New Case from Lian Li - the PC-9F

sheltem said:
Hot hot hot! I might have to sell my Antec P180 mini for this :D My past 5+ cases have been Antec. How does Lian Li's build quality compare?
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Lian Li (and Silverstone to a degree) is widely regarded as having the best build quality of any case manufacturer. Antec is actually second-tier by comparison, imo.
 
Yeah, I'm returning a P193 that I bought recently and going back to the Antec 300 just long enough for my NewEgg order on a PC-60FN to come in the mail.

When the 9F is regularly available, I might trade over to that. Or something better might come out.
 
oreos said:
Lian Li (and Silverstone to a degree) is widely regarded as having the best build quality of any case manufacturer. Antec is actually second-tier by comparison, imo.
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honestly...that is all bullshit

the only reason they are considered that is because lian li and silverstone are both known for using aluminum. So people just say "excellent build quality" cause their cases use aluminum. Antec makes very good cases from a build quality point of view, regardless if they use aluminum or not.
 
Omerta said:
honestly...that is all bullshit

the only reason they are considered that is because lian li and silverstone are both known for using aluminum. So people just say "excellent build quality" cause their cases use aluminum. Antec makes very good cases from a build quality point of view, regardless if they use aluminum or not.
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QFT, I've been using Antec cases for 10 years and have never ever had a build quality issue with them. Everything is pretty high quality.
 
Omerta said:
honestly...that is all bullshit

the only reason they are considered that is because lian li and silverstone are both known for using aluminum. So people just say "excellent build quality" cause their cases use aluminum. Antec makes very good cases from a build quality point of view, regardless if they use aluminum or not.
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It's true that many people think aluminum = better quality (I disagree and generally prefer steel unless it's unpainted or for a lightweight LAN box). However, I do think Lian Li has better build quality than Antec. I've built enough systems for myself or friends over the years (or simply tinkered w/ cases at places like Microcenter/Mwave sales etc) that I wouldn't say the difference is some Grand Canyon sized gap, but it's there. Antec does build good cases, but the way the pieces fit together and myriad other details on Lian LI are better IMO. IIRC you've had a lot different chassis Omerta, so I wouldn't argue with you over it since our opinions clearly differ, but that's my take on Lian Li vs Antec.

Hard for me to say w/ Silverstone since I've only handled a few of their cases (vs probably 20+ different Antec models). The Silverstone ft01, tj07 and a few other cases really impressed me. Except for some glaring engineering flaws (ft01 upper fan intake being notable), Silverstone's fit was very good. I haven't had hands-on w/ the ft02 yet, but it's supposedly very well built.
 
Having worked with and owned many Antec/Silverstone/Lian-Li cases, I can say that as good as Antec is, the quality of Silverstone and especially Lian-Li cases exceeds them.
 
Omerta said:
honestly...that is all bullshit

the only reason they are considered that is because lian li and silverstone are both known for using aluminum. So people just say "excellent build quality" cause their cases use aluminum. Antec makes very good cases from a build quality point of view, regardless if they use aluminum or not.
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Whether you agree or not, it's still a fact that they are regarded that way by the majority of computer enthusiasts, at least as far as I can tell.

I've also worked with all three brands of cases and Lian Li is just in a different league, again, in my opinion.
 
coconutboy said:
It's true that many people think aluminum = better quality (I disagree and generally prefer steel unless it's unpainted or for a lightweight LAN box). However, I do think Lian Li has better build quality than Antec. I've built enough systems for myself or friends over the years (or simply tinkered w/ cases at places like Microcenter/Mwave sales etc) that I wouldn't say the difference is some Grand Canyon sized gap, but it's there. Antec does build good cases, but the way the pieces fit together and myriad other details on Lian LI are better IMO. IIRC you've had a lot different chassis Omerta, so I wouldn't argue with you over it since our opinions clearly differ, but that's my take on Lian Li vs Antec.

Hard for me to say w/ Silverstone since I've only handled a few of their cases (vs probably 20+ different Antec models). The Silverstone ft01, tj07 and a few other cases really impressed me. Except for some glaring engineering flaws (ft01 upper fan intake being notable), Silverstone's fit was very good. I haven't had hands-on w/ the ft02 yet, but it's supposedly very well built.
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It depends on the Lian Li TBH. Their V series cases were very well built. But their PC series cases aren't up to par with their V series cases IMO. I especially don't like the new hard drive racks they're using. They're flimsy and can break if you aren't careful with them. Not to mention the integrated fan controller at the pc-b70 I had for a short while did not work. I've never come across an Antec in which the fan controller did not work.

But Lian Li's feel better simply because of the parts they use. They generally don't use plastic like Antec does, so I think that is why a lot of people just assume Lian Li has the best build quality.

As far as the FT02, I have it, and the build quality is very very good. Probably the BEST built case i've owned. Thing is like a tank.

kuyaglen said:
Having worked with and owned many Antec/Silverstone/Lian-Li cases, I can say that as good as Antec is, the quality of Silverstone and especially Lian-Li cases exceeds them.
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Let's see. My FT01 came with the window all scratched up, and the HDD racks they're using on the ft01 and Ft02 are plastic and suck. The fan controller on my b70 did not work, and even the two LED fans on them had different hues of blue. Never seen an Antec 1200 with those issues. One of the HDD racks on my pc-b10 broke for no good reason, too.
 
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Omerta said:
honestly...that is all bullshit

the only reason they are considered that is because lian li and silverstone are both known for using aluminum. So people just say "excellent build quality" cause their cases use aluminum. Antec makes very good cases from a build quality point of view, regardless if they use aluminum or not.
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The build quality of antecs are OK for the most part but compared to Lian LI they are pretty mediocre.

My 900 had problems with the thumb screws stripping out the holes on the drive cages. Barely even tightening thumbscrews should never do that but it did and not just one or 2, all of them.
 
Nighted said:
I wonder if the Power and Reset buttons light up? Otherwise there would be no pwr or hdd indicators on the case that I can see.
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& the buttons arent clicky push in ones like your probably used to either.. But my pc-q07 is the same. Power button lights up blue for power & The reset probably flashed if you have a mechanical drive (doesnt with my ssd's).
 
Disposed said:
The build quality of antecs are OK for the most part but compared to Lian LI they are pretty mediocre.

My 900 had problems with the thumb screws stripping out the holes on the drive cages. Barely even tightening thumbscrews should never do that but it did and not just one or 2, all of them.
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probably an isolated issue. The antec 900 is a well built case for the price.
 
night_2004 said:
I got word from Lian Li that they are expecting the PC-9F
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I think that info is spot on. NCIX is selling the PC-8FIB for $140. It is identical to the PC-9F except for the front panel and mesh.

They're going to have to drop the price of the A05N by at least $20 as the additional features for $30-40 more is quite drastic: double the HDD bays, PSU quick release clamp, superior cooling, better PSU seating support (those nice rails that sit under each side, not the piece of bent metal), aluminum feet, top fan cutout, extra PCI slot, CPU heatsink backplate cutout, cable management cutouts, tool-less 5.25 bays....WOW!!!!! :D

kencheeto said:
Wow, looks great. A refreshing change from the last series of cases LL released which largely threw away everything good about LL.
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Agreed. I haven't been this excited about a Lian Li case since my PC-65. The new cases bring back the same feeling of quality and great features. My PC-8 is boring as hell and was a major step down from my PC-65 in terms of overall features, although the cooling is far superior on the PC-8 and newer LiLi's due to the evolution away from 80mm fans. I've put both PC-8s I have up for sale. I hope no one sees these new cases though, because it almost feels like I'm ripping ppl off. ;)
 
So Lian li is starting to go with stamped aluminum, costs must be going up. I hope this doesn't flow over to the other higher end cases.
 
EngrChris said:
So Lian li is starting to go with stamped aluminum, costs must be going up. I hope this doesn't flow over to the other higher end cases.
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hasn't LL been using stamped aluminum for awhile now? where did you see this?
 
There are very few parts in LL cases that aren't stamped, now and in the past, high end, low end.
 
The back and bottom panels just have the stamped look to them. Over the past year or two, the case construction I have seen visually look more and more stamped. Compere with the PC-9.
 
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EngrChris said:
...the case construction I have seen visually look more and more stamped.
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That's meaningless. Parts are either stamped or they aren't. The old backs and bottoms were stamped just like the new ones. You need to be more articulate.
 
Lian Li has updated the pics of this case. It looks like they have removed the tool-less PCI card assembly and the PSU securing clamp. At least they had the decency to put thumbscrews on the card slots, my PC-8s didn't come with those.

pc9f03.jpg
 
my case has the "tool-less" pci locks and they work great. there's now 2 5850's in it an i've yet to have a problem with the "tool-less" aspect of the case. i don't use the psu clamp, tho.
 
zaxour said:
In general I agree with you; however, LL's solution seems to be well-received from video reviews and other people.

Anyone have a bad experience with it on LL cases?
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Yes, their 5.25" tool-less shit is cheap and can break easily. And my old gtx 280 bended one of the PCI tool-less nails or something. PSU clamp isn't bad though
 
shawnoen said:
Because tool-less sucks.
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That's a generalization. Sure most toolless solutions suck, but Lian Li's toolless PCI clips and PSU clip are fantastic so long as they're used correctly. The 5.25 bar/clips are meh.

Omerta said:
Yes, their 5.25" tool-less shit is cheap and can break easily. And my old gtx 280 bended one of the PCI tool-less nails or something. PSU clamp isn't bad though
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Sounds screwy. Not doubting your claim, but it's weird that only one clip was damaged and not both. Look at what mnpctech did to show off the strength of LL's toolless clips. Those things are solid unless someone does something like bend/warp the case. I also read someone complaining about the PSU clamp breaking on them after installation and yet another person complaining about the PSU clamp being broken upon delivery. Considering how many cases have been sold using these newer toolless designs, those complaints sound like isolated incidents, and not the norm. There's always some degree of user/manufacturer error.
 
coconutboy said:
That's a generalization. Sure most toolless solutions suck, but Lian Li's toolless PCI clips and PSU clip are fantastic so long as they're used correctly. The 5.25 bar/clips are meh.



Sounds screwy. Not doubting your claim, but it's weird that only one clip was damaged and not both. Look at what mnpctech did to show off the strength of LL's toolless clips. Those things are solid unless someone does something like bend/warp the case. I also read someone complaining about the PSU clamp breaking on them after installation and yet another person complaining about the PSU clamp being broken upon delivery. Considering how many cases have been sold using these newer toolless designs, those complaints sound like isolated incidents, and not the norm. There's always some degree of user/manufacturer error.
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Which clips? The PCI ones? Difference between MNPCtech and me is that i actually put my head in the case and looked under them...lol. You wouldn't know unless you looked under it as it still functioned properly. PSU clamp didn't seem easily breakable to me. I used it t the same time as screwing the PSU on.
 
Meh. They were nice, but not absolutely necessary. They don't show up on the PC-60FN, which is probably the closest competitor to the 9F that Lian Li has. It's about the same price, so I'd expect almost the same features.
 
It looks like Lian Li finally is stepping up with classy cases. Less blue LEDs, more cooling and tool-less design.
 
BUMP - anyone have this case yet? Thinking of ordering it fairly soon.
 
Don't think it's released yet. The PC-7 and PC-8 series have been on Newegg, but haven't seen this one anywhere myself.
 
^^^Its in stock at the sundial link.. I think I saw it at some place called SilverPCs too but never really heard of that place.. I like it. I'd like to see then Lancool K7B updated to match this as well. Its pretty much a similiar design except this one is updated. Though I think they should have left that door on the ports. Also is there enough gap to allow the use of that 140mm fan slot?

you would have to use a pretty slow exhaust fan in that slot as to not have your case run negative..
 
Shipping at Sundial is also pretty ridiculous, I'm waiting for other places to get it in stock before ordering one.
 
Yea, hopefully Newegg will have it on sale with free shipping. I like the simple front that this case has, don't know how Lian Li keeps putting those fancy LED fans in the front and still claim their cases have a simple aesthetic.
 
ebolamonkey3 said:
Yea, hopefully Newegg will have it on sale with free shipping. I like the simple front that this case has, don't know how Lian Li keeps putting those fancy LED fans in the front and still claim their cases have a simple aesthetic.
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First thing I'm doing when I get this case is putting those fancy LED fans in. ;)
 
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