Evolution of Lian Li's SOHO Server Cases

PC-V2000 - Exterior

Our particular PC-V2000 model came in black, and included a side panel window for a more enthusiast-oriented look. Much like the PC-V1000, the case resembles the Mac G5 case with the perforated front and uncluttered bottom half, but the V2000 offers seven externally accessible drive bays, one of which is primed for stealthy optical drive concealing, and another which is fitted with a 5.25" to 3.5" adapter and floppy drive cover.

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As cool as it is to expose the components of a PC, we really have to criticize Lian Li for limiting the view into the V2000 so much by only having the window extend half-way down the case. While certainly there will be some builds in this case where having the bottom hidden makes more sense, for the majority of users, showing off the hard drive array or the redundant power supplies would be some of the main high points of a windowed server case we think.

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Getting back to the front of the case, here one can see the large ventilation area for intake at the bottom, and the case's focus on a large number of 5.25" bays.

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There is no reset button on the PC-V2000, just a good-sized aluminum power button and blue and red LEDs underneath for power and HDD activity status.

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At the very bottom you'll find the port cluster and Lian Li's trademark above. The two USB ports aren't stacked on top of each other, so clearance issues shouldn't arise unless one has a really wide thumb drive. The Lian Li logo looks great, and fits in with the rest of the look of the case just fine.

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The wheels of the PC-V2000 are included and attached already, and unlike normal casters they're axle-based. The front set doesn't have anything special really, but the rear set does have a locking mechanism to prevent the case from rolling around. Optional rubber sleeves are included too to assist with traction on smooth surfaces.

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From the rear, the PC-V2000 resembles the PC-V1000 very closely yet again, with the only real difference being the additional height under the motherboard section, which allows a user to put in additional fans for cooling the hard drive section, or put a different plate altogether and house dual power supplies. Note the reversed orientation of the ATX motherboard - this design is to help keep the warmest parts of the case closer together and also helps with routing power cords from the low-placed power supply to the motherboard.

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One final shot of just the exterior of the case, and here we can see the typical Lian Li quality aluminum finish and edge work, along with the easy-to-use thumbscrew locking system this series of cases uses to hold the side panels in place.

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