Lian Li PC-V2100 questions

[Roguetech]

I'm looking to get this in another week or three, but have some questions, and can't find any comprehensive reviews on it. Indeed, it doesn't seem to even be listed on http://www.lian-li.com.tw/.

Anyrate, are the wheels removable? Does it use clip or screw style motherboard stand-offs? Is it for sale anywhere at a decent price (i.e. at or below Newegg) with a window side-panel?

And most importantly, is it worth the sticker price? What other cases are in the same league? I'm looking for the same design style (meaning sleek and glossy as opposed to semi-gaudy like Tt), with 120mm fans. I also like the connectors at the bottom instead on the top.

 

[Tab]

Wheels are removable, it's basically the same as the V-1xxx series expect quite a bit taller and larger. You don't want to take the wheels off as it pushs and take air out of the case through the bottom... The motherboard tray is NOT removable (removable tray's just add noise in my opinion). Use's brass screws for stand-offs and can accept E-ATX boards... Connnectors (USB-Firewire-AudioIn-AudioOut) are on the bottom of the case...

The case is worth it, but being black somewhat defeats the purpose as the insides are very shiny..

 

[ribbon13]

if ya notice, I was the last one to leave a comment about it. It's beautiful. And if you live anywhere around Seattle, I can have the insides of it annodized black for you if ya want.

 

[KarenMarie]

I am wondering what the difference between the V2000b and the v2100b are... besides just look and locking door.

I am concerned about the cooling properties of the 2100b. But I am not thrilled with not having a reset switch on the 2000b. I am desperate for a new case and have narrowed it down to these two. It will be a major investment for me... so I dont want to lay out this kind of money and then in two weeks wish I had purchased the other...

What do you guys think?

v2000b

v2100b

Thanks!

 

[runestone]

I'd say go with the 2100, if you need that large of a case. I have the V1100. The 1100 and 2100 are solid cases with foam type lining for noise reduction. I can barely hear the case fans and the 120mm cpu fan; wish the fan on the 6600gt vid card was as good!

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: runestone
I'd say go with the 2100, if you need that large of a case. I have the V1100. The 1100 and 2100 are solid cases with foam type lining for noise reduction. I can barely hear the case fans and the 120mm cpu fan; wish the fan on the 6600gt vid card was as good!

I am not that worried about noise to be honest.

This is my present case... well designed but crappily built. The 1st one fell apart in 3 weeks... so i got .. well the company i bought it from (electroseller.com) gave me a choice.. return it at my expense & he would replace it..... or for $50.00 shipped, he would send me a rebuilt one. I chose the latter .. it was mint cndition.. but here we are... less than a year later and this is falling apart...

and there is NO room to work in there at all... changing a ribbon cable is a 10 minute carry on... so i am getting a new case...

I narrowed it down to the two above.. cause i understand that Lian Li make the best cases on the market.. best quality, best design... but to be honest..i have not seen any other case that has that much room in it... 12x3.5 spaces and 7x5.25 spaces!!

This is a large $$$ outlay for a case. My biggest fear is that I will choose one and then two weeks later start wishing I had the other one... and then I would hate the one I have forever...

I am concerned about the heat in the v2100b and I am not sure how I feel about the v2000b not having a reset switch (the reset switch broke on my present one about 8 months ago, and i have learned to live without it. but wish it was there). The v2100b is a lot more $$$ but it is gorgeous to me... i wonder if it is worth $35.00 for the door.

ARGGHHH!!! I hate making the choice... the b/f has lost patience with me... told me to get over it.. get on newegg, dink dink dink the keys and get a friggen case already.

 

[shira]

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
I am not sure how I feel about the v2000b not having a reset switch

I'm not very handy, but I'll bet there is some way to elegantly jury-rig a reset switch. I suggest starting a separate thread asking if that's possible.

 

[Tiamat]

karenmarie, reset switch isnt very necessary anymore these days. Most motherboard bios's have options where you can set your power switch to instant off upon depression. As for spending the 35$. I guess it comes down to, do you want a flat neat front appearance, or do you want a more effective venting, more utility look.

 

[runestone]

KM, is there anywhere local that carries the Lian-Li's? The reset switch is no big deal; I wondered about that too.
I was able to look at one v1000 and did not like all the holes. Compared to the 1100 it looked kind of flimsy-noise was a factor also. Heat is not really an issue with mine.
It is a big chunk of change to lay out, for sure, but think about how oh so nice that black case would be to have, standing like a anodized obelisk of case technology, to be admired every time you look at it.
I'd say go for the 2100, get your fingers clicking.

 

[KarenMarie]

hahaha! thanks for the replies, guys...

Yes, I like the v2100b better. It is just soooo sleek and nice looking... I don't remember where I read someone say that they were concerned about the heat and ventilation in the v2100... They were saying that with foam padding and without the holes like the v2000 has, they fear having poor ventilation and overheating problems. I do not know enough about such things to make reach a conclusion.

And, if there are stores locally that carry Lian Li.. well google doesnt know of them. Loads of online stores, but nothing brick and mortar that I can find. Even Lian Li homepage does not have the 'where to buy' info on their page. I would be very happy to find one though.

Anyway... tommorrow is Sunday, and even if I do order one online... it will not be until Monday before the order goes thru, so I might as wait until Monday to order and see what else I can find about them ... gives me another day to make my decision.

 

[Aries64]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
karenmarie, reset switch isnt very necessary anymore these days. Most motherboard bios's have options where you can set your power switch to instant off upon depression. As for spending the 35$. I guess it comes down to, do you want a flat neat front appearance, or do you want a more effective venting, more utility look.

This is the second time in in as may weeks that I've seen a thread where the absence of a reset switch is brushed-off like it is TOTALLY unnecessary. What does a mobo's BIOS being able to be set for a "soft off" have to do with the ability to do a "hard reset"? Turning a computer off and then cold-starting is very different from a warm re-boot.

There are definitely times when a hard reset is desired - maybe your PC froze in the middle of a BIOS update and you don't want to shut the system all the way down. Maybe it froze while you were overclocking. I find it interesting that individuals on a dedicated enthusiast site where many people overclock their systems beyond spec find no use for a reset switch. Its as if their systems have NEVER froze up.

I love my V1000, but I still wish it had a reset switch. They come in handy every now and then. I'm thinking about installing one - if I can find a small, unobtrusive switch I will.

KarenMarie - where are you located? If you are in the Los Angeles or Pasadena, California area I know of a place that carries many of the Lian Li cases in stock. I could have bought online and saved $15.00 but it wasn't worth the wait. I like to buy locally to support local businesses when I can anyway.

 

[KarenMarie]

Ya know... I thought the same thing about the reset switch... it SHOULD be there... I am not an expert or anything, but it cannot be good for the system to turn it off and on again when just needed a warm boot. I know that if I am fixing stuff and need to restart numerous times... well, to be honest, I do not wait as long as I should before turning it back on after turning it off. As I posted earlier.. the case I have now... the reset switch puked out a while back and although I have learned to make due without it... I certainly do miss it.

It was mentioned about that I could find a way to rig one up, but to be honest... I could not imagine spending over $250.00 for a case only to have to rig something up.

My only concerns about the v2100b is what I read... on another forum... about the ventilation/heating concerns that the poster had. But no one addressed that issue and the thread just died, so I never got an answer on it. Again, noise is not an issue for me at all. Since I am not an expert on all this... and have never had a Lian Li (see above post for the case I have now...which I thought was the bestest ever until it fel apart)... I do not know if there is a ventilation/heating concern that Lian Li would allow to happen. I mean, I doubt a company like Lian Li would go to all the trouble to make "the bestest case ever" and overlook something like that. It might just be me... reading a post by someone on a forum and over reacting. To be honest... spending $300.00 on something that most ppl usually spend like $50-75.00 on... well, for that kind of money on a case (that is a lot of money for me on anything, tbh) I want to make a serious, informed decision.

As far as finding someplace local... hmm... I am in Lyndhurst, NJ. There is no store that I know of that carries them in stock. Nothing on google, and of all the online stores I have looked at in the past week... the ONLY one I found is is College Point, NY. While it is not a huge distance (35 miles)... it is a total PITA to get to... NJ to Flushing Queens area.

Anyway... does anyone know if there are any valid ventilation/heat concerns in the v2100b?

Bottom line... if i spend $300.00 on a case, and then hate it.. the b/f will ... well misery will ensue

Thanks everyone... I really appreciate it.

 

[rgsaunders]

If you are concerned about the cooling, try searching for reviews on the V1100 and read them, the primary difference between the cases is size which results in a little more free air space.

 

[Roguetech]

Still no answer on this:

Is it for sale anywhere at a decent price (i.e. at or below Newegg) with a window side-panel?

I didn't word it very well with the "at or below"; I kinda meant case + window less than Newegg price + window price. I don't like the idea of spending another $35 on a window, then be like "WTF do I do with this other panel?!" There must be a ton of left-side panels for sale !

My current case definitly has cooling issues (though it's otherwise a great case). But, if I buy a new case, it'll be a good one. (I was also looking at the UFO's (LINK)). But if I drop $300+ on a case, I want it to make the Energizer© Bunny look like a stupid pink rabbit with a battery up it's arse. But I heard about BTX coming out (?), I'm doing some serious wiffling and/or waffling.

Someone decide for me

 

[Mucker]

Might want to check this one out, the CM Stacker. One of the best cases you can buy today: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-119-039&depa=0

Supreme cooling, moveable I/O bay, BTX compat, 2 x 120mm included, 1 x80mm blow hole fan included. Zipzoomfly has a great price. This is alot of bang for the buck. I'd take it over any Lian-Li anyday.....

Scroll down to see this work of art: http://www.coolermaster.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1105&start=45

m

 

[XBoxLPU]

There is no window side for the 2100

 

[Blain]

I personally don't like the ultra-plain, industrial look of the 2100.
The Temjin TJ06-S is nice, but no door.

 

[ribbon13]

I love the v2100b
The plain industrial looks was great, until I chopped a hole in the side panel, put a custom laser etched window on it, UV blue sleeving and heatshrink, UV Blue sata cables, uv blue sleeves on the tygon, blue radiators, blue dominator pros, uv blue fans...

Ahh. Not so industrial anymore.

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: Blain
I personally don't like the ultra-plain, industrial look of the 2100.
The Temjin TJ06-S is nice, but no door.

That is not a bad looking case... but it does not have 7 5.25 and 12 3.5 bays.

 

[runestone]

Well, rogue and KM,,wondering if you made a decision....?

 

[lotus503]

Ok I have the PC-V2000, Prior I had a modded PC-65 and yes the cooling in the new case left a lot to be deisired. Was getting fairly high temps while gaming.

Took my case to a machine shop and had them holesaw a 120mm blowhole directly above the active northbridge cooler. I then had two 80mm holes done splitting over the Vid card and over the CPU. Temps are awsome now.

My old Lian -Li has awsome airflow, I guess I was expecting too much from this case pre mod. Post mod CPU is 26c Idle Mobo is 24c, Now I can OC

 

[Roguetech]

I've decided to not invest in a case right now, with BTX maybe coming. Instead I'm going to put the money into a wireless keyboard and mouse for my wife, and a wireless mouse, a trackball, and a steering wheel for myself and maybe some other toys. And problably a dremel to see if I can do anything for my currect case.