LIAN LI Silver Aluminum PC-V353A Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

Pros: 1. High airflow - the perforated sections are in the right places to provide appropriate directional airflow. This case stays extremely cool.
2. I managed to fit two Noctura 120mm fans in place of the air filters on the front. They barely fit, but it provides excellent airflow.
3. The side panels literally pop off with a little pressure but remain snug.
4. The power supply, MB tray, and disk shelves are all attached with thumbscrews.
5. This case is light weight and surprisingly high quality. The materials, and layout are quite good.

Cons: 1. You have to bend the 6-pin PCIe power cables at a 90 degree angle for long graphics cards (I have a RADEON 7950). This actually worked okay for me, but some may be uncomfortable with it.
2. The motherboard tray is a bear to get back out after full installation...
3. There isn't an obvious 24 pin power cable path. The graphics card will likely block direct access forcing you to feed the cable past the CPU cooler.

Other Thoughts: You can install full 120 MM fans with some work on the front air filter plate. Just cut the tips off the rubber grommets that come with most high quality fans to feed them through the small whole.

Pros: Looks nice. Very happy they got rid of the annoying 6 screws to open each side panel. Quality is a lot better and sturdier than previous Lian Li cases I bought. Not as flimpsy.

Cons: Poorly designed layout, specifically speaking, the video card power plugs. I have an MSI GTX 560 TI 448 Twin FRZ, it does not fit. Only 1 power plug would fit, the other did not. Perhaps because my card was too long, however I did not see the reason why the cutout couldn't have been extended. It would not have taken away anything from the case functionally and aesthetically. The card barely fit in vertically. I had to remove the video card casing to get it in. I had to use a dremel and cut the case in order to fit the second power plug

There's a lot of wasted space between the front of the case and the fan area. It could have been maximized by pushing the fan rack closer to the front of the case in case anyone wanted to install a radiator. You could actually fit 2 fans and a radiator for push pull config if you used a dremel to cut out the metal pieces.

Other Thoughts: Why did I buy a case that was supposed to be passively cooled without all the bells and whistles of liquid cooling and push pull and extra large video card? I liked the very clean and simple look in a small package. I couldn't find another case that was as aesthetically pleasing in such a small case.

Pros: - HIGH quality craftsmanship
- Lightweight, but not flimsy
- Looks like a Mac product (why I bought it)
- Support for 4 hard-drives and a DVD drive
- Removable Motherboard Tray

Cons: - Ugly side panels (in my opinion)
- No I/O on the front of the case
- Designers took the fanless potential of the case, and removed most fan capabilities.

Other Thoughts: Ok, so while this case has several caveats, I can still without reserve give it 5 eggs! It is a beautiful case, surprisingly versatile for an mATX case, and incredibly made. This is my first case above $150, and I do not regret it one bit!

That said, I hate the side panels. I see the utility of them, I just can't stand the holes. I contacted my local aluminum store, who have made me up a couple of solid side panels for $30 total, rounded edges and brushed finish. That way if I ever use a DVD drive again (which I haven't in years)

Despite a couple of drawbacks, this is my favorite mATX case of all time, and I would recommend it without reserve. Google "whatthetech" and the case model number for a full review and worklog!

Enjoy!