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Lian Li Case Question

Z

Zetherin

Gawd
Joined
Jan 21, 2008
Messages
765
I'll get right to the point: What's so good about Lian Li cases?

Through my research it seems these cases are very highly recommended, yet when I actually see pictures of said cases they look rather boring and unappealing.

Is it the engineering (perhaps the raw materials, design I'm not seeing) that make these cases stand out, or is this just some kind of asian fanboyism I'm not understanding?

PS: Excuse my ignorance. I've searched this forum and others (not to mention countless review sites) trying to find evidence, and wanted to see perspective right from the horses mouth.
 
It's the design - brushed aluminium - which makes it so appealing to people.

Computers went from being boring white/yellowish to nicely brushed or anodized aluminium cases. Just like fridges have gone from boring white to shiny silver and piano black.

It's just a clean and stylish look. No high amount of silly weird shapes, just sheer bling. When I look at Thermaltake cases I wonder who made up all those curves.

It's all a matter of personal taste.
 
Not to mention, Lian Li makes alot of replacement parts.. I powder coated my Lian Li.. They are highly customizable..
 
Lian Li makes simple cases and are very durable.

I prefer simplistic cases over some of these fancy, garbage one's you see being sold. Also to mention, they're fairly lightweight.
 
1. All aluminum. (Nice and light and possibly helps cool the case temps a bit.)
2. They are not riced out like 99% of the cases people use now a days.
 
infect0 said:
1. All aluminum. (Nice and light and possibly helps cool the case temps a bit.)
2. They are not riced out like 99% of the cases people use now a days.
Click to expand...
and if u wanna rice them out its easy.
 
It's because they're so seksi, and generally well designed. But mostly the seksi part.
 
Thund3rb1rd said:
I don't get lian-li either. I mean, I get the principle, but not the price. The cheapest one (newegg) being $90 shipped is ridiculous. No Spank You.
Click to expand...

BB is currently clearing out rebadge Lian-li full towers for $47. Very nice case and easy to mod. Fitting a 3x120 rad internally was a breeze and I'm pretty sure a 4x120 would have fit as well. There aren't too many cases you could say that about.
 
I agree with the majority here, its the shear simplicity that makes their cases so appealing. But also they are built well and with style versus a majority of cases today have tons of plastic and may look all cool and futuristic to you now, but give it a couple months and all that rice will have wishing ya went with something more professional looking. Example of this was the Alienware case... couldnt wait to get one and once I had it I was borded to death of its looks within a couple weeks and would have been more appealing to my little cousins.
 
Thanks for the responses all.

So, it's agreed upon that the main selling point here is the simplistic design and professional brushed aluminum. Is that all, though? Nick, you mention 'no bleeding fingers'. Does that imply that the generally sharp edges present in many standard cases are not as apparent in a Lian Li case?

The point here is: I do prefer style over a more simplistic look. However, NOT at the cost of good workmanship. If the case isn't well designed and made of good materials, I won't be interested, regardless of appearance.

With that said, are there any more stylish Lian Li's on the horizon, or is there another brand of case similar to the quality present in Lian Li's, albeit a more 'complex', stylish design?
 
Zetherin said:
Thanks for the responses all.

So, it's agreed upon that the main selling point here is the simplistic design and professional brushed aluminum. Is that all, though? Nick, you mention 'no bleeding fingers'. Does that imply that the generally sharp edges present in many standard cases are not as apparent in a Lian Li case?

The point here is: I do prefer style over a more simplistic look. However, NOT at the cost of good workmanship. If the case isn't well designed and made of good materials, I won't be interested, regardless of appearance.

With that said, are there any more stylish Lian Li's on the horizon, or is there another brand of case similar to the quality present in Lian Li's, albeit a more 'complex', stylish design?
Click to expand...
Yea the build quality is amazing, every peice goes together perfect and there very light yet very durable.
When u say u prefer style what exactly do you mean by that, do you want windows and lights?

Because you can order lian li with custom window and add lights at www.performance-pcs.com
 
The best way to wrap your mind around the Lian Li series of cases is that you're buying a very high quality clean canvas. It is a subtle and refined look that all of them have (except the Lancool and Armorsuit ones...), and it gives you a great base to start with. You have the option of leaving the clean lines and not doing much to it and appreciating the function over form...or you can go hog-wild with any parts imaginable (custom built or bought from a store) and make it uniquely your own. However with a lot of the cases out there on the market, the companies design a case and you're really stuck with how it looks, and most of the time its gaudy and an eye-sore. The only downside that I can possibly see from Lian Li cases is the higher price, but you really are getting what you paid for, in this case. They're also notorious (especially the black ones) for showing fingerprints and smudges...
 
Nick_Leo said:
Yea the build quality is amazing, every peice goes together perfect and there very light yet very durable.
When u say u prefer style what exactly do you mean by that, do you want windows and lights?

Because you can order lian li with custom window and add lights at www.performance-pcs.com
Click to expand...

Good question.

I guess what I mean is something out of the ordinary, windows and lights may be included. It's difficult for me to describe and any explanation would probably be ambiguous. I just know when I see it. For instance, the Coolermaster Cosmos I find to be stylish (I don't like it to be superfluous...I can point out a few RaidMax's that fit that description), and it too has a polished aluminum finish. Instead of just going for the CoolerMaster, however, I decided to get some more ideas regarding other high-end cases.

Thanks once again for your responses, and I'll take a gander at the link you posted.
 
sawm said:
The best way to wrap your mind around the Lian Li series of cases is that you're buying a very high quality clean canvas. It is a subtle and refined look that all of them have (except the Lancool and Armorsuit ones...), and it gives you a great base to start with. You have the option of leaving the clean lines and not doing much to it and appreciating the function over form...or you can go hog-wild with any parts imaginable (custom built or bought from a store) and make it uniquely your own. However with a lot of the cases out there on the market, the companies design a case and you're really stuck with how it looks, and most of the time its gaudy and an eye-sore. The only downside that I can possibly see from Lian Li cases is the higher price, but you really are getting what you paid for, in this case. They're also notorious (especially the black ones) for showing fingerprints and smudges...
Click to expand...

Thank you.

I'd be willing to pay more for a case for my next build if I know the quality is high. That's not a concern at all.

Looks like I may just be going for the Lian Li's, unless there is something that rivals it (and has a series that I find attractive visually)
 
The quality is superb and worth the extra premium I spent. They have everything for everyone. I have both the PC-V1000B Plus and the Rocketfish version.
 
The Lancools, while being a subtle design, aren't all aluminum, they're in fact mostly steel with some aluminum covers. I really don't like that Lian Li has started to stray from their all aluminum chassis design just to get a piece of the "gamer" market that likes to buy steel chassis.
 
Yeah, I knew they were SECC but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something in terms of their refined look and subtlety
 
My current Lian Li PC-7A/B case..


DSCN8910.jpg


SideView01.jpg
 
Martinez' Lian-Li will kick your ass take your name and make you ask for seconds. ;)

So will mine once I'm finished with it. It's all ugly at the moment though.
 
Zetherin said:
I'll get right to the point: What's so good about Lian Li cases?

Through my research it seems these cases are very highly recommended, yet when I actually see pictures of said cases they look rather boring and unappealing.

Is it the engineering (perhaps the raw materials, design I'm not seeing) that make these cases stand out, or is this just some kind of asian fanboyism I'm not understanding?

PS: Excuse my ignorance. I've searched this forum and others (not to mention countless review sites) trying to find evidence, and wanted to see perspective right from the horses mouth.
Click to expand...

Thund3rb1rd said:
I don't get lian-li either. I mean, I get the principle, but not the price. The cheapest one (newegg) being $90 shipped is ridiculous. No Spank You.
Click to expand...

<sarcasm>

Apples are so boring. That minimalist design and all that aluminum, cheese. Brush aluminum and anodizing look so plain compared to that expensive, grainy plastic. Sheesh, those brushed and anodized aluminum cases from Lian Li are so bland, I don't know what the fuss is all about. Give me a plastic alien any day of the week.

</sarcasm>

Seriously they are top quality. Sure they are a bit overpriced, but this is what protects the innards of your PC. Why people skimp on the case is beyond me. It is the protective shell, and it aids in airflow thermals, etc. Aesthetics are a big thing to since the last thin I want is an eye sore on my desk.

With that being said, as people have mentioned they are highly modifiable, customizable, and a great canvas for painting, powder coating, etc.

However, while some Lian Li cases are minimalist, or "plain" they have many which are far from convention and downright out of control. I mean c'mon, they are computer cases, what do you want mass produced enclosures to look like?

Most cases follow the normal structure, and it would be bad business for a case maker to deviate far from that so I don't know aht you expect them to be. Sure, there is a market for Alien Head cases, and cases resembling turbine engines but that just starts drifting into bad taste.

So basically you are paying for the name a bit the aluminum, anodizing, and the craftsmanship. But something has to be said about the expandability of Lian Li cases, the sheer choices of cases and configurations, the interchangeability of parts, etc. Also, you don't get loud, leaf blower fans in them. They are usually 120mm, low dba/high cfm fans. In the end, you get the finest quality cases out there, and good deals can always be found for them. So that in a nutshell is why Lian Li's are the premier cases along with Silverstone and Soldam (not avail in US), at least IMO.
 
Thanks for the input guys, and the pictures, martinez. I'm leaning towards a Lian Li case as I do want top quality, regardless of price (to an extent).

FlimFlam: These 'far from convention' Lian Li cases, can you show me links?
 
Sure man.

Here's an example. There is a reason why Hexus says Lian Li has broken the "rule book" on case design again

Example 2

Lian Li pc-777

Also, aluminum is much harder to work with. Lian Li and Silverstone use extruded aluminum and sheets in their cases. Additionally, I forgot to mention the small details that you pay for like rounded edges, and perfectly fitting sides.

All of their stuff is high quality precision and really, in this case, you get what you pay for. Anyway, back to the aluminum, one would be hard pressed to make a curvey case like the Asus Vento out of aluminum and it not be cost prohibitive and marketable; so their will be limited curves and more squareness to aluminum cases.

But I must warn you once you go lian Li or Silverstone, there is no turning back. You still have a choice man.
 
Class, form & function is the stuff Lian-Li is made of. The only manufacturer that even comes close is SIlverstone. Lian-Li cases have what you call 'inherent beauty', you don't have to do anything to it for it to have attention.

Couple of shots of my current setup.

DSC_0007resize-4.jpg


DSC_0061resize.jpg
 
FlimFlam said:
Dark Prodigy, that is some beautiful, clean work. Nice job.;)
Click to expand...

Zetherin said:
I second that!

Wow, that looks fucking awesome. What case is that by the way?
Click to expand...

Thanks! :) That is the Lian-Li V1200. Its basically an extended version of the V1000, I needed the extra depth for the dual cpu motherboard and Aqua Computer watercooling. The only thing I did to it was cut the blowhole for my top radiator.

The Silverstone TJ07 you are looking at is very nice, but just a little too tall for my tastes. If you want depth without being overly tall, the V1200 is a perfect case.
 
Zetherin said:
So, Silverstone is Lian Li's equal, in terms of build quality?

Aesthetically, I find Silverstone's cases more pleasing. This looks good to me:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163057

Is that too expensive? Should I wait for a deal?
Click to expand...

You really cannot get any better than a tj07; tis my case of choice. Here is my "Red Demon" Temjin tj07, and I bought it when it was like $329, and paid $200 for the paint job from Smooth-Creations.

DSCN2166.jpg


This is an older pic, and I will post more of its updates when I get my digital camera back from my roommate who is in Jamiaca.

You cannot go wrong with this case. The main body is a single piece of extruded aluminum.
 
as above, selected models are very elegant and clean designs and generally well built. That said, I think that about 2/3 of their lineup is actually fairly ugly, in particullar some of their newer cases which have the LED fans in the doors ect when it was the lack of such features that turned me towards Lian Li. I do honestly love the V series but, particullarly the older ones that are being discontinued now. I have both a V2000 Silver and V2100 Black and would definetly recommend people if interested pick one up before theyre gone for good.
 
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