Lian Li has created an interesting product which tries to combine the best of two worlds. Being able to hold a standard optical drive and full size ATX power supply are the strong points of this chassis. This combination has proven successful with the PC-Q07 in the past and Lian Li has actively tried to improve on this product with the PC-Q11, while keeping the overall dimensions as compact as possible. The fact that this small chassis now can hold four storage drives along with the other full size components is impressive.

All this comes at a sacrifice however. Due to the overall dimensions, you will have to be careful about the length of the power supply and the amount of cabling that will fit within the chassis. Another point that worries me is the tight space between the hard drive SATA connectors and the side panel of the chassis, so you better use angled connectors. It would be a shame if you were to damage that shiny SSD when assembling your new HTPC system. Then there is the fact that Lian Li has chosen to use a three pin power LED connector - something which other manufacturers have stopped doing for the longest time. This feels like a step in the wrong direction for a modern chassis like that. Nonetheless, overall the PC-Q11 allows you to build an extremely quiet system if you plan the assembly right and choose the proper components - perfect for that HTPC system in the living room. While the chassis clocks in at 100 €, which may be a tad bit much for something of this size and relative simplicity, the fact that you save money due to the ability to use standard sized components, and the option to fit so many drives, more than make up for it and you might even pay less for the entire system in the long run.