Lian Li PC-V2110

Case Details and Layout, Cont'd

As usual for a top-end Lian Li case, the V2110 is divided up into two chambers, allowing for efficient cooling of the hard drives and protecting the upper chamber from additional heat. The top section is home to the seven 5.25" bays at the front of the case. We also found ample room to work with even if a full size E-ATX motherboard is used; around 3" of clearance is available past the end of the motherboard tray and the start of the front drive bays.

Although all of the 5.25" bay covers have grilles, there is no direct intake fan located in the top chamber; likewise, there isn't any additional airflow provided for dual GPU systems. Lian Li does offer add-on GPU bay coolers in various configurations should the need arise, albeit at extra cost. Users who will run ultra high-end GPU configurations and wish to use a Lian Li case will probably opt for the Armorsuit PC-P80 or upcoming TYR PC-X2000. Both cases offer superior motherboard chamber airflow by means of large 140mm intake fans at the front panel.

That's not to say the V-2110 has no added provision for multi-GPU configurations; a support bar that vertically spans the center of the motherboard chamber caters to those mounting larger cards. This bar includes small plastic connectors that clip onto the back end of the graphics cards to hold them firmly in position and prevent vertical movement once they are in the PCI-E slots. We feel an unmodified case will probably be comfortable enough with 8800 GTS cards in SLI, but will certainly struggle with bigger cards like the 3870X2 in Crossfire X. Also, note this is not a tool-less design, which may actually be a blessing as often the mechanisms used to eradicate the use of screws are more of a pain to use and/or less durable.

A  removable motherboard tray is a must for a case of this class and we find the V-2110 has one that is easily removed by unscrewing two thumbscrews on the rear panel. Slotting the tray back into place is rather easy even when the tray is loaded with a large CPU cooler.

Hard drives are mounted with thumbscrews and rubber grommets and can be removed easily because the grommets merely "slide" into the cage rails rather than being bolted into place. The mounting mechanism is very secure, works very well, and keeps vibration transfer into the case structure to a minimum.

The PSU mounting bracket is reversible and can house two power supplies simultaneously if required. Vibration damping is offered by means of an additional mounting screw and grommet, which bolts through the panel that separates the upper and lower chambers to push against the PSU housing. Note that the case layout means the 24-pin ATX and ATX/EPS 12V cables will need to be around 19" long to reach most motherboard connectors without the need for an extension cable.

Moving on to the top panel, a flap bearing the Lian Li logo can be flipped back to reveal the front connectors for audio, 4 USB ports, a 1394 port, and an eSATA connector. Internal cables are more than long enough to reach all motherboards if going the direct route, though they are not long enough to hide around the back of panels in all situations.