The Install:

     To test the Lian-Li PC-S80 Chassis I used a build based in the OCZ ModXStream 780W power supply. The build includes an AMD Athlon AM2 5200+ with the Ultra ChillTec cooler,  2 x EVGA 7800 GTX cards cooled by Artic Cooling 5 series coolers  and a 2 x 2 GB kit of OCZ Titanium Series DDR2-6400 mounted on an ABIT Fatal1ty AN9 32X motherboard.  Storage was provided by both a 160 GB and a 250 GB Maxtor SATA II drives and a Lite-on 16x DVD burner.

     Installing the power supply is as easy as mounting the unit and carefully sliding it into the chassis.  I did find the fit very tight but the bracket mounting holes allow for some wiggling to get at good fit.

     Remember the back of the power supply will not be visible with the shroud in place.  (But the Black OCZ ModXStream is a perfect match for the case!)

     Next we installed the ABIT Fatal1ty motherboard with the components already in place.  I took the opportunity to route the case cabling through the drive cage in the unused lower space.  The case is big enough that I was also able to route cables along the back of the motherboard with plenty of room to spare.  It is a nice change to see the case cabling with enough length to reach every motherboard location and still have enough to route the cabling out of site.  The case even comes with some cable management installed and a bag of ties to help with the extras.

     With the motherboard in place, it is time to install the drives and start routing the rest of the cabling.  at this stage I discovered my massively oversized Ultra heatsink was not going to work with the shroud.  Amazingly enough it was close enough to try but the second side panel was not quite able to close.  But believe me, this is the largest heatsink in the lab.

     With the drives installed the front of the bays gets a little personality from the Ultra controller but the DVD burner is safely hidden behind the drive facade.  Sharp eyes may note the door wear but this is actually user error as I initially removed the doors for photos and reinstalled the brackets backwards, Doh!

     In this picture you can see just how close to the shroud height the Ultra unit really is.  I could have probably made it work just by removing the top bracket but I elected to go without as the space to the exhaust is relatively small.  You can also get a nice view of the OCZ ModXStream in action.

     And the finished installation.  With no window to worry about I took some slight liberties with the cabling runs but even with the oversized heatsink and SLI setup there is still plenty of wiggle room.  It should be noted as well that even with the system at load I was unable to get it to register on my simple Radio Shack Sound Level meter.

     Its hard to find a company that consistently outperforms the competition as much as Lian-Li and they have given us plenty of reasons to see why in the PC-S80.  This case runs a cool $269 at SilverPCs.com and that puts it on the high end for most manufacturers.  Rest assured you do get what you pay for here.

Conclusion:

     There are a lot of companies offering cases in this price point that just don't bring their "A" game.  I am constantly impressed with the quality and features the Lian-Li design team brings to every build and the PC-S80 is no exception.  The list of features for noise dampening is impressive alone, but coupled with the performance options this case is clearly at the top of their game.  Really the only thing going against this case is the rather no nonsense look if the finished build and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Normally I would knock an anodized case for not doing the inside too but with the innovative second paneling this case already takes the contrast into account in the side venting.  All of this performance and innovation does come with a price and that's the weight, at nearly 29 lbs. this is case is as heavy as some of the larger steel designs. 

     There is no question that Lian-Li makes some of the best cases available on the market today and I would like to thank Eve at SilverPC's for the opportunity to share the PC-S80 with you today.

Innovation:	10 out of 10
Performance:	10 out of 10
Quality:	10 out of 10
Stability:	N/A
Overclocking:	N/A
Software/Drivers Pack:	N/A
Value:	9.0 out of 10
Overall Rating 10
Project Skill Level (10 being most difficult)	3 out of 10