Introduction.

 Mini ITX based cases are rare and scarcer still are a product that uses the former standard but has a look of quality too.  This form factor is becoming a vast standard for not only Home Theatre-based solutions, but one for serious web surfing and even gaming. The reason for this is that one could simply hide the chassis in a cupboard so that to keep the home decor looking constant, instead of having a great big black box in the living room/bedroom. So given this information and convenience Mini ITX is starting to become the factor of choice for style-savvy home users. Lian Li looks set to appeal to this trend by releasing the ‘PC-Q30’ range of chassis, so without further aplomb let is take a look into their world of small form factor chassis.

According to Lian Li, they do not just have a Mini ITX case, but they have the most outrageously best looking one too.

Company Background

Lian Li Industrial Co., LTD was founded in 1983. We are one of the largest and most reputable manufacturer of aluminium PC case in Taiwan. With over twenty years of experience in the computer products field, our dedicated team of engineers, production specialists and adminstrative staff provide the finest quality accessories available on the market.

In 1993, Lian-Li Introduced the new lines of computer hardware, including bracket ( for case & interfaces), Mobile rack (for H.D.D.), mounting kit (for FDD & HDD), aluminum PC cases, IPC, external cases, server cases and more. We also provide OEM & ODM services, you are assured of designs that will meet your exact specifications, innovative ideas in manufacturing that will give your products an essential market edge.

Our outstanding quality has earned us ISO 9001 certification for all of our products. In addition, we back up our quality assurance with a two-yeara guarantee on most of our products.

 (http://www.lian-li.com/en/about-us/ last accessed 1/1/2014)

Specifications

Below shows an interesting mix of specifications for such a small chassis.

Note for those whom wish to insert a third-party graphics card and are considering this solution please be advised of the VGA card length restrictions.

Packaging.

The Lian-Li PCQ-30 comes in a plain brown cardboard box, with the company logo and model emblazoned on the side.

The packaging gives just enough information to be relevant and that is it, however that is all that it needs to be really. After all we at Overclockers Tech would rather the product be designed well, than the company spending their budget on fancy packaging.

As usual and is the case with out manufacturers the chassis itself is protected with foam padding and a clear polymer bag.

Well that is it for the packaging let us move on to the case itself.

External Tour

The front of the chassis tends to lend credence to Lian-Li’s past products that promote an understated elegant design. This consists of a single curved sheet of aluminium that reaches from the bottom to the highest point of the case. We like to think that is reminds us of either a modern art sculpture or a HIFI speaker.

The ugly brown paper is there for a reason, which is to protect a large clear rectangle, which serves as a window to the inner workings of the PCQ30 chassis.

There are two colour options available, black and silver brushed aluminium. The overall finish of the chassis, simply screams ‘high quality’ and the overall texture feels fantastic. The overall exterior design looks and feels as though it makes sense and shouts ‘sex’ appeal like like Liz Hurley in ‘that dress’.

Turning the case around shows a much less sexy design than the of the front as with a case of this style and of this size one needs to install as many components as possible. The rear box that somewhat spoils the overall design houses a 140mm fan and grill and could be in theory used to contain a very thin water cooling (some serious modding needed) radiator.

The top two photos shows that the PSU is situated at the lower part of the case in which is in the SFX format.  The issue of using this type of product is that SFX form factor is harder to get hold of and is much more expensive to boot. Next we move to the I/O Section, in which houses the motherboard and the PCIE brackets. This section is to match the Mini ITX form factor motherboard, complete with two PCIE plates which allows the consumer to install a dual height graphics card.

The images show that the ‘sexy’ classy look is further replicated to the sides and once again we get the feeling of a classy ‘sculpture’ look.

The left-hand side panel sports two USB3.0 ports and the usual head and and microphone outputs. These almost seamlessly blend in with the side panel and does not do anything to deter to from the overall sleek look. The front panel with its lovely mirror-like highly polish acrylic panel is also one of a work of beauty. The front power on switch looks and feels well made and once again almost blends in with the overall look.

Below are a few gratuitous images of the LIAN LI PCQ-30 at differing angles.

Overall a very sleek and shimmering look for the PCQ-30 and with the added smooth contours. However let us get into the heart of this product and see how the interior works.

Internal Tour.

With the Lian Li PCQ-30 being designed for a Mini ITX based solution, then space is at a premium and one could expect some form of compromise within Lian-Li’s solution. However judging by the images below we can confidently say that there has been some but minor ones only, of which we shall describe below.

 In order to remove the front panel one simply needs to remove four screws that will gain access to the fairly shallow interior. Whilst the design of the interior is very pleasing to the eye, we have however noticed that a water cooling solution would be next to impossible to implement within this chassis, without some major dremel work.

The drive bay on the right, we can see that there is a small collection of hard drive bays which can support up to four 2.5″ drives.   Some may feel that this is not ideal as it cannot accommodate a 3.5 inch solution, however  we feel that this is not the case. Laptop sized hard drives come in very large capacities these days in addition to Solid-State Drives.

We can see that the 2.5 inch bay is secured by a simple thumbscrew, of which should make installation a breeze.

The rear fan is of the 140mm type, along with a chrome grill, however here we encounter a small issue of which we shall speak of later.

As we have mentioned before the power supply bay is of the SFX form-factor type and whilst this is a sensible solution, as it does offer an effective way of making the case smaller. The flip-side of this is that the aforementioned form factor power supply is very hard to get hold of and those whom do stock this solution will charge a high premium.

The Lian-Li Q30 chassis allows for a small to medium-length card, of which is understandable due to the size of the case and the market area where this case appeals to. What it does have however is a dual PCI-E width which should allow the end user to get a half-decent graphics card in there.

The above images demonstrate the rear cage that is easily removable by four thumbscrews, but having said this do you remember the problem we stated earlier about this section?  We feel that Lian Li have missed an opportunity here; as if they increased the depth of this section by another 5mm then a thin water cooling radiator and fan could have been installed internally. In all fairness this is not the market that this product is aimed for, however it would have been a great extra bonus to be able to fit an internal liquid-cooled solution.

All in all when we assembled the case we feel that lack of wire management even in a chassis this small was a minor issue, however the length of time to completely assemble the computer was only 15 minutes- making it the quickest build we have ever undertaken.

 Let us now move on to the conclusion

 Conclusion
All in all we are VERY impressed with this chassis, with its graceful curves and all over loveliness of its shape. We have had this in our offices some time now and when visitors arrive it is usually the first thing they notice.  The overall profile reminds us of either a modern-art sculpture or a rather expensive loudspeaker for an audiophiles HI-FI  equipment. We do feel that Lian Li ‘missed the ball’ by the rear fan cage, that is increasing the depth by an extra 5mm in order to accommodate a internal 140mm-based radiator.

The overall quality is simply outstanding though and if anyone wishes to have a totally unique machine that will certainly be a great conversation starter; within any social setting in anyone’s home then this it.  It ticks most of the right boxes  and the previously-mentioned graceful curves marry well with the internal decor of many consumers living or bedrooms.

Last thing is that the whole case can be taken apart by the enclosed screws and powder coated with ease.

Gold medals are like Rocking-Horse dirt at Overclockers Tech, however we feel that the Lian-Li Q30 deserves a 9.1 out of ten and therefore a Gold award.

Pros:

• Graceful Curves
• The whole chassis can be taken apart if one wishes to powder coat this product.
• Smooth-quality feel
• Attention to detail
• Lovely curved acrylic front panel
• USB ports easy to get to
• Front panel switch just feels-right..
• quick assembly
• Easiest build we have ever undertaken

Cons:

• Lian li missed the ability to house a water cooling radiator internally by the smallest of margins.

We like to say thank you to Lian-Li and GlobalPr for the review sample:

Author Gilgamesh

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