what do you guys think of the Lian Li PC-7bplus ?
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556060673.html
new lian li
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smoothness
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 12:20 am
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i posted this earlier 
. i still think it's a very fine looking case. i currently own a coolermaster praetorian, and although the amplifying side panels do turn me off, the design and quality of the higher end aluminum cases is very appealing.
although aluminum does have the tendency to rattle/resonate, it is as easily fixable as lining an antec case. with a fairly substantial matting, it should absorb the vibrations - i've tested it on my case with great results.
anyway, i would be interested if SPCR got a hold of one of the cases for a review - i can't contact Lian-li due to school work. anyone else willing to?
. i still think it's a very fine looking case. i currently own a coolermaster praetorian, and although the amplifying side panels do turn me off, the design and quality of the higher end aluminum cases is very appealing.although aluminum does have the tendency to rattle/resonate, it is as easily fixable as lining an antec case. with a fairly substantial matting, it should absorb the vibrations - i've tested it on my case with great results.
anyway, i would be interested if SPCR got a hold of one of the cases for a review - i can't contact Lian-li due to school work. anyone else willing to?
Nothing a little acoustipack and drive suspension won't cure...sthayashi wrote:A case with no rear fan grills? How fiendishly clever!
It's still an aluminum case, which makes sense given Lian-Li has made a name for themselves in Aluminum cases. Aluminum cases are generally eschewed by the SPCR community for their tendency to rattle and/or amplify drive vibrations.
The acoustipack might outweigh (litterally) the benefit of lightweight alumium, but you're left with a combo of good looks and silence...
I'd love to see SPCR review of this case. I think it has great potential for a silent, lightweight and best-looking case.
I'm thinking of buying this case so I could certainly send some pics and my findings, but I don’t have anyway of measuring sound so I could only compare it to other cases I have.
P.S. sorry for the double post I thought this case just came out.
Edit: this is not quite the same case you posted on before
I'm thinking of buying this case so I could certainly send some pics and my findings, but I don’t have anyway of measuring sound so I could only compare it to other cases I have.
P.S. sorry for the double post I thought this case just came out.
Edit: this is not quite the same case you posted on before
Last edited by Thunder on Sun Feb 06, 2005 12:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Anyone care to explain what the big deal is about this case?
Unless you're really dead-set on the generic Lian-Li look, I don't see anything to get excited about. 120mm fans are not a rarity in cases anymore.
You're paying extra for the aluminum, and then planning on paying >$60 for an acoustipack kit to make the aluminum as quiet as a steel case would have been to begin with. That would also cancel the (useless) weight savings of going with aluminum, leaving you with a case that you spent $160 on that performs as well as a $40 steel case.
Besides aesthetics, am I missing something?
Unless you're really dead-set on the generic Lian-Li look, I don't see anything to get excited about. 120mm fans are not a rarity in cases anymore.
You're paying extra for the aluminum, and then planning on paying >$60 for an acoustipack kit to make the aluminum as quiet as a steel case would have been to begin with. That would also cancel the (useless) weight savings of going with aluminum, leaving you with a case that you spent $160 on that performs as well as a $40 steel case.
Besides aesthetics, am I missing something?
You have a few things wrong
First the on the weight issue you start with a ten pound aluminum case add parts and dampening and you end up with a 20 pound system or you could buy a 20 pound steel case and end up with a 30+ pound system.
And on the price, melamine foam is very cheap and I would buy it for use in a steel or aluminum case.
Here is how I see it
You can buy a $60 plain black case silence it and you get
A very silent, very plain and very heavy case
Or
You can buy a good-looking $100 aluminum case silence it and you get
A mostly silent, good-looking and modestly light case.
For me the trade off of looks and weight, out weighs (no pun intended) a slightly more silent case.
But if you never move your case you really only achieve better looks at a higher price so then it is not worth it like you said.
It is all in what you are going to use it for.
First the on the weight issue you start with a ten pound aluminum case add parts and dampening and you end up with a 20 pound system or you could buy a 20 pound steel case and end up with a 30+ pound system.
And on the price, melamine foam is very cheap and I would buy it for use in a steel or aluminum case.
Here is how I see it
You can buy a $60 plain black case silence it and you get
A very silent, very plain and very heavy case
Or
You can buy a good-looking $100 aluminum case silence it and you get
A mostly silent, good-looking and modestly light case.
For me the trade off of looks and weight, out weighs (no pun intended) a slightly more silent case.
But if you never move your case you really only achieve better looks at a higher price so then it is not worth it like you said.
It is all in what you are going to use it for.
Lightweight melamine won't get rid of the "aluminum hum". You need mass dampening. Which will make the aluminum case just as heavy as a steel one, at the same level of silencing.
How often do you move your case? Is it really worth it to pay 3 times the price to save a few pounds? Does having the case weigh a few pounds more really affect its portability?
I suppose part of my problem is that I just don't get why people go gaga for the Lian-Li look. In bare aluminum maybe I could understand, but in black stand back a few feet and it looks like a generic black steel case.
Thunder, I'm not trying to be critical, I hope it doesn't come off that way. I'm just trying to understand the thought process behind selecting a case like this, knowing its limitations.
Looks are a subjective thing, to each their own I guess. Good luck.
How often do you move your case? Is it really worth it to pay 3 times the price to save a few pounds? Does having the case weigh a few pounds more really affect its portability?
I suppose part of my problem is that I just don't get why people go gaga for the Lian-Li look. In bare aluminum maybe I could understand, but in black stand back a few feet and it looks like a generic black steel case.
Thunder, I'm not trying to be critical, I hope it doesn't come off that way. I'm just trying to understand the thought process behind selecting a case like this, knowing its limitations.
Looks are a subjective thing, to each their own I guess. Good luck.
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smoothness
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 12:20 am
- Location: MA
Rusty075 - looks are most definitely subjective. It's mostly marketing, but some people with an eye for the avant-garde, the fashionable, or whatever reasoning they might have will always pay more for something that they believe looks better, regardless of whether or not the function of the case is sub-par. However, in the case of Lian-li, you're not only paying for the material - you're paying for the construction. Lian-li is well known for their high-quality construction practices, as well as their extra features. Have you seen their proprietary drive covers?
My reasoning? brushed aluminum feels really nice. And the case called to me, loud fans or not. Unfortunately, my ears are paying the price.
My reasoning? brushed aluminum feels really nice. And the case called to me, loud fans or not. Unfortunately, my ears are paying the price.
Peoples. Just remember that SPCR case reviews start with drives mounted as normal. That won't help the Lian-Li case win SPCR points.
I've loved the look of Lian-Li cases for sometime, but ultimately I don't think one will ever be review by SPCR, simply due to the fact that they're thin enough to be rattled by a hard drive. Feel free to take it, mod the heck out of it, and enjoy light aluminum silencing. If you do a good enough job documenting it, maybe SPCR will let you do a guest-contributed article. But I sincerely doubt the probability of a Lian-Li case review coming down the pipeline. I think SPCR resources and review are better served with different products.
(Maxtor DM10 vs 7200.8 is my next anticipated review. And SPCR may not even have it yet...
)
Rusty075, I was once told that you can never substitute the brushed aluminum look, even if it's black. Personally for me, if you make it black, shiny and otherwise plain, I'll fall in love with it. Make it quiet and have good airflow and I'm freezing my credit card.
I've loved the look of Lian-Li cases for sometime, but ultimately I don't think one will ever be review by SPCR, simply due to the fact that they're thin enough to be rattled by a hard drive. Feel free to take it, mod the heck out of it, and enjoy light aluminum silencing. If you do a good enough job documenting it, maybe SPCR will let you do a guest-contributed article. But I sincerely doubt the probability of a Lian-Li case review coming down the pipeline. I think SPCR resources and review are better served with different products.
(Maxtor DM10 vs 7200.8 is my next anticipated review. And SPCR may not even have it yet...
)Rusty075, I was once told that you can never substitute the brushed aluminum look, even if it's black. Personally for me, if you make it black, shiny and otherwise plain, I'll fall in love with it. Make it quiet and have good airflow and I'm freezing my credit card.
Being a Lian Li addict against my better judgment (yes, they are expensive and yes, they are hard to silence... but I like them anyway... currently on my third case 
) there is one thing I'd like to point out: these cases scratch pretty easily and there is no way I know of to mask those scratches. So, even though aluminium has an advantage in terms of weight (which I've never really noticed for a packed rig), for LAN gaming I sometimes put my stuff in an old steel case I have lying around simply because my previous LL was scratched in a few visible spots and that always annoyed me to no end.
FWIW, I don't kick my rig around during transport or at a LAN (I usually get laughed at for being extra careful) but these scratches happened none the less. Maybe I was unlucky, but I just thought I'd mention it.
) there is one thing I'd like to point out: these cases scratch pretty easily and there is no way I know of to mask those scratches. So, even though aluminium has an advantage in terms of weight (which I've never really noticed for a packed rig), for LAN gaming I sometimes put my stuff in an old steel case I have lying around simply because my previous LL was scratched in a few visible spots and that always annoyed me to no end.FWIW, I don't kick my rig around during transport or at a LAN (I usually get laughed at for being extra careful) but these scratches happened none the less. Maybe I was unlucky, but I just thought I'd mention it.