Lian-Li PC-7 SE-B III Aluminum ATX Case Review

Cases & PSU/Cases by jmke @ 2007-12-20

PC-Cooling.de send us an affordable mid-tower case from Lian-Li, this light weight aluminum case comes with three silent 120mm fans preinstalled and lots of tool less features. Let´s find out if a high end system can be kept cool inside.

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Look inside & Cooling

Look inside

Removing the side panels is easy and tool-less, once done you get a good view of the interior design. Most of the interior layout will be familiar who has ever opened an ATX case, HDD bay at the front bottom, PSU at the rear top. The PC-7 SE-B III features an extra in-take from the side panel, a metal bracket holds one 120mm fan, and this bracket can be removed tool-less as it’s held in place by 4 thumbscrews.

We could find no sharp edges; the only danger area has been protected with a plastic strip.

Madshrimps (c)


Inside the case you’ll find a small box which holds a manual and the necessary screws to install hardware:

Madshrimps (c)


You also get this imbus tool used to install the motherboard stand offs; the photo below also shows you the PCI slot cover plates, they are held in place by screws, no tool-less features for this.

Madshrimps (c)


The hard drive bay is held in place by a thumbscrew, after removing that, you can slide it out; optionally you can change the orientation of the HDD bay:

Madshrimps (c)


Cooling

Lian-Li sells this case with three 120mm fans pre-installed, these fans are very quiet at only 1000rpm, you do need 3-pin connectors as no 4-pin adapter is included.

The front fan features a dust filter which can be removed and cleaned out, to access it you need to pull away the front panel:

Madshrimps (c)


Strangely enough, the side panel in-take does not feature a dust filter, which make it kind of a waste to have in the front, as dust will now get inside the case from the side panel… The bracket could easily be equipped with a dust filter too. The thumbscrews you see in the photo below allow you to move the fan left/right according to where you need the airflow most.

Madshrimps (c)


Time to install some hardware ->
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Comment from Sidney @ 2007/12/20
I like the one with F/R fans only; wonder if I can get a side panel without fan hole. I am still using PC-60 with 80mm fans running 7v. Still like the classic look.
Comment from Rutar @ 2007/12/20
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sidney View Post
I like the one with F/R fans only; wonder if I can get a side panel without fan hole. I am still using PC-60 with 80mm fans running 7v. Still like the classic look.
You're not the only one who likes that , but it really does look better in silver as I have it from PC-Cooling (which is one of the cheapest sites to order cooling gear, cases and power supplies, and they have a huge selection).

I am surprised it didn't get a value award because for an all alu case with 3 decent fans (review needs to mention it btw, that is a PC-Cooling special version) this is serious value.
Comment from jmke @ 2007/12/20
Value is debatable, as imho the Coolermaster 690 gives better Value for money (~$70) with more expansion slots and more cooling options; but Mainstream is between Value and High End, which this case certainly is, affordable for most people who are building a PC and want a quality ALU case
Comment from Rutar @ 2007/12/20
CM 690: 10 kg
LL 7 SE III: 5.5 kg

They can both be the best value depending what you look for and mainstream doesn't really do this product justice.
Comment from jmke @ 2007/12/20
for an enthusiast product to get in spotlight of mainstream, that's quite an accomplishment, can only be gotten if price is right AND features are good

Weight isn't everything, you know

 

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