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Welcome to the LIAN LI PC-A05 Club
The Biggest Little Case in the World.
New Revision Out Now! - The Lian Li PC-A05FN
No Longer Inverted ATX
USB 3.0 Support
SSD Support
Top Blow Hole
So should you get this new version? Consensus is to go for the original inverted design.

Lian Li PC-A05 Aluminum Case
"The Lian Li PC-A05 Aluminum Case is the very first budget style case from Lian Li. This case has four 5.24", one 3.5" and three 3.5" hidden drive bays and One Back fan. This case has been through several different Models since it's inception and a little modding is all you need to allow good air flow. While this case has all the essentials it doesn't have a removable motherboard tray but it's well priced and has great build quality." Rodney Reynold's. Video Reviews.








Specification
Model.................................................. .................................................. ....... PC-A05N
Case Type............................................ Mini Tower for Full ATX and Large Video Cards
Dimensions............................................. 210mm Wide x 381mm High x 490mm Deep
Front bezel Material.................................................. ....................................Aluminum
Color................................................... .................................................. .. .Silver / Black
Side Panel.......................................Plain No Windows but Windows are easy to install
Body Material.................................................. ..............................................Alum inum
Net Weight.................................................. ...........4kg or 8.8 lbs Very Light and strong.
5.25" drive bay (External)........................................ .................................................. ...2
3.5" drive bay (External)........................................ .................................................. ..1
3.5" drive bay (Internal)........................................ .................................................. .......3
Expansion bay Slots.................................................. ........................................7
Motherboard.................................................. ..........................FULL ATX, M-ATx
System Fan (Top) (Front)........................................... .................12cm Ball-Bearing Fan x 1 (1500RPM)
System Fan (Rear)............................................ .................12cm Ball-Bearing Fan x 1 (1500RPM)
I/O Ports.................................................. .......................USB2.0 x2, HD+AC97 audio

Post a picture of your Lian Li PC-A05 and Tell a little about the Build Mod or Yourself and you're in.
Lian Li PC-A05 FAQ
PLEASE READ BEFORE ASKING QUESTIONS!
This info is regarding the inverted design PC-A05NB
Q: What is the Direction of the Airflow in the Case?
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Fresh Air is pulled from the back and exhausted through the vents in the front. This means your CPU gets the coolest air first. There are two 120mm fans in the case: one in the rear Bottom and one in the Center front. Exhaust is via the front 120mm fan and the PSU which sits below it. |
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Not at all. There is about ½†clearance under the PSU for air if you have the fan face down. There are holes under the 3.5†hard drive cage for airflow if you want the fan facing up. |
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Graphics cards will run warmer in this type of case by 5c-10c. This problem is easily fixed. Most of us modify the top and add a Blowhole Fan or buy the replacement top panel (T-LM14B-2) which is a replacement Top and has a cut out and Shroud for a 140mm fan. Unfortunately these seem to be out of stock just about everywhere. It is best to use a 4 1/2 inch Hole saw with a drill attachment. |
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For one, the Hot Video card is up high and away from the CPU Cooler. It allows for a smaller more compact case. It also allows your to run very cool since the heat of the Video card is not convecting hot air up into the CPU like most Cases. Instead very cool air is blown onto the CPU heatsink first. You will not find a case that can provide better temps for your CPU. |
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This is entirely dependent on the layout of your motherboard. If you look at the pictures of the case you can see that if your first PCI-E slot sits in the first two slots nearest the CPU socket then the max length will be around 10.5†because the card will butt up against the 3.5†cage. 11" if you have HDD in the top slot clear. If your GPU sits in the 3rd or 4th slot than you can fit a GPU that is 13†long. |
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If you are running higher end GPUs then it is highly recommended that you add a top blow hole. Length of the cards also becomes an issue since the 2nd card might butt up against an optical drive. Normal length ODD will allow two 11.5†cards. Blu-ray drives are longer so they will limit your space to about 10.5â€. |
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The newest A05Ns do have these Cable Management and Heatsink removal holes. You should contact the vendor to confirm if you are buying the newer version with or the older version without. The earlier Version of A05N’s did not have these features. No A05B’s have them. |
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The A05B was the first revision of this case that was released in 2006 through 2009. The A05N is the newer revision that added a few improvements to the inner design. These improvements are:
|
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A top blow hole is the First and most Important thing you can do to make this case great for a enthusiast system. It is also recommended to get fans with a better CFM to noise ratio if you are running higher end hardware. This case is great for modding since it’s made of aluminum which is very easy to cut and the engineering is outstanding. Window mods are also very simple and easy to buy. The best that I have found is the All in one 10 X 12 inch kit. it fits the case perfectly and only shows the motherboard |
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The easiest way is to buy a 4.5†hole saw. This is perfect for all Standard 120mm case fans. These are available at any hardware store and cost around $40. I personally prefer using a dremel since it’s a tool that can be used for so many things. Do not get a battery powered version since they don’t have enough torque to cut through the Aluminum. The dremel 300 is a great tool for $40. There are many fan grills that can be Purchased to make these blow holes look very nice. Check out AC Ryan Radgrillz or anything for MNPCtech. These grills usually come with cut outs so you can trace the cut. |
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Most times you can use any size from small to large. You can run into a probem with memory slots sitting to high the edge of the Motherboard. The PSU clears the board so if there are no heatsinks/memory slots/24pin power connector close by you can get any size you want. I have seen an Enermax 1250w fit in this case and that is a (7.5in) or (19.05 cm.) long PSU. |
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The A05 is 210 mm wide so it can fit all Heatsinks available at this time. |
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No it does not. You can use a 2.5†to 3.5†adapter to put it in the external 3.5†drive bay. You can also just Velcro or tape them behind the motherboard tray since SSD's use very little wattage, heat and have No Moving parts. SSD’s don’t really produce heat so you can hide them just about anywhere. |
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This is a hard question to answer. Each users answer will be different of course but, I think most will agree its combination of Small size, elegant looks and uniqueness of the engineering makes this case stand alone in its own Catagory. This is the smallest case that can fit a full size ATX motherboard and for that it is highly regarded. It's straight forward styling makes this case an excellent MOD Case. The Aluminum is easily cut and the case is pretty much a blank slate on to which you can add your own personal touch. |
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Here is a Google SketchUp of the case for all your modding needs ![]() Brought to you by Aerial |
Accessories that you can get from Lian Li for the PC-A05
The upgrade top has a 140m fan hole

Bezels to cover the front optical bezels

Official Lian Li A05 Side Window

Nicer case feet

USB 3.0 Bracket

USB 3.0 Adapter for Internal Header

User's Manual Download.
Code for Sig
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