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
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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