Lian Li Ex-10 Media Port Review
Supplied by AMK Computer
So you went and bought yourself one of those sexy Lian Li
Aluminum cases but you either bought one without front USB ports or are longing
to move some more inputs to the front of the case. Here’s the solution from
AMK Computers. The Lian Li I/O Adapter. Don’t worry..it’s the same aluminum
finish so you wont have to put up with another beige component.
What you get
You get everything you need in one box but let’s first have
a look at the front of the box. Yes it’s a box but look closely “Esay to install
your peripherals”. Look hard…sound it out…it’s very “esay” to
miss.
And on the back is no fuss, no muss instructions on various
ways to install your “perpherals”.
Yep…should send Lian Li a note about correcting those.
I think it would be esay for me to misspell perpherals too if had to go from
English to another language.
But with that little digression out of the way there’s no
spelling mistakes on the front of the unit and everything is well laid out:
2 USB ports, Line in, Speaker out, Mic in, Game Port, PS/2 Mouse Port and the
1394 port.
It’s not a big unit either. On the back you’ll find the
SCSI connect for the SCSI cable (supplied) to run from the drive bay area where
you installed the device to the rear of the PC.
Also you get PCI slot hardware to accommodate the SCSI cable.
The SCSI cable itself which is adequate length for most,
if not all, mid-tower cases. Those with the PC70 and above full towers better
watch out as the cable probably won’t be long enough.
And of course the various leads to plug into various places
at the rear of the case.
The SCSI cable is an easy connection. You can do this before
you install the unit and just feed the cable through the open drive bay.
Simply dedicate an open PCI slot for the cable. Those
with lots of cards in place may have to be a little careful but it should all
fit nicely when you finally put in the SCSI cable.
Like this. Note that the cable has to sit loosely for the
moment as the input lead cable screws directly to the SCSI cable to make things
secure.
What do I say…it’s a cable protruding through an open
PCI slot.
Nice and neat.
And finally do a bit of patching and your set to go.
As you can see the Lian Li bezel just pulls off revealing
the drive bays of choice. The unit easily slides into place and is held securely
with a couple of screws.
Snap the bezel back on and it looks great!
Now you are all set to go. Plug and play! (Except for those
other “beige” components. I wish someone would come out with aluminum finish
face plates for CD’s and such.)
Summary and Conclusion.
It’s pretty simple. This is the way to go
if you have an aluminum case with an open drive bay and need to move some
inputs up front. You may need a longer SCSI cable, which you’ll have to purchase
separately, if you’ve got a larger case such as the PC70. But those who can
afford to buy a PC70 for a home computer will not care about shelling out
a couple extra bucks.
It matches the fit and finish of the aluminum
cases nicely and does what it says it will do. It’ll give you two USB ports
up front if you don’t have them. And easy input for a joystick, mouse and
digital camera (1394) input. Beats having to reach around back of the PC case
especially if you’ve got it tucked into a cabinet.
As a final word I really don’t know how to
rate this product on a scale. It’s a matter of personal preference. If you
like it and want to match the fit and finish of your aluminum case..go for
it. It does what it says it will do and makes for easy access. Even if you
have a case that comes standard with two or four front USB ports it still
is a handy device. Bypass the bottom USB ports in favor of the easier
to reach drive bay USB ports. It’s your choice.
It’s one of those “make your life easier”
devices and if you like to yank out your PC every time you want to hook something
new up or plug something in…don’t buy it. But if you like everything handy
right up front…I recommend it.
Thanks to the boys at
for letting me try out another new toy. Check out
custom cases and PC parts at a price that will be sure to make you happy.
