Evolution of Lian Li's SOHO Server Cases
by Joshua Buss on May 16, 2006 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
PC-201B - Interior
The inside of the PC-201 is laid out extremely similarly to the PC-V2000, just like the rear of the case. |
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Just like the V2000, the front intake fan can be taken out with a couple thumbscrews, and then the fan and filter can be cleaned easily. There's also vibration dampening material to help keep the fan quiet. Quite possibly the largest difference though is simply the addition of a couple more cooling accessories.
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In addition to the shroud for the main rear 120mm fan and the side-aimed 120mm exhaust fan at the top, there is also another additional 120mm fan in the bottom portion of the case. This fan a good idea because it keeps the air that has been warmed up by passing over the hard drives moving out the back of the case instead of collecting in front of this plate or going through the cable slots and rising into the upper area of the case.
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The included shroud is just like the one in the V series; it can be adjusted to control just how much the rear fan exclusively aims air at the CPU area. Note that in the V series, this 120mm fan is an exhaust, but as noted earlier it has been flipped to be an intake here. The extra upper exhaust fan's mounting mechanism attaches to the rear of the case like the blower fans Lian Li included with the V series, using a soft piece of rubber in the process to absorb extra vibrations, but we prefer this mounting as it allows the user to fine-tune the positioning of the fan front-to-back. The range of motion can be seen from the outside of the case as the grill is large enough for about an inch of movement in either direction.
Overall the combination of an intake positioned right around the CPU and an exhaust higher up above the expansion cards should do a much better job of eliminating pockets of hot, dead air around the motherboard area. However, the very front of the upper area won't be getting much (if any) circulation at all in this scheme, so putting hard drives in the 5.25" bay area isn't as ideal in the V2000.
Once the shroud and extra fan are out, the interior looks even more familiar. The lower portion is laid out in the same manner, and the same rails are used to secure the hard drives. The 5.25" drive bays are the same too, as are the expansion card holders (still tool-less thumbscrews). Even the convertible rear plate and latches for the removable side panels are carried over identically.
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The PC-201B can hold all the same motherboards as the PC-V2000, which basically includes every type out there, and the amount of space to work with is pretty much identical as well. The cutouts for routing cables are the same size, too.
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The bottom of the PC-201B is an area that's actually changed quite a bit since the V series. Instead of axle wheels, or any wheels at all for that matter, the case simply has four rubber-lined feet.
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If anything, the wheels of the V series were slightly better than simple feet in our opinion, since they did allow you to easily move the case if needed, could be locked otherwise, and could either be bare metal or surrounded with rubber depending on if the case would reside on carpet or a hard surface. Luckily, the option for adding casters is still available.
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In addition to the included fans, the PC-201B comes with all the special screws needed to mount the maximum of 12 hard drives, along with a stand-off plate for Xeon CPUs. It also includes plenty of screws for motherboard and drive fastening, two keys for the lockable front door, a couple zip-ties and mountable clips for cable management, and a small screwdriver for turning those pesky standoffs and standard hex case screws.
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cgaspar - Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - link
The V2100B is just the V2000B with a door, and no silly side window.Be careful with which power supply you buy for this case - the PC Power & Cooling 850W unit I got didn't fit, because it was too long.
Also be careful with which CPU coolers you use if your motherboard has a CPU on the bottom edge, as there is almost _no_ clearance between the motherboard and the case. I had to replace the Zalman CNPS7000B I was using. On the other hand, this is the first case where my Extended ATA montherboard didn't feel cramped (this thing is _huge_!)
Other than those minor issues, I've been extremely happy with the case. My 8 500G SATA drive array is running along quite nicely.
Missing Ghost - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - link
Who would use IDE for this.....And with a lot of 2 port expansion card?Also, the cables that you used are out of spec. (40 cm max I think)
This case is meant for SCSI.
JoshuaBuss - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - link
I used IDE 'cause it's all I have on hand. More importnatly though, it takes up significantly more space than SATA cables, making it apparant how well the case can handle that much cabling.ohnnyj - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - link
I love my PC-V2100, been a wonderful home to my AMD SLI system for over a year now. Build quality is excellent but I have but one gripe. The USB cables for the front panel are not nearly long enough to reach my motherboard. Perhaps they have fixed this in an updated model.JoshuaBuss - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - link
the front panel cords in the PC-201 are very long.. you'd have to route them all over the place for them not to reach pretty much anywhere on a motherboard.rowcroft - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - link
I liked the article, always fascinated with cases. One thing I would have liked to see was an E-ATX motherboard though- it would give a better idea of the case flexibility. I would think most people buying this case would be putting a workstation class mobo in it. I've been looking for a good box to build a dual opteron rig around and this looks like a contender. Thanks again!Xenoid - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - link
Would have been nice to see some temperatures on the cpu/video between the cases and other popular enthusiast cases. Overall, nice article and quite a nice case.JoshuaBuss - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - link
I'm hoping to follow this look up with a more in-depth comparison of performance once I have some real sever-style equipment.mkruer - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - link
I have this case. Never had an issue with it other then the rubber wheels not staying on when moving the system around. The only thing I would like to comment on, is that if you are building a “quite system” there are a few things you can do to improve that subjective score of 3.0/3.5 of 10 to 7.5 to 8.5. first remove the drive mounting (you can unscrew it) and suspend the drives is a harness. This will eliminate 99% of the reverb from the case while the drives are on. Next replace the 120mm fan. I don’t know why but the fans that are included with the case are not that grate for making a quite system.Finally at the front of the case where you would mount CD Rom drives. Place it some foam. It really doesn’t effect the air flow but it will deaden any sound that my be coming from the mother board.
I have very sensitive herring and if I can leave the system on full boar and still go to sleep then I know that its pretty dang quite.
Lifted - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - link
That reverb has been driving me nuts lately. I replaced a drive and moved a couple to different places, and it seems to have gotten a bit better, but still shows up now and then.