# "The Most Versatile mATX SFF Case"

**Size and orientation:**

Let's start with the size of the case which is very compact.

I am no expert in cases, however, this is my 3rd mATX case(2nd SFF) that i have tried and i loved building in this the most.

My previous SFF case's dimension is D378 x W195 x H290 MM, approx. 21.3 Liter.

*The dimension & Volume of the B4:*

Horizontally without the feet on the back D406 x H288 x W191 = 22.3 Liter

Vertically without the feet on the back D420 x W191 x H273 = 21.9 Liter

**Note:** Their website states 21.3L, but D420 x W191 x H288 = 23.1L. So i am not sure if that's a typo or not.

Hence i measured it without feet and in both the orientation but still didn't get 21.3L.

It's surprising to see that none of the reviewers mentioned this bit, well not the end of the world.

The B4 can be either used horizontally or vertically. So hands down this the best feature of this case.

Most people use 3x2 or 4x2 Feet desk and i tried the case on both the desk setup, with 1 monitor on the 3x2 desk and with 2 monitors with the 4x2 desk.

Where i can easily put the case behind my 2nd monitor(Vertically) and call it a day. I've not uploaded a photo since my main desk is a little bit messy lol.

This case kind of takes some inspiration from the Meshroom D, but in my opinion the B4 is better in a lot of ways like mATX support, two orientation, Aerodeck add on, Wood front panel ETC.

CH160 Plus is also offering similar things but not a direct competition.

The wood panel makes the B4 look premium.



**Building experience:**

Building in this case is very easy and they designed it so well and kept all the points in mind.

Cable management was not a big challenge, However, the top fan blades may get stuck to the CPU power cable hence you need to route them properly.

I used SFX PSU(TY Lianli), so it was not that difficult to route the cables. But with ATX PSU you need to spend some time to keep it neat. However, Since there is no glass panel so it's totally up to your OCD to tidy the cables or leave them as it is, Haha.

Since it can accommodate Air coolers up to 168mm, so i didn't have much issues with the PE120 SE ARGB, which is not the tallest but tall(155mm) enough.

I was planning to use my Hydroshift 2 360mm however, i went with air cooler since i will change the CPU back to the old 7600X in a few months and HS2 would be an overkill for that CPU.



Technically you should be done building within 1 hour if you use all the right parts.

However, it took me a little longer since i have used some fans which are beyond the spec but it still worked.

So the front intake fan that i used, is 23mm thick instead of 15mm which they recommend.

The back exhaust fan has a thickness of 28mm and the same applies to the bottom intake fans too.

The Rotatable AC Power Connector is very useful if you're planning to go vertical.

There is a GPU anti-sag bracket as well if you're using a big GPU.



The biggest problem that i came across was with the GPU.

I could not fit my AsRock Steel legend RX 9070 XT 2.9 Slot(58mm) GPU in the case along with the bottom intake fans(28mm).

My motherboard's(MSI B650M Gaming Plus WIFI) top PCIE x16 slot sits quite low, hence i had to use an old RTX 3070 2 slot card and that fit in properly with the bottom intake fans.

Hence please pay attention to the motherboard you choose.



I am using the pre-installed 2 top fans and 1 fan in the back for exhaust, 2 fans at the bottom, 1 fan on the side and 1 fan on the front for intake.

  
**Performance:**

I am surprised how well this case is performing compared to my previous 21.3L case.

There is plenty of airflow and the components don't get too hot.

The 7800X3D runs at 65-75 C during gaming and the RTX 3070 is around 60-70 C.

Ambient temperature(No AC) is 22 C and the room size is 7x9 Feet with 1 window.

This is pretty good since India is a tropical country and my previous case was getting pretty toasty and that too with a 7600X.

**Note:**

*In the components photo i forgot to put the SSD box, XD.*

*The side intake fan was installed later and i forgot to take a photo of the case with it.*

*But i have put a photo of it from the first build, where i had used the 7600X, Single tower air cooler and some different front and back fans.*

**Things that i loved about this case:**

* Two orientation options, Horizontal or vertical.
* Comes with two slim 120mm fans.
* It supports up to 360mm AIO on the side.
* You can have up to 10 fans(Including AIO's fans) if you go with a 360mm AIO and 13 if you add the Aerodeck.
* GPU anti-sag bracket already pre-installed.
* You can use the AeroDeck for better aesthetic and airflow.
* Tool free panels.
* ATX PSU Support.
* mATX Motherboard support.
* Rotatable AC Power Connector
* Front I/O Contains, 2 USB A, 1 USB Type-C and a Combo headset jack.

**Things that could be improved:**

* The front cover removes easily if you're placing the case horizontally and then trying to move it. Since you will need to hold the case from the front and back bottom, so the front cover gets unlocked and opens. However, Not everyone is going to do that every day, but something to keep in mind.
* The feet in vertical mode could be slightly taller to avoid tension to the video cables & thicker.
* The side panels can't be removed without removing the front panel.
* The top can't accommodate AIO, at least a 240mm AIO option would have been great.
* If there was an option of top AIO then glass side panel could have been an option too.

**Conclusion:**

In my country(India) this cost around $100 for the wood variant and $90 for the non wood variant.

Which is slightly expensive, However there is no direct competition to this case when it comes to the versatility it offers. At least I could not find any.

If you're someone who does not go gaga about RGB and like to have a clean desk without compromising on performance, this is the perfect case for you.

Thank you for reading this long review & Please leave a comment if you have any questions and i will reply ASAP.

**TLDR:** 

Very versatile case with mATX option, You won't get frustrated building in a small case like B4. I had this feeling with my previous mATX case where it took very long time to figure everything out. But that was not the case here and everything went very smoothly.

Air flow is plenty and looks very premium and clean with the wood panel. This can be placed vertically or horizontally, so if you have a small desk or 2 monitors then this works like a charm.

**Spec:**

* CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
* Motherboard: MSI B650M Gaming Plus WiFi
* GPU: RTX 3070 8GB OEM, 2 Slot
* RAM: ADATA XPG Lancer 32GB (16GBx2) CL30 DDR5 6000MHz
* SSD: Kingston NV3 Gen4 1TB
* Case Fans: LIAN LI UNI Fan CL Wireless 120 x 4, Ant Esports 120 x 1
* CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB
* PSU: LIAN LI SP1000P Platinum 1000W SFX
* Case: LIAN LI B4 mATX Wood Black

\#buildlikeneverb4

LIAN LI B4-mATX Build Impressions