Anyone use Lian-Li cases nowadays? Recommendations?

[SangamonTaylor]

Hi folks,

I've always been a fan of Lian-Li cases. They aren't cheap, but they always met or exceeded my expectations for the money I've spent. Great airflow when closed, very easy to work with, all aluminum quality and I think they just look nice! In the last 10 or so years I've use 3 different cases from them for various builds:

PC-60-Plus-II
PC-A70
PC-V800 - (used this in the living room with a Core-2-Duo build when we had a 1080p Projector for a few years, that was fun!)

I'm getting ready for my first new build in over 6 years around Coffee Lake, when I can track one down. I no longer have the PC-V800 or the PC-A70 cases, just have the PC-60 and I have a friend willing to take that one off my hands if and when I rebuild, so I'm considering a new mid-tower case. Requirements:

• Mid-Tower size. Will be on the floor next to my desk.
• Will not be doing RGB LED type lights on my case or fans. Not my thing.
• I like solid colors. Silver or Black are usually how I roll.
• I will be making my first foray into a Liquid AIO cooler for the CPU, so will need a case that has a mount for rads.
• Would like a front USB 3.1 port, but I know that might severely limit options, so definitely not mandatory.
• Side Window is ok, but not required.
• Airflow is important, of course.
• Doesn't need to be all aluminum.

Figure while I wait for 8700k to get back in stock I'll shop for a case. Would like to hear other recommendations. I've considered the Silverstone Kublai KL07 and the Lian Li PC-7H so far. I'm not sold on Lian-Li's current offerings, there seem to be soooo many other brands I should look at now.

 

[XavierMace]

You don't see Lian Li cases much any more. Silverstone's still my default choice for when I want a plain solid well built case. However, radiator support isn't great on many of their cases. Unless you need an optical drive, I'd also look at the NZXT S340.

I wouldn't bother with front USB 3.1 at this time. That limits selections too much IMO.

 

[dlerious]

Fractal Design Define C (or Define S).

 

[SangamonTaylor]

Unless you need an optical drive, I'd also look at the NZXT S340.

I like the looks of it. It appears that if you go water-cooling, the radiator goes up front and will blow hot air out the front of the case. Since the GPU and rear fan also blows out the back - this means the intake is just 1x140mm bay on the top of the case. Wondering if that's enough.

Optical drive is optional. I have a Plextor drive, but it's been a year since I have used it...

Agree on USB 3.1. It would be nice because I expect this build will be used another 4-6 years, but not required.

Fractal Design Define C (or Define S).

Also a nice looking case. I like the layout and how they allow you to route wires to keel airflow open.

The limit of 2x 3.5" drives or 3x 2.5" SSD's might concern me on the "C" case. Didn't think about it, but I guess I might want to be able to fit more at some point. Like two SSD's and two 3.5" drives maybe..

I am looking at the Fractal Design R5, that size might be a better fit for me. Good stuff, thanks dlerious.

Thanks for the replies guys, appreciate having other things to look at today.

 

[XavierMace]

You know fans can be reversed, right? And usually only reference design video cards are blowers. So I've got basically all my fans as intake save for the top fan as an exhaust.

 

[Crono]

In Win has some cases (e.g. the 909, though that one is a full tower) you might like if you want a similar premium quality and focus on aesthetics that Lian-Li has. I like my 303 a lot, though it does sacrifice thermal performance a little bit for looks versus a case from NZXT or Phanteks. It does have room for up to a 360mm radiator, though, and at $90 for the black model it doesn't break the bank.

I've also been meaning to get my first Lian-Li case. Likely going to get the LIAN LI PC-O12WX in a few weeks. They really aren't the top in airflow, but I like that they are still doing full aluminum chassis. I never could fit one in my budget before, but I'd at least to have one case from them.

 

[Ackmed]

After over 10+ years of using nothing but Lian Li, I have switched as of last year. I still have a large Lian Li case just sitting here doing nothing but holding old gear. Pretty sure it costed me like $500 too. Time have changed, you can get great quality cases for pretty cheap now.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Not sure about their case designs these days but aluminium is overrated. It feels scratchy and weight savings is irrelevant unless you move your PC around a lot which almost all people don't. Been there, done that with a PC-7B for 7 years.

 

[dlerious]

After over 10+ years of using nothing but Lian Li, I have switched as of last year. I still have a large Lian Li case just sitting here doing nothing but holding old gear. Pretty sure it costed me like $500 too. Time have changed, you can get great quality cases for pretty cheap now.

I have a mid tower and a full tower, forget the model numbers. I bought the mid-tower a long time ago, loved the removable motherboard tray on that. Unfortunately it has 80mm fans, so it still has an old build in it (Pentium 2). I was going to grab a PC-D600, then I saw the Caselabs Mercury S8 and fell in love with the idea of horizontal motherboard mounting (along with removable motherboard tray). Cost hurt though.

 

[gradoman]

I've owned a lot of LL cases, so it's difficult for me to say this, but I find it hard to recommend anything they put out these days unless you're looking to build a showcase build. The more normal cases aren't far off from what you already own, like the LL PC-K6SX, PC-10NB, PC-8NB. The only things that sort of make sense coming out from LL are their ITX models.


InWin has some cases that reminds me of LL, but with better airflow, better support for modern setups -- without breaking the bank. The 303 piques my interest, but has like one included fan. So you'd have to buy some separately to get the airflow going.

Check out Fractal Design for ease of use, proper airflow, traditional layouts. I personally like the Meshify C.

Silverstone, ehhh, too quirky and sometimes way too much plastic for my taste.

Phanteks has the Enthoo Pro M, Pro that have mesh fronts and large fans for lots of airflow. The rest of their cases seem to go and block off the front with metal, plastic or glass. From owning the Evolv (mATX), anything with just a couple slits is going to have a hard time breathing and I ran the case w/the front off most times.

 

[SangamonTaylor]

You know fans can be reversed, right? And usually only reference design video cards are blowers. So I've got basically all my fans as intake save for the top fan as an exhaust.

Yes, I realize that. I guess I wouldn't ever consider pulling air across the radiator INTO the case. As the air passes through your radiator and heats up, I would want to discharge it outside the case - not blow hot air over the components inside the case. Maybe that's just me.

 

[SangamonTaylor]

In Win has some cases (e.g. the 909, though that one is a full tower) you might like if you want a similar premium quality and focus on aesthetics that Lian-Li has. I like my 303 a lot, though it does sacrifice thermal performance a little bit for looks versus a case from NZXT or Phanteks. It does have room for up to a 360mm radiator, though, and at $90 for the black model it doesn't break the bank.

InWin has some cases that reminds me of LL, but with better airflow, better support for modern setups -- without breaking the bank. The 303 piques my interest, but has like one included fan. So you'd have to buy some separately to get the airflow going.

I like the look of some of these InWin cases. The gaming cases are a bit too flashy for me, and lack room for expansion over time (2x 2.5" and 2x3.5" on many of them) but I like the PE Series. Thanks guys.

CaseLabs Magnum SMA-8 looks awesome, but man is that ever pricey. Way way out of my price range. Love window shopping expensive cases however.

 

[SangamonTaylor]

Not sure about their case designs these days but aluminium is overrated. It feels scratchy and weight savings is irrelevant unless you move your PC around a lot which almost all people don't. Been there, done that with a PC-7B for 7 years.

Yeah, but I think metal gets and stays clean better than plastic - why I like it. Dust loves plastic, clings to it.

 

[XavierMace]

Yes, I realize that. I guess I wouldn't ever consider pulling air across the radiator INTO the case. As the air passes through your radiator and heats up, I would want to discharge it outside the case - not blow hot air over the components inside the case. Maybe that's just me.

Doing it that way, you're now pulling hot air across the radiator. So it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. I've always had better temps with my radiators as intakes.

 

[Campy]

Doing it that way, you're now pulling hot air across the radiator. So it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. I've always had better temps with my radiators as intakes.

From what I've seen on GamersNexus, having a cpu radiator as top (exhaust) is the way to go. Gpus are more sensitive to temperatures than cpus in that gpu boost will give you higher clocks with lower temps, whereas a cpu doesn't mind operating at closer to it's max temp.

 

[traderjay]

My Lian-Li PC-V2120X is still an excellent case despite its age. I just upgraded my ATX system to a E-ATX dual CPU workstation using the same case and can't be happier with the outcome. My 1080Ti idles around 50 to 55 degree despite the case not having tons of fans or vents.

 

[SangamonTaylor]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing! Beast of a machine...

 

[NCIXGreg]

We used to sell a ton of Lian-Li cases back around 15 years ago. Excellent build quality and features that were light years ahead of everyone else's plain steel boxes. I too bought a PC60 that housed my main PC up until 5 years ago.

Other companies caught up to the quality of their cases, and even surpassed some of their features. Corsair, SilverStone, and Fractal for example made some major improvements over the older case designs, and they were available much cheaper.

 

[XavierMace]

Gpus are more sensitive to temperatures than cpus in that gpu boost will give you higher clocks with lower temps, whereas a cpu doesn't mind operating at closer to it's max temp.

What?

 

[Campy]

What?

A cpu will operate at it's set frequency until it hits thermal throttling, whereas a Pascal gpu for instance will give you a higher boost clock the lower it's core temperature is. Dropping 5-10c on the gpu can give you higher boost clocks, so if you are a gamer it's usually a good idea to sacrifice a few degrees of cpu temperature for better gpu temperature. The cpu will perform the same whether it is at 65 or 70 degrees, but a modern gpu will likely perform differently, albeit not by very much.

If you're using a 240 rad or larger cpu cooler chances are your cpu temps are going to be fine, and given the choice between having the liquid cooled cpu heat up the air going to the gpu, or the gpu heating up the air going to the cpu radiator, as a general rule it's better to choose the latter.

Of course thermals are very complicated and results can differ based on which components are used in a build, different computer cases, fans, and cooler setups. However the testing I've seen seems to suggest that as a general rule it's better to have a cpu rad as exhaust.

 

[XavierMace]

Because it's auto overclocking for you. That doesn't make it more sensitive to temps than CPU's and GPU boost doesn't scale forever, regardless what your temps are.

 

[Campy]

Yes, obviously. That's what gpu boost does. Of course it doesn't scale forever, either. Nor did I ever say it does. However I was under the impression that it will scale down to 50c and below, that is not from my own experience, that is what I've heard from sources that know much better than I. If you are a gamer and want the max out of your graphics card it's more important to give it that extra little thermal headroom rather than seeing a lower temp on your cpu that won't give you any increased performance.

 

[Ackmed]

I have a mid tower and a full tower, forget the model numbers. I bought the mid-tower a long time ago, loved the removable motherboard tray on that. Unfortunately it has 80mm fans, so it still has an old build in it (Pentium 2). I was going to grab a PC-D600, then I saw the Caselabs Mercury S8 and fell in love with the idea of horizontal motherboard mounting (along with removable motherboard tray). Cost hurt though.

For years Lian Li was all I bought, after I went through my Antec phse. I spent equally as much, or probably more, on imported water cooling parts. Then went to phase change. Then to watercooling and phase change in the same case.






Now I have a NZXT, and am very happy with it. My old Lian Li full tower huge case just sitting in a corner. :/

 

[XavierMace]

Yes, obviously. That's what gpu boost does. Of course it doesn't scale forever, either. Nor did I ever say it does. However I was under the impression that it will scale down to 50c and below, that is not from my own experience, that is what I've heard from sources that know much better than I. If you are a gamer and want the max out of your graphics card it's more important to give it that extra little thermal headroom rather than seeing a lower temp on your cpu that won't give you any increased performance.

You seem to be assuming you aren't OCing your CPU and that the CPU isn't thermally limited.

 

[pandemonium]

As another fanatic of Lian Li cases - when I built my most recent rig in 2015 - I wanted to see what they offered and, at first, was let down. Then I discovered the PC-B16B and gave it a try. Putting it together and using it, I'm in love. It's perfect for me. I actually spent the time to write a review on newegg even. It doesn't appear to be available any more on Newegg, otherwise I'd highly recommend it.

Looking at their current offerings, I see what you mean by not being impressed with their current line-up (I hadn't looked in a while). They seem to have taken the tempered glass craze that's all the rage and made it a focal design choice. Aside from that, the understated, monolithic look of Lian Li is still there with quite a few of them. The problem I always had with their cases was the layout was poor; reducing air flow, or causing major restrictions in component accommodation. I have noticed that they've improved that greatly with most of their cases.

If I were choosing a case today, there does appear to be a few that intrigue me. One, in particular, being the PC-K6SX looks well designed (similar to the PC-B16B), but a little too edgy for my tastes. Otherwise the side-by-side heat zone designs look interesting as well, and I'll admit I wouldn't mind being able to see the interior of my rig. The problem with that is: I value quietness over component display, so I probably wouldn't take the plunge on that. Good cases that are well engineered for component adaptability and air flow, with high quality components, look professional or monolithic (not OMGZL33T), with solid sound dampening a very hard to come by.

If I have some more time tonight while doing the grind I'll look further for ya and edit this. Otherwise, I hope you find something that works for you!