Lian Li PC-A76X Case Review: The Limits of Aluminum
by Dustin Sklavos on September 30, 2012 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Lian Li
- HPTX
- E-ATX
Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
Given that the Lian Li PC-A76X is essentially built to support form factors that allow for dual CPUs and four high end GPUs, it's no surprise that it mostly skated through our stock testing. Where things get really interesting is in the overclocked testing, which substantially ramps up the amount of heat being generated inside the case. Our overclocked settings are still going to be mild compared to the additional heat that multiple CPUs or GPUs might dissipate inside the enclosure, though.
Don't let the CPU ranking fool you; the PC-A76X is actually producing quite competitive performance that's well within our margin of error of roughly 1C. Idle and load thermals are solid across the board; the A76X does a fine job keeping these components cool.
Unfortunately fan speed isn't as good. The PC-A76X is still plenty competitive (and take a look at the great idle speeds), but under load it actually seems to have a slightly hard time dispelling all that hot air.
Thankfully despite the lack of acoustic padding, the PC-A76X continues to impress with its noise results. The only case we've tested that's quieter is the Corsair Obsidian 550D, which is much smaller, performs worse in every other metric, and has the benefit of noise-cancelling materials.
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Iketh - Sunday, September 30, 2012 - link
Thanks for sharing my thoughts, not just on this case but Lian Li in general. I want and have always wanted an all-aluminum case for years, but each time I look through Lian Li's stock, I'm left with that feeling of running your nails across a chalk board and I end up with a cheaper case. And that's coming from someone who bought the original Cosmos years ago...And, please, case engineers, stop including side vents... they're not needed anymore when you have slotted PCI covers... just give us robust intake solutions and that's it. I have never found a side intake fan that didn't rattle the door or make the case humm and I can only imagine how the case in this review would sound with the thin panels...
michaelheath - Sunday, September 30, 2012 - link
I've had a number of aluminum cases over the years, and, to be perfectly honest, the only ones that didn't feel chintzy were the cases that had other materials padding the panels and the frame. There really aren't many realistic benefits to using aluminum aside from weight - which doesn't mean much if you don't move your PC all that often. Aluminum certainly doesn't do much for heat dissipation or noise dampening, and Lian Li isn't alone in winding up with cases with middling performance that rattle and hum (though this particular case seems to avoid that).According to the rather thorough testing from Bit-Tech several months ago in their article, "The Big Air Cooling Investigation," where a Fractal Design Define R3 was tested with practically every reasonable (and a few unreasonable) configurations, it seems one of the most critical fan locations was in the side panel. Then again, as I mentioned before, the side panel is made of layered steel and plastic, not aluminum.
Perforated PCI covers don't really help much when they aren't in the direct path of convection, especially if they aren't in the direct path of moving air. Typically, they sit below most of the sources of heat in a computer case and don't provide any tangible benefit except for allowing another location for sound to escape.
cashkennedy - Sunday, September 30, 2012 - link
You obviously have never had a cooler master wave master , or a cooler master atcs, both are made of aluminum so thick, you cant even bend / dent it if you tried with all your strength. I believe the first year or two lian li was around they made cases out of similarly thick aluminum, and those were the years that aluminum cases got a good reputation, later they all started being made out of sheets thinner then a coke can, and add to that the fact that aluminum helping cool the components was all hype by retards who somehow didnt come to grasp the fact that none of your components are in direct contact with the aluminum (except for possibly the hard drives), so cant be cooled by the case...Iketh - Sunday, September 30, 2012 - link
actually there is obvious truth to aluminum keeping the AIR inside the case cooler... steel will act more as an insulator keeping the heat inside while aluminum will transfer that heat through the panels better, but it's negligible to the point of gimmickyrarson - Monday, October 1, 2012 - link
You've got that backwards. Aluminum is a poor conductor of heat, hence the outside of an aluminum case will likely stay cooler than a steel case. Steel is a good conductor of heat; a steel case gets hotter because it's transferring heat from inside the case to outside through the metal itself.sor - Monday, October 1, 2012 - link
My BS meter just went off. Nearly all metals are good conductors of heat, but aluminum, copper, and silver are among the best. Aluminum simply has less mass and doesn't RETAIN heat well, but it conducts heat just fine.Iketh - Monday, October 1, 2012 - link
sorry, but you're the one that's backwards, and generally lacking knowledge on the subject as illustrated with this statement:"Steel is a good conductor of heat; a steel case gets hotter because it's transferring heat from inside the case to outside through the metal itself."
BiggieShady - Tuesday, October 2, 2012 - link
If steel is a good conductor of heat, aluminum is better. For purely hot air contact it's negligible, however for direct contact it matters - that's why you have aluminum or copper heatsinks instead of steel.johnsmith9875 - Sunday, October 7, 2012 - link
Steel is a terrible conductor of heat. They're used in cases mainly because its inexpensive and easy to fabricate compared to aluminum.picobico2006 - Sunday, August 23, 2015 - link
Conducibilità termica di alcune sostanzeSostanza λ W·m-1·K-1 ρ Kg/m3
diamante 1600 3500 - 3600
argento 460 10490
rame 390 8930
oro 320 19250
alluminio laminato 290 2750
ottone 111 8430 - 8730
platino 70 21400
acciaio laminato 52 7850
piombo 35 11300
acciaio inox 17 7480 - 8000