Lian Li O11 Dynamic or the Dynamic XL - thinking about getting one

GCS

Limp Gawd
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I currently have a Lian Li Lancool II Mesh case and am considering a change to the O11 XL - am I nuts?

The Lancool II is a great case and has served me well so far. I have recently gone AIO for CPU and an EVGA Hybrid GPU and well positioning and how the tubes have all laid out kinda sucks. Everything is in the way - meaning if I have need to work on the case the CPU tubes are crossing over the GPU and the GPU tubes are on the side but hit the glass on the case etc. And don't get me started on the back panel where all the cables are - that's a nightmare as there should really be a little bit more room there i.e. wider. Not much but 1 extra inch there would make all the difference in the world. Other complaints is that the PSU bay is shared with the HDD bay (yes I still use old school 3.5" drives - best way to have affordable big storage) and thus all the cables going to the PSU there makes it very hard to work on and move or change any cables. I know you shouldn't have to do this too often but still its so tight it makes life difficult.

With respect to the O11 XL it appears to have tons of cable management ability on the backside. HDD area and PSU area are separate and the HDD bay is hot swappable not that I ever need that. It has a million and one places to install rads and fans obviously and it just looks amazing when done right.

What are the downsides to this case, what should I be concerned about other than price? Is it a dust magnet?

Also where/how should my 2 AIOs be mounted? Currently my GPU AIO is mounted up top exhausting out (3080Ti Hybrid - 240mm rad for this) and my CPU AIO is front mounted (AF II 280 with fans mounted inside case pulling air in from the front) and yeah front mount not an option on the O11 of course. Guess still top mount 240 for the GPU and then side/back mount for the CPU AIO but maybe switch to a 360mm AIO to fill the entire space??

Should I add fans at the bottom as intake as well - is it even needed with the setup I have?

RGB Controller in the case - use this or just stick with the connections on motherboard using Gigabytes not so great software (I run Arctic Freezer RGB fans so doubt I will change from those)

Just looking for any advice you guys care to share.

BTW please feel free to share pics if you are using a similar setup i.e. 2 AIOs (custom loop I know is what this case is for but I am not going down that rabbit hole).

TIA

Greg



***EDIT - I should mention after looking at the regular O11 Dynamic (non XL) reviews that may work just as well and be a smaller footprint
 
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I'm very much NOT a fan of the Lancool II, and I own both the Dynamic and the Dynamic XL. I have the same complaints with the back of the Lancool II, as well as not liking the magnetic latches for how it all goes together (shove a bit dammit, and let me screw that stuff in!).

Points I'll make:
1. The Dynamic XL could also be considered "Dynamic 2.0" - it's an improvement in many ways, as well as being bigger. I like both cases, don't get me wrong, but there are definite improvements (mostly) in the XL. I had to pull the drive bays out of the Dynamic for cable management, didn't have to with the XL.
2. The drive cages in the XL can get VERY hot. There's also little room for a fan there, so make sure if you're going to use all 4 that you have some airflow of some kind back there.
3. It's WIDE. Those extra inches are all width.
4. They're REALLY designed for hybrid/whatever - airflow is not the strong point as it all has to turn. My TRX40 is all-air, and gets mighty hot at times. My Z490 on water runs cooler and better.
5. Main airflow is bottom-top on both; yes, there are side fans. Main is still bottom-top. Put it on a stand or hardwood, not carpet. You'll suffocate it otherwise. I use a monoprice monitor stand from amazon - works perfectly.
6. Back mount on both is tiny. Single fan. Assume it's not really there - you have top/bottom, and then optional sides (see point 5).
7. I use a commander pro on the dynamic, motherboard on the XL. Either works for RGB control.
8. The Dynamic is NOT big. You're not doing full water, so not a big deal. I am, and that case gets cramped.
9. XL has more customization options (just a bit) - I'm switching to a mesh front for the summer for my TRX system for that reason. LOTS of choices to make - the case is absurdly popular.
10. Both are excellent. I bought both for a reason.
11. Hybrid GPUs on the XL can get a little tight with the side window. Mine touches. Debating going back to air on that one, but I haven't fully decided (also has to do with how my fan setup is currently designed).
Pics incoming.
 
Let me know if there are specific things you want photos of. The XL is torn apart for testing.
 

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I'm very much NOT a fan of the Lancool II, and I own both the Dynamic and the Dynamic XL. I have the same complaints with the back of the Lancool II, as well as not liking the magnetic latches for how it all goes together (shove a bit dammit, and let me screw that stuff in!).

Points I'll make:
1. The Dynamic XL could also be considered "Dynamic 2.0" - it's an improvement in many ways, as well as being bigger. I like both cases, don't get me wrong, but there are definite improvements (mostly) in the XL. I had to pull the drive bays out of the Dynamic for cable management, didn't have to with the XL.
2. The drive cages in the XL can get VERY hot. There's also little room for a fan there, so make sure if you're going to use all 4 that you have some airflow of some kind back there.
3. It's WIDE. Those extra inches are all width.
4. They're REALLY designed for hybrid/whatever - airflow is not the strong point as it all has to turn. My TRX40 is all-air, and gets mighty hot at times. My Z490 on water runs cooler and better.
5. Main airflow is bottom-top on both; yes, there are side fans. Main is still bottom-top. Put it on a stand or hardwood, not carpet. You'll suffocate it otherwise. I use a monoprice monitor stand from amazon - works perfectly.
6. Back mount on both is tiny. Single fan. Assume it's not really there - you have top/bottom, and then optional sides (see point 5).
7. I use a commander pro on the dynamic, motherboard on the XL. Either works for RGB control.
8. The Dynamic is NOT big. You're not doing full water, so not a big deal. I am, and that case gets cramped.
9. XL has more customization options (just a bit) - I'm switching to a mesh front for the summer for my TRX system for that reason. LOTS of choices to make - the case is absurdly popular.
10. Both are excellent. I bought both for a reason.
11. Hybrid GPUs on the XL can get a little tight with the side window. Mine touches. Debating going back to air on that one, but I haven't fully decided (also has to do with how my fan setup is currently designed).
Pics incoming.

Thank you this is the kind of info I am looking for. I can google all day and read how everyone loves the case and pretty it is with their pics but true feedback on likes/dislikes and issues is much more important.

As you said in my situation just using 2 AIOs things are simpler. Granted I think the Dynamic is more geared for custom loop which I will never do but if I could get everything in there with ease and have the tubes on the AIOs to not be in the way and super tight I would be happy. Of course the downside I won't really know any of that w/o buying the case and putting it all in and at that point its too late and a $240 "risk".

"11. Hybrid GPUs on the XL can get a little tight with the side window. Mine touches. Debating going back to air on that one, but I haven't fully decided (also has to do with how my fan setup is currently designed).
Pics incoming."

This of course is a major concern and something to try and figure out beforehand


Lots to consider.
 
Have you considered running your gpu aio as an exhaust on the back and the cpu aio exhausting up top?
From what i remember it didnt have much impact on temps either way the back fans were faced if you ran bottom inlet(slightly higher rpm)/top exhaust. You wouldn't have any issues with tubing crossing that way.
Just a thought.
 
Have you considered running your gpu aio as an exhaust on the back and the cpu aio exhausting up top?
From what i remember it didnt have much impact on temps either way the back fans were faced if you ran bottom inlet(slightly higher rpm)/top exhaust. You wouldn't have any issues with tubing crossing that way.
Just a thought.
Lancool II no way to mount anything on the back of the case. You can mount up top or on the front of case, that's it.
 
Let me know if there are specific things you want photos of. The XL is torn apart for testing.


Does either Dynamic get really dusty? I feel like I am wiping and blowing my Lancool II case out everyday sometimes.
 
Have you considered running your gpu aio as an exhaust on the back and the cpu aio exhausting up top?
From what i remember it didnt have much impact on temps either way the back fans were faced if you ran bottom inlet(slightly higher rpm)/top exhaust. You wouldn't have any issues with tubing crossing that way.
Just a thought.
Just not enough room really for that - it's a single 120MM fan (or maybe a 140MM? I haven't measured) for the XL. My 2x120 won't fit. I'll take a pic.
 
Does either Dynamic get really dusty? I feel like I am wiping and blowing my Lancool II case out everyday sometimes.
No. EVERYTHING has a filter. Now, my filters get dusty, but no. I do have the side of my Dynamic cracked open (3090 + block doesn't quite fit :p), but even then it's not bad.
 
Pic of XL back exhaust. AIO is dual 120, as is the remaining top fan as comparison.
 

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Pic of XL back exhaust. AIO is dual 120, as is the remaining top fan as comparison.
So you are running a Radeon AIO then. The EVGA FTW3 Hybrid may not be as tall so perhaps a not an issue glass door wise.

Thanks for the info on the dust. The Lancool II front get very dusty almost daily. Inside not as much but enough that I feel it needs cleaning more often than it should. That was one of the negatives that Gamers Nexus brought up in their review as well.
 
So you are running a Radeon AIO then. The EVGA FTW3 Hybrid may not be as tall so perhaps a not an issue glass door wise.

Thanks for the info on the dust. The Lancool II front get very dusty almost daily. Inside not as much but enough that I feel it needs cleaning more often than it should. That was one of the negatives that Gamers Nexus brought up in their review as well.
For the moment. I was planning on putting that card in an X299 box that lives in a 1000D, but... RMAs have me shuffling video cards around like I'm playing musical chairs.
 
For the moment. I was planning on putting that card in an X299 box that lives in a 1000D, but... RMAs have me shuffling video cards around like I'm playing musical chairs.

Got it. Have you had any of the EVGA hybrids in there and if so do the hit the glass as well?
 
Got it. Have you had any of the EVGA hybrids in there and if so do the hit the glass as well?
Haven't ever had one of those - going off of the 3090 of theirs I do have (with the optimus block in pic), I'd say that the 3080 would be VERY tight in the non-XL, 3090 is a non-starter. In the XL... 3090 would be tight, the 3080 would fit fine.

The thing to note - the back panel space is made because the case isn't actually THAT big for the main area - the space in the back eats up the width.
 
Haven't ever had one of those - going off of the 3090 of theirs I do have (with the optimus block in pic), I'd say that the 3080 would be VERY tight in the non-XL, 3090 is a non-starter. In the XL... 3090 would be tight, the 3080 would fit fine.

The thing to note - the back panel space is made because the case isn't actually THAT big for the main area - the space in the back eats up the width.
Ohhh. Since it is wider than my Lancool II I just assumed that added width went to the back of the case. This is good to know.
 
Ohhh. Since it is wider than my Lancool II I just assumed that added width went to the back of the case. This is good to know.
The slope takes that away. Look at the rear shot - you lose a lot to that back area. That’s good for cable management. But the main area is only about as big as a normal case. Or a big case (for the xl), not super big like it looks loke
 
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The slope takes that away. Look at the rear shot - you lose a lot to that back area. That’s good for cable management. But the main area is only about as big as a normal case. Or a big case (for the xl), not super big like it looks loke

Since your case is apart any chance you can measure the depth from the motherboard tray to the side glass? This will give me a better idea on how tight things might be in that area with a hybrid card.
 
Don't do this. I have this case and never experienced this.
Where is your sense of adventure? If you put a rad or fans down there, you can't even see the cuts. I have 3 intakes there. Before I cut the bottom, the tone of the fans was quite annoying.

20210617_202036.jpg


See, can't even tell I cut out the bottom.
 
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I currently have a Lian Li Lancool II Mesh case and am considering a change to the O11 XL - am I nuts?

The Lancool II is a great case and has served me well so far. I have recently gone AIO for CPU and an EVGA Hybrid GPU and well positioning and how the tubes have all laid out kinda sucks. Everything is in the way - meaning if I have need to work on the case the CPU tubes are crossing over the GPU and the GPU tubes are on the side but hit the glass on the case etc. And don't get me started on the back panel where all the cables are - that's a nightmare as there should really be a little bit more room there i.e. wider. Not much but 1 extra inch there would make all the difference in the world. Other complaints is that the PSU bay is shared with the HDD bay (yes I still use old school 3.5" drives - best way to have affordable big storage) and thus all the cables going to the PSU there makes it very hard to work on and move or change any cables. I know you shouldn't have to do this too often but still its so tight it makes life difficult.

With respect to the O11 XL it appears to have tons of cable management ability on the backside. HDD area and PSU area are separate and the HDD bay is hot swappable not that I ever need that. It has a million and one places to install rads and fans obviously and it just looks amazing when done right.

What are the downsides to this case, what should I be concerned about other than price? Is it a dust magnet?

Also where/how should my 2 AIOs be mounted? Currently my GPU AIO is mounted up top exhausting out (3080Ti Hybrid - 240mm rad for this) and my CPU AIO is front mounted (AF II 280 with fans mounted inside case pulling air in from the front) and yeah front mount not an option on the O11 of course. Guess still top mount 240 for the GPU and then side/back mount for the CPU AIO but maybe switch to a 360mm AIO to fill the entire space??

Should I add fans at the bottom as intake as well - is it even needed with the setup I have?

RGB Controller in the case - use this or just stick with the connections on motherboard using Gigabytes not so great software (I run Arctic Freezer RGB fans so doubt I will change from those)

Just looking for any advice you guys care to share.

BTW please feel free to share pics if you are using a similar setup i.e. 2 AIOs (custom loop I know is what this case is for but I am not going down that rabbit hole).

TIA

Greg


This is my setup in the XL version of the case. I used the front distro plate from EK for my custom loop. If you're going to use AIOs, I'd certainly suggest one on top, and one in the side area. I put my 360 radiators top and bottom and thought about another in the side, but with the distro plate it just wouldn't fit. Would have been overkill on rad space for just my 9900kf and 2080ti, but gotta go [H]ard for the overkill sometimes, lol. I don't have any trouble with dust, with the filters on every intake area, I take those out and clean them once a month or so and use compressed air to make sure nothing is trapped in the radiators, which so far hasn't been much.
 

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Where is your sense of adventure? If you put a rad or fans down there, you can't even see the cuts. I have 3 intakes there. Before I cut the bottom, the tone of the fans was quite annoying.
I have 2 rad and 10 fans in there. They make no noise like you claim.
 
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I have 3 rad and 10 fans in there. They make no noise like you claim.
If you have a rad in the bottom, I believe it since that rad will slow down the air. With only the restriction of the case, it's a different story.
 
If you have a rad in the bottom, I believe it since that rad will slow down the air. With only the restriction of the case, it's a different story.
He probably has barely any airflow at all as well lol, those slats are extremely restrictive.

used to be normal to mod a brand new case...
Yeah we used to always cut out the fan grilles on cases since they dropped your airflow so much.
 
Plenty of airflow.
You are lying to yourself if you believe this with the 011, it has terrible airflow.

For reference, I put my A12x25 on the grille of my 011D and calculated its airspeed it gets 1.8m/s through the fan grille when blowing through it without the filter. Unobstructed it gets 3.25m/s and it also gets 1.8m/s sucking through the grille.
 
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Just picked up a 011 Dynamic myself (non-XL) and am using a EVGA FTW3 3080 Hybrid. It's really tight, I had read elsewhere there wasn't enough clearance but I was able to get mine to fit but I really don't like how much it touches the side panel. I'm sure a less 'girthy' hybrid card would fit in there with no issue. It's bothering me enough where I'm considering replacing it with the Corsair 5000D airflow, that one's more traditional in design than the PC-011 but also has the side radiator mount. There's also the XL version, but that's about $60 CAD more than the 5000D last I checked.

Other then the clearance issues, I really do like the case, and specifically got it for the side mount-able radiator. Have my 360 AIO up top and the 240 AIO on the side (both exhaust) with intake fans on the bottom.

20210617_201030.jpg20210617_201111.jpg
 
I'll second that hte O11 series does NOT have great airflow. It's not an airflow case. It's adequate, but middle of the road at BEST, and really really wants a lot of fans and top-bottom flow. I'm seriously debating water cooling my Threadripper for this reason - my 10700K on water works perfectly in the smaller version.
 
Thanks guys this is exactly the kind of details I need to know.

I have a 3080Ti Hybrid so not sure it compares size wise to the 3080 (most likely the same) so I would be facing the same clearance issues.

My guess is this is why you see a lot of Dynamic builds with vertical mount GPUs

Attached are pics of my current lancool ii with Arctic Freezer II 280 and 3080Ti FTW3 hybrid

the wires do not touch the glass at all but I am using extensions not the standard thick evga cables that came with the psu. If you changed to extensions and away from those thick cables you would clear the glass just fine - would still be tight but wouldn't touch.

I would not use the right angle adapters that exist out there (I was planning to myself) as I found a lot of posts where these things were faulty and one post where it caused a fire and burnt up a guys system and his entire room of stuff - saved the house though. So no bueno on those for sure.
 

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I'll second that hte O11 series does NOT have great airflow. It's not an airflow case. It's adequate, but middle of the road at BEST, and really really wants a lot of fans and top-bottom flow. I'm seriously debating water cooling my Threadripper for this reason - my 10700K on water works perfectly in the smaller version.
The new mini does have a much more open design which should really improve airflow.

Thanks guys this is exactly the kind of details I need to know.

I have a 3080Ti Hybrid so not sure it compares size wise to the 3080 (most likely the same) so I would be facing the same clearance issues.

My guess is this is why you see a lot of Dynamic builds with vertical mount GPUs
Yeah the spacing is very tight which is pretty unfortunate and the reason I sidelined mine since I'm not sure what I want to put in it.
 
The new mini does have a much more open design which should really improve airflow.


Yeah the spacing is very tight which is pretty unfortunate and the reason I sidelined mine since I'm not sure what I want to put in it.
Yeah. I have to disable much of the auto-overclock on my Threadripper for the summer. It's just too hot - and I'm getting a mesh front for it. I'll consider water next year.

For a WC case (or one heavily built around AIOs and lower fans), the O11 ROCKS. Debauer built it for that. It's amazingly good at it. For pure air builds... it's harder to get things to go. I'll either go Prosiphon or water next year. Always think "bottom to top" and you'll nail the airflow pattern. Side works for AIOs too, because the intake is right there - but the rest of the case will get warmer as a result (which may or may not matter if you remember point 1 - bottom to top).
 
If you have a rad in the bottom, I believe it since that rad will slow down the air. With only the restriction of the case, it's a different story.
Sorry have 2 360 rads in my system. 1 on top and 1 on the side. The GPU is vertically mounted and feel plenty air going through the case. I know it really not a good pure airflow case but for my wc setup it more then sufficient.
 
I'll second that hte O11 series does NOT have great airflow. It's not an airflow case. It's adequate, but middle of the road at BEST, and really really wants a lot of fans and top-bottom flow. I'm seriously debating water cooling my Threadripper for this reason - my 10700K on water works perfectly in the smaller version.
I've had the XL version of this case and I'm in the minority I suppose when I say I don't like the case. The airflow wasn't great is what got me to sell it and try something else.
 
I've had the XL version of this case and I'm in the minority I suppose when I say I don't like the case. The airflow wasn't great is what got me to sell it and try something else.
Oh I'm irritated at it for sure - I have the XL and the TR is in there, and it's ... not easy to manage airflow in it. Radiators work well, anything else - meh. That's why I have the running debate on prosiphon, or just mesh front, or jump all the way to full water.
 
I can only say I bought the XL case specifically for a water build, however, looking at the fan locations, if you used the bottom and side for intake, and the rear and top for exhaust, you'd have 6 intake and 4 exhaust fans, which should give quite a bit of airflow for an air cooled system. I'm sure there may be better cases for that, but, I wouldn't think there'd be much issue keeping one cool on air.
 
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