Lian Li PC-P50 Review

More Interior

In addition to being able to install all the drives without the aid of a screwdriver, you can also fit the motherboard without any tools. We’re not sure who told Lian Li that PC enthusiasts either hate or have some kind of phobia of screwdrivers, but the company has clearly taken it to heart. The spacer bolts are pre-installed and the motherboard hangs from them via thumbscrews. This is a neat touch but if there are any screws that need to go somewhere fiddly, such as in between a heatsink and a power header for example, you may just have to face your demons and get out the toolbox.

The motherboard tray has large holes punched in it both at the side and along the bottom to allow the routing of cables to the back of the case and the cavity between the back of the motherboard tray and rear side panel is large enough to for your excess length (and yes, writing about hardware can sometimes produce the kind of innuendo you might expect from one of the ‘Carry On’ films).

There’s a gap above the top 5.25in bay - this might sound trivial but it's actually very handy for hiding excess cable length from the front panel I/O ports. Another hole has been hewn in to the centre of the motherboard tray, allowing you to swap over a CPU cooler that uses a backplate without having to remove the motherboard first.


There’s been something of a trend in PC cases recently to install fans in the roof. Given that ‘heat rises’ is one of the most fundamental laws of thermodynamics, it’s a wonder that it's take this long to catch on. Lian Li has take advantage of this law of nature and installed two massive 140mm fans in the roof of the PC-P50. To aid in the job of exhausting hot air there's also a 120mm fan in the usual location at the back of the case which will line up with most CPU coolers.


Although plenty of exhaust fans are absolutely a good thing, it’s also a little strange that Lian Li opted to install just one intake fan to feed air through to the main chamber. Given that there's only one intake fan and not too many 3.5in drives, it’s possible that the company envisioned this as a way to encourage sales of their 5.25in to 3.5in drive bay converters which would solve both issues in one swoop while also proving to be financially beneficial to Lian Li.


The mandatory tick box feature of two holes to accommodate the installation of an external radiator is also present, but any PC builder worth his screwdriver will see that this is clearly not a case made with watercooling as a primary design consideration.