Testurteil: "8.0/10"
Test: Einzeltest: Lian Li PC-V354 - Electric Screwdriver Recommended
Zitat: Pro: + Lightweight aluminum casing
+ Able to fit long graphics cards
Contra: - Installation or maintenance process involves many screws
We counted. Twenty.
That´s the number of screws we had to remove - mind you, these are proper screws, not thumb screws - before we can install an optical drive to the 5.25-inch drive bay. You would probably require to meddle with just as many screws for future maintenance needs too.
In our modern times where even a couple more mouse clicks can be one too many, the sheer number of screws on this Lian Li casing is simply unacceptable. Other manufacturers have gone completely tool-free and even when they don´t, we can´t remember the last time we were faced with twenty screws.
We can understand some of the reasons why. Using directly screwed on side panels require less space, especially for a mini tower chassis. Also, one of the side panels effectively doubles as a removable motherboard tray. Perhaps Lian Li knows that its users will not be upgrading their hardware that often that this will become a problem.
For us however, it made the installation more of a hassle than it should, potentially overshadowing the merits of this case. Users looking to troubleshoot or perform maintenance in the future stand to face a daunting number of screws as well. On the other hand, Lian Li has done a pretty good job with the removable drive cages and the allowance for longer graphics cards. One can fit a full size power supply unit inside the V354, with the only downside being the proximity between the PSU and your expansion cards. As a result, we recommend space saving features like a modular power supply and modest-sized CPU coolers.
Overall, the aluminum V354 is handy enough for LAN gamers and yet possess the class to be in the living room. Unless you´re the kind that constantly change their computer hardware, in which case, we hope you have an electric screwdriver handy.