Lian-Li PC-05S Wall Mountable Mini-ITX Chassis Review

Introduction

Lian-Li is a master of aluminium chassis design. Time and time again they’ve created incredible chassis that are works of art as much as they are practical, high-performance juggernauts. Today is a pretty special day for Lian-Li as it marks the launch of their latest fanciful chassis, the PC-05S, which is rather unique in the sense that it can be used as a horizontal HTPC style chassis, mounted vertically on a special stand for desktop use, or even more special than that, you can mount it on a wall!

The chassis modding scene has seen wall mounted chassis already, as there are a lot of people out there who love to show off their rigs and what better way than putting it right up on display where everyone can see it. Of course, this is a pretty specialist product, which isn’t going to appeal to everyone out there, but for those that want to take a break from the standard chassis form factors that sit under your desk, the PC-05S is certainly a breath of fresh air.

The PC-O5S is one of four chassis in the wall-mountable range from Lian-Li, of which there will support for different hardware, including water cooling support with the 05S, 06S and 07S models. The chassis I have at my disposal today is the mini-ITX model, which comes with support for a slim optical drive, removable hard drive bays, room for many of the largest graphics cards on the market, an SFX power supply and more.

Included in the box, you will find everything you need to get your rig put together. There’s a bundle of high-quality screws and fittings, an adaptor bracket, a high-quality aluminium vertical mount and four screw on feet for horizontal mounting.

First impressions of the PC-05 are very good; this is without a doubt a great looking combination of black brushed aluminium and tempered glass.

The top of the chassis is a thick piece of real glass, held in place by four large thumb screws; giving you an uncompromised view of the chassis interior. Down the right side of the chassis you’ll find a 240mm fan vent, behind that you’ll also find a slide out filter and a pair of 120mm fans.

The front panel is a nice mixture of funky shapes. There’s a lot of ventilation on the top half, while the lower section features the HD audio jacks, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, the power switch and further over from that, the slim optical drive bay.

The rear panel design is very similar to the front, but the top ventilation part is now the motherboard I/O cut-out and the rear exhaust for any expansion cards. In the bottom right corner you’ll find two cut-outs, these are used for routing any cables to the interior of the chassis; such as the PSU power cable.

On the bottom of the chassis, you’ll find a couple of screws on the left side, allowing you to take off the side panel and access the fan mounts. Then there’s four more screws for removing the large base panel, this gives you access to the area behind the motherboard, as well as an optional rear 120/140mm fan mount; which also comes fitted with a dust filter.