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.
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dj christian - Thursday, March 1, 2012 - link
I hate my Lian Li PC-71 to death!!Worst case i ever owned. Well it's upsides is it's roomy and the components in it's turn get's quite cool but other than that the build quality is just plain horrid! Vibrations reproduces easily from the drives and fans and things break easily because of the weak aluminium. And the screws, too many of them to keep track on. The manual is misspelled in a lot of places, well it's made in China so it doesn't suprise me a bit.
FungYW - Tuesday, June 19, 2012 - link
This PC-90 case is amazing, judging by the thermal performance with just 2x 14cm intake fans and 1x 12cm exhaust fans. If temperature rised up and just add the option fan on top. I may get this case for my home theater build.Regarding to the cable management, just AnandTech builder didn't take time to tidy up cables.
Look at this page you guys will see how good this case can be done:
http://www.coolenjoy.net/bbs/cboard.php?id=system&...
Personally I own a Lian Li PC-A05 (oldest verison without top mount fan hole), I just upgraded it to Lian Li PC-P80N! The idle and load CPU and GPU temperature drop 6-10C. The reason A05 is no good for hot air exhausted because 50% hot air trapped inside the case, cannot exhaust it out directly, because of the front panel only has side exhausted holes. The upper part of the case is like dead zone. No direct air flow to GPU.
For PC-P80N is build like a tank, which has 3x 14cm front intake fan, which gives direct air flow to all parts. (This is crucial for good thermal performace). Exhausted the hot air by 2x 14cm fan from top and 1x 12cm fan from rear. I don't even notice the fan is on from 3 feet away.
Regarding to the price, I think it's very reasonable for a pure Alumunum case and built by Lian Li. For those who complain it is explain you better suit for the heavy steel case with plastic front panel :)
shlomo nixon - Tuesday, April 2, 2013 - link
hello gay mer's i have the lian li pc90 ayear ago and it is the best i allso useing the top fan hole and it help me to Lower the temperature of the gpu .As for the price. Do not forget the cabinet is built from aluminum, never rust and the chassis is much easier than other chassis and much more compact on the outside and big on the inside anyway. Thank lian li you are the best.Lonerski - Monday, April 8, 2013 - link
Interesting review but... can someone explain me why noise level with an idle system can be between 36 and 38 db (yay, even if measured at 1') ? It appears pratically impossible to me. Maybe you used a flawed regulation stuff that always send high power ?