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Elegance of Design Outside:
From the moment we opened the box the PC-888 is an amazing sight. Pictures don't come near doing it justice and it just gets better from there.
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The striking blue anodized finish will hit you first, then of course its non-traditional design next. Upon closer inspection we observed that every piece of the Lian Li PC-888 is anodized blue, inside and out. There are no obvious signs of assembly after the aluminum was anodized either meaning that all parts were formed then anodized to leave no silver edges due to bending. Every edge has been smoothed first, and all of the pieces line up perfectly. We did not have to push or strain to figure out how any of the parts aligned or assembled which is an amazing feat for a case with the complexity of the PC-888.
A look on the exterior of the case shows some unique features. First and foremost the power button is an oversized circle located top center of the case and ringed with a blue backlit plastic housing. Just below that you cannot miss the backlit Lian Li symbol we showed you on the front page. On the left side are located the reset button, four USB ports, Audio headphone and microphone jacks, Firewire, and even an eSATA port. On the right side are located four slots accepting 13 different types of flash media, and another USB 2.0 port with activity and power lights. No guessing here as all ports are clearly labeled.
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Diving further into the case exterior we see evidence of excellence in design in several areas. All screw holes have apparently been lined with steel fittings so you don't have to worry about stripping the holes due to over-tightening thumbscrews. Additionally we find the side panels are secured with a hinged mechanism and released by a labeled screwed in pull tab.
NOTE: The thumbscrew is joined to the pull tab and mounted with a spring tension so you cannot actually lose it.
Also on the rear of the case you will find a 120mm blue LED fan that is apparently speed controlled via an adjustable knob located just below it. Further inspection later showed that this adjustment knob also controls the two additional front 120mm blue LED fans. There is even room on this fan controller for a fourth fan/CPU cooler fan to be controlled.
Moving up a bit from the I/O panel we find the mount for the power supply (PSU) which is secured via 4 thumb screws which mount perfectly into the case. Just above that you will find that Lian Li has taken the time to include a rear removable plate allowing you easy installation and wiring of your optical drives.
NOTE: SATA drives must be used with the PC-888 as we were unable to use a standard/older IDE optical rom due to cable length. This could be different for your scenario depending upon the length of cables available to you and the location of ports on your motherboard. The included SATA cables provided by Lian Li were perfect length for the SATA optical drive we installed and our motherboard.
Aside from these features of the PC-888 we have the left side panel which has a window located in it secured with allen screws.
Lets venture into the heart of this work of art.
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