If you’re going to spend the time and
money to build your own computer then why not house it in a case
that’s well made and stylish like the one from Lian Li. Today for
review I’ve got the Lian Li PC-8FI Aluminum case, and I’ve got to say
that it’s very much true what they say about cases from Lian Li,
they truly are of high quality and top notch design. This case
features a tool less design and an all aluminum construction that’s
lightweight yet durable and good looking.
Product
Name: Lian
Li PC-8FI Case
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Sponsor: Lian
Li
Tech
Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Features:
User Friendly Design
Multi-media port connectors
follow international specification standards, with one connector for
easy installation.
New USB3.0 ports, e-SATA, Audio
supports HD Audio. The dual design is for better compatibility
options.
All I/O ports on the top cover,
allow for easy access, there is also a dust-free cover to protect
these connectors.
All new tool-less design from
Lian Li aluminum chassis. To do this required a great many innovative
patents to be filed worldwide. The ideas will make installing and
maintenance much easier. For example when installing the 5.25”
optical drive, just slide the drive into the 5.25” bay, and close
the mounting bar to secure the optical drive, as simple as that.
There is a modular HDD cage,
simple un-do the thumb screw, and silde the HDD cage out, mount the
HDD with anti-vibration kit.
To install PCI add-on cards
require no tools at all. Simply open the aluminum arm of the
tool-less PCI add-on card holder, insert the add-on card to the
motherboard slots, and close the aluminum arm to hold the add-on card
in position. The additional rubber padding on the aluminum arm
assists in gripping the card bracket and securing it firmly.
To install PSU require no
tools. Simply open the aluminum PSU holder, insert the PSU in
position, also can turn PSU’s fans up or down to suit your need, then
close the aluminum PSU holder.
There is a patented cable
management clamp for cables to pass through, allow uesr convenient
manage the cables.
Aluminum M/B Thumb Screw, user
can easily screwed motherboard without tools.
There are openings on the
panel, allow user to manage the cables.
There is an air filter at the
base of the case to stop dust from entering the case. The filter is
washable. The vents are specially designed to retard heat and fire
crossover should a short circuit cause sparks and excessive heat
within your system. This feature is designed to prevent the problem
from spreading outside your case should the unlikely event occur with
your components.
Anti-vibration thumb screw for
HDD, using special thumb screws with rubber suspension. no tool
required, simply secure the anti-vibration rubber ring to the HDD.
There is a fan hole on the top,
user can easily remove the screws, put an intake 140mm fan on it for
better thermal performance.
There is a PCI Bracket allow
user to connect USB3.0 cable to Motherboard.
Specs:
Model: PC-8FI
Case Type: Mid Tower
Dimensions : (W) 210mm x (H)
460mm x (D) 490mm
Front bezel Material: Aluminum
Color: Black
Side Panel: Black
Body Material: Aluminum
Net Weight : 5.85KG
5.25″ drive bay
(External): 3
3.5″ drive bay (External):
1(use one 5.25 to 3.5 converter)
3.5″ drive bay (Internal):
6
Expansion Slot: 8
Motherboard: ATX / M-ATX
System Fan (Front): 120mm Blue
LED Fan x 2 (1200RPM)
Red (Spider Edition) / 120mm
Red LED Fan x 2 (1200RPM)
System Fan (Top): 140mm Fan
Hole x 1
System Fan (Rear): 120mm Fan x
1 (1200RPM)
Silver / 120mm Fan x 1
(1200RPM)
I/O Ports: USB3.0 x 2 / e-SATA
x1 / HD Audio
Maximum Video Card Size: 285mm
{mospagebreak title=
A Better Look at Things
– Outside}
A
Better Look at Things -Outside:
First things first, let’s take a
look at the outside. The case comes in a nice looking box and is well
protected.
I got the black version for
review, but you can also get it in red or silver. On the front you’ll
see two 5.25” bays and a 3.5” bay, below those are several
ventilation holes behind which are two fans pre-installed that have
blue LEDs in them.
On the top of the case you’ll find
two buttons for power and reset along with two USB 3.0 ports, one
eSATA port and audio jacks. Behind the controls is a panel that can
be removed so you can install a top fan if you wish.
The left and right side of the
case are plain, just brushed aluminum side panels. Overall the case
seems very well made, the looks might be plain but it’s a stylish
kind of plain.
When you move to the back of the
case you’ll be struck by how bright it is, the inside chassis is all
bright aluminum. On the back you’ll see familiar stuff, with the
addition of two holes for liquid cooling tubes. The side panels are
held on with thumbscrews, you can see them from the back view of
course.
Moving to the bottom of the case
you’ll see an air filter where the PSU will be mounted and four
rubber feet.
{mospagebreak title=
A Better Look at Things
– Inside}
A
Better Look at Things -Inside:
Let’s go inside now starting with
the back of the motherboard. On the back you’ll see the tray is cut
out where the CPU would be making it much easier to swap out cooler
if you want to. There are cutout in the tray to run wires through as
well, and the bottom is nice and open where the PSU is. From here you
can also see the hard drive rack and a glimpse of the front fans.
Moving around you can get a nice
look where your computer will actually go. It doesn’t look that big
in there but you can fit large cards inside with not much of a
problem. There are some stand-offs already attached to the
motherboard for you.
The 5.25” bays use a tool-less
clip system that is basically a slide lock of sorts.
Here’s a quick look at the top
view of the case from the inside so you can see where that fan would
go. When you first opened the case you’ll see the case cables hidden
up there.
Here’s a view of the 5.25” cage,
you can see the removable bay covers, they just pop out.
Next up here’s the hard drive cage
and better look at the front fans. The cage can came out, it’s
secured with a couple thumbscrews.
One of the unique feature of this
case is the PCI slots and how you hold your cards in place. The case
with a metal, rather heavy duty locking system that works very well.
The fan grill for the top mounted
fan is in a plastic bag attached to the bottom of the case when you
open it. The power supply sits on two raised rails with rubber strips
on them to help prevent vibrations. Below that is a series of vents
to help keep the PSU cool.
The front panel just pops off
easily and you can get a better look at the two front fans that come
with dust filters.
If you paid attention to the
pictures above, the you may have noticed a box attached to the hard
drive cage, in that box you’ll find the accessories or which there
are a lot.
If you don’t have USB 3.0 you can
still use the top USB ports as USB 2.0 with the help of the included
adapter.
The PSU gets secured with a
locking clip, you can secure the PSU the normal way with screws or
you can use the bracket or both.
Included as well is a plastic
cable management system that attached to the bottom of the case and a
smaller one that can be attached to the motherboard tray.
There’s also a PCI slot with a
hole in it to run the USB wires through, and a 5.25” to 3.5”
adapter.
{mospagebreak title=Installation, Impressions}
Installation,
Impressions:
I’m using this case for my gaming
/ HTPC system which is hooked up to my 47” HDTV and has a DFI
motherboard and an Intel Q9650 CPU with a Noctua cooler on it.
The motherboard is held with the
included thumbscrews making installation that much easier.
During the installation I found
it’s very tight near the top of the case, especially when I tried to
runt he wires for the 8pin power connection. I got it done, but it
took a bit of work and maneuvering.
I also found that with my CPU
cooler installed vertically I now could not install the top fan for
cooling unless I found a very thin one or turned the cooler so it was
mounted horizontally.
To get the hard drives installed
you’ll need to use the supplied special screws instead of rails. On
the left side of the HDD cage is a rail that slides up and down that
locks the hard drives in place.
I installed my PSU with the screws
and the strap, it just locks into place.
The rest of my system is a Sparkle
Calibre GTX260, and a Sparkle GT240 for PhysX, along with a Bgears
sounds card and a USB 3.0 mini-PCIE card. The GTX260 is big, and it
fits fine with an inch or so clearance.
The hard drives went in easily but
they connect from the front unlike most cases now that connect
through the back.
I used the small cable organizer
on the side of the motherboard tray and the large organizer on the
bottom of the case:
Here’s the view from the back side
of the case with my wires routed there:
I don’t have liquid cooling
obviously, but the holes worked very well for running the USB 3.0
cables to my PCIE card.
I used the included adapter to put
my 3.5” card reader in the case.
Lian Li includes USB protectors
and an eSATA protector as well, they just pop in and out of the slots
easily.
Here’s the front view of the case
with my Blu-Ray and card reader installed:
Then here’s the power and reset
buttons in the dark lit up. The power buttons stay lit blue, with the
reset button actually blinks red with hard drive activity.
Then here’s a few more views taken
in the dark, the front lights up blue since the fans have blue LEDs
in it.
Installation is fairly easy, you
really don’t need a screw driver at all to get your system installed.
I needed to use one because I had my CPU cooler installed first and I
couldn’t get my hands down there to turn the screw.
Before this I was using an NZXT
Lexa S case and even though it had more fans the Lian Li seems to do
a similar job at keeping things cool, just a few degrees higher
overall, but that’s to be expected with only three fans opposed to
the six that I had in the Lexa S.
Summary
and Comments:
Lian Li is very much well known
case manufacturer that knows how to make a quality product that’s for
sure.
The PC-8FI is a great example of
quality craftsmanship and well though out design.
I did have a few small issues, but
nothing major really or that couldn’t be fixed with some work and or
moving things around.
I like the case very much, it’s
stylish yet subtle, it just exudes quality truly.
DragonSteelMods
gives the Lian
Li PC-8Fi a 4.5 out of 5 score and our Recommended Award as well.
Pros:
+Excellent looking
+Lots of room for most any system
+Very well made
+Installation is easy
+Seems to keep everything cool
+USB 3.0 enabled
Cons:
-Not much room at the top of case
for extra fan
-Tight to run cables on back to
top of motherboard
review# 680
Disclosure: This product was given to DragonSteelMods for review by the company
for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for
the review, we do not, never have, and never will, accept payment
from companies to review their products.
To
learn more about our review policy, testing methods and ratings
please see this page.