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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ckryan - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
Lian Li either makes the most frustrating cases, with serious flaws in design, looks, and execution. Other times, they're a simple, effective, and aesthetically pleasing enclosure. The weird part is, I can't always tell which category a Lian Li is supposed to go in.I think this is perhaps why I like them so much. If they were clearly excellent or clearly abysmal, I don't think they'd interest me as much. There is usually as much to love as to hate, and not very much to be indifferent about.
cknobman - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
I own an old PC-7B I bought way back in 2002 and I still use it to this day.It is the highest quality case I have ever owned.
Lian Li may come up with some weird designs but their quality is unmatched.
yyrkoon - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
Yeah I own a PC G-50 ( which is about 4 inches shorter than this one i think at 15.5 inches if I recall correctly ). As far as other Lian Li cases go it may not be the best, but I love this case, and I also use it to this day. Also the best case I have owned.superccs - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
What CPU cooler are you using, I had a hell of a time getting good airflow with that case and eventually stopped using it.I still have the case just don't know what to do with it.
p05esto - Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - link
Yep, I bought 3 of the classic PC-60 cases and still use them and LOVE them. I made a few modifications like stainless grab handles on the top and top/side blowholes with stainless grill covers. In other words the cases are very high quality and stand the test of time in classic look.I have to say that I don't like the front grill design. I actually didn't like most of the Lian-Li front designs, they only made a few like the PC-60 that I considered elegant and timeless. The version above has too many holes and looks like swiss cheese, ugly IMO.
just4U - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
I also have several PC60s and I'd like to see a return to an updated design with similiar features as the review on this case doesn't impress me at all..It would be so simple to do to.. move to 120mm fan enclosures, (keep the removable motherboard tray) all they have to do is fatten the case up a bit and perhaps change the drive arangement.. but noooo.. they give these odd designs that just don't work for me.
Samus - Friday, May 11, 2012 - link
Silverstone has some doozies too. Not everyone gets it all perfect, that's the risk of innovation.Stas - Thursday, February 23, 2012 - link
meh, I disagree. I love their classy, simple designs - look sexy, serious, formidable. but the only 2 times I was blown away with quality of a case were: CM Cosmos (OG), and SilverStone FT01. Not a sharp edge, not a single useless cutout for the sake of saving material. Lian Li cases are high end, no doubt, but they never exceeded my expectations with 10 or 15 cases I got from them.JohnMD1022 - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
How could they have both "serious flaws in...looks" and be an "aesthetically pleasing enclosure"?This seems to be contradictory
pc_void - Saturday, March 3, 2012 - link
Just the same as when two people say something completely different about the same thing and both are true?