Assembly

Installing the mainboard is done by traditional means. Simply place the unit on the spacers and screw it down. While there may not be enough space for really bulky CPU coolers, you should still be able to throw in a long graphic card in there, making high-res gaming a possibility.


Both types of hard drives - 3.5" and 2.5" need to be prepared first before placing them in the appropriate positions. As the larger drives will cover the 2.5 inch ones, you should install these first. Then you may place up to three 3.5" units next to each other over that. This means that you may install up to five drives within the PC-U6 - an excellent number for a chassis of this size and shape.


Installing the optical drive is done a bit unusually, as Lian Li includes a cover for such a device to go with the entire look of the chassis. This needs to be removed first, then the drive is pushed in too far on purpose. Once the front cover is back in its place, the optical drive is moved forward and secured by the metal locking bar.


Installing the PSU is also a very unique matter. Interestingly the Thermaltake PSU I usually use did not fit in this slot. This was due to the LEDs on the side and the fact, that Lian Li doesn't allow for the slightest amount of play. I think it would have been much wiser to construct things in such a manner, that there are a few mm of space to either side of the PSU, especially since you need to use a frame & slide method anyways. Thus I had to resort to installing the only other PSU at my disposal at this time, which was an OEM 420W unit. Even this one was somewhat tricky to install due to the size constraints. Not having heard any reports from other reviewers, I believe that this issue is isolated to the sample I received.


Once everything is installed, you may place the fans back unto the intended screws and apply the LED strip as shown. Since the strip is connected directly to the fan controller, the cable clutter is kept to a minimum. Even though there are very few cable routing possibilities, only very few cables will go higher than the divider between PSU bay and mainboard, as all hard drives are located on it.

Finished Looks

Once the Lian Li PC-U6 is closed back up and turned on, the snail shaped chassis makes a really cool impression. The red LED strip adds a nice little glow to it and the fans are extremely quiet when turned down.


Due to the drive bay cover, you are free to install any optical drive and not have to fear that it looks bad in the end, turning things around the red glow from the LED strip can clearly be seen. While the cover is nice in terms of looks, odds are it will get in the way in most scenarios and the majority of users may just end up removing it completely. If you look closely you will see scratch marks to the left and right below the PSU bay, this is due to the very restrictive bay itself, requiring a lot of force to push the unit in and out.


Even though both sides are semi-transparent and the cable mess is not completely hidden, that industrial look is in great contrast to the round shapes of the case. It combines technology and nature in one chassis.