It isn't easy keeping track of Lian Li's chassis revisions, and its unimaginative alphanumeric product names don't exactly help.
Take for example the PC-B25F, a mid-tower chassis launched today as a successor to 2007's PC-B25. Given the understated name, one could assume the chassis is little more than a tweaked version of an existing solution. Though that's true to a certain extent, the PC-B25F is packed full of numerous refinements and it's looking better than ever.
The chassis retains its "Blue Ring" power light, but it loses the front-facing door found on its predecessor. What we're left with is a chassis that somewhat resembles Cooler Master's HAF 922, only without the gaudy gamer finish. Lian Li reckons the PC-B25F is ideal for the "discerning consumer", and we reckon it has a point - it's a very smooth design.
New to the chassis is a completely tool-free interior. As is the case with many of Lian Li's new offerings, the PC-B25F offers tool-free installation for the PSU, optical drives, hard drives and PCI expansion cards. As you'd expect, there's also a littering of anti-vibration rummer grommets throughout. Those who detest dust will be happy to hear the front and top panels are detachable, providing easy access to fans and filters.
Inside the 210mm x 495mm x 490mm enclosure, there's room for ATX or micro-ATX motherboards, three 5.25in drives and seven 3.5in drives (one of which is external). Eight PCI expansion slots should provide enough room for multi-GPU setups, and cooling comes courtesy of two front-mounted 120mm intakes, two top-mounted 140mm exhausts, and a rear 120mm extraction fan, too.
Being a Lian Li, the PC-B25F is finished with plenty of useful touches. Those who're willing to pay the premium for Lian Li's hand-crafted workmanship will find rounded edges, cable routing holes, a motherboard cutout to aid CPU cooler installation, and a cable management clamp. On top of the chassis you'll find a selection of I/O ports - including eSATA, HD Audio and two USB ports.
Sounds a very decent mid-tower solution, and it'll be shipping in September with an MSRP of $190 (roughly £120).
