Lian Li PC-37A Mini-ATX Aluminum Case

Fortunately for us, Lian Li has installed an 80mm blowhole on the case roof.  Notice how this is off center a bit?  This is to accommodate the unusual PSU positioning.

Removing the left side panel was simple given that most every removable piece on the PC-37A is fastened by a thumbscrew.  Looking inside, lots of space greets you.  Lian Li has always been known for being roomy.  We’re talking like Embassy Suites roomy over a normal mini-ATX which would be better compared to a Motel 6.

  

Here are a couple of inside shots of the inside rear of the case.  It’s nice to see a removable mainboard tray.  As we’ve said before this is one of those features you don’t appreciate until you need it.

  

Your drive bays as we suspected, are forward enough to be out of the way.  No removable drive cage for you HDD as typically seen on most Lian Li models.  Also all those extra 5.25" bays came at the sacrifice of hard drive area.  Only two 3.5" spots are available. 

The front panel connectors have the same problem most other cases have; they are individual lines that are a royal pain in the arse to plug in.  (Insert you own under your breath curse to go with mine here.)

 

At the base of the hard drive rack are some small slits in the base of the PC-37A.  I'm not exactly sure how much venting you are going to get out of that.  You can, get an 80mm fan under the rake from the right side panel which should help you some.  But the thought of two 7200 RPM drives under a floppy make me want some iced tea because that's gonna get warm.

  

Now when we got around to dropping system in we ran into a concern the more astute of you have already thought about.  With the cooler installed there was less than 1/2" to spare between it and the PSU.  We encountered no abnormal cooling issues but I'm the type that when things get too cramped or close I get uncomfortable.  This point isn't exactly worth a negative point against the case just something worth mentioning.

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