Lian Li PC-O11 Review
Category : Cases
Published by Marc Büchel on 31.08.17
With the PC-O11, Lian Li has a high-end cube case in its portfolio. As with all of their cases in their portfolio this one has also been made from aluminum and to top things off, there are side panels, which have been made from tempered glass. Apart from that there is a lot of flexibility when it comes to building a custom water cooled rig.
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Preview
Specifications
| Model: |
PC-O11 |
| Case Type: |
Mid-tower |
| Dimensions: |
277 mm (W) x 527 mm (H) x 457 mm (D) |
| Material: |
Aluminum, Steel, Tempered Glass |
| Color: |
Black, White |
| Drive Bay: |
5.25": |
0 |
| 3.5": |
4 |
| 2.5": |
4 |
| Expansion
slots: |
8 |
| Form factors: |
E-ATX, ATX, mATX, mini-ITX |
| Cooling: |
Front: |
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| Rear: |
/ |
| Top: |
3x 120mm |
| Bottom: |
3x 120mm |
| Side: |
/ |
| Watercooling |
Front: |
/ |
| Bottom: |
360mm |
| Top: |
360mm |
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Features
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Two compartment layout & Cable management
Lian Li chose a two chamber layout for this case. If you look at the PC-O11 from the front, you see that motherboard and graphics card are placed on the left side of the motherboard tray and on the other side that’s where the power supply and HDD/SSD cage go. This internal layout allows for stunning looking builds, where all cables are hidden behind the motherboard tray.
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Support for custom watercooling
The PC-O11 offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to custom watercooling gear. Looking at the case from the front, you see that the left chamber can be equipped with up to six 120mm fans. Three of them can be placed in the bottom and three in the top. Therefore it's possible to place a 360mm radiator in the top as well as in the bottom. If you decide to install a radiator we recommend using a model that is not higher than 45mm in order to fit nicely. |
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Modular HDD rack
Looking at the case from the front, in the right compartement there are two HDD/SSD cages pre-installed. If you wish so you can install up to four 3.5-inch or four 2.5-inch drives. Otherwise you can remove them from the case so you have more space for individual cable management. |
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Product overview
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Enclosures from Lian Li are always something special. It’s rare that computer cases are being manufactured according to such high standards. As expected we find perfectly made aluminum parts. All panels have been hairline brushed and the chassis itself is stiff. Nevertheless we have to mention that with this case Lian Li is using a base structure that is made from steel and not aluminum. The manufacturer claims that this helps them keep the cost at a reasonable level while achieving better stiffness and less vibration noise. A quick look at the specifications table shows that this case weighs 10 kilogram, which is quite heavy for a case that makes use of this much aluminum. On the other hand it means that Lian Li has not made any compromises in terms of material thickness and therefore the overall quality is very high.
As we already mentioned the left side panel as well as the front have been made from tempered glass. Both glass panels are kept in place using flat-headed thumb screws. Looking at the interior layout we see that this case is actually as compact/slim as it can be to still support EATX motherboards. It appears that the manufacturer tried to find a suitable compromise to not make the case too large yet still support highest-end components.
Looking for the I/O connectors we find them integrated into front facing face-plate. Next to two USB3.0 Type-A ports there is one USB Type-C connector and there are two 3.5 millimeter jacks to connect headphones and microphone. Right above to the 3.5mm jacks there is the power button. Lian Li decided to not equip this case with a reset button. |
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Installation
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| At this point we’re going to work our way from the outside to the inside. Unpacking the case we see that meanwhile also Lian Li is shipping their cases with the tempered glass panels pre-installed. In the case of the PC-O8 for instance the tempered glass side panels were seperately packed. Removing the top panel we notice it's clicked-in. Therefore taking this panel off is as simple as it gets. Having this panel removed as well, we now have clear view at the inside. Looking at the motherboard tray we find a total of six grommeted cut-outs, which are there to route cables from one side of the motherboard tray to the other. Since this case is based on a two chamber layout the power supply is placed on the backside of the motherboard tray and all necessary cables need to be routed through the mentioned grommets. Also on this side there are two modular HDD/SSD cages, which offer space for up to four 3.5/2.5 inch drives. Installing drives is simple and done by sliding 3.5 inch HDDs in place while fixing them using thumb screws. The 2.5 inch drives are located on top and at the bottom of the cage.
Looking at the left side of the motherboard tray we see a huge cut-out right behind where the motherbaords CPU socket. Thanks to the six rubber grommets cables can be routed to the components exactly where you need them to be. If you want to put the motherboard in place, there are pre-soldered stand-offs. If you decide to build a system using air cooling, there is 150 millimeter of clearance. In other words, you'll have to check the height of your huge tower cooler since not all models will fit. In the end it’s pretty straight forward to tighten motherboard and cooler in the case. Now it’s about time to install the graphics card. In this case you don’t need to worry about compatibility. Graphics cards can be up to 430 millimeters long. Tightening the card to the case can be somewhat circumstantial. You first have to remove a cover for hiding the slot bezels away to then have access to the thumb screws keeping the slot bezels in place. At this point it’s basically the opposite of “design follows function” but this little addition really helps providing even the back of this case with clean looks.
Water cooling (all-in-one and custom)
The PC-O11 is not just suitable for air cooling, it also allows you to build a fully-fledged, custom water cooled system. Nevertheless let’s first talk about installing an all-in-one water cooler. Basically you can equip this case with a 120, a 240 and even a 360 millimeter solution, whereas they’re being installed at the top and bottom. The process is anything but complicated. You simply take the all-in-one and tighten it to the case using the screws, which come with your cooler.
If you plan on creating a custom water cooling loop, we recommend you to think precisely about which components you want to use and where you want to place them. Although this case offers good compatibility for custom water cooling gear it’s not huge. Actually in relation to the hardware, which can be installed this case is rather compact. For this review we decided to equip this case with a custom water cooling loop, whereas two graphics card and the CPU are being cooled using two 360mm radiators, while one is in the bottom and the other at the top. Apart from that we’ve used a generously sized pump/reservoir combo (EK-D5 and 250mm reservoir), which we've place on top of the bottom radiator facing the front tempered glass panel. To connect the blocks, radiator and pump we decided to go for tubing with 16mm outer diameter. If you want/need to do so you can easily squeeze those tubes through the rubber grommets, which are basically there for the cable management.
Bottom line we can say that it was definitely worth putting custom water cooling gear into this case, since it looks simply stunning, especially with the RGB LED lighting. Nevertheless we really have to underline again, that it’s crucial to think well about the gear you want to use. |
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Ventilation options
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Included in the delivery there no fans at all. Lian Li decided to not equip this case with any fans leaving the customer with the decision as to which fans he/she wants to use. Once you've chosen your preferred fans you can install three 120mm one in the bottom as well as three more at the top. Furthermore there are air filter mats at both locations, which are being kept in place using magnet strips.
If you'd wish to do so you could also equip the back with two 80mm fans. Nevertheless we believe nobody will go for this option, since 80mm fans have a rather bad ratio between airflow and noise level. |
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Temperatures
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Following we’re going to have a look at temperatures of our test CPU as well as graphics card. Regarding the hardware we used in ASUS Rampage V Extreme motherboard, an Intel Core i7-5960X and a MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti graphics card. Apart from that a triple radiator (EK CoolStream PE 360) took care of heat exchange. In order to find the highest possible temperatures, we ran prime95 for 10 minutes as well as FurMark. Ambient temperature was 21°C. |
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All noise dampening panels installed |
Idle (Package) |
Full (Package) |
| Intel Core i7-5960X |
33°C |
62°C |
| MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti Gaming |
34°C |
64°C |
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Less is better |
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Conclusion
Rating |
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Cooling |
Features |
Layout |
Build Quality |
Value for Money |
| Pros |
+ Good compatibility for watercooling
+ Dust filters |
+ Extensive bundle
+ RGB LED Lightning |
+ Two chamber layout
+Available space for custom water cooling gear |
+ Good build quality |
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| Cons |
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- Expensive |
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The PC-O11 from Lian Li is a really good looking high-end case. It features a simply perfect build quality and very nicely crafted aluminum parts and the solid construction as well as the thick side panels and the tempered glass add to the high quality feel. Apart from that the vendor made sure to keep this case as small as possible yet allowing the installation of EATX motherboards. If you plan on equipping this case with custom water cooling gear, you’ll have to properly think about which gear you want to place where, but apparently this is the case with all custom water cooled builds. Overall it was suprisingly simple to build a clean looking custom water cooled rig using this case and we espeically like the fact, that it was possible to use two 360mm radiators, while one is sitting at the top and the other at the bottom.
If you’re planning on building an air cooled rig using this case you can definitely put something together that looks absolutely stunning as well. There is plenty of space available but we'd recommend checking your CPU cooler's height for compatibility. Apart from that you'll have to buy all additional case fans yourself since Lian Li does not equip this case with any. The same goes for the LED lighting, meaning that if you want to to for illumination you'll have to buy LED strips separately.
Should you be looking for an absolute high-end case with brilliant build quality and looks, then we can definitely recommend this case. Apart from that we can also recommend it for any water cooling project. Checking prices we find the PC-O11 listed over at Caseking for 229 Euro, whereas in Switzerland it costs CHF 257.- Bottom line this case deserves
4 out of 5 stars.
