Packaging and appearance
Lately, the size of the boxes in which some chassis have been shipped has started to become enormous, bordering on the plain stupid. Oversized boxes are quite unnecessary if the outer and the protective packing within are properly designed and this is perfectly demonstrated by Lian-Li with the PC-A12.
Someone at the company should be given a pay-rise for the care and attention given to the packaging.
The compact box led our first-impressions-gene down the microATX path but we were please to see upon opening the perfectly proportioned packaging that our immaculate PC-A12 was indeed a full ATX chassis. With dimensions of 210(w) x 450(h) x 490(d) mm, it was a pretty good-sized ATX chassis, too.
As for the case itself, what needs to be realised at the outset is that the PC-A12 is one of the cheapest all-aluminium chassis in Lian-Li's new range - we found it online, in stock, for a smidge under £90 from CCL Computers.
The front is a two-tone affair, with black anodised aluminium on the left and a naked, brushed finish to the right. The right side carries two tiny LED lenses at top right that transmit light from the main chassis LEDs through the door so that it's visible to the outside world.
The split door design has one further cosmetic feature - blue LEDs set into the split emit a soft glow when the system is in use.
A nice touch is that the PC-A12 has a small, spring-loaded ball-bearing that secures the door in place. It's a simple design that works really well and gives a nice resounding ping as the door is closed.
Each side of the door has a series of cut-outs down its length. These allow air to be sucked in by the 120mm fan located down low behind the front panel.