Pros: 180GB for about $1.70/GB is pretty good for SSD with Sandforce controller. Read/write speeds are quite good. It’s not apparent but the top is translucent black plastic with a green LED “health lamp”.

Cons: Using this as the boot drive with an ASUS P6T board (Intel X58 chipset) and W7-64. In this app, the 3.5” size is not a problem but it means that it can’t be subsequently moved to a laptop. As may be seen in the NewEgg pictures, it’s not the same size as an HDD aluminum “brick” (it’s not as high) but that’s not a pro or a con. Couldn’t get it to work with my board’s Jmicron controller (mentioned as a problem in reviews elsewhere) but works fine with Intel controller.

Overall Review: Replaced an 80GB Intel X25-M which worked fine (and worked with JMicron controller). Although the Vertex 2 is faster than the X25-M, I've not found it noticeably faster (if you’re looking for faster boot up, remember much of the time is spent waiting for POST and an SSD won’t make much of difference). Of course boot up with an SSD is MUCH faster than with an HDD. My machine is only used as a workstation for science apps (i.e., no games of video apps) but I found 80GB is just too small for a boot drive, particularly if you’re using MS Visual Studio and Virtual XP mode for legacy software and peripherals. I wound up needing to install many of my apps on RAIDed HDDs which defeats the purpose of using an SSD. Although I’m quite happy with the purchase, it remains to be seen how it will hold up with time. Some reviews elsewhere say this SSD does not have as much surplus memory that can be swapped in for failed memory. 2 million hours MTBF is encouraging.

Pros: Fairly small, good design

Cons: Very poor build quality, Fore and aft case fans are powered through large (poorly made) Molex connectors rather than with connectors for board headers. Display is worthless (and pointless).

Overall Review: I've worked on many, many cases and quite a few mATX cases. This is the first one on which I've cut myself (twice). Everything about this case is flimsy and of poor quality. Because the case fans don't connect to board headers, they must be strung across the case (over the CPU fan). When connecting the fan Molex with the PS that came with the case, one of the socket pins pushed out of the Molex housing! The temperature display did not work properly (strobed) but is easy to disconnect (by not connecting at all). The "manual" suggest the temperature sensors be "taped" to the CPU. What's the point; you'll get much more accurate temperatures from monitoring software (plus you get alarms)? I must say, however, that (except for the fans) the layout was the best I've seen in an mATX case... unfortunately it's quality is so low, I wouldn't recommend it at half the price.

Pros: 5-year warranty, good luck with WD, the one I received 6-8-2012 made in Thailand.

Cons: None so far

Overall Review: The only thing that matters is whether an HDD stands the test of time. My reason for this review is the one I received was manufactured in Thailand May, 2012. I don't know why those made in Malaysia would be inferior to those made in Thailand but, because a previous reviewer brought up the subject… I replaced two 1TB WD black HDDs in RAID0 with this drive. The RAID dropped out a couple of times a month so I replaced it with a single 2TB HDD (OS on an SSD). There’s no discernible performance difference to me.

Pros: Huge with ~9GB/$. I've had pretty experience with Seagate reliability.

Cons: If you don't have an option for UEFI in your MOBO BIOS, you'll need to download and run Seagate's DiscWizard software (http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=218619&NewLang=en) to access the entire disk and break it into at least two partitions.

Overall Review: MOBOs manufactured prior to 2011 are unlikely to have UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). I was quite surprised that my ASUS P6T (X58 chipset) didn't have a UEFI capable BIOS update. Without UEFI, when the disk is installed, it'll show as ~745GB. You'll need to run the Seagate DiscWizard to be able to work with the full 3TB. Even then you're limited to a maximum partition size of 2TB. To be able to use the remaining 1TB (actually ~746GB), you'll need to use the Seagate DiscWizard to create an extended partition. The Seagate documentation and software are well-written and simple. I only used Seagate on my own and work computers until one failed prematurely. I now use WD but I suspect they're no more reliable than Seagate. good.

Pros: Excellent design and build quality, well ventilated, easy cabling behind rear side panel, no LEDs, almost tool less. Reviewers knock the PC-P50 (very gently) for several things: Only three 3.5” drive bays, non-removable mobo tray and too much emphasis on tool less design. IMHO, these points are all spurious. With the “sweet spot” for HDDs at 2TB and SSDs relatively inexpensive and much faster than RAID I don’t think there’s much necessity for more than 3 bays (I would not have said that two years ago before SSD). A removable mobo tray is difficult if you want to have underside access to the CPU backplate for cooler installation. It also doesn't make much sense when cabling is passing through and behind the mobo tray to have it removable.

Cons: Quite audible, side panels secured by thumb screws, very, very easy to scratch, not completely tool less, no 5.25” to 3.5” adapters.

Overall Review: Long-time user of a Lian Li aluminum case know aluminum is soft and the steel screws will, if used even infrequently, strip the holes within a couple of years (instantly if cross threaded). Several of the screw holes for the card expansions slots and for securing the side panels on my PC-60 were stripped within two years after purchase. Making an aluminum case tool less is sensible. It’s unfortunate that the side panels on the PC-P50 are secured with thumbscrews. I’m sure these will soon strip the holes (removal of side panels is first step of any work) so I’m not using them. It would have been nice if Lian Li had secured the panels with latches similar to that used to secure the PS. Although this is certainly much more sensible than a gaming case (although that’s what it’s called on the box), it’s still far from quiet. I had not intended to buy a new case until my next new build… but the NewEgg price was $40 less than elsewhere so I bought it on impulse and am not sorry I d

Pros: Excellent build quality, nice design, decent price (for Lian Li)

Cons: The number and small size of the countersunk screws necessitate a magnetic screw driver, clean workspace, and good eyes.

Overall Review: I used this with an Intel BOXDG41MJ LGA 775 G41 Mini ITX Motherboard and had no problem with the I/O panel fit mentioned in other reviews. There was about a 1cm space between the power supply and processor heat sink so a 120mm fan is a must. I've put together a number of mini-ITX systems and this is the best case I've worked with by far. Both panel sides can be removed for easy access. As others have mentioned, use a modular power supply. The size and number of screws is ridiculous and great care must be used avoid loss or cross threading. Lian Li should really investigate a captive screw system.