Lian Li PC-TU100 Mini-ITX Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on May 29, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Mini ITX
- Lian Li
Noise and Thermal Testing
I concede that I didn't go into testing with high hopes for the Lian Li PC-TU100, and my reasons for that are fairly evident. One powerful fan blowing through the right components can definitely be an extremely efficient way to keep things cool as SilverStone's Temjin TJ08-E can attest, but it has to be well-placed and well-chosen. The 120mm fan in the PC-TU100 seems a little underwhelming, and its airflow is directed almost entirely at the CPU with very little ancillary flow making it to the expansion slots.
That iffy fan positioning turns out to be problematic even for just the CPU; the Core i3 in our testbed isn't overheating, but the PC-TU100 isn't thermally competitive. 5C higher than the middle of the pack just doesn't bode well.
With just a 3-pin intake fan and no real fan control to speak of, idle noise isn't very good either. The case is still quiet, but SilverStone's Sugo SG08 is able to produce both superior thermals and superior noise. Fractal Design's Node 304 also proves to be a better choice on both fronts.
Add in even a modest graphics card like the ZOTAC GeForce GTS 450 Eco we use, and things only get worse for Lian Li's carry-on case. Thermals on the video card are poor, but worse, a pocket of heat builds up at the bottom of the case near the drive trays. Note that the GTS 450 Eco is under 75W and draws all of its power from the PCIe slot, and imagine how much worse things might be with a more powerful card.
With the video card added, noise turns out to be an even bigger issue as well. SilverStone's comparably sized Sugo SG08 outclasses it at every turn, and the Fractal Design Node 304 puts in a stellar showing against it as well.
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Travis² - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Hey Dustin,Great review!
I would really like to see all the benchmarks re-run with the sides off.
I could see myself (and other people) bringing it to LAN-party's all buttoned up but taking the sides off once the gaming begins.
I imagine that the noise would increase but it might the increased airflow might make using a more powerful CPU/GPU combo possible.
-Travis
1d107 - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Seems very similar to PC-Q11. That one is larger, but it takes full-sized power supply, full-sized optical drive, has 140mm fan and mounts for 2x3.5" and 2x2.5" disk drives.Lian-Li has two new cases: PC-Q27 and PC-Q28. Would be nice to get reviews for them.
Overall though it seems that Lian-Li has a few well-designed modules and then tries to throw them together in different combinations. Unfortunately, the success rate is very low. PC-Q11 was a nice exception, if you disregarded tiny side panel screws and lack of internal USB 3 connector.
Alan G - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
"Lian-Li has two new cases: PC-Q27 and PC-Q28. Would be nice to get reviews for them."I'm considering the PC-Q27 for an office computer for my wife. I'll use an i3 chip with integrated graphics so it will not have a cumbersome GPU (which she wouldn't need). Concern is about passive cooling since the case doesn't have a fan.
Grok42 - Friday, May 31, 2013 - link
Be sure to checkout the PC-Q25 as well. It's $20 off right now and only $99.Chriz - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
I miss the Lian Li of old, when they had nice features like slide out motherboard trays and the cases were made out of stronger aluminum. They are concentrating too much on making their cases lightweight and visually different, which is sacrificing quality and features. Their innovations of late may look "cool" to some people, but hardly have any functional value. They really need to learn from Fractal Design and Silverstone.Memristor - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
They have smaller cases too which are of excellent quality like the PC-Q12 or even smaller PC-Q05.Dentons - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Too large. Too expensive.Meh
PatriciaBau42 - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Aria. even though Phyllis`s report is astonishing, last friday I got a gorgeous Citroλn 2CV since getting a cheque for $7974 this munth and just over ten/k last-month. it's by-far the nicest-work Ive had. I actually started 6 months ago and practically straight away got me over $78, per-hr. I use details from here,, Exit35.comCHECK IT OUTlwatcdr - Thursday, May 30, 2013 - link
Dustin it would be cool if you would include links to the cases that you compair it. I assume that all of those have been reviewed here so links to those would be ideal.stlouis1 - Friday, May 31, 2013 - link
The moment I looked at the pictures and saw where the PSU was mounted I stopped reading and looked at the temp/noise charts. I don't know how Dustin was even bothered to finish reviewing the case from that point. I don't understand how an engineer in the year 2013 re-use a psu mounting design that failed already a decade ago. I thought we had stopped mounting PSU's above the cpu after the Pentium II's?