Maxima Force 470W PSU

Packaging & Contents

Lian Li is entering the power supply market with two different lines of PSUs. The one is called Silent Force, which focuses on high quality units with 650, 750 or 850 W. Then there is the Maxima Force, which is available in 470, 650 and 750 W which comes with firmly attached cables, while still adhering to the highest quality standards. We will be taking a look at the smallest Maxima Force unit, which features 470 W of power.


All of the company's power supplies ship in a compact cardboard box, with a handle so that you can easily carry it home from the shop. The package is quite informative, as you have a clear image of the power supply on the front, along with its features listed on the rear. The underside of the package has illustrations of every single connector type and a list of how many you will get with this Maxima Force PSU. Even though you will not find the 80PLUS logo anywhere on the colorful package, the Maxima Force is certified and the emblem can be found on the side of the inner cardboard box.


We want to show you how the unit is held in place within the box, as this is by far one of the cleanest ways to do so. Most manufacturers use a simple bubblewrap or plastic bag to protect the unit, but Lian Li has a foam cut-out holding the unit itself, with a black cardboard box with a hole on the side, in which you will find all the cables - perfect.


You will not get a lot of extras with the Maxima Force, but everything you need is still present. A power cable and four screws are the basics and that is what you can expect here.




As can be seen in the graph above, the Molex and especially the SATA connectors on each cord are extremely close to each other. This is quite unusual, as most PSUs tend to have up to 15 cm between each connector. The Maxima Force 470 W only have around 10 cm between each of them. This has the big advantage, that you can connect multiple hard drives nicely in series, without having to wonder where to hide the cables at. The one downside is the fact, that Lian Li has decided to go with a single cord with four SATA connectors, instead of two cords with fewer such connections. Most modern PCs use SATA based optical drives, so you will be forced to use an adapter in combination with one of the Molex based cords.

A Closer Look

The unit can be considered quite compact. Instead of trying to fool the customer with a bulkier chassis, Lian Li packs a whole bunch of high quality parts, including copper heatsinks within a very small footprint. This makes the unit quite heavy and is a good general property. All the cables are firmly attached and have been sleeved to reduce the cable mess. Lian Li has decided to use a chassis with a very rough texture to it and it does feel good.


The 470 W unit features a 120 mm fan, as there is simply no way to stuff a 135 mm unit in a chassis this small. The air is exausted through a fine air grill of the PSU. One aspect we did not like about the Maxima Force is the hole out of which the entire cable tree is routed. The cables are held together by a simple zip tie and the edges of the enclosure are folded, but can still manage to damage the cables. Pulling on the cords could result in damage in this area of the unit.


Lian Li is keeping within ATX specifications, by offering two 12 V rails with 18 A each. The sticker holds all the usual information and a textured sticker above that holds the Maxima Force name and company logo.

All of these features and attributes make the Maxima Force a very good candidate to enter the crowded PSU market, it offers everything we are looking for in a good, high quality unit. The chassis looks and feels unique, but we would like to see further protection of the cables. Nonetheless, you will certainly be happy with the Maxima Force unit - no matter if you go for the 470, 650 or 750 W version.