Today we profile a case that is so big it took not one, not two, but three sponsors in order to bring it to you! A case that is so massive, it's constantly under the danger of imploding under its own gravitational field! So giganhugenormous we had to make up a new words for it!?! Xoxide, FrozenCPU and Performance-PCs have teamed up to bring us the Lian-Li PC-343B Modular Cube Case.

Resistance is futile.

Rumor has it that the case was designed by an alliance of rebel geekmeisters on the frozen ice (as opposed to the other kind of ice) planet Beta 8932425X. It is known by its inhabitants as Unter Glieben Glauten Globen and to visitors simply as Norway. The rebel alliance then uploaded the plans for the PC-343B into a encrypted electronic device that bore an eerie resemblance to an old Electrolux vacuum cleaner. The Electrolux device was then smuggled out of Norway and into the waiting hands of Lian-Li engineers. The rest is case history.

You may have heard of Lian-Li, they make cases. Like Ferrari makes cars, they make cases. When any high-end case is compare to another, the other is a Lian-Li. 'Nuff said. Don't bother looking for it on Lian-Li's site, it's not there. This case is available exclusively from Xoxide, FrozenCPU and Performance-PCs.

I have to admit there was a bit of a disagreement as to who would review the prodigious PC-343B. The weekly senior staff meeting went something like this:

Gary "GlitterKill" Mullins: "I just want it so I can molest it everyday." (um ...well ....ew.)

Phillip "Lokie" Jordan: "Hell yeah, I want it! You could install a system in one half and house a small Vietnamese family and water cooling in the other half." (I may be paraphrasing a teeny bit here.)

Mike "AntiM" Balise: "That thing would make a great coffee table. A lamp, some coasters, seven or eight remotes..." (Well, it would.)

Adil "Spectrum" Qarni: "Well this conversation just took an ugly turn."

Gary "GlitterKill" Mullins: "NOOOOO!!!! My preciouss..es..ss!!! You can't havez itezz It's mine..es..ss!" (again, a wee bit of literary license here.)

Phillip "Lokie" Jordan: "I bet I could fit my particle accelerator in there." (It's a well known fact Lokie has a particle accelerator. Look it up.)

Mike "AntiM" Balise: "Add a cushion and you've got yourself an spiffy ottoman."

Adil "Spectrum" Qarni: "I smell blood in the air."

Gary "GlitterKill" Mullins: *Emits a gurgling incoherent noise*.

Oddly enough, I ended up with it. "Neener neener neener!", *drops trou'*, *bends and moons the rest of the staff*. It's my end table now suckers! I love it when an evil plan comes together.

The first thing you notice about the PC-343B is, of course, the gargantuaventuallyillstopwiththebigwordrunninggagthing of it all. Eighteen 5.25" drive bays should satisfy even the most rabid uber 1337 geekster among us and will probably appeal to more than a few CD/DVD pirates.*

The PC-343 was airlifted to Phoenix by C-130, escorted by a elite cadre of UPS paratroopers, where it was promptly mistaken for a UFO in the night sky. A brief fire fight broke out when some rogue Geek Squad'ders from the local Best Buy tried to hijack the leviathan Lian-Li. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but my front yard is still littered with pocket protectors and broken eyeglass parts. After widening my front door with a carefully placed chunk of C-4, I brought the behemoth inside and started to work; stopping only briefly to find my wide angle lens.

The packaging is very um ...boxlike. A single line of text hinted at the casey goodness that slumbered inside. It read simply, "The world's most versatile case." See? I told you it would make a good coffee table.

Features

- Chassis Material: Aluminum

- Motherboard Form Factor: ATX

- A vailable for 30 HDD (if use eight EX-23 in front + 2 HDD modules in rear)

- Suitable for water-cooling kit

- User can choose from an array of accessories to tailor it for his need

- Drive Bays: 5.25" External: 18

- Cooling: 2 x 80mm Rear Ports, 3 x 120mm Rear Ports

- Front I/O Ports: 2 x USB2.0, 1 x IE1394 Firewire, 2 Audio

- PSU: Fitting with all kinds of Power supply

- Dimensions: 515 x 458 x 460mm

* Editors note: PC Apex in no way endorses or encourages piracy of any nature.
** Note to self: Kill AntiM ...slowly. - Gary "Smeagel" Mullins - Editor in Chief