After reviewing many cases recently made from steel and targeted at the budget audience it has been a total pleasure reviewing this Lian Li PC-8FIB today, hand crafted from the highest quality aluminum.
Lian Li have spent considerable time during the design phase as everything has received attention to detail, from the completely tool-less design, to beautiful touches such as the PSU holding bracket, hard drive installation racks and cable routing devices. The inclusion of washable air filters throughout as well as an additional 140mm filter for the upgrade option is a nice touch.
Build quality is as good as we have seen, the chassis is extremely light, yet strong enough to feel substantial and easy to carry from room to room. This entire chassis weighs less than the side door of the recent Antec P193 we reviewed!
With all the sharp edges removed for safety, there is no way to cut your hands when building a system, something we have experienced in the past with lesser chassis design. The external and internal surfaces incorporate the finest quality hair line brush anodised aluminum, and it shows. It really doesn’t get much better than this.
While we would like to see Lian Li include a top mounted 140mm fan as standard, the cooling prowess of the chassis is top tier and our overclocked system at 4.2ghz was kept well within safety parameters. That said, if you want to run a highly overclocked system we recommend you populate the 140mm top position with a high quality fan.
Noise levels are also class leading, with the three 120mm fans generating around 30 dBa of noise, easily drown out by most graphics card or CPU fans.
All in all, to say we have been impressed would be an understatement. The only kicker is the price which is around £235 inc vat in the UK, more than double the price of many of the steel based designs we have reviewed on KitGuru in the last couple of months. This is targeting a different audience however and we think it is worth every penny, the craftmanship is the reason why Lian Li have such a well earned reputation. If you have the money for a high end chassis then this should be right at the top of your list.
KitGuru says: This is a breathtaking showcase of Lian Li’s engineering prowess and build quality.
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August 22, 2010
#1
My lord, I creamed my pants there, what a case !
August 22, 2010
#2
That is just simply stunning, no other word for it.
August 22, 2010
#3
FINALLY ! a LIAN LI review on KitGuru, this has made my week as I was looking at this case on overclockers last week, and for the price I need an indepth analysis. off to read this again before parting with my money.
August 22, 2010
#4
Well words fail me. I saw the score and thought, has Zardon lost it. 9.5 out of 10? but by the end of it, 10 seems a fair score. The only thing I would say is the room for graphics cards. it wont handle a 5970 without moving the HD rack. thats the only real flaw I can find, and its not a big one as I would say 10 people have one
August 22, 2010
#5
Excellent review, pictures are fabulous also, really helps to sell the case. the appearance is exactly what I want.
Sadly I wont be spending that amount of cash on a case, but its well worth it. I just need a better job first.
August 22, 2010
#6
That is pretty much the perfect chassis. Nothing omitted that I would want.
August 22, 2010
#7
Luxiourous high end design and beautifully implemented.
Great review Zardon, this is a dream case for me.
August 22, 2010
#8
Great to drool over, but sadly way out of my price bracket when im buying a case, £120 is my self enforced limit. I have never owned an aluminum case mind you so maybe its worth it ?
August 22, 2010
#9
wicked review that. put me in mind to blow more money when im paid. I hate this site sometimes.
August 22, 2010
#10
Well aint this pretty. the price surely isnt tho.
August 22, 2010
#11
God damn it, I want this case and have done for weeks when i saw it listed. This review has made the craving worse. its just so much cash
shall think over a pint 
August 23, 2010
#12
I love Lian Li products, this is beautiful. no other words for it
September 17, 2010
#13
Just took delivery on one of these… Cost just over £140 delivered (to the UK) from Germany. For some reason caseking appear to be able to sell these at just €149, about £100 less than anywhere in the UK, just in case anyone was thinking of getting one.
January 21, 2011
#14
Did I miss something or is there no power and disk drive activity lights?
January 3, 2012
#15
[...] [...]
January 10, 2012
#16
[...] en voeding, omdat die meerdere pc's kunnen overleven. De Lian Li vind ik daarbovenop zeer mooi en deze review heeft me helemaal over de streep getrokken. Al hoop ik wel dat al m'n onderdelen in die case [...]