A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the interior, simply remove two thumb screws. Turing the side panel over, it becomes apparent, why there are no openings on either side. Lian Li has lined the case with sound dampening material. This should do a good job at keeping the operational noises within the enclosure.


The interior of the PC-B71 looks very much like the PC-A7010. The only difference being the turned hard drive cages, so that these may be accessed through the front of the chassis. There are plenty of small details, which have changed since then, but before I get to that, let us turn the case around. The first difference to the A7010 is the large hole in the mainboard tray. This means that you should be able to exchange CPU coolers or water cooling blocks without being forced to remove the entire mainboard.


Another nice new feature is a plastic contraption to aid in cable management. It has been strategically placed so that you can route the top I/O cables nicely to the mainboard. The expansion bar, which I have seen in previous Lian Li enclosures is still around and serves one simple purpose: to further secure large expansion cards within the chassis.


The seven hard drive bays in the front all have a SATA interface attached to them. These backplates mean that you will not have to spend any money on such enclosures - which can cost up to $100 US Dollars for three drives. Above that are the five external drive bays. Note the new locking mechanism of the enclosure. These bars lock into place and have metal pins in them, which are used instead of screws to secure the drives. It will be interesting to see how well these hold.


The rear bottom holds the power supply bay. There is a large air vent to supply fresh air to the PSU fan. This means that the units have their own thermal environment, pulling fresh air from the very bottom and blowing it right out the back. Foam lining kills any vibration right on the spot. The seven expansion slots of the PC-B71 hold the next surprise. Lian Li has constructed a metal locking system to hold expansion cards in place. Gone are the normal screws or plastic clips. It looks like the first system which can truly replace traditional means like screws. The rear cooling fan has the signature Lian Li air guard, while the very top hard drive bays utilize a different mounting mechanism as the front ones. These are held in place by special screws with rubber rings - seen on all modern Lian Li enclosures without SATA backplates.


Behind the front door is a small fan controller with three settings - low, mid & high. This is a very nice feature, but you will have a hard time reaching that without pulling off the entire front of the chassis. All cables and connections used within the PC-B71 are of the usual kind, so you should not have any problems, no matter what mainboard you use.