LIAN LI PC-A05NB Black Aluminum ATX Mini Tower Computer Case

Pros: Small case with full-sized components. I was able to fit my ATX board, PC Power & Cooling 750, Noctua SE1366, 2 hard drives, a DVD-R/W, and a GTX 275 without a hitch. Removable hard drive cage made swapping out the front fan much easier, and the screw-removeable top makes things simpler should I need to add a blowhole down the road.

All put together, it's very low-key/subdued, compact, and not too heavy.

Cons: - As another commenter pointed out, finish is very absorbent of fingerprints. I don't mind, but it might irritate the OCD
- Extra venting on this 'N' variant (compared to the original A05's) makes controlling dust even more difficult, so I'm just going to live with the dust and the every-few-month's dust-busting.
- If you're not filling the external 3.5" or lower 5.25" inch drive bays, there will be a big hole allowing re-entry of front-exhaust air, which I've yet to deal with (waiting for it to cause problems first).
- My videocard puts off a lot of heat, and the hot pocket created in the upper portion is definitely noticeable just by feeling the case around it, but also has yet to cause any issues (artifacting, shutdowns, BSODs, etc, none yet). I added the B S -03 pre-emptively just to be on the safe side because I'm paranoid.

Overall Review: Can't comment on the included fans, as I was going for a quieter build and went ahead and invested in something nicer. Annoying that they dropped the Firewire port on the front/top ports, and left a blank spot, but I don't need that many Firewire ports anyway. Reset button is a little hard to push, but I wouldn't hold that against the case (it's a feature, right?)

In general, it was a pleasure to build my new system into the case, it's got a great look if you want something that is the exact opposite of the flashy stuff that's out there, and from a quality perspective I certainly haven't been disappointed.

Pros: Best looking case I've ever bought. Light alum, etc. Exceptional design appearance and finish.

Cons: Runs Asus P6T V2 Deluxe and Intel i7 920 10 degrees hotter than Antec Solo Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower. Now I know why this design is not being copied.

Overall Review: Many hours and equipment swaps until I found the high temps were from the case (all other equip switched with other computer with same components). I believe increased temps are caused by combination of having to mount the motherboard upsidedown compared to other ATX cases and the power supply being at the bottom of the case. In any case temps for CPU are 10 degrees hotter in this case. I'm still going to try to use case as a Windows home server as it looks terrific and maybe with a cooler chip and different motherboard may work, otherwise I wasted almost $100. I wish we had input from LiLian. If LiLian is out there listening please answere why I had all this trouble. Antec is always easy to reach in my experience. I have bought many Antec cases and this was my third LiLian. LiLian needs to have support here if they sell here. I will now go review my two Antec Solo Black cases which are hands down a better case.