Final Thoughts and Rating
It would be all too easy to quickly dismiss the PC-V700. It's expensive at £180, it isn't the roomiest, and if you're hoping to build with liquid cooling or multiple graphics cards, you might find it too big a compromise.
But don't underestimate Lian Li's top-notch build quality. The PC-V700's all-aluminium frame is one of the most finely-crafted chassis we've worked with in recent months, and the combination of strong material and smooth appearance is a major attraction.
Trimming down in size to offer ATX functionality in a smaller form factor does introduce a few limitations - cable management can be tricky and component selection needs thought - but Lian Li has cleverly worked its way around any major space constraints. A standard ATX motherboard fits in with ease, a single ultra-long graphics card won't be a problem, the front-mounted PSU bay is well implemented, and there are a total of eight hard-disk bays to play with.
A little soundproofing wouldn't go amiss, and pricing could do with coming down a notch or two, but Lian Li has undoubtedly heightened our desire for more chassis of this size and quality.
Bottom line: The PC-V700 isn't without its quirks, but as far as sleek, sexy and small ATX enclosures are concerned, this is very impressive.
The Good
Sleek appearance
High-quality aluminium frame
Compact for a mid-tower case
Good cooling performance
Well-thought-out interior
Can hold eight hard disks
External USB 3.0 and eSATA
The Bad
Multiple discrete GPUs are unlikely to fit
Could use some soundproofing
Pricey at £180
HEXUS Rating
Lian Li PC-V700
HEXUS Awards
Lian Li PC-V700
HEXUS Where2Buy
The Lian Li PC-V700 chassis is available to purchase from Overclockers UK.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
