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Lian Li A4-H2O in the test: 11 liters of space for powerful Mini-ITX PCs

May 9, 2022

2006

The compact Mini-ITX PC case Lian Li A4-H2O impressed in the test with excellent workmanship and enough space for quite powerful gaming hardware. The case was created in cooperation with DAN Cases and, with a volume of 11 instead of 8 liters, continues the success of the A4-SFX. The SSD caused a surprise in the test.

Table of contents

1 11 liters of space for a powerful Mini-ITX -PCs
1. A new “DAN Case” by Lian Li
2. Massive tiny
3. Hardware limitations
4. Installation and everyday experiences
2 test results, readings and oddity
1. Test System and Methodology
2. Idle and Game Volume
3. Hardware Metrics
3 Price, Availability and Verdict
1. Conclusion
2. Price and availability

A new one “DAN Case” by Lian Li

Almost 10 years have passed since community member bigdaniel presented his plan to bring the smallest possible SFX case onto the market in 2013. In the end, the vision became reality with a volume of less than 8 liters, in which the community was constantly involved and some ideas even contributed to the perfection of the housing. The finished first work called DAN Cases A4-SFX was able to convince in the test in 2015.

In addition to continuous revisions to the A4-SFX, Daniel has devoted himself to another since 2020 with the DAN C4-SFX Project that is already on the home stretch and is scheduled to appear in 2022.

Without any community participation, but together with a case veteran and previous manufacturing partner, Daniel surprisingly presented the A4-H20 in January 2022, which was designed by DAN Cases GmbH, but is not only manufactured by Lian Li but also sold. As the name suggests, the A4-H2O is designed for (AiO) water cooling, while its brothers primarily rely on air cooling. Working with Lian Li is not surprising. The company already took over the production of the A4-SFX, but otherwise held back.

Massive tiny one

With the A4-H20, Lian Li proves his housing skills. Where Lian Li is on it, high demands can be made in terms of workmanship and choice of materials, but they will by no means be disappointed. The Lian Li A4-H20 is no exception. The outer aluminum skin uses material thicknesses of 1.5 mm (side parts) to 2.0 mm (front). Rolled edges to increase torsional rigidity can therefore be safely dispensed with. While the front element is bare, the cover and side elements are almost completely covered with holes for ventilation.

All parts are attached to the chassis with retaining clips and corresponding pins (push pins). The front and cover can be removed without screws, while the knurled screws on the rear have to be loosened for the side panels. Even when it comes to the knurled screws, Lian Li does a good job. The specimens used are extremely solid and also have small damper rubbers.

The minimal design is rounded off by two trapezoidal side decorative elements. On the left side of the case, the trapezoidal notch also serves as a place for the I/O panel. The connections are USB-C 3.1 (10 Gbit/s, 20-pin, Key-A-Header), USB-A 3.0 (5 Gbit/s), headphones and microphone. The panel is firmly integrated into the chassis and cannot be installed on the other side of the housing. It can therefore only be reached if the housing is on the right or in front of you. The possibility of being able to exchange the two trapezoids would be a successful addition here and would solve the “problem”.

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Compared to the namesake A4-SFX, the A4-H2O grows to a total of 11 liter housing volume. Externally, the A4-H2O cannot hide its roots. But why? The virtues are preserved with an excellent finish.

The workmanship is also impressive on the inside

The flawless workmanship continues inside. There are no sharp edges or bad rivet points. All components are first-class processed and screwed together. The torsional rigidity of the chassis is excellent even without side panels. As with its little brother, the Lian Li A4-H2O also relies on a two-chamber design, in which the left chamber is intended for the mainboard and the power supply. Using the included riser cable (PCIe 3.0 or 4.0), the graphics card moves to the opposite side, where the entire right chamber is available. The lid section is home to a maximum of 240 mm AiO water cooling. There is space for a 2.5″ drive in the floor.

< figure> Lian Li A4-H2O in the test: power supply adapter

Hardware limitations

Due to the concept, small housings are always associated with limitations in the hardware equipment. The A4-H2O is no exception here. It is hardly surprising that a maximum of one mITX mainboard can be installed and that the power supply unit uses the SFX or SFX-L form factor. However, it becomes interesting when choosing the graphics card and especially when it comes to the AiO water cooling system to be accommodated in the lid.

The water cooling pump unit has a maximum permitted height of 55 mm. The combination of radiator and fan may only measure 240 × 55 mm. The hose length must also be taken into account. DAN Cases names 15 AiO water cooling systems as compatible – Lian Li does not provide such a reference, only the maximum size is used here. A maximum of 3-slot models with a length of up to 321 mm can be installed on the graphics card, which, depending on the example, would even allow graphics accelerators of the caliber Nvidia GTX 3090, GTX 3080 and AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT.

Installation and everyday experiences

Installing the hardware is easy, assuming a bit of sensitivity. The biggest problem child are the cables that have to be stowed away and the bulky hoses of the water cooling. For easier installation, the base plate should be removed and the description should be observed when accommodating the water cooling. Especially in the area of the power supply, the hoses have to be specially routed so that they run above and below the power supply plug. With the power pack, it is also essential to ensure that the power switch is in the correct position before installation, as it will no longer be accessible later. The same applies to a large number of connections on the mainboard.

Otherwise, the tangle of cables is difficult to hide due to the cramped space. Also because of the cable length, some cables have to be stowed directly in the area of the pump units. When attaching the side panel, you must also ensure that the cables do not protrude too much outwards, otherwise the side panel will not lie flat and will bulge. When installing the graphics card, you can choose between a 2- and 3-slot position. The riser mount is moved using spacers so that the built-in graphics card is closer to the perforated plate and thus gets more air.