Lian Li PC-7HX Chassis

Monday, 21 January 2013 21:22 Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 January 2013 04:50 Written by Michael "Cottonmouth" Bollinger

Product: Lian Li PC-7HX Chassis
Provided By: Lian Li
Price: ~$129.99 Online

Introduction:

Today we have a brand new product from Lian Li on our bench - the Lian Li PC-7HX mid-tower case. Lian Li is a well-known manufacturer of pc components like: PC chassis, power supplies, storage (HDD enclosures) and some laptop accessories. They focus on making high quality products, not just more of the same old steel and plastic that everyone else makes.

First Impressions:

The Lian Li PC-7HX arrived in your standard cardboard box with minimal graphics on it. The first thing I noticed was how light it was. It only weighs 5Kg (that’s just a little over 11lbs in the US). The Lian Li PC-7HX is constructed from Aluminum, not steel like other cases out there. Once you open it, you find that the case is packed as you would expect. It is in some Styrofoam that is covered by a plastic bag. After removing it from all its protective coverings we can see that it arrived it perfect condition. The Lian Li PC-7HX comes in three variations: black, black with black interior and silver.

The Lian Li PC-7HX is plain. It has very clean lines and is not all chopped up like some other mid-tower cases out there. The outside of the PC-7HX is done in a black brushed Aluminum. Starting with the front it has 3x 5.25” optical drive bays and an intake fan area. It also has two LEDs in the top right corner for power and HDD activity. The top has your standard buttons; the main power button, a reset button and a little door that covers the front I/O panel. The front I/O panel has a 2x USB3.0 ports, a headphone jack and a microphone jack. The top does not have any openings for exhausting hot air from the case like other cases, but it does have two covered openings for an accessory kit to mount a 240mm radiator with 2x120mm fans.

The left side has a meshed area for mounting an optional140mm fan and the right side panel is solid. The rear of the PC-7HX has the standard motherboard I/O panel opening along with 8 expansion slots. It also has a 120mm exhaust fan that has a wire guard on it. This is something you just don't see in most mid-tower cases, but I have come to expect from Lian Li. The rear also has two aperture openings for installing water cooling and an opening for the bottom mounted power supply. The bottom of the Lian Li PC-7HX has four large rubber feet for it to rest on along with a removable intake filter for the power supply intake.

On the next page we'll take a closer look inside.

A Closer Look:

Let’s see what the inside looks like. While removing the side panel I did notice a detail, the thumb-screws have rubber sound dampening washers on them. After removing the left side panel you will find that the PC-7HX is constructed completely from Aluminum. I also noticed a white box zip-tied to the HDD cage. The white box contains all the screws, a small motherboard speaker, USB3.0 to USB2.0 converter and rubber washers for mounting all the components. The HDD cage is capable of mounting four 3.5”' HDDs and two 2.5” SSDs. The PC-7HX has two 140mm intake fans mounted just in front of the HDD cage at the bottom, which should keep all the HDDs nice and cool. The PC-7HXs bottom mounted power supply area has rubber bumpers, which should make any vibrations minimal. The PC-7HX comes with all the stand-offs for the motherboard already installed.

The motherboard tray in this case has a large cut-out for mounting an aftermarket heat sink without removing the motherboard. The expansion slots are re-usable and they are held in place with the trusty thumbscrews. The 120mm exhaust fan has a wire guard just like the outside, nice! You just don't see that in a budget case. It also has a tool-less mounting system for the optical drives and several openings for cable management. When I removed the right side panel I found there was ample room for cable management. The front of the PC-7HX is removed by gently pulling on the top to expose the 5.25” drive bays and the intake filters that are removable.

Features & Specifications:

Features

Specs

On the next page, we'll cover installation as we continue on with this review.

Installation:

Alright, now the fun begins! The Lian Li PC-7HX comes with every screw that you might need to mount all of your components. The motherboard stand-offs are already mounted and this is a nice touch. When it comes to installing a system in this case I first snapped in the I/O panel for the motherboard I planned on using. Then, I slid the motherboard into its new home and locked it down with the supplied screws.

After that I had to remove the factory installed 120mm exhaust fan to mount my120mm radiator. After I had the basic motherboard and cooling installed I mounted the power supply with the supplied screws, which was a breeze. Then I moved on to mounting the HDDs. After locating the proper screws and rubber washers, installation is as simple as attaching these to your Hard Drive and sliding it into the desired slot. Locking it in place was as simple as loosening a thumb-screw, sliding the lock up and tightening the thumb-screw back.

If you are using a SSD it’s a little different, and you have the choice of two places to mount these. Once you have decided where you want to mount your SSD, it just a matter of installing a few screws with the proper washers. The PC-7HX comes with screws and washers just for mounting HDDs or SSDs. Mounting the Optical drive was very easy. I removed the desired blank from the front then just squeezed the lock on the tool-less mounting system to open it. The drive slides in and the lock snaps easily back into place.

The tool-less mounting system is very secure. Regardless of how secure the tool-less mounting system is, I always put some screws in the right side just to be sure it doesn't move. After the main stuff is already installed, I moved on to installing the video card. After lining it up to find which expansion slots covers to remove, I removed the two thumb-screws and the blanks. The video card slipped effortlessly into the slot.

Last but not least, was connecting all the wiring. The wiring doesn't take very long at all in this case and it usually takes me about ten minutes to make everything tidy. Most of that time is spent routing the wires where I want them. Finally we are done! It’s time to fire this unit up!

On the last page, we'll wrap things up with our conclusion and some final thoughts.

Conclusion:

I found the Lian Li PC-7HX mid-tower case to a very nice chassis to work with. It is very well engineered and constructed from high quality materials. It does not weight much. It only weighs a little over 12.lbs (5.8Kgs).

The Lian Li PC-7HX performed well. It has good airflow. The two front 140mm intake fans were very quiet, but did a great job of keeping cool air inside.

The PC-7HX does have a few features. The door in the top up front has ports for connecting a headset and microphone along with two USB 3.0 ports.

Lian Li did a good job of sending you everything you would need to assemble your rig. All the screws were sent bundled and packaged in small bags along with an adapter to go from USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 if you motherboard doesn't have a native USB3.0 port.

The Lian Li PC-7HX can be found for about $130 on the internet. This puts it in the upper end of the mid tower cases. That being said, you won't find many other cases that are its equal when it comes to quality of construction and their attention to details.

Overall, I found the Lian Li PC-7HX to be of high quality construction. It is one of a few that make PC cases totally from Aluminum. The PC-7HX is black on the inside along with a flawless black brushed outside. It is priced very fairly, considering the quality you are getting. The PC-7HX would look great in anyone’s home regardless of whether it’s your main PC or the heart of your entertainment center. It has good airflow straight out of the box and did great with my system. In conclusion, if you are in the market for a great mid tower case that has classic lines and doesn't weigh a ton. The Lian Li PC-7HX definitely should be considered. That is why it is getting the Gold Wrench Award.

Pros:

Constructed from high quality materials
Flawless finish
USB 3.0 Port
Aesthetically pleasing
Removable intake filters

Cons:

None

BCCRating

Gold

I would like to thank the people at Lian Li for sending BCCHardware this sample for review. I look forward to seeing what they come up with next! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them at the link below.