Gadgetory

hello guys welcome back to another hardware canucks review we're taking a look at the new micro ATX c-shell from Lian Li this is the Kauri PC u 6 2011 special edition now if this case looks familiar back in 2005 léa léa proved they're capable of designing something unique in terms of aesthetic looks with that with sacrificing the functionality of the interior and it seems Leanne Lee has done it again but with a more compact design obviously this isn't targeted towards enthusiast gamers but for those who prefer unique looking case to be used as a home theater PC however is you will soon find out it does have a potential for an adequate gaming setup for those who willing to spend $350 on this chassis now before making our mind about this extraordinary enclosure based on its price let's take a look at what it has to offer first off leonie's excellent aluminum craftsmanship stands out and while the case does have a lot of plastic parts the overall construction is fairly solid the front features one five and a quarter inch drive bay cover which has to be removed and placed back into its spot once you install your optical drive then we have quality aluminum power and reset buttons and plenty of venting holes and located on the feet the Kauri are our front panel connectors featuring eSATA USB 3 ports and your audio the side panel design is definitely an important factor in delivering a visually appealing chassis but it also takes into account the airflow of this little shell and the spiral mesh due to the limited airflow options the all-around ventilated approach helps to keep the temperatures low the rear of the chassis has an air filter which can be moved up slightly to cover the optional 80 millimeter exhaust fan we also have a fan control knob for up to 4 fans IO area and for ventilated PCI slots and they bottom mount the power supply under which Linley's the usual dust filter is located for accessible maintenance ok so let's get inside the shell and see what this micro ATX case has to offer once the side panel is removed dual 120mm fan bracket is located to deliver cool air which spans both the CPU and the GPU and the bracket must be removed before dealing with a hardware installation and it is held securely by thumb screw and sits on rubber grommets for extra silence both fans are covered with dust filters which can be removed by cohn tightening the screws on the four corners inside there is another dust filter for the front which also can be easily removed and cleaned moving on this case supports mini ITX and micro ATX motherboards and the monthly sized CPU backplate opening support for dual 2.5 inch drives along with three 3.5 inch drives with their conventional mounting system using screws and rubber grommets the drives just fit into place also the locking mechanism uses a similar design as on its previous cases to prevent it drys from sliding out one comment can be made about the rubber grommets beside the motherboard tray is they don't seem to suit the overall quality of the chassis as they easily fall out on passing cables through them and at this price point we expect only the best quality and this is disappointing to see a leonie drop the ball on this minor detail so how does carey prepare for cable management in the back well only one plastic cable clamp and half an inch for the rest of your cables again disappointing to see no cable tie mountings to aid during installation especially for such limited space so with expectations for an uneasy assembly let's see how this seashell stacks up in practice first to insert the power supply the PSU bracket has to be removed which mounts onto the unit and the power supply slides into place notice how little room there is left between all the cables and the curved front panel and for those with long and modular power supplies we do recommend installing all the cables first as it would be very difficult plugging in additional cables after the power supply is inside the case since the case is USB 3 ready and has an internal 20 thinkin Ector liyan lis includes USB 2 adapter for those who did not have compatible motherboards they also include motherboard thumb screws which come in handy during assembly and a red LED strip that could be attached to the bottom of the case and illuminate all the internal components now even due to its relatively small interior the case can handle GPUs of up to 310 mm or 12.2 inches now considering the sizing current myth in high-end graphics cards this chassis can handle pretty much all of them installing our monster triple slot 11 1/2 inches long gtx 570 you can see how much room there is left while it is packed in pretty tight it manages to keep up with the latest in computer hardware now it is a different story behind the motherboard as cable management isn't made easy and requires a bit of creative work if you want the side panel to close properly now just to clarify this isn't the problem of extra cables making this huge mess is we are working with a fully modular power supply and using only the needed cables for the hardware and even then the cable work may look intimidating just a quick tip on how we got to hide all the cables as there is extra room in from the power supply and space available on top of the drives to tuck in any unused cables fully assembled the carry shows what it's capable of besides looking awesome it can handle modern setup with no problem just a little hiccup with cable management the khari is a true original chassis that stands out from the rest of the square boxes and that themself is a piece of art for display no matter of the hardware inside with leondis quality construction with brushed aluminum but in terms of functionality is in the closure it does have support for long graphics cards SSDs and USB 3 compatible and with all-around open design allow for passive ventilation to keep the temps down and an integrated fan controller is a useful addition to monitor those noise levels on a downside more emphasis should've been put on the cable management as one cable clamp at the back is not enough we need to see cable tie mountains to secure those leftover cables and the rubber grommets feel like an afterthought because they like the quality feel and constantly fall out when passing the cables through them and for the overall package it may be a bit steep to drop $350 on a micro ATX chassis that doesn't fully satisfy and as nearly markets the case its unique design is for unique people thank you guys for watching and we'll see you next one