14 DAY TRIAL // With all the gaming-oriented and enthusiast enclosures out there, one would think there is no way for any case design to warrant surprise, but Lian Li might have just brought what was needed to prove that assumption wrong.
For a PC chassis to have design elements meant purely to enhance aesthetics is definitely not unheard of.
Still, it is not often that a maker of PC enclosures departs from the standard form factor as much as Lian Li did when it developed the PC-U6 Cowry.
The company describes it as a model that “is not meant to be hidden under a desk but instead incorporated into its surroundings as a part of decoration and reflection of taste.”
Essentially, this mid-tower has a shape inspired from that of seashells, and by inspired we mean quite faithfully adapted.
Basically, the newcomer actually has that spiral shape, at least as far as the outer, side panels are concerned.
All the features one would expect to find in such a product are somehow made to work with the rounded frame.
There are three 3.5-inch hard disk drive bays, as well as the possibility of putting in two 2.5-inch storage drives (SSDs).
Additionally, four expansion slots are present, for AIBs (add-in-boards), like graphics, network, sound cards or whatever else fits inside PCI/PCI Express slots (the maximum video card size supported is of 310mm).
What's more, an I/O panel exists at the top, providing HD audio jacks, eSATA connectivity and a pair of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports.
All the above, along with two 120mm fans on the sides, are packed inside a frame measuring (W) 219 mm x (H) 500 mm x (D) 410 mm and weighing 4.5 kilograms.
Sales have not yet started, but it won't be long until they do (by the end of the month). In the meantime, prospective purchasers can gather the needed sum of $349.