Lian Li PC-TU100 M-ITX Chassis Review

Over I found working with the PC-TU100 to be really enjoyable, with most cases I find I hit a snag, such as finding something awkward to install, something petty, but that really isn’t the case here and the whole installation process was super quick and easy. Of course I did run into the problem of my graphics card not fitting but that is hardly a fault with the case, more with my choice of review components.

In regards to the graphics card not fitting it’s clear to me that airflow would be an issue for many dual slot graphics cards, at least for cards that are high in performance or cards that are known to run especially hot. A single slot GPU would certainly benefit from more clearance for airflow and there are plenty of compact solutions on the market that would be ideal. Of course you could always opt for an APU powered system or use another form of on-board graphics and that would free up the PCI slot for something else.

Airflow may only come from a single fan but given the chassis is super small this will offer more than enough clean air to your system. This chassis isn’t exactly aimed at overclocked monster systems though, especially given the low CPU cooler clearance, so generally cooling requirements shouldn’t be too demanding overall.

The SFX PSU isn’t something I need to use a lot, but a good one can be quite expensive and combining that with the cost of such a premium quality chassis will not be a cheap party, you can build an impressive system in here if you put some forward planning into it, but getting the right high power and compact components and the right balance of power vs cooling performance would certainly bump the price up more. Yet this chassis is also perfect for a low powered system and it’s portability means it’s able to be taken with you without too much trouble, even if the handle is a bit of a gimmick, it still works nicely enough.

It’s an impressive design overall and the aluminum build means its light weight and highly portable, there is of course one issue with aluminum, especially black brushed aluminum, it scratches super easy and that means you have to be careful not to ruin that perfect looking finish.

Pros

• Funky carry handy
• Super light weight
• Gorgeous aluminum construction and finish
• Very compact

Cons

• Scratches easily
• Lian Li can be expensive (albeit for a good reason)
• Requires SFX PSU and smaller GPU / CPU cooler (again, for good reason)

eTeknix says: “Lian Li keep their reputation with this chassis, its design is impressive, its build quality superb and it has a few quirky touches that we’ve come to expect from them, overall it’s a little on the specialist side, but what it lacks in practicality it makes up by being a fun product to use and own.”