling, so is the b16, but i think it was the right step from lian li to make such a case like the b16

                        oh, graphiccard - so 280 - 285 mm max - place without the screws for hdd is so 295 mm, so i would say 280 mm is ideal, 285 mm possible, with 290 mm maybe you get trouble

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Preview to CeBIT: PC-B16 and PC-A61

                          nothing is everybodies darling, so is the b16, but i think it was the right step from lian li to make such a case like the b16
                          It was definitely the right step for Lian li to make such a case. However, any manufacturer with a with a lick of common sense should realize, that in order to effectively sell their products, they need to appeal to as wide a customer base as possible, without losing customers as they broaden their appeal. It is a balancing act. When a manufacturer creates a polarizing product they automatically lose customers, thereby reducing sales. Lian li's past refusal to provide proper cable management (room behind the motherboard, etc) has forced many customers away. Also, their lack of watercooling options, has done that as well. I don' t water cool, but I recognize that it is a customer base that should not be ignored. This refusal is bizzare to me, if done right it would not be expensive on their part, and would substancially increase sales. Also, simple things like cable tie downs, etc, etc. Also, as SidiousX alluded to before, just having the mounting holes pre-drilled for their PCI retention bracket, adds value to the case, thereby increasing sales.

                          As it stands now I like the case the way it is, and hope it does well.
                          Last edited by themba; 06-04-2014, 07:40 PM. Reason: spelling

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