A Closer Look - Outside

Out of the box, the A4-H2O is really tiny with its 11 l volume. Having seen the case prototype "reviewed" by outlets, one can safely say that those cannot be considered relevant reviews anymore as the chassis has changed considerably since then. With its straight lines and sharp corners, it is also different to the A4-SFX, which has a lot more rounded and diamond-cut edges. Also noteworthy is that the vents on the panels are of classic size and not the smaller holes we have seen on many recent enclosures, like the ssupd Meshlicious, for example.


The exterior of the A4-H20 consists of rather thin aluminium panels. That said, they don't feel flimsy at all. Looking at the front, it is a completely solid rectangular piece you may pull off, as we will see later on. There are no logos or buttons on this side of the chassis. In the rear, it quickly becomes apparent how the internals are laid out. Being a sandwhich-style chassis, from this view, the left is for the GPU and the right for the motherboard.


Both sides of the A4-H20 are identical, sporting venting to improve overall thermals. These panels are held in place by pins, but are also bent around the back and further secured by thumb screws, which means you won't have to deal with tiny recessed screws that wear out over time.


Taking a closer look at the rear, the three expansion slots are actually flipped upside down, with the lip to secure the GPU on the bottom. In the top is the power plug, which is then routed to your SFX or SFX-L unit internally. At the very top is a large and rather prominent plaque to let you know that both Lian Li and DAN are the brains behind the chassis. I feel it could have been a bit subtler, but being in the rear, odds are you won't ever see it anyway.


On the top is another vented panel you may take off, which reveals the frame to mount two 120 mm fans or a 240 mm AIO. Besides the exterior of the chassis, this part of the chassis is also something that has vastly changed from the prototype (I won't call them reviews as they are technically not).


On the underside, you will find another vented panel that may also hold the single 2.5" hard drives. It may be removed for easier access to cable routing during assembly.


The I/O of the A4-H2O has been placed on the left side of the chassis, which means you should really have the case on the right side of your desktop. It consists of a single 3.0 USB-A, a USB 3.2 Type-C, and the usual audio ports. A small power button is at the very top. Nice would have been an HDD activity LED as any system inside this chassis will almost certainly be purely SSD-based.