I used to be a huge Lian-Li fan but their cases are still stuck in the past. It is nearly impossible to find a mid-tower that actually includes 120mm fans for BOTH the intake and the exhaust. I mean come on... between required active chipset cooling, 80mm fans in PSU's usually, VGA coolers, yadda yadda yadda it is harder and harder to build a computer that doesn't sound like a blender on high. I am afraid that after a year of searching I can only conclude that the Antec Super Lanboy is the only way to go. You get dual 120's, and pair that with whatever psu that has a 120mm fan and Zalman CPU and VGA coolers and a honkin passive northbridge cooler you could quietly air-cool the most power hungry systems today, all with quiet and slow moving fans.
Well, at least anand isn't reviewing the riced out cases anymore, but this case doesn't seem to be anything special. My antec SOHO 1040 seems to basically do the same damn thing and its $50 cheaper with a decent 400 watt psu.
Actually Cooler Master's old ATCS cases had half of Lian-Li's so called, "innvoations" (extensively implemented thumb screws, removable mobo tray, blow holes) before Lian-Li started making aluminum cases.
Lian-Li was once very innovative company. PC-60 was a forerunner to G5's case. They extensively implemented thumb screws, edgeless designs,removeable mobo trray, removeable HDD rack, system fan speed control, blow holes, etc.And this was several years ago - before G5 and TT [TT was dsigning alien looking case at that time]. Others tried to copy, but usually end up having the looks but not the guts of the PC60.
Unfortunately other than the V1000, they have not done much. Given V1000 is a great case.
My current system is a PC60. It is a great case. Very quiet and very cool.
The V1000 is probably going to be my next case. Unless somebody comes up with a better case by then...
Build a classy looking case constructed of brushed aluminum. Incorperate tooless features(maybe just thumbscrews but at least all thumbscrews). Use less 120mm fans, not a bunch of loud 80mm fans. Don't put the front ports at the bottom of the case. Price the case around $100.
Who wouldn't buy that case? Is this harder than I think it is? Are we talking rocket science here? Would manufacturing the case I described be too expensive? Does the case I'm describing exist already and I'm missing it?
I actually really like Lian Li's Case. I love the design of the case. It is really easy to work with. I already have a PC 65 and PC 68. I am planing to get a V-series.
29,32: you are also right. 140euro for CM stacker was very nice price for perfect case. But LianLi is not the way to go.
With CM you get two silent 120mm and one silent 80mm fan, 6 USB, FW on top, 12 5,25" positions and rubber mounted 4in 3 HDD holder. Case is not too heavy, have alu sides, removable mainboard tray, two power supply holders, many accesorries. EATX, BTX,...
And - it is aluminium where it makes sense (sides) and looks awesome. Best case ever for all needs except SFF.
Like the plain elegant style but at that price I really want it much quieter and (near) tooless. And why haven't they bothered putting the external ports higher?! Mid- or top of case makes much more sense IMHO. Sounds to me like Antec are making cases that are both better and cheaper. It's a no brainer. Now if we could combine Lian Li style with Antec features...
Does anybody know how heavy it is? I'm looking for a very lightweight ATX case, and since this is all aluminum construction, it should be pretty light. My other choice would be an Antec Super Lanboy. Its hard to find information on the weights of LianLi cases (couldn't find it on their website) to make a comparison.
Not much better than the original. The new features are all very gimmicky. The PC-60 was good back in the day but there's a lot of better options now. I have two complaints about my PC-60: sometimes the case vibrates from the fans and some power supplies don't fit. My case doesn't have any front usb ports either. I still think it looks awesome.
Nevermind about the sideways mounting - went back and read it again. "or three HDDs mounted horizontally with the included cage partition. "
but no rubber grommets :(
Ok case. Not thrilled with the way the HDD mounts on it's side and no rubber grommets... oh well. The air holes for the videocard fan seem small for efficient airflow, no?
Also - "One thing we notice is that the frame of the case interferes when using a screwdriver to install or remove these thumbscrews" I guess if you can get ur fat fingers in there then your alright.
I've noticed that Lian Li likes the single 80mm fan in the rear of the case - wouldn't dual 80's be better?
i believe that myth of Lian Li is driven by the fact that in the past there were not much alu only case manufacturers in the past. now is lianli without much inovations only living from that "name"
but there is already long time much better cases for much better price available.
All Lian Li's are very plain, very loud, and only hold bragging rights for the amount of money spent on them. Innovation is a concept lost with these case designers, left by the wayside long ago with originality and style.
If you want a sleek lightweight aluminum case with quiet 120mm fans, a well built and quiet hard drive rack, and very interesting modding capabilities, I'd get the Antec superLANboy for $80 or less. Hell for the price of a Lian Li you could get 2.
Well, in that case, cHodAXUK, I can understand your feelings, even though I am almost entirely satisfied with my PC60. I might get the Mac-like case (the V???? series) if I ever get the dual Opteron board I want - the kind that is EATX and won't fit in an ATX case. ;-)
For style, subtle works best for me - the wave case by Cooler Master is kind of cool IMHO. :)
That duct is a nice idea, but how well does it work with different styled motherboards, eg DFI's new nForce4 line?
I'm also curious where the intended airflow diagram went (page 4).
You also mention that you were worried about the PSU installation with regards to the top blowhole fan, but never mentioned if it actually turned out to be a problem or not ... did it work fine?
i like the plain case, lian li cases are fun to mod, its easy to chew through the aluminum and widen the fan intakes, ect. the main problem with the PC-60/61 was the front intake. the air hole were too small, and then there was a filter after that. i cut out the entire fan grille, and thew away the filter. so i'm glad this new case has better airflow through the front. i'm not sure if i care for the duct, or the GPU fan. i always window-mod the case, but if you don't have a window mod, i see how this is useful.
and as for the sound levels.. doesn't everyone replace their fans with nice ones anyways? if you dont have $10 i understand though.
Something that doesn't look like a Morphy Richards chrome toaster, sadly half of the Lian Li product line is afflicted with dreary looks. It looks like a silver box and looks no different than cases that have been sold for the last 20 years, infact it looks almost exactly like an old case that Brother used to use on their 386 line back in 1988 apart from the Aluminium finish. Plain can be good but Lian Li do plain almost to point of generic. Construction wise the case is first class, no complaints there at all.
So what's your idea of a non-ugly case, #10? Something that has a huge-ass window in the side, with spinning blinkenlichten in all of the fans, and some god-awful combination of colors in the huge other-worldly logo?
Nice case definately. I actually prefer the older layout for the most part though. I would like to see the newer front connector though, and the screw in standoffs.
Incedentally, I've got a PC-65B (Same layout as the PC-60, for the most part), and didn't the original PC-60s have dual 80mm fans? not 60mm?
I have an older kind of PC-60 (from looking at pictures, it seems these things went through several revisions at least - mine has the front fan speed control switch actually sticking through, while from some pictures it seems that this switch was behind the bezel), which has two 80mm fans up front.
Anyway, the review was good, and if I were doing it over today, I would get the new version instead. However, there's not much point in "upgrading," IMHO.
I'm buying a PC-6070 when they get back in stock here (next week hopefully). It's more ezpensive than this one, but it has sound-dampening (big reason for choosing it, my comp is a bit too noisy now) and looks nicer :)
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
43 Comments
Back to Article
kevykev - Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - link
I used to be a huge Lian-Li fan but their cases are still stuck in the past. It is nearly impossible to find a mid-tower that actually includes 120mm fans for BOTH the intake and the exhaust. I mean come on... between required active chipset cooling, 80mm fans in PSU's usually, VGA coolers, yadda yadda yadda it is harder and harder to build a computer that doesn't sound like a blender on high. I am afraid that after a year of searching I can only conclude that the Antec Super Lanboy is the only way to go. You get dual 120's, and pair that with whatever psu that has a 120mm fan and Zalman CPU and VGA coolers and a honkin passive northbridge cooler you could quietly air-cool the most power hungry systems today, all with quiet and slow moving fans.drewski - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
yeah, the pc-60 has 2x80mm up front. i've got a pc-65b and really like it's simple look. i'm thinking of the TT Dream, though for my next system.http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?desc...
if only the side window didn't say ThermalTake!
L3p3rM355i4h - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
Well, at least anand isn't reviewing the riced out cases anymore, but this case doesn't seem to be anything special. My antec SOHO 1040 seems to basically do the same damn thing and its $50 cheaper with a decent 400 watt psu.tonyou - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
Actually Cooler Master's old ATCS cases had half of Lian-Li's so called, "innvoations" (extensively implemented thumb screws, removable mobo tray, blow holes) before Lian-Li started making aluminum cases.tonyou - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
crimsonson - Monday, February 28, 2005 - link
Lian-Li was once very innovative company. PC-60 was a forerunner to G5's case. They extensively implemented thumb screws, edgeless designs,removeable mobo trray, removeable HDD rack, system fan speed control, blow holes, etc.And this was several years ago - before G5 and TT [TT was dsigning alien looking case at that time]. Others tried to copy, but usually end up having the looks but not the guts of the PC60.Unfortunately other than the V1000, they have not done much. Given V1000 is a great case.
My current system is a PC60. It is a great case. Very quiet and very cool.
The V1000 is probably going to be my next case. Unless somebody comes up with a better case by then...
Deucer - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Why can't case manufacturers take a hint...Build a classy looking case constructed of brushed aluminum. Incorperate tooless features(maybe just thumbscrews but at least all thumbscrews). Use less 120mm fans, not a bunch of loud 80mm fans. Don't put the front ports at the bottom of the case. Price the case around $100.
Who wouldn't buy that case? Is this harder than I think it is? Are we talking rocket science here? Would manufacturing the case I described be too expensive? Does the case I'm describing exist already and I'm missing it?
epiv - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
I actually really like Lian Li's Case. I love the design of the case. It is really easy to work with. I already have a PC 65 and PC 68. I am planing to get a V-series.IceWindius - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Im sorry, but Lian Li's case designs are absolute crap. The only one that looked decent was the PC-68 that I had a few years ago.val - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
forget that i installed cross blade fan (30cm) in my cm stacker....val - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
29,32: you are also right. 140euro for CM stacker was very nice price for perfect case. But LianLi is not the way to go.With CM you get two silent 120mm and one silent 80mm fan, 6 USB, FW on top, 12 5,25" positions and rubber mounted 4in 3 HDD holder. Case is not too heavy, have alu sides, removable mainboard tray, two power supply holders, many accesorries. EATX, BTX,...
And - it is aluminium where it makes sense (sides) and looks awesome. Best case ever for all needs except SFF.
Noli - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Totally agree #25Like the plain elegant style but at that price I really want it much quieter and (near) tooless. And why haven't they bothered putting the external ports higher?! Mid- or top of case makes much more sense IMHO. Sounds to me like Antec are making cases that are both better and cheaper. It's a no brainer. Now if we could combine Lian Li style with Antec features...
stromgald - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Does anybody know how heavy it is? I'm looking for a very lightweight ATX case, and since this is all aluminum construction, it should be pretty light. My other choice would be an Antec Super Lanboy. Its hard to find information on the weights of LianLi cases (couldn't find it on their website) to make a comparison.WileCoyote - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Not much better than the original. The new features are all very gimmicky. The PC-60 was good back in the day but there's a lot of better options now. I have two complaints about my PC-60: sometimes the case vibrates from the fans and some power supplies don't fit. My case doesn't have any front usb ports either. I still think it looks awesome.defter - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Who is buying these cases? You pay $150 and get a case with a four case fans and 54dB noise level???I rather get a plain $20 case with zero case fans and a quiet $50 power supply.
XRaider - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Nevermind about the sideways mounting - went back and read it again. "or three HDDs mounted horizontally with the included cage partition. "but no rubber grommets :(
XRaider - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Ok case. Not thrilled with the way the HDD mounts on it's side and no rubber grommets... oh well. The air holes for the videocard fan seem small for efficient airflow, no?Also - "One thing we notice is that the frame of the case interferes when using a screwdriver to install or remove these thumbscrews" I guess if you can get ur fat fingers in there then your alright.
I've noticed that Lian Li likes the single 80mm fan in the rear of the case - wouldn't dual 80's be better?
val - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
sorry for language. too less sleepinval - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
i believe that myth of Lian Li is driven by the fact that in the past there were not much alu only case manufacturers in the past. now is lianli without much inovations only living from that "name"but there is already long time much better cases for much better price available.
theways - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
All Lian Li's are very plain, very loud, and only hold bragging rights for the amount of money spent on them. Innovation is a concept lost with these case designers, left by the wayside long ago with originality and style.If you want a sleek lightweight aluminum case with quiet 120mm fans, a well built and quiet hard drive rack, and very interesting modding capabilities, I'd get the Antec superLANboy for $80 or less. Hell for the price of a Lian Li you could get 2.
val - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
btw: when there is CM Stacker case, no other cases are neccessary. Specialy not such acoustic resonators like Lian Lival - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
#20Its like in Mockba, you know nothing, but They know everything...
Avalon - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
In Soviet Russia, the computer installs YOU!phaxmohdem - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Can somebody explain to me WTF this "In mother Russia" BS is about?? IS it supposed to be funny?ProviaFan - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
Well, in that case, cHodAXUK, I can understand your feelings, even though I am almost entirely satisfied with my PC60. I might get the Mac-like case (the V???? series) if I ever get the dual Opteron board I want - the kind that is EATX and won't fit in an ATX case. ;-)For style, subtle works best for me - the wave case by Cooler Master is kind of cool IMHO. :)
natethegreat - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
I can't believe nobody has pointed out that this new case by Lian Li is louder than a TT Tsunami!TheInvincibleMustard - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
That duct is a nice idea, but how well does it work with different styled motherboards, eg DFI's new nForce4 line?I'm also curious where the intended airflow diagram went (page 4).
You also mention that you were worried about the PSU installation with regards to the top blowhole fan, but never mentioned if it actually turned out to be a problem or not ... did it work fine?
cryptonomicon - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
i like the plain case, lian li cases are fun to mod, its easy to chew through the aluminum and widen the fan intakes, ect. the main problem with the PC-60/61 was the front intake. the air hole were too small, and then there was a filter after that. i cut out the entire fan grille, and thew away the filter. so i'm glad this new case has better airflow through the front. i'm not sure if i care for the duct, or the GPU fan. i always window-mod the case, but if you don't have a window mod, i see how this is useful.and as for the sound levels.. doesn't everyone replace their fans with nice ones anyways? if you dont have $10 i understand though.
val - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
will never do the mistake to buy Lian Li case again.For that money, in Soviet Russia, You have nice car, and 100l of Vodka.
val - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
on photo it may look nice, but in real it is resonating, buttons leaving the holdings and so on :-/.cHodAXUK - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
Something that doesn't look like a Morphy Richards chrome toaster, sadly half of the Lian Li product line is afflicted with dreary looks. It looks like a silver box and looks no different than cases that have been sold for the last 20 years, infact it looks almost exactly like an old case that Brother used to use on their 386 line back in 1988 apart from the Aluminium finish. Plain can be good but Lian Li do plain almost to point of generic. Construction wise the case is first class, no complaints there at all.ProviaFan - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
So what's your idea of a non-ugly case, #10? Something that has a huge-ass window in the side, with spinning blinkenlichten in all of the fans, and some god-awful combination of colors in the huge other-worldly logo?danidentity - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
Will that CPU duct interfere with larger heatsinks like the Thermalright XP-120?cHodAXUK - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
F'ugly case, always has been and always will be.WW2Planes1 - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
Nice case definately. I actually prefer the older layout for the most part though. I would like to see the newer front connector though, and the screw in standoffs.Incedentally, I've got a PC-65B (Same layout as the PC-60, for the most part), and didn't the original PC-60s have dual 80mm fans? not 60mm?
ProviaFan - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
I have an older kind of PC-60 (from looking at pictures, it seems these things went through several revisions at least - mine has the front fan speed control switch actually sticking through, while from some pictures it seems that this switch was behind the bezel), which has two 80mm fans up front.Anyway, the review was good, and if I were doing it over today, I would get the new version instead. However, there's not much point in "upgrading," IMHO.
pbrain - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
While I don't know if at some point they used 60mm, the PC-60 I have uses 2x 80mm fans.Da3dalus - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
I'm buying a PC-6070 when they get back in stock here (next week hopefully). It's more ezpensive than this one, but it has sound-dampening (big reason for choosing it, my comp is a bit too noisy now) and looks nicer :)mattsaccount - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
The message is clear: Lian Li makes great cases :)Bonesdad - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
Nice features inside...a bit dull looking on the outside. MUCH better than those silly little boy cases reviewed in the past.semo - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
yeah we need thermal infoanyway case looks good but for a bit more money i'd rather get the p160 or cm stackereven for even more money
Brian23 - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
In mother Russia, Lian Lis youDEMO24 - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link
Is it just me or are the thermal images not working correctly?Otherwise cool case I assume. Would be better to see temps though :)