We've seen the outside of the PC-A77F now its time to take a look at the inside - this is where all the features are.
First off, we should take a look at the case with the side panel off. What will stand out is the vertical pillar that is situated in the centre of the PC-A77F. Each of the gaps within this pillar allow the VGA support pegs/mounting rods to rest and take the weight off the motherboard. A little later on we will take a closer look at this in action.
The area available within the case is rather spacious, even for a standard ATX motherboard. Those of you with or wanting to move to E-ATX will be pleased to know that the PC-A77F caters for this format too.
With the extended support for E-ATX present, this also means that large graphics cards are easily housed. In fact, there is over 365mm available there. HD5970's and GTX480/GTX295 will have no problems being installed within the PC-A77F.
On closer inspection we have a whole host of features within this exciting case. First of all, as I have already pointed out the PSU is going to be mounted at the bottom of the case. The area here has rubber pads fitted so that no damage is caused to your PSU. Underneath the PSU seating area are grills, flipping the case over there is a grill filter that can be removed and cleaned. Beside the PSU area there are two handles, and in the installation section of this review I will be showing you what these are used for.
Lian Li have equipped the PC-A77F with a total of 8 expansion slots so you are able to slot in multiple graphics cards at will. What's even better is that 7 of the slots here feature the patented PCI bracket system. Simply put, you can quickly and easily remove any PCI device from this area of the case by pulling the lever back. To lock the PCI device into place the lever is moved back into its locking position. Not only is this an easy system to use but it secures the component in place and avoids compatibility issues like what I came across in the Thermaltake V5 Black Review. Make no mistake this is a solid mechanism and is a superb addition to the PC-A77F.
Above the PCI expansion slots is the rear exhaust fan, this has a aluminium grill plate screwed to it. Unlike the other fans within the PC-A77F this is not LED ready, perhaps this is due to it being a fan that isn't generally as visible as front or top mounted fans. This fan is 120mm in size.
The fans mounted at the top of the case come as 140mm in size and are LED ready. If water-cooling is your thing then these fans can be removed. When removed there is a tremendous amount of space available.
From the inside, looking directly at the front of the PC-A77F are three cages, inside each of these are LED fans - similar to the fans mounted at the top of the case except 120mm in size this time. Inside each of these cages 3.5" drives can be installed. Sadly though, no support for 2.5" devices such as SSD.
At the front of the case is a fan controller, this is made visible by removing the front panel frame off the PC-A77F. This is done without the use of tools and is simply pulled off. The fan controller is supposed to be used in conjunction with the three fans at the front of the case, but the cables are quite obviously too short. Even the top of the fans (fan closest to the fan controller) does not reach. Each of the cables is around 5 inches in length so even with the top fan not reaching the controller, the bottom fan will certainly not. This is unfortunate as its something waiting there to be used but is an obvious flaw.
Incidentally, each of the cages within the PC-A77F are removed by simply unscrewing thumbscrews. The emphasis with this case is not only on the quality of craftsmanship but ease of use features highly with most, if not all devices and features incorporating the tool-less design concept.
Finally the optical drive area again features a tool-less method to secure drives into place. The arm pictured, simply slots into the screw holes on the drive and is then clipped in. This mechanism as with many of the other bays, slots, cages comes with rubber mounts to provide anti-vibration support and to prevent damage to components. A big thumbs up on that side of things.
First off, we should take a look at the case with the side panel off. What will stand out is the vertical pillar that is situated in the centre of the PC-A77F. Each of the gaps within this pillar allow the VGA support pegs/mounting rods to rest and take the weight off the motherboard. A little later on we will take a closer look at this in action.
The area available within the case is rather spacious, even for a standard ATX motherboard. Those of you with or wanting to move to E-ATX will be pleased to know that the PC-A77F caters for this format too.
With the extended support for E-ATX present, this also means that large graphics cards are easily housed. In fact, there is over 365mm available there. HD5970's and GTX480/GTX295 will have no problems being installed within the PC-A77F.
On closer inspection we have a whole host of features within this exciting case. First of all, as I have already pointed out the PSU is going to be mounted at the bottom of the case. The area here has rubber pads fitted so that no damage is caused to your PSU. Underneath the PSU seating area are grills, flipping the case over there is a grill filter that can be removed and cleaned. Beside the PSU area there are two handles, and in the installation section of this review I will be showing you what these are used for.
Lian Li have equipped the PC-A77F with a total of 8 expansion slots so you are able to slot in multiple graphics cards at will. What's even better is that 7 of the slots here feature the patented PCI bracket system. Simply put, you can quickly and easily remove any PCI device from this area of the case by pulling the lever back. To lock the PCI device into place the lever is moved back into its locking position. Not only is this an easy system to use but it secures the component in place and avoids compatibility issues like what I came across in the Thermaltake V5 Black Review. Make no mistake this is a solid mechanism and is a superb addition to the PC-A77F.
Above the PCI expansion slots is the rear exhaust fan, this has a aluminium grill plate screwed to it. Unlike the other fans within the PC-A77F this is not LED ready, perhaps this is due to it being a fan that isn't generally as visible as front or top mounted fans. This fan is 120mm in size.
The fans mounted at the top of the case come as 140mm in size and are LED ready. If water-cooling is your thing then these fans can be removed. When removed there is a tremendous amount of space available.
From the inside, looking directly at the front of the PC-A77F are three cages, inside each of these are LED fans - similar to the fans mounted at the top of the case except 120mm in size this time. Inside each of these cages 3.5" drives can be installed. Sadly though, no support for 2.5" devices such as SSD.
At the front of the case is a fan controller, this is made visible by removing the front panel frame off the PC-A77F. This is done without the use of tools and is simply pulled off. The fan controller is supposed to be used in conjunction with the three fans at the front of the case, but the cables are quite obviously too short. Even the top of the fans (fan closest to the fan controller) does not reach. Each of the cables is around 5 inches in length so even with the top fan not reaching the controller, the bottom fan will certainly not. This is unfortunate as its something waiting there to be used but is an obvious flaw.
Incidentally, each of the cages within the PC-A77F are removed by simply unscrewing thumbscrews. The emphasis with this case is not only on the quality of craftsmanship but ease of use features highly with most, if not all devices and features incorporating the tool-less design concept.
Finally the optical drive area again features a tool-less method to secure drives into place. The arm pictured, simply slots into the screw holes on the drive and is then clipped in. This mechanism as with many of the other bays, slots, cages comes with rubber mounts to provide anti-vibration support and to prevent damage to components. A big thumbs up on that side of things.
