Man, the desktop baron waste land when it comes to original ID....
Lian Li used to make some really unique and clean designs with exceptional build quality. Granted some of them were compromised on the functionality front but that was better then jumping on the tempered glass, plastic and steel bandwagon.
Now it seems if you want something interesting with good industrial design its mITX or nothing.
Also how the fuck are still using ATX in 2020. Its a garbage inefficient use of space, the industry really should be able to do better in both in terms of function and design.
Lian Li used to make almost exclusively Aluminum chassis. For a time they actually shifted the industry towards aluminum but it's all gone to crap, everything is steel and weighs 400lbs now. It's quite disappointing.
Lian Li name goes on their aluminium cases. Lancool goes on their steel cases. They've been doing that for like a decade now. Not much has changed, except them using a lot of tempered glass now.
I'd like them to start releasing some new Lian Li cases, as they've been stagnate for years now, aside from the two Lancool cases. Which I don't want.
Amen the last case i bought was over 10 years ago and I have found nothing better since I added the Fan top and the wheels and have recently changed the IO on the top to usb3 with a lian li replacement part, this case was so far ahead of its time twin PSU up to 10 fan cooled HDD removable motherboard tray etc read the review https://www.techpowerup.com/review/lian-li-pc-a70/
I wish they would get back to making that sort of case
Exactly, I'm still rocking an original PC-V600 and just put my server into a PC-S80. Thing is silent but the PSU kicks up a racket, making the whole thing pointless.
Tempered glass is choosing form over function, and there's nothing wrong with that, really. Some people would rather their PC look nice instead of being, what, 4-5 degrees lower in temps? Different priorities, that's all.
Same with power delivery. No reason for all these power connections taking up so much space. 24pin + 8 pin cpu, + 2x 8 pin gpu, + sata power cables, etc. Power could easily be delivered along motherboard with one connection like a laptop, or Imac with 18 core Zeon.
I don't think you have been around for long enough. Lian Li was all about high end aluminum cases. Its products usually carry a very high price tag but was worth the price, think them like Noctua when it comes to quality and all the attention to details. Their first steel case probably came out in like 2015.
However there is only so much you can do with aluminum cases, with very limited color and shapes. They were also very behind when it comes to designs, still offering like 6 non-removable hard drive slots and limited radiator support in 2014.
Obsolete design and high price tag eventually killed it.
They should've called it "LAN 2 Cool", and made it 19" tall and 7" wide (4 rack units). Then, offer a rack-mount option to slot it into a rack, sideways. That version would then be called the "LAN 2 Cool 4U".
I'm always astonished by how much space is wasted in cases. The days of having dual GPU, full size wifi card, full size ethernet card, audio card, several 3.5 HDDs, large DVD drive etc in an ATX case are long gone.
Most modern cases I see around me contain a mobo, GPU, PSU, maybe a single 3.5" drive if they haven't yet been upgraded to SSD or m.2, a rusty unused DVD drive and several cubic miles of empty space.
I would be interested in buying several dozen cheap ATX cases with room just for a tiny mITX style 200-300w PSU, an ATX mobo, a GPU, and 1 or 2 x 2.5" drives, nothing else. Would save a lot of space at my workplace.
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Makaveli - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
That is a pretty good price I was expecting like $149Operandi - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
Man, the desktop baron waste land when it comes to original ID....Lian Li used to make some really unique and clean designs with exceptional build quality. Granted some of them were compromised on the functionality front but that was better then jumping on the tempered glass, plastic and steel bandwagon.
Now it seems if you want something interesting with good industrial design its mITX or nothing.
Also how the fuck are still using ATX in 2020. Its a garbage inefficient use of space, the industry really should be able to do better in both in terms of function and design.
Operandi - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
**PC case desktop market**Yeah so where's that edit button Anandtech?
JoeyJoJo123 - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
There's still some good atx designs from boutique case sellers, like sliger.rahvin - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
Lian Li used to make almost exclusively Aluminum chassis. For a time they actually shifted the industry towards aluminum but it's all gone to crap, everything is steel and weighs 400lbs now. It's quite disappointing.Aluminum chassis are so much nicer IMO.
khanikun - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
Lian Li name goes on their aluminium cases. Lancool goes on their steel cases. They've been doing that for like a decade now. Not much has changed, except them using a lot of tempered glass now.I'd like them to start releasing some new Lian Li cases, as they've been stagnate for years now, aside from the two Lancool cases. Which I don't want.
alufan - Saturday, January 11, 2020 - link
Amen the last case i bought was over 10 years ago and I have found nothing better since I added the Fan top and the wheels and have recently changed the IO on the top to usb3 with a lian li replacement part, this case was so far ahead of its time twin PSU up to 10 fan cooled HDD removable motherboard tray etc read the reviewhttps://www.techpowerup.com/review/lian-li-pc-a70/
I wish they would get back to making that sort of case
Danvelopment - Sunday, January 12, 2020 - link
Exactly, I'm still rocking an original PC-V600 and just put my server into a PC-S80. Thing is silent but the PSU kicks up a racket, making the whole thing pointless.Danvelopment - Sunday, January 12, 2020 - link
Oops, UPS, not PSU.Retycint - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
Tempered glass is choosing form over function, and there's nothing wrong with that, really. Some people would rather their PC look nice instead of being, what, 4-5 degrees lower in temps? Different priorities, that's all.Dug - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
Same with power delivery. No reason for all these power connections taking up so much space. 24pin + 8 pin cpu, + 2x 8 pin gpu, + sata power cables, etc. Power could easily be delivered along motherboard with one connection like a laptop, or Imac with 18 core Zeon.khanikun - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
A laptop or a iMac are mostly mobile parts. They don't need as much power. A high end, single desktop GPU by itself uses more power than an iMac.airdrifting - Monday, January 13, 2020 - link
I don't think you have been around for long enough. Lian Li was all about high end aluminum cases. Its products usually carry a very high price tag but was worth the price, think them like Noctua when it comes to quality and all the attention to details. Their first steel case probably came out in like 2015.However there is only so much you can do with aluminum cases, with very limited color and shapes. They were also very behind when it comes to designs, still offering like 6 non-removable hard drive slots and limited radiator support in 2014.
Obsolete design and high price tag eventually killed it.
mode_13h - Thursday, January 9, 2020 - link
They should've called it "LAN 2 Cool", and made it 19" tall and 7" wide (4 rack units). Then, offer a rack-mount option to slot it into a rack, sideways. That version would then be called the "LAN 2 Cool 4U".Tomatotech - Monday, January 13, 2020 - link
I'm always astonished by how much space is wasted in cases. The days of having dual GPU, full size wifi card, full size ethernet card, audio card, several 3.5 HDDs, large DVD drive etc in an ATX case are long gone.Most modern cases I see around me contain a mobo, GPU, PSU, maybe a single 3.5" drive if they haven't yet been upgraded to SSD or m.2, a rusty unused DVD drive and several cubic miles of empty space.
I would be interested in buying several dozen cheap ATX cases with room just for a tiny mITX style 200-300w PSU, an ATX mobo, a GPU, and 1 or 2 x 2.5" drives, nothing else. Would save a lot of space at my workplace.