Lian Li's PC-90: The Hammer Strikes Hard
by Dustin Sklavos on February 21, 2012 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- Lian Li
Testing Methodology
For testing ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| Full ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-875K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 3.8GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | ASUS P7P55D-E Pro |
| Graphics Card | Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (244W TDP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS9900 MAX with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Gold 750W 80 Plus Gold |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the IN-WIN BUC.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS9900 MAX heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive, Intel Core i7-875K processor, ASUS P7P55D-E Pro motherboard, and Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
54 Comments
View All Comments
lucky9 - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
The noise and heat figures are compelling. Agreed the price is at least $50 high.Personally I have no use for this design but it seems to be a great one for those that need a large motherboard it a smaller space.
But I wouldn't trade my K-62 for anything I've ever seen in the same size/price range.
Veroxious - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
It certainly is a matter of personal taste but as previous posters have pointed out at the price tag money can be better spent elsewhere like on a more powerful GPU / additional GPU.I for one would not be able to live with the drives hanging on the side and having cables all over the place. Also the PSU arrangement is less than ideal and a step backwards IMO.
The main reason I would not buy most Lian Li cases is the absence of a side window. I for one like the ability to the see the hard work I put in putting together my rig and the non-standard accessories in it. While not to everyone's liking I simply love my HAF.
kevith - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
Great review. I would say, that I don´t find the looks of this cabinet neither pretty nor the opposite. And I don´t think looks are a big deal, if it is not one of the above.But performance wise I find it even very interesting. I think the results points towards very good thermal capabilities with more than one video card and/or a SNB-E processor.
Do you think the thermal performance has a lot to do with the case being made from aluminum? Does the case itself heat up during load?
Because if it doesn´t, I´d think this could be a very good platform for a cool and quiet case, if one were to add more fans and sound dampening applications to the panels and internal surfaces.
cyabud - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
I have a PC-9 made of the same materials and it gets slightly warm on the top and side of the case around the CPU. The case has some great features but - like the PC-90 - cable management's a complete joke. Can anyone recommend a stylish and well-designed case that does the job but doesn't look like a spaceship?Observist - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
I also have a PC-9F... with 2 GPU's and 4HDD's and a top-mounted ventilation fan, and I think the cable management is fine. There's not a lot of room behind the MB tray, but aside from that it's the same layout as a Corsair 650D and a bunch of other cases. Not sure what non-joke cable management would look like by your criteria. Cables need to go where they need to go.What the PC-90 lacks in cable management, it makes up by getting the HDD's out of the way of the front ventilation fans. Cables impede airflow, but not as much a big HDD cage like in the PC-9F.
That said, most of the nicer, well-designed, non-spaceship cases are included in this comparison - Silverstone FT02, Antec P280, Corsair 650D. Fractal Design and BitFenix also make some clean-looking cases. Maybe a Corsair 600T... looks slightly obese, but that leaves a lot of room for cabling. CoolerMaster CM690 II isn't too bad either, for an older, less expensive case.
cyabud - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
I just find it very difficult to get it looking tidy. That said I have a lot of drives in there and a MB with very awkwardly positioned SATA ports, which clearly doesn't help.Thanks for the non-spaceship case suggestions. Currently salivating over the Antec P280.
TerdFerguson - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
An overly kind review, to be sure. I understand that you want to keep those review samples coming in, but this case isn't worth $50.rscoot - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
Hammer Time.(can't touch this post)
burntham77 - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
I am so conflicted when it comes to choosing my next case. I love the elegance of a case like the PC-90, and yet I also crave a case with a side-window so I can see all of my hardware (and the neat cabling job). I yearn for understated, but I also year for gaudiness.Observist - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
Corsair 650D is your answer! It's basically a Lian-Li with a side window.