Lian Li PC-Q37WX Review
Category : Cases
Published by Luca Rocchi on 08.12.16
With the PC-Q37WX, Lian Li has a compact high-end cube case in its portfolio. As with all of their cases this one has also been made from aluminum and to top things off, there are side panels, which have been made from tempered glass. Although the PC-Q37WX is quite small in terms of size, you can easly install high-end components and watercooling gear.
Rating |
|||||
| Cooling | Features | Layout | Build Quality | Value for Money | |
| Pros | + Good compatibility for watercooling + Numerous spots for fans |
+ Water cooling + Dust filters + Tempered glass |
+ Two chamber layout | + Good build quality | |
| Cons | - No fans in the bundle | - Cable management not so easy | - Expensive | ||
 |
|||||
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Preview
Specifications
| Model: | PC-Q37WX | |
| Case Type: | Mini-tower | |
| Dimensions: | 237 mm (W) x 345 mm (H) x 346 mm (D) | |
| Material: | Aluminum, Tempered Glass |
|
| Color: | Black | |
| Drive Bay: | 5.25": | 0 |
| 3.5": | 2 | |
| 2.5": | 2 | |
| Expansion slots: | 2 | |
| Form factors: | mini-ITX | |
| Cooling: | Front: | / |
| Rear: | 2x 80mm | |
| Top: | 2x 120mm | |
| Bottom: | 2x 120mm | |
| Watercooling | Front: | / |
| Rear: | 160mm | |
| Top: | 240mm | |
| HDD-Rack: | / | |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Features
Dust filtersIn total there are no less than four spots for 120 millimeter fans in this case. All the air inlets are covered using dust filters. These can be removed easily in order to clean them under tap water. |
Two compartment layoutLian Li chose a two chamber layout for this case. If you look at the PC-Q37WX from the front, you see that motherboard and graphics card are placed on the left side of the motherboard tray and on the other side that’s where the power supply and HDD/SSD cage go. This internal layout allows for stunning looking builds, where all cables are hidden behind the motherboard tray. |
Aluminum chassisThe entire external structure of the Lian Li PC-Q37WX case is made from aluminum of different thickness. This choice, not only gives strength and durability to the case, but also contributes largely to the exclusivity of this case. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Product overview
|
|
|
| Enclosures from Lian Li are always something special. It’s rare that computer cases are being manufactured according to such high standards. As expected we find perfectly made aluminum parts. All panels have been hairline brushed and the chassis itself is stiff. A quick look at the specifications table shows that this case weighs 5.25 kilogram, which is not light for an aluminum case this size. This also means Lian Li has not made any compromise in terms of material thickness and therefore the overall quality is very high. As we already mentioned the left side panel as well as the front have been made from tempered glass. Both glass panels are kept in place thanks to four flat-headed thumb screws. Looking at the interior layout we see that this case is only compatible with mini-ITX motherboards. The I/O connectors have been integrated into the front, while next to two USB3.0 ports there are two 3.5 millimeter jacks to connect headphones and microphone. Right next to the 3.5mm jacks there is the power button. Lian Li decided to not equip this case with a reset button, which appears to become a trend lately, having seen this on other cases as well. |
|
 | |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Installation
|
|
| Due to the dual chamber layout the inside of the Lian Li PC-Q37WX is clean and simple. Nevertheless Lian Li doesn't offer a huge number of HDDs or SSDs mounts, yet you can still equip this case with up to two 3.5" HDDs or two 2.5" SSDs. Both can be installed using tool-less sledges behind the tray. The motherboard tray is made from solid aluminum, and it features a big cut-out, where the motherboards's CPU socket is, which allows the installation of aftermarket CPU coolers without having to remove the motherboard. The tray features four small openings made from aluminum. In addition there are also two small rubber grommets close to the front. Although we like all this aluminum since it makes the internal layout very clean, we don't understand why Lian Li didn't use classic rubber grommets that allow for a solid cable managment instead of the small aluminum windows. Once you remove the aluminum cover you can easly see through the hole while you can't with the rubber grommets. For powering up the system we used a Silverstone SFX600 PSU that has rather short cables and reaching all areas of the motherboard was quite complicated.
For our test, we used a system based on a MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC miniITX motherboard paired with a Fractal Design Kelvin S24 all-in-one water cooler. Putting the setup inside the little PC-Q37WX is quite simple and straightforward. We have found a few issues with the graphics card department since there isn't too much space available. We have to be very clear about this aspect: lately all the high-end graphics card use larger PCBs (taller) compared to standard reference design. For example the MSI GTX 980 Gaming is way taller than a Nvidia GTX 980 Reference and the PCB is going to hit the chassis of the case. In order to complete our test we have had to use a smaller MSI GTX 970 Gaming that features a "standard" PCB (or at least one compatible with the size of the case). If you are thinking about buying this case or move your entire build inside, we strongly suggest to check the size of your graphics card. In addition the case is only compatible with dual-slot GPUs measuring a maximum of 320 mm in length. |
|
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Ventilation options
|
|
| The Lian Li PC-Q37WX offers four spots for 120mm fans and two spots for 80mm fans. Included in the delivery you won't find any fans, which is a bit disappointing considering its price. Overall, the case is able to accommodate two 120mm fans at the top, two 120mm fans in the bottom area and two 80mm fans at the back. If you are a fan of liquid cooling systems you will be happy to know that the Lian Li PC-Q37WX is also compatible with 240mm radiator (top) and 160mm radiators (back). | |
 |
|
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Temperatures
Overview |
|
For testing purposes we're using an MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC motherboard, an Intel Core i5-6600K CPU, which receives cooling through a Fractal Design Kelvin S24 cooler as well as a MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G graphics card. To put the CPU under full load, we're running prime95 for 10 min and in the case of the GPU we use Furmark also for 10 minutes. After these ten minutes, we're going to write down the temperatures. The ambient temperature is close to 24°C. |
|
| All noise dampening panels installed | Idle (°C) | Full (°C) |
| Intel Core i5-6600K | 28 / 26 / 27 / 28 | 52 / 55 / 54 / 52 |
| MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G | 51 | 74 |
| Less is better | ||
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
The PC-Q37WX from Lian Li is an absolute high-end case. It features simply perfect build quality and very nicely crafted aluminum parts as well as a solid construction. The thick side panel and the tempered glass add even more to the high quality feel. Despite the small size, its simple to place the components inside the PC-Q37WX. Regarding the cable management, we have noticed a few issues since the space available and the routing is not as good as we would have expected it from a Lian Li. While we appreciate the small aluminum covers, we would have liked to find rubber grommet pass-throughs in the delivery as well.
There is quite a lot of space available on the inside, yet installing high-end graphics cards there are quite some limitations. Apart from that we recommend using a PSU with sleeved cables. This choice is a good workaround to cover all the empty space that you will have once the aluminum covers will be removed from the cut out. Second we suggest to use a reference GPU or something based on reference PCB.
When it comes to cooling there isnt much to say, since PC-Q37WX is compatible with both worlds; water cooling as well as air cooling and apart from that the airflow concept is rather simple and straight forward. The air flows from the bottom to the top thanks to a maximum of four 120mm fans. Apart from that there are two spots for 80mm exhaust fans at the back. Overall we believe that with an AIO cooler on the CPU you can easily manage the heat highend setup generates.
If you are looking for a high-end mini-ITX case with brilliant build quality and looks, we can definitely recommend this case. It's just a pity that Lian Li isn't shipping this case with fans included. Since this is a Lian Li case its made from premium materials and the price is predictably high, finding the PC-Q37WX on Geizhals for 219 Euro. Bottom line this case deserves 4 out of 5 stars.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Installation |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Ventilation options |
| Page 3 - Features | Page 7 - Temperatures |
| Page 4 - Product overview | Page 8 - Conclusion |