Lian Li's PC-90: The Hammer Strikes Hard

Conclusion: Workstation Class

If you're after pure performance from an enclosure, Lian Li's PC-90 is an excellent place to start looking. Despite quibbles with the assembly, the PC-90 is able to achieve in a smaller space and with less resources and weight what larger enclosures like the Cooler Master Cosmos II and Thermaltake Level 10 GT can do. Lian Li's enclosure almost makes competing cases feel over-engineered by comparison. Yet if we look closer at all of these designs, it becomes fairly clear who each of these cases is designed to cater to.

Lian Li's enclosure has the performance to appeal to enthusiasts, but virtually no allowances are made for liquid cooling of any kind. Certainly the enterprising user could install a 280mm radiator in the front, but similar to the brackets included with the SilverStone FT02, this is something an individual could but probably shouldn't do. The PC-90 is an air-cooling case first and foremost. Once you take into account the incredibly minimalistic exterior and the slightly more involved assembly, it seems clear Lian Li is gunning for the PC-90 to be used as a workstation enclosure as opposed to a high-end gaming system. Certainly it can handle either and the performance is definitely there, but it's a lot easier to see the PC-90 under a desk in an office than, say, a Level 10 GT.

With all that said, I still waffle on some of Lian Li's design decisions. I feel like their mounting system for storage drives at least make more sense here, but the optical drive mounting system, and particularly the drive fascia, needs to be revised. There's no shame in needing to use tools to assemble a desktop; toolless allowances are nice, but sometimes it's better to just go back to basics. I expect some users will probably worry about hot air flowing from the interior of the enclosure up through the power supply's fan, while others will be concerned about outward-mounted hard drives passing vibrations through the side panel and thus amplifying access noise. These aren't invalid concerns, but I wouldn't let either one stop me from using the PC-90. Hot air going through the power supply might very well wind up being a serious issue, but mechanical hard disks can always be mounted on the interior sides of the drive plates to help alleviate vibration.

There is, of course, also the price tag. At $199 the PC-90 is an expensive piece of kit, but at the same time I do find myself having difficulty recommending alternatives. This is a situation that may very well come down to personal preference. End users looking to save some dosh can always pick up Rosewill's Thor v2, while users looking for a little more flash are going to have access to the Cosmos II and Level 10 GT. There are good options for each user willing to invest in a quality case, but $199 feels too steep for the PC-90. The performance absolutely matches the price tag, but the materials and overall build quality don't quite line up. At $149 it would be much easier to recommend. As I've said on other expensive parts and peripherals, I wouldn't fault anyone for buying the PC-90, but it could (and should) be less costly.