Why the Lian Li PC-X900 is a Win for me.

I'd never heard the term "dirty chopper" before, but presumably it refers to fan controllers that turn 12V on and off fast, "chopping" the power supply to the fan, instead of actually varying the voltage. It's much easier for a digital circuit to turn the power on and off fast than to do the analog business of adjusting voltage between 7 and 12V (or whatever).

Since the X900's fan controller has a knob, I will predict that it is not a "dirty chopper"—it has an analog control and shouldn't need to resort to faking it digitally. Besides an oscilloscope, which I don't have, is there a reliable way to check?
 
shawnoen said:
I love the case too and think I'm gonna give it another try. Had one and sold it. It was damaged in shipping so I have another one on the way to me now.
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that's interesting when you take a look at your thread - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1036184893

shawnoen said:
Lian Li X900 for sale
Perfect condition. Just not feeling it like I thought I would. Going back to my V1000B.

Complete as new, no scratches or damage anywhere.

$215 shipped. Thats almost $150 cheaper than the cheapest price you'll find online.

Thanks, Shawn
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Returning cases can be an expensive undertaking. You usually lose shipping both ways and often have to pay a restocking fee. Selling it private can seem pointless if you are shipping it out. You might as well keep it or sell it locally, you lose too much between the sale and shipping, which without a company discount is pricey (unlike with Neweggs or Amazons return shipping labels, which are discounted even if you have to pay). I feel like the X900 is good enough to stop looking for me, I didn't care too much that it was overpriced, it fits what I want like a glove. So for me the price of entry was worth it. I only wish that I didn't try all those other cases and just zeroed in on this first.

The TJ11 is the only case that may give me the urge to upgrade. But I would keep both in that scenario, and just build a second PC for myself. The TJ11 could be my water cooling workhorse/gaming machine, and the X900 could be the media center jukebox for the living room. But I don't need a TJ11 anytime soon - I don't have a living room or TV yet :p
 
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Yes, didn't like at 1st and sold to someone here and it was damaged in transit so I got it back and replaced with a new one. Never gonna sell a used case again. Just not worth it when you consider loss in value and shipping costs. Plus potential for it to get damaged when you don't have original box and packing materials.

DR_ said:
that's interesting when you take a look at your thread - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1036184893
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shawnoen said:
Yes, didn't like at 1st and sold to someone here and it was damaged in transit so I got it back and replaced with a new one. Never gonna sell a used case again. Just not worth it when you consider loss in value and shipping costs. Plus potential for it to get damaged when you don't have original box and packing materials.
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I keep the original box just in case I need to ship or move it to my new apartment. You never know where you are going to end up.
 
shawnoen said:
Yes, didn't like at 1st and sold to someone here and it was damaged in transit so I got it back and replaced with a new one. Never gonna sell a used case again. Just not worth it when you consider loss in value and shipping costs. Plus potential for it to get damaged when you don't have original box and packing materials.
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Yea, and I was looking forward to it too :(
 
Let me make this crystal clear, cus I keep getting PMs. I don't have the other cases for sale, they were all returned or gifted!
 
is there room in the front of this case for a radiator (figure 55mm maybe?), a fan shroud, and a 250 mm fan? if there isnt enough room between the front of the case and the MB, are the fans far enough away from the MB tray so that the fans can hang over the MB without hitting the cables too bad?
 
Skoobs said:
is there room in the front of this case for a radiator (figure 55mm maybe?), a fan shroud, and a 250 mm fan? if there isnt enough room between the front of the case and the MB, are the fans far enough away from the MB tray so that the fans can hang over the MB without hitting the cables too bad?
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A 250 mm fan is wider than the case, so I'd say no for the fan. A 55 mm radiator plus shroud plus standard 25 mm thick fan would overlap the motherboard, so you'd need right-angle SATA connectors and a short video card. (A 55 mm rad plus fan would collide with my 5850's power connectors.) And I measure 33 mm from the motherboard tray to the edge of my radiator fans.

I have not found satisfaction with this case, and have a new A77F sitting in my living room at the moment, stripped down to be powdercoated. The X900 is probably great for air-cooling, but it hasn't worked out nearly as well as I'd expected for water-cooling.
 
I always loved this case layout wise. I prefer solid side panels though. And I'd like to see a steel lancool knock off it because I am cheap. :p
 
GuyClinch said:
I always loved this case layout wise. I prefer solid side panels though. And I'd like to see a steel lancool knock off it because I am cheap. :p
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That'd be nice. I don't think there's any way they'd make a steel lancool of a flagship case like this though. I just wish it was in the $200s. $300+ gets a bit out of the justifiable range for me. :(
 
rsquared said:
A 250 mm fan is wider than the case, so I'd say no for the fan. A 55 mm radiator plus shroud plus standard 25 mm thick fan would overlap the motherboard, so you'd need right-angle SATA connectors and a short video card. (A 55 mm rad plus fan would collide with my 5850's power connectors.) And I measure 33 mm from the motherboard tray to the edge of my radiator fans.

I have not found satisfaction with this case, and have a new A77F sitting in my living room at the moment, stripped down to be powdercoated. The X900 is probably great for air-cooling, but it hasn't worked out nearly as well as I'd expected for water-cooling.
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SORRY! i meant 25 mm. like 25 mm THICK. hahahaha 250 mm fan... hah. sorry... i love my scythe SFF21Gs. i just hope they have the static pressure to push enough cool air through a low fin density rad.

anyone seen any other space restrictions besides video card length and motherboard overlap and no 250 mm fans? (ha)

any length or width restrictions?
 
Skoobs said:
SORRY! i meant 25 mm. like 25 mm THICK. hahahaha 250 mm fan... hah. sorry... i love my scythe SFF21Gs. i just hope they have the static pressure to push enough cool air through a low fin density rad.
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There's an Antec case or few with a big exhaust fan on top, 200 or 250 mm or something, and they make brackets to attach a 2 × 120 mm radiator to it. I thought you might've been planning something like that.

I've always used SFF21Fs on my radiators, both the Swiftech MCR320 and, now, the XSPC RS360. (The Gs didn't yet exist back when I made the MCR320 build.) They've worked fine, though I've always used them in "pull" and can't say how they'd do in "push".
 
I really liked this case... no joke. When its empty. The wiring killed it for me. I tried for two days, dam they were not kidding, its bear. Like an impossible bear to wire. Perhaps that tj11 will be mine after all.
 
I'll post pics of mine when I'm done. As with any case you need to shorten/lengthen ALL the wires so they are the exact length needed. Not more, not less.

Do that and this case will be perfect!

Also, I've just taken delivery of a side panel with no window from a Lian Li contact I have. Will be making my own window and mounting plexi from behind....as it should have been from the start!
 
It's kind of weird that they put the HD racks on the top but... ok. Interesting. The thing I'm wondering is how suitable is this case for watercooling? I can envision installing a 360 rad in the front. But I'd need room for my second 360, maybe on bottom? How good is the bottom vent intake system? I'd think that having more fans on top would be a good thing but Lian Li was obviously going for a front to back airflow with this case. Uh, where did you put your PSU again? would that interefere wtih putting a 360 rad or even a 420 on the bottom of the case?
 
shawnoen said:
I'll post pics of mine when I'm done. As with any case you need to shorten/lengthen ALL the wires so they are the exact length needed. Not more, not less.
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I guess roomy for wiring cases like the Cooler Master Sniper spoiled my desire to cram the wires in.
 
SylarPowers said:
I really liked this case... no joke. When its empty. The wiring killed it for me. I tried for two days, dam they were not kidding, its bear. Like an impossible bear to wire. Perhaps that tj11 will be mine after all.
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Is there just not enough room back there? :(
 
cn06 said:
Is there just not enough room back there? :(
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I had some trouble for sure. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it was hard for me. One mistake I made is that you can't really wire towards the edge, where the frame of the doors are.With all my wires and extension cords I was using, due to the old shape of the case and desire to use red cables, it became a chore to find a path, as I was trying to wire less in clumps and more separate. I dunno, perhaps I gave up too soon, but I'm done with this case, I can't be bothered to try again, I'll just get a case with more room back there. At first glance it looks like a lot of room, but it gets crowded in practice. Just my experience, I've seen others make it work right here, but hey, if your not a zip tie black belt, stay away.

One thing I did that helped was I used zip ties alone in those holes, bare, then looped other zip ties the other way, so that they lay flatter. I would say you really have to get creative, but it's workable. But I miss the ease of say the Cooler Master Sniper, which had buckets of room and paths. PM me an email, and I will email you pics of my attempt, and you can judge for yourself.

And that is why the Lian Li X900 DIDNT work for me~! LOL\

For me, I have the most hope for the TJ11, which has super sturdy Silverstone unibody design, the awesome AP-181 fans, and moreso than the FT02, there is enough room to mod way till your happy. Another case that interests me is the Silverstone RV03, which has tons of room on the backside, which is where the HDs are, and the PSU in the front, and the AP-181 fans also. And the FT02 is nice, I might have to try that again, some say my first was a lemon, with the hd racks issue.
 
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There is 18mm behind the motherboard tray and before the side panel. Plenty of room for cables.
 
All I know is 50 zip ties and two evenings later, the dam door does not go on. And I had it tight as I could see going. Cooler Master Sniper, door goes on with tons of room to spare, first time. Guess which one in retrospect made me smile? And it's not just the space behind the mobo, it's the distance from the drives to the PSU. To be fair, I COULD make it work, I think I simply forgot to make more space for the door's frame area, but the end result is the same for me. My sata cables are stretched, sweat covers my brow, I had a taste, and now I had enough. When rebuild time comes, I don't look forward to working in this case at all. When you have this much trouble for something this expensive, the urge to grab your RMA money back gets strong, so I took it. Is it the wrong choice? Maybe, but it's the choice I'm going with.

Like all my posts, I go back and forth a lot. It's like I fight myself til I'm happy! It's my way. And the choice is made for me, the FT02 case I just ordered is non refundable, so that's one way to end the cycle.
 
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really disappointed in the room in the front of the case. if there was enough room for an average sized 360 rad this case would be flawless...
 
SylarPowers said:
All I know is 50 zip ties and two evenings later, the dam door does not go on. And I had it tight as I could see going. Cooler Master Sniper, door goes on with tons of room to spare, first time. Guess which one in retrospect made me smile? And it's not just the space behind the mobo, it's the distance from the drives to the PSU. To be fair, I COULD make it work, I think I simply forgot to make more space for the door's frame area, but the end result is the same for me. My sata cables are stretched, sweat covers my brow, I had a taste, and now I had enough. When rebuild time comes, I don't look forward to working in this case at all. When you have this much trouble for something this expensive, the urge to grab your RMA money back gets strong, so I took it. Is it the wrong choice? Maybe, but it's the choice I'm going with.

Like all my posts, I go back and forth a lot. It's like I fight myself til I'm happy! It's my way. And the choice is made for me, the FT02 case I just ordered is non refundable, so that's one way to end the cycle.
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That sounds pretty bad. Every case I'm currently looking at has an issue.

X900 has very little room behind the rear panel and is very expensive. FT02 has sketchy HD caddies and HD cooling. I have 8 HDs in my current case so this isn't really a negotiable issue. I'm thinking of just getting a Fractal R3. With two top fans, 1 rear, 2 front, and 1 bottom it should cool pretty well. I really would like a window though.
 
I just purchased this case for my new build after months, and months and months of looking at cases. I love it for the sole reason that it occupies a small footprint in favor of more height, which is ideal for saving space in my opinion. It's also pretty nice looking.

This is my first Lian-Li, and I was coming from an Antec 900. The only thing I majorly dislike about this case are the screws that hold the fans in place. I swapped out all the stock fans and stripped most of the screws the case used to hold the fans in place in the process. They're ridiculously easy to strip, and too tight. God help you if you need or want to change the fans in this case.

Front's a dust magnet like the Antec 900 was too. Guess you can't really get around that. My video cards are running absurdly hot in this case. 96c on one of them in SLI...
 
I've just finished my build of a Lian Li PC-X900B.
You all know the differences to the X1000, but one important thing not mentioned in this thread is that the sides of X900 are reinforced, and so they are no longer flimsy (my main complaint of the X1000). Btw I run the 24-pin cable inside the chassis, as it is nicely tucked away behind the 120mm fans anyway. Less pressure on the back side panel.

On the whole, my impressions are:
  • Better fans than I expected, quiet and efficient
  • Compact, small footprint, nice looking with the window. Stands nicely on my desk
  • Very good cooling
  • The most quiet case I ever had
  • Expensive, but will probably last a couple of future hardware generations

The X900 is not suitable for CPU-coolers like Corsair H50/H70, so I bought a Zalman CNPS-9900A. It has a PWM-fan, and suits the quiet X900 just fine (1200-1800 rpm).
Only source of noice is the GTX480 that rews up when gaming. The fan in the Corsair PSU doesn't move at all, as it has plenty of spare power :)
 
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