Lian Li ARMORSUIT PC-P50 Case
Jul 19th, 2009 | By Jared
Lian Li ARMORSUIT PC-P50 Case
Date
: 07/19/09 – 03:18:43 AM
Author
:
Category
: Cases
Page 1 : Index
Manufacturer:
Lian Li Industrial Co.
If you ever bring up cases, often Lian Li is surely to show up in the conversation. Lian Li is well known as a maker of high quality aluminum PC cases. While Lian Li has ventured into other products like accessories, power supplies and even desks, cases still remain their bread and butter.
Back in 2007, Lian Li introduced their ARMORSUIT series of cases that were focused more on the gamers market. Now in 2009 Lian Li is adding another member to the ARMORSUIT family with the PC-P50.
Page 2 : Package and Accessories
Packaging is pretty much what you expect from Lian Li, no in your face graphics, just a lot of information on the features of the PC-P50. Both front and back are identical.
Like the front and back, the sides are identical as well. You get an open shot of the case along with specifications.
The protection is your standard styrofoam ends with the case wrapped in a plastic bag.
Accessories include PSU bracket, assorted screws, motherboard standoffs, motherboard thumbscrews, speaker, cable organizer, small standoff wrench and extra hard drive pads. We'll cover the use of some of these later.
Page 3 : Specifications
I grabbed specifications straight from Lian Li's website here.
Specifications:
Features:
*Lian Li manufactured ARMORSUIT PC-P50 in Taiwan. The quality and craftsmanship are outstanding. With accolades and awards stretching back for the last two decades due to the unique combination of hand-crafted aspects with advanced machinery. The complete effort used to create every Lian Li chassis is clearly evident in the superior craftsmanship to be found in each one.
*The hardware installation with ARMORSUIT PC-P50 is very easy and simple. The front panel and top panel are detachable and they can be removed without tools.
*The new ARMORSUIT PC-P50 is targeted for the LAN party gamers. It is a mid-tower case, which is ideal for the latest graphics cards in combination with the best thermal dynamics. All the internal installation can be done without tools, and is easily adjustable to optimize your hardware setup. Especially in the advent of adding in new graphics cards, equipped with 8 PCI slots, can hold three or more graphics cards, supports CrossfireX and 3-way SLI.
*The new internal layout has the motherboard on top of the power supply unit, which allows for easier access to the motherboard as well as more room above, thus larger CPU coolers can be used. The power supply unit at the button of the case is cooled with fresh cool air directly from the outside of the case, instead of pre-heated air from within. This will bring down the core temperatures and extend the lifespan of the PSU significantly.
*To install motherboard require no tools, use tool-less screw to screw a motherboard on case, easily and quickly.
Page 4 : Exterior
With the PC-P50 finally revealed, while aimed at gamers, the PC-P50 still holds the simple beauty of Lian Li cases. There are a total of nine 5.25′ bays with three taken up by a hard drive module in the bottom. Each bay cover is vented with a filter lining the inside. Power and rest buttons are located on the top along with two USB ports and mic/headphone jacks. A large vented opening on the top hides two 140mm fans.
The top piece easily pulls off to reveal the two fans on the top. This top piece comes off almost too easily, as I found it would sort of pop up in the front when I moved the case.
Much like the top piece the front bezel pulls off as well though it is a bit firmer than the top. Each bay cover easily comes off by slightly squeezing the sides and pulling out.
Both sides are smooth and devoid of any windows or fans.
On the back you can see the power supply is bottom mounted, there are 8 vented PCI slots, water cooling holes and a 120mm exhaust fan. Both side panels are secured via thumbscrews.
Turning the case upside down reveals four case feet with rubber insides to prevent the case from sliding. There is also a removable filter for the power supply intake.
Page 5 : Interior
The side panels are a bit the opposite in removal from the front and top bezels. They are a little difficult to get off as the contact is quite tight along the bottom.
When you open up the PC-P50, you'll find the accessories box zip tied into the six 5.25′ bays. The inside is all silver with not a single sharp edge to be found. Lian Li includes a cutout in the motherboard for heatsink installation along with other holes located around the edges for cable routing.
The top three drive bays have a tool free system. You just pull back on a lever and the locking mechanism swings out, you line up the holes on your drive and then snap the mechanism back place. The tool free mechanism for the PCI slots is easily the best and most secure I have used to date. Made of aluminum it's both secure and strong. As you can somewhat see in this picture all of the fans have a 3-pin connection but come with a 3-pin to molex attachment.
The power supply sits on two padded rails along the bottom. Directly in front of it is a slotted device for organizing cables.
The hard drive module can be taken out with the removal of a few thumb screws. Inside are three hard drive caddies that slide in and out on rubber grommets. The lever on each one of these has a pad that helps lock down the hard drive. The extra pads that are included are used for thinner hard drives.
Swinging around to the back, you can see the various holes in the tray for cable routing. There is a decent amount of room behind the tray for hiding cables.
Front connections include HD Audio/AC'97, USB, power LED, HD LED, power and reset switch.
Page 6 : Installation
Like I tend to do, I'll just hit some points of interest with installing into the PC-P50. For starters was the PSU clip, a first for me but it works really well and holds the power supply quite snugly in place.
To follow the power supply clip, the hard drive modules also snap in and hold really well.
When it came to running the 8-pin motherboard power cable, I ran into a slight snag. There is a hole cut out here for it, but you cannot get to it without unscrewing the top frame of the case to fit the connection through.
The top bezel worked well to also hide the fan cables on top.
Kind of strange, there are only 9 standoffs included while most full size ATX boards use 10.
While the thumbscrews for the motherboard are a good idea in concept, in reality I still had to use the screwdriver on most of them. All in all, installation was a breeze and Lian Li's tool less features are top notch.
With the system powered up, the HD LED is in the reset button while the power LED is in the power button. Fully powered up and time to test.
Page 7 : Testing
The following system was installed and used to gather temperatures:
CPU: Intel E8400 w/ Zalman CNPS9900 LED
MB: Biostar TPower I45
RAM: G.Skill PI Black PC6400
Video: Biostar Geforce 9600GT
PSU: Ultra X3 1000W
HD: WD 250GB SATA
DVD-Rom: Lite-On 18x DVD Burner – SATA
OS: Microsoft Windows XP w SP2
Ambient Temperature: 25-26C
Cases:
Lian Li PC-P50
To get idle temperatures I started the PC up and allowed it to sit at idle for three hours with no processes running and recorded temperatures using Everest Ultimate. All temperatures were recorded using Everest Ultimate Edition.
At idle the PC-P50 is pretty close in all categories aside from the chipset temps. It seems quite apparent the benefit of having an intake fan in the side panel.
Next was to load the PC and get some temperatures with a little more heat involved. To get load temps, I ran Orthos blend along with 3DMark06 in a continuous loop for three hours.
The load temps are pretty much a mirror of the idle temps as once again the biggest difference falls with the chipset temps. Both CPU and GPU temps are within 2 to 3 degrees Celsius.
The final note on testing is fan noise. While the four included fans are not on a fan controller and run at full speed 100% of the time, they are fairly quiet and I would say are comparable to the fan noise in the Cooler Master HAF 932.
Page 8 : Conclusion
Lian Li has built up a reputation over the years for their cases and the ARMORSUIT PC-P50 certainly carries on that legacy. The PC-P50 packs some quality tool free designs that make swapping components a snap. You also get the quality aluminum build and finish we have come to expect from Lian Li cases.
There are a couple things that are a bit perplexing about the PC-P50 the first of which is the inclusion of only 9 motherboard standoffs when most full size ATX boards use 10. Also the top bezel seems to pop off too easily, which may be an annoyance if you intend to travel to LANs with your PC.
These two minor points aside, the ARMORSUIT PC-P50 is a superb case with the quality of Lian Li. If you are in the market for a mid tower, the PC-P50 certainly deserves more than just a glance.
Advantages
- Lightweight solid aluminum
- Cable management
- Excellent tool free designs
- Elegant design
Disadvantages
- Top piece removes a little too easily
- Only 9 standoffs included
Overclockers Online would like to thank Lian Li for supplying the ARMORSUIT PC-P50 case for review.