Custom PC - UK (2019-12)

W

hilemostmanufacturershave
a coupleofmini-ITXcasesto
theirnames,LianLihasdozens
tochoosefrom,andoneofitsmorerecent
effortsis thePC-Q37WX.It’sa monstrously
expensivecasebutits£200pricetagdoes
comewithbenefits.Buildqualityis sublime,
thecaseis all-aluminiumandtempered
glass,andLianLihasnotonlymadethe
casestorage-friendly,butit alsohasthe
bestwater-coolingsupportontesttoo.
At24cmwideand35cmdeep,the
PC-Q37WXis reasonablycompact,although
itsfootprintis noticeablylargerthanthe
PhanteksEnthooEvolvShiftAirandit feels

Lian Li PC-Q37WX

/£225incVAT

SUPPLIER overclockers.co.uk

bigger than the SilverStone

LD03 too. The front and

side are covered in close-

fitting tempered glass with

the front panel sporting

the usual buttons and

ports, although we were

a tad disappointed not to

see USB 3.1 Type-C here.

The cooling arrangement

sees the main fan locations

in the roof and base of the case,

with each offering a pair of 120mm

fan mounts that are 240mm radiator-

compatible too. The roof area also offers

80mm total clearance. However, there’s

only 130mm CPU cooler clearance.

Using a short graphics card opens up the

base of the case for mounting pumps and

reservoirs, but the PC-Q37WX uses a dual-

chamber design, so there’s more space in

the rear chamber to house a pump too. Lian

Li has even included rubber grommets to

allow tubing to pass through the motherboard

tray. Magnetic dust filters are included for

the roof, base and PSU vents with the roof

area sporting a beautiful laser-cut grill. To

keep size to a minimum, the grille at the rear

of the case is limited to 80mm fans and

the SFX PSU mount in the rear chamber is

mounted vertically, which are clever ways

to make best use of the available space.

To allow air into the case from the two

lower fan mounts, the case sits an inch off

the floor courtesy of a skirt of aluminium

that has large perforated vents in its sides

to allow air to enter. The entire area is

covered by one huge magnetic dust filter.

Building a PC into the case is made easier

thanks to the roof and glass panels being

removable. Lian Li also includes removable

plates that hide cable-routing holes that lead

to the second chamber, which is clearly a great

place for stowing cables. It’s also home to a

drive caddie that can house two 3.5in hard

disks and a single 2.5in SSD with the other

SSD mount located in the 80mm fan mounts,

which you’d sacrifice to install it.

With no fans included as standard, the CPU

delta T of 69°C was poor, as was the GPU

delta T of 63°C, which were both more

than 10°C off the pace of the best results.

Conclusion

The Lian Li PC-Q37WX might seem like a poor

performer for the cash, but it’s clearly a blank

canvas that can be used to create a monstrous

water-cooled mini-ITX PC. Build quality is

unmatched, it looks fantastic and it’s one of

the most unique and innovative cases here.

While it’s hugely expensive, if money was

no object, it’s definitely the case we’d buy.

SPEC

Dimensions (mm) 237 x 346 x 345 (W x D x H)

Material Aluminium, tempered glass

Available colours Black

Weight 5.25kg

Front panel Power, 2 x USB 3.0, audio jacks

Drive bays 2 x 3.5in, 2 x 2.5in

Form factor(s) Mini-ITX

Cooling 2 x 120mm roof fan mounts

(fans not included), 2 x 120 base fan

mounts (fans not included), 2 x 80mm

rear fan mounts (fans not included)

CPU cooler clearance 130mm

Maximum graphics card length 320mm

VERDICT

A stunning, well thought-out case with epic

build quality, but a price to match.

BLANK CANVAS

+ Fantastic cooling

potential

+ Dual chamber design

+ Excellent build quality

HALFBAKED

• Expensive


• Average CPU cooler
  clearance


• Requires an SFX PSU

COOLING

20 / 30

DESIGN

29 / 30

FEATURES

15 / 20

VALUE

12 / 20

OVERALLSCORE

76

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