Lian Li PC-60Plus

by Purav Sanghani on February 26, 2005 12:00 PM EST

Benchmarks - Thermal

Describing the cooling equipment that comes with a case just doesn’t cut it for us. We need to see how it actually performs to see if it is as effective as what the manufacturer’s say. We have hand-picked a full system, which we believe is the current system setup for the average user.

PC Mid-Tower Test Bed

Chaintech VNF3-250
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
OCZ PC3200 DDR x 2
Zalman CNPS7000 Copper
Seagate Barracuda 120GB SATA
ATI 9800XT
OCZ 520W PowerStream


Click to enlarge.

The thermal readings for the key components and points on the motherboard during operation were as follows. The numbers in each square represent the average ambient air temperature of that particular square inch of the case in degrees Celsius:


Click to enlarge.


We noticed how effective the CPU air duct was at helping to cool the heat sink fan as well as the CPU under it. The area above and around the CPU heat sink fan is about 1-2 degrees cooler, on average, compared to that of the PC-6070, and we safely assume the same compared to the original PC-60 case.

The side mounted blower fan also helped cool the area around the video card by moving warm air out through the back of the case. The temperatures here were decreased about 1-2 degrees on average also.

The most important improvement to the cooling system was the change to a 120mm fan at the front as an intake as well as the additional 80mm fan at the top of the case as an exhaust. Overall, the PC-60 Plus has an exceptional cooling system and it performs as well as some of those cases with 5-6 case fans. As we zero in on each critical system component, we predict the PC-60 Plus’s cooling system will have a positive effect on them as it did for the case’s ambient air temperature.

Take a look at the temperature readings of each critical component in our test rig.


Click to enlarge.


Our predictions were right - the temperatures of each critical component were 2-3 degrees cooler on average compared to the temperatures in previous case reviews. The CPU, heat sink fan, and video card especially ran much cooler due to the added air duct and blow fan.

The Installation Process Benchmarks - Sound
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  • val - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link

    btw: when there is CM Stacker case, no other cases are neccessary. Specialy not such acoustic resonators like Lian Li
  • val - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link

    #20
    Its like in Mockba, you know nothing, but They know everything...
  • Avalon - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link

    In Soviet Russia, the computer installs YOU!
  • phaxmohdem - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link

    Can somebody explain to me WTF this "In mother Russia" BS is about?? IS it supposed to be funny?
  • ProviaFan - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link

    Well, in that case, cHodAXUK, I can understand your feelings, even though I am almost entirely satisfied with my PC60. I might get the Mac-like case (the V???? series) if I ever get the dual Opteron board I want - the kind that is EATX and won't fit in an ATX case. ;-)

    For style, subtle works best for me - the wave case by Cooler Master is kind of cool IMHO. :)
  • natethegreat - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link

    I can't believe nobody has pointed out that this new case by Lian Li is louder than a TT Tsunami!
  • TheInvincibleMustard - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link

    That duct is a nice idea, but how well does it work with different styled motherboards, eg DFI's new nForce4 line?

    I'm also curious where the intended airflow diagram went (page 4).

    You also mention that you were worried about the PSU installation with regards to the top blowhole fan, but never mentioned if it actually turned out to be a problem or not ... did it work fine?
  • cryptonomicon - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link

    i like the plain case, lian li cases are fun to mod, its easy to chew through the aluminum and widen the fan intakes, ect. the main problem with the PC-60/61 was the front intake. the air hole were too small, and then there was a filter after that. i cut out the entire fan grille, and thew away the filter. so i'm glad this new case has better airflow through the front. i'm not sure if i care for the duct, or the GPU fan. i always window-mod the case, but if you don't have a window mod, i see how this is useful.

    and as for the sound levels.. doesn't everyone replace their fans with nice ones anyways? if you dont have $10 i understand though.
  • val - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link

    will never do the mistake to buy Lian Li case again.

    For that money, in Soviet Russia, You have nice car, and 100l of Vodka.
  • val - Saturday, February 26, 2005 - link

    on photo it may look nice, but in real it is resonating, buttons leaving the holdings and so on :-/.

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