A Closer Look - Outside

The case itself is quite large and is constructed of aluminum - with one small exception. The front door for the hard drive bays is partly made of plastic. This is a first and I was a bit dissapointed to see such a material used in such an expensive enclosure.


The front has the traditional Lian Li design with rounded edges and straight lines. The rear looks quite unique, but I will get to that in a second.


Both sides of the PC-B71 are solid, without any air vents or fan holes. Note the high quality feet shimmering on the very bottom of the chassis.


The power button and the I/O are located on the top. This is certainly not the best place, as you will most likely not have a lot of free space under your desk. It would have been nice to see these somewhere else. Lian Li has placed a full set of connectivity here as well. These include one eSATA, one Firewire, four USB 2.0 and the usual pair of audio connectors which are hidden behind a small cover. You get five external drive bays, one of which has an ODD drop down cover while the bottom one has a 5.25 to 3.5 inch frame, so you may install such a smaller drive without having to spend more money. Note the small bar at the very top of the drive bays. This would be a perfect spot to place the power/reset buttons and the I/O.


Taking a closer look at the front of the chassis. The bottom half is where the hard drives are located. The door gives you access to the seven hot swappable SATA hard drive bays. It can be locked down with the provided key. The plastic used for this door is very soft and really does not feel good at all. This is the most flimsy part I have ever seen in a Lian Li case.


Moving around to the rear of the chassis, starting at the bottom. There is a power supply bay, with a frame that may be turned around. This means you are free to install the PSU any way you like. Above that are the seven perforated mainboard expansion slots, next to which is an additional air vent for the optional cooling units sold seperately. The top part is taken by a large 120 mm fan and two holes to route water cooling through. A little sticker mentions the fact that this case has been hand crafted in Taiwan. Above that is another 120 mm fan which cools the three hard drive bays at this location. You may choose to exchange this with the included power supply frame, giving you the option for a second PSU within the PC-B71.