Computex 2012: Lian Li Want To Sell You A Train, Or A Case with 26 3.5” HDD Slots
by Ian Cutress on June 8, 2012 11:23 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
- Computex 2012
- Lian
Visiting the Lian Li booth is always interesting. Last year we saw the TU-200 mini-ITX case aimed at taking a gaming machine with you on the move. This year, we get trains.
The PC-CK101 is a limited run product which looks like a train but will fit inside a mini-ITX motherboard with a couple of SSDs and appropriate power. On the case are a couple of USB 3.0 ports, and there is even room for a slim optical drive behind the cow catcher. The model on display was accompanied with a version of the case that had been outfitted with an engine and had fully moving parts along a track.
Also on the Lian Li booth we were introduced to the PC-D8000. A double width and tall case designed to fit HTPX motherboards as well as twenty-six 3.5 inch hard drives (6 of them in hotswappable bays).
This case looks like it would be great for organising a 4 dual radiator water cooling setup (the top has panels which can be switched with a dual 120mm fan slots), with plenty of space for organisation. Or, as I suggested, a modder may adjust the case to fit two motherboards and two systems – one system for low powered usage (word processing, email, internet), and a second system for gaming.
Also on display was the PC-V650, a mATX version of the PC-Q09B, and the PC-V750WX, a normal height E-ATX case. LianLi also showed me the PC-X2000FN, a very tall case which is only slightly wider than a motherboard, with space above and below for hard drives.
Mini-ITX cases are also the order of the day, with LianLi having their vertical power supplied PC-Q02 and PC-Q03.
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JMC2000 - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
Everyone has different tastes, and in fact that 2U chassis would end up noisier than the PC-D8000.Why do you think Case Labs makes what they make, or why Lian-Li made the PC-343B?
MrSpadge - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
Using 52 1+TB SSDs sounds quite stupid. Whatever you do with these drives, you're certainly better off with some sort or storage tiering: a couple of SSDs for the frequently used data, HDDs for the rest.JMC2000 - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
If you would have actually READ my post, you would see that I didn't say 52 SSDs, I said it could hold at least 52 drives (for example 52+ enterprise 2.5" HDDs). Yes, I know to use tiered storage...Solidstate89 - Saturday, June 9, 2012 - link
I haven't read or heard about any possible new cases from Silverstone this year. I guess it was too much to hope for a true successor to the FT02.As for Lian Li; they once are showing some absolutely stunning minimalist designs. But I think they've officially lost it with that train design.
Flunk - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
It's all marketing and in marketing it's all about being memorable. Which guys were they... they were the guys with the train case.PhoenixEnigma - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
"...there is even room for a slim optical drive behind the cow catcher. "I imagine this is not a sentence you had ever imagined yourself writing prior to this article! Don't suppose there's any word on rail gauge, either?
Kevin G - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
My biggest issue with the PC-D8000 isn't its doublewide form factor but where the motherboard is placed inside of it. Looking at the pictures you can see that the motherboard isn't in the middle but rather at the deepest point. Ideally the case would have the motherboard in the middle with things like the PSU or radiators mounted behind it.Guspaz - Monday, June 11, 2012 - link
I'd rather that the case simply had two columns of nine 5.25" bays, and let the user supply their own 3x5.25" hotswap bays. Depending on the desired density, the user could put anywhere from 18 to 30 drives in hotswap bays in such a configuration. On the low end you could use 1x5.25" -> 1x3.5" hotswap bays, on the high end you could use 3x5.25" -> 5x3.5" hotswap bays.davephan - Sunday, June 17, 2012 - link
You could backup the large system, but you need to have a second or third large system, depending on how many copies you want to make to protect the data. You could use a tape library to back it up too. Ideally, you should have at least the original system plus two copies. But you should have at least one backup copy of the original system as a bare minimum.You can reduce costs for the backup system if you use unRAID. UnRAID is slow to write, but is a good choice for storing large amounts of video content.
When your video storage exceeds a couple of terabytes, you will have so much video that you will physically never have enough time to watch more than a tiny fraction of your stored library. But, you can continue to save the videos and don't have to delete them.
This all comes down to how much is enough? Each of us have our own limits. Even if you use RAID 6, some or all of the data could be gone someday. When that happens, it is usually gone fast. You have to access how much is the data worth to you to protect it. If it was business, you would have to throw money at the problem to protect the data. Otherwise, you would be out of business if the data was lost. For home use, you have to decide how much risk you are willing to accept, and live with the risks if a data loss event occurs.
Dave
ypsylon - Tuesday, June 19, 2012 - link
Why oh why Lian Li you can't force yourself to make case like D8000 but with horizontal motherboard tray? All your competitors (big cases - 2W) have at least one. Mountain Mods, Danger Den, XSPC, CASELABS.It will simplify greatly anything done inside. Prevent motherboard cracking with too much stress from multiple VGAs or big coolers.So incredibly simple! And only 6 5.25 bays. Anyone going with RAID have plenty of backplanes. I smell a lot of DIY...
Still I will get it at earliest opportunity.