LIAN LI PC-B12B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Looks good.

Cons: Poor cable management features - if you install the directional fan shroud you need a screwdriver to remove the side panel screw - sharp edges on the cable cutouts that are provided - one front fan connector is not long enough to reach the motherboard.

Other Thoughts: After reading all the hype about Lian Li cases I'm not impressed. For the money I expected a much better built & thought out case.

Pros: See previous review by me.

Cons: Well, after owning it for a month now I had a couple of overheat lockups. After some investigation I have concluded that the two front fans, despite looking more than enough for the job, are unable to pull in an adequate air supply from the small vent located on the bottom front of the case.

In order to determine this, I monitored my GPU temperatures with the case fully intact. The temperature slowly climbed to 93 C in about half an hour. I then took the side panel off and within minutes the temperature dropped to 77 C. I felt for air flow from the fans and it felt rather weak. I pulled the fan casing out (This is very easy. Two thumb screws and bam it's out.) and felt the air flowing from the fans without the restriction of being forced to pull air through the intake. The difference was astonishingly stronger air flow.

Therefore, despite the fact that I love every other aspect of its design, I sadly conclude that it has a serious flaw. I am running stock cooling and am not overclocking or doing anything that should cause any components to overheat. The case air intake is simply insufficient to control the heat of modern components. With the side panel on, my GPU only just barely manages a couple of degrees below overheating and after prolonged use will eventually fail for lack of fresh air.

If you are wondering, my graphics card is an EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260

Pros: All the parts fit together with near perfect precision.

Perfect amount of screws supplied for mounting all hard drives.

The edges of the aluminum have been machined in a way that they are not sharp. My hands are very sensitive and I'm very thankful for this.

Easy to remove all panels, including the top. Only the top requires a screwdriver to remove.

The layout is excellent. Maximum space for even the largest video card and still plenty of space for all four of my hard drives.

Cables go under the motherboard panel though it's a tight fit especially for the main power cable. I spent several hours managing the cables and it's definitely worth doing to get a really clean interior for the air to flow through. I wish I could post a picture of it.

Hard drives slide in on rails with ease and can go in frontwards or backwards, whichever you prefer. I love the way they mount. Completely tool free.

The tool-less PCI holders also work extremely well and are very sturdy and satisfying to snap into place.

The feet are very large and stick to whatever surface to prevent the computer from being nudged accidentally.

The air filters are the washable kind and are easily accessible. I wouldn't worry about ever having to find new ones.

I'm also happy to finally get USB 3.0 on my front panel. (See other thoughts on this if you are a Vista or XP user)

Cons: When I'm moving the computer, the front panel tends to slip off a little too easily. I mean it's good that it comes off but it's a slight nuisance.

My PC Power and Cooling S61EPS 610W PSU does not fit flush against the back of the case because of a very small piece of metal in the way (I tried both possible mounting directions). It's close enough to not cause any issues, though.

Other Thoughts: The rubber "wheels" the hard drives mount with provide just enough friction to prevent hard drives from sliding out or moving.

The noise dampening is a little gimmicky especially with the case's motto being "the sound of silence." It IS more quiet, but it's exactly what you would expect--a small difference. And if you've got the stock cooler on the CPU, as soon as there's any load you're going to hear it clearly. The difference is more noticeable when the PC is idling. I have it in my bedroom and now I can barely hear the thing while I am sleeping.

If you are running Vista or XP, the front panel USB 3 connectors could be a hassle for you because the chipset drivers probably won't support those two OS's. You should just go ahead and use the USB 3 to 2 converter that comes with the case until you upgrade your OS.


Tool-less optical drive mount works fine but I went ahead and used one screw for an extra bit of security since my drive felt a little loose after installed.