What makes Lian-Li so wonderful?

I

InorganicMatter

[H]F Junkie
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Like this case

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-112-073&depa=0

I don''t see anything special that should make that case go for $230. I have worked with some MUCH nicer ThermalTake cases that go for half that price. And this server case:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-112-076&depa=0

$277 for a stupid case! Seriously what is it that makes these things cost such an ungodly ammount of money.

EIDT: I just realized that these cases are made of Aluminum! For $250 I would expect a heavy-duty Steel case.
 
Actually, when it comes to cases, the alumimiun cases are more expensive than steel cases. That includes your thermaltake ones.
 
Well I don't know what makes them so exspensive and I don't know why everyone likes them since most of the cases made today look identical.
 
Aluminum is more expensive than steel, and many of the high-end cases use it because it transfers heat better. Aluminum is also easier to cut than steel, from what i understand, so I would bet that a lot of the modders prefer it.

The thermal take case you link to is 1) mostly steel. only the door is aluminum 2) smaller & with fewer drive bays 3) gaudy as all hell.

lian lis are usually pretty clean looking and a lot of attention is paid to the design. asking why they are expensive is like complaing about the price of good-looking artwork.
 
When it comes to cases. Aluminum is better than steel... lighter, eaiser to cut, and transfers heat better. Lian-Li case are a bit overpriced imo, but when you find an alright deal, they're definitly worth it.

They're sleeker and, in general, higher quality than TT cases.
 
Also the quality of the aluminum cases that Lian Li makes are much better than most you can find. As I've heard, their cases are hand inspected after manufacturing to ensure you get a good product.

The Lian Li cases all have smoothed edges, guards on holes, and last for a long-ass time when you buy them.

All that and aluminum is more expensive than steel.

sac_tagg said:
Is this just another instance of what Bose does? All marketing, no quality.
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Lian-Li would be the first company I'd go to if I wanted the best quality for cases.
 
If you don't like Lian Li cases then I would suggest you look into Coolermaster .. or if money was an issue Kingwin

The problem is today poeple tend to look at cases in a unique way. To me a strong and slick case will do wonders such as the Wavemaster... I didn't understand the importance of a good looking case until I started looking at some of the cases on this forum. I was set on the PC-75 but settled for the Wavemaster because I wanted something a little different but also pretty.. Plus my gf was getting it and she didn't want me buying a box :p

Back to the point ...

I was at first set on gettin the Tsunami Dream .. and when I saw it in real life I was like .. it's OK .. that's it .. when I got my Wavemaster I was like .. DAMM .. honestly .. DAMM

Cool kids turn to geeks when they see a clean brushed aluminum monster.

Thermaltake is not bad but there are better .. Lian-Li is defintely expensive but you pay for a better case ;) same with the Coolermasters

Now I'm off to watch Naruto
 
Or grab a Aluminum Chieftec Dragon for 70 dollars.

I agree, LLs arent all worth it if you find another large, good air flowing, aluminum case for cheaper.
 
What makes LiLi so great? I'll go with my case for starters.
I love the way it looks; It's easy to cut and clean; 6 external 5.25 bays; 6 internal 3.5 bays; 3 external 3.5 bays; 6 stock 80mm holes...

Oh, and it weighs 11 pounds.
 
I think they're crap, personally. Suitable, perhaps, to use as a doorstop, but not as a computer enclosure...unless you like flimsy cases that squeak when moved and whose bezels and bay covers come off at the slightest pressure. So if you like paying a lot for a crap case, LL is the way to go.
 
SidewinderX said:
Aluminum is better than steel... transfers heat better.
Click to expand...
wake6830 said:
Aluminum is more expensive than steel, and many of the high-end cases use it because it transfers heat better.
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Wrong, aluminum cases, with the exception of a few cases in which the chassis itself acts as a heatsink, do not assist in cooling in this way. That said, no Lian-Li cases act as heatsinks. They use aluminum because the consumer has placed a higher value in aluminum over steel.
 
My opinion, Thermaltake looks like pure ass. Well, most of them. But that's personal asthetics, as far as I know they are an OK product. And it isn't like my current Antec case is a boutique item for me to be a snob about. :p

Lian Li's advantage is just plain old quality. Unfortunately, they don't seem to make a case configured the way I like.
 
My brothers TT Tsunami Dream wobbles back and forth like the wave it's named after when you take the sides off and try to pick it up or work inside it.

But yeah, it looks nice from a distance. That is until you go to lift up the top USB/Firewire access cover made out of cheap plastic that snapped off the 2nd time I tried to close it because it didn't fit quite right. I felt bad for breaking his case but why did that happen? Because he was more worried about price and gimicks than quality.

My Coolermaster Praetorian is a tank compared to that thing. 2mm aluminum is my friend. Fit and finish is so much better on the Praetorian than any of the TT cases, once you see them side by side there's no comparison. Hell, even the case feet are quality on the Praetorian. You could take them off and stick them on a high end stereo receiver and they wouldn't look out of place.

Lian Li doesn't really impress me too much. Their cases are fine and there's nothing wrong with them, but they don't really have anything to make them stand out. Now their full tower and server cases, those are pretty impressive. Monsters.
 
They're overpriced and too flimsy IMO. You might say they conduct heat better but when it comes at the cost of vibrating cause of components i'd take the extra degree or two. The best case out at the moment is the Coolermaster Stacker i reckon. Its built of high-guage steel, is massive, has tonnes of airflow, holds lots of drives, is BTX compat etc etc etc.

I still hold true to my comment that Lian-Li should make steel versions of its cases because not everyone likes aluminium, myself included. My next case will definately be steel.
 
its all about build quality - most other cases dont even come close. until you try them youll never know........ they are like sprouts in that respect.... or shemales for that matter :eek:
 
you have got to be kidding me.
That thermaltake case you posted looks like a damn rave. It is so freaking gaudy its not even funny. Believe me, ive had thermaltake , coolermaster and then lian li....
there is comparison. Lian li has the best quality by far. To who ever made the comment about Lian Li's being flimsy.....
You must be nuts, ill give you most aluminum cases are flimsy but my lian li PC-65 is def not one. You wanna talk about flimsy you should get a thermaltake tsunami. Aside from the door the whole thing bends. Not to mention its half freaking plastic.

Lian LI for life.
 
ATW said:
Is that the real deal or an error of some sort? For that price I'll take two.
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its the real deal !!!

fed ex droped mine off yesterday :D

the cases are out of stock last time i checked

give them a call :)
 
RealMentalCase said:
its the real deal !!!

fed ex droped mine off yesterday :D

the cases are out of stock last time i checked

give them a call :)
Click to expand...

In that case I'm gonna' be living on that site waiting for some stock.
 
Woah guys, chill out! I wasn't bashing LL cases. I was simply asking why they cost so much more. Now that you have convinced me, I have a few questions:

1 - The wheels? Tell me they are removable.

2 - The front USB ports? A few reviews said that the cables were too short, is this true?

3 - How does the upside-down placement of the motherboard affect things such as heat displacement?

4 - The CPU heatsink? I noticed there is a fan placed directly behind it, is this effective?
 
sac_tagg said:
Woah guys, chill out! I wasn't bashing LL cases.
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sac_tagg said:
Is this just another instance of what Bose does? All marketing, no quality.
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Anybody with some knowledge in the home audio business would take that as flamebait. :p

The Tsunami is TT's only semi-decent looking case, but its built like crap. You could probably look at the case wrong, and it'd bend. It just feels so right working in an Lian-Li case.
 
sac_tagg said:
1 - The wheels? Tell me they are removable.

2 - The front USB ports? A few reviews said that the cables were too short, is this true?

3 - How does the upside-down placement of the motherboard affect things such as heat displacement?

4 - The CPU heatsink? I noticed there is a fan placed directly behind it, is this effective?
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Commenting based on my case in my sig:

1) Dunno...haven't tried, but I wouldn't know why they wouldn't be removable.

2) The cables are long enough and then some...i have to push a bunch of the cabes back into corners because they were too long.

3) The case design was made for better heat displacement, and to what I've seen it works. The seperate compartments allow for fans to move heat around better (and combined with the mesh of the case and aluminum, everything stays quite cool).

4) The fan pull heat off the heatsink...if it doesn't work for your HSF, you can always remove it.

And for whoever said that LL's were flimsy and you could hear rattlings...I don't know what case you had, but I've had a couple LL's and never noticed vibrating. My guess is you were lazy and didn't screw the drives in to the backside of the case as well.
 
xyoufailmex said:
Or grab a Aluminum Chieftec Dragon for 70 dollars.

I agree, LLs arent all worth it if you find another large, good air flowing, aluminum case for cheaper.
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I second that. These thing, even now (almost 2 years since they were released) are still very solid cases. Not top of the line, but its very spacious and clean. Tt is rice in the computer world, so ask yourself - "Do I want to buy rice? Or do I want a good clean case?"
 
I guess style and whatnot are subjective - e.g. I have ordered a v1000. My sister (12 yrs old) thinks that it is boring. She thinks that the TT Shark is awesome.

In terms of why they are so expensive - AFAICT (can tell..) they are built as ALL aluminium (the TT you linked was an aliminium bezel only), which may be debatble in its heat dissipation and what not but they LIGHTWEIGHT, people like the look and functional innovation that Lian Li attempts, and the build quality is not notch. I can only speak for my case and the reviews I've read, but no oversights. Most cases compromise in some way or the other
 
Eliatamby said:
I guess style and whatnot are subjective - e.g. I have ordered a v1000. My sister (12 yrs old) thinks that it is boring. She thinks that the TT Shark is awesome.

In terms of why they are so expensive - AFAICT (can tell..) they are built as ALL aluminium (the TT you linked was an aliminium bezel only), which may be debatble in its heat dissipation and what not but they LIGHTWEIGHT, people like the look and functional innovation that Lian Li attempts, and the build quality is not notch. I can only speak for my case and the reviews I've read, but no oversights. Most cases compromise in some way or the other
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Hey ... it's like people tend to ignore my postings :cool: ... My gf thought that the Lian Li was boring too so I got the Wavemaster.

[Zeus]Now before anyone tries to bash it you better have something solid to protect you or my voice alone will send you crying !! [/Zeus]

Anywho ... The case is SOLID really nice with the brushed aluminum and has a removable mb tray... I can't see why anyone wouldn't get it if they can't decide between something like the Tt or the Lian Li.

My 2 thunder bolts ;)
 
quote:

[Zeus ] Now before anyone tries to bash it you better have something solid to protect you or my voice alone will send you crying !! [/Zeus]

I got my Lian Li cause it's pretty :p lol
 
sac_tagg said:
.....what?
This case offeres everything the LL offers, but in a higher-quality metal, and at less than HALF of the cost. Is this just another instance of what Bose does? All marketing, no quality.
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Dont really know what why you think steel is much better my pc75 I pick up mine by the 120 mm hole in the top without bending any thing and the case is full.Your case may be HALF the cost however I will bet its at least twice the weight of my case. Your case is 35 pounds empty my case is 20 pounds full. If you ever have to move your case like to a lan you will know why alum is better. If you havnt had a lian li before they you just wont know.
 
for my next build i think i'll be getting that LL for 90 bucks. i've got a chieftec dragon right now, i do hear some rattling once in a while. it's always felt like a pretty sturdy case though, i like it.
 
Personally I don't like aluminium cases. They feel cheap. They bend to easy and flex way too much for my tastes. Personally I prefer steel. I don't cut on my cases and I don't buy the BS about heat transfer. If you measure the temperature of a system in a steel caase and measure the temperature of the same system in a aluminium case, you'd find they run the same.

Aluminum does tranfer heat more evenly then steel does. This is a fact. I won't dispute that. But we aren't talking 100's of degrees here. We are talking about 150F degree processor at best, most of the heat comming off that thing will never touch any part of the aluminum chassis and therefore no heat transfer takes place. Your heating the metal with ambient heat inside the case. Therefore at most your not likely even dropping 1C off of your temps in an aluminum case.

The weight advantage is the only advantage I see. That and the ability to cut the metal for the modders.

Aluminum Pro's
Cuts easy
Lighter
MIGHT drop 1C off your temps

Aluminum Con's
Expensive
Flimsy
Damages easy

Steel Pro's
Stronger
Cheaper

Steel Con's
Harder to cut

That's my take on it. I've seen very few aluminum cases I liked. I love the look of my Brushed almuminum CoolerMaster Stacker, but I like it's steel frame and chassis. If your system must be semi portable then aluminum makes sense. Otherwise I don't think it does.
 
sac_tagg said:
Like this case

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-112-073&depa=0

I don''t see anything special that should make that case go for $230. I have worked with some MUCH nicer ThermalTake cases that go for half that price. And this server case:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-112-076&depa=0

$277 for a stupid case! Seriously what is it that makes these things cost such an ungodly ammount of money.

EIDT: I just realized that these cases are made of Aluminum! For $250 I would expect a heavy-duty Steel case.
Click to expand...


Quality of construction.

little considerations such as having a seperate zone for hard drives, power supply , and motherboard for better heat management.

Building a case out of aluminum is harder to do

cheap aluminum cases bend and crack and fold

lian-li's and sir-frag-alot.. you are wrong about the heat transfer thing.. I can tell you from personal experience.

Is the lowered temperature justifiable reason to CHANGE cases? No.

But I went from a supermicro sc750a with only 2 hdds in it, to a lianli with 12 hdd's in it, and my case ambient temp DROPPED 3 degrees.
 
JonnyK said:
for my next build i think i'll be getting that LL for 90 bucks. i've got a chieftec dragon right now, i do hear some rattling once in a while. it's always felt like a pretty sturdy case though, i like it.
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If you don't mind a scratched right side door [just needs to be painted, but since my case is "inside" my desk, I don't care!, I'll sell you mine for $60 + real shipping rates, not the $35 excalibur wants I want the 2000B
 
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