Lastly, the top IO panel is removable, and is an interesting little item, and could probably be replaced or customised without needing to style the whole chassis. The top IO panel overlaps the front panel so it couldn’t be removed completely without considering the front panel design and functionality.
Test Build
We used some of our current and most recent test components, including the Gigabyte Z170 G1 Sniper motherboard. We deliberately do not spend much time cabling and with the Lian-Li PC-K5, there thankfully wasn’t too much to cable manage. We didn’t use any of the included cable ties, just a couple of tie wraps that came with the packaging of the chassis. This is still basically the build used in the last few chassis reviews which can be found here.
| Test Setup | i7 LGA1151 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i7-6700K |
| Graphics | Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 480 8Gb |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte Z170 G1 Sniper |
| Memory | Crucial Ballistix Sport LT White DDR4 |
| Drives | Crucial MX200 500Gb SSD Western Digital 4TB Red |
| Cooler | Scythe Kabuto 3 |
| PSU | Thermaltake SmartSE 730w |
On with the test build shots;
Initial thoughts are good, the build is not restricted inside, though the CPU cooler we have chosen for this build may have some airflow issues with the rear chassis fan, so a tower CPU cooler is recommended. We had no issues with cabling and all the fan connectors reached the motherboard without an issue. The different colours of the chassis cabling are slightly messy looking, a quick tidy would sort that out.
Lian-Li PC-K5WX Ebonsteel Mid Tower Chassis Review
Packaging - 7
Features - 7.6
Build - 7.6
Component Compatibility - 7
Price - 8
Consumer Experience - 8
7.5
This chassis is suited to first time builds, or even if you are a parent building a first time system for your children. It’s also a good LAN party chassis, and carries the Lian-Li name, that’ll carry some weight on its own. If you want to have decent chassis for your first build or the other situations we have mentioned, the Lian-Li PC-K5WX is definitely worth a consideration.
