Lian Li TYR PC-X2000 Chassis
External Impressions
Published: 23rd September 2008 | Source: Lian Li | Price: £305 RRP |
External Impressions
The X2000's design is quite different from most full towers, with a tall and shallow structure. The case is made from anodised black Aluminium and is very light considering its size. According to Lian Li, this chassis is designed to blend into the living room, and resemble multi-media speakers. Now I have a bone to pick with these claims, as the sheer size of the chassis wouldn't allow it to blend into anything but the largest of rooms. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, because the styling of the chassis is very pleasing to the eye, and is bound to strike up a few conversations amongst friends.
The front panel, made from black anodised Aluminium, is adorned only with a silver stripe and a silver Lian Li badge. There isn't even a DVD or floppy slot to spoil the clean lines of the front panel and it looks great for it. The business end, the rear panel, looks superb too, with matching screws on the PSU tray and fan grilles, giving a very finished and professional look to the rear. Cooling-wise at the rear, there are two 80mm and one 140mm blowholes, complete with Lian Li fans and grilles. Lian Li have provided four pass-through holes for water-cooling tubing and they are complete with black rubber grommets. For users of 3/4" tubing, the fit would be incredibly snug though. There are also anodised vented PCI covers on each of the PCI slots, which is a welcome addition. A lot of case manufacturers' neglect the detail finishes on the rear of their cases, but we are glad to say that Lian Li are not one of these.
In case you were wondering where the optical drives were located on the case, this is one of the innovative features we mentioned in the introduction earlier. As the case is not much wider than a standard ATX motherboard, Lian Li decided to side mount the optical drive bays, and have even allowed for either side of the case to be used. The side panels have a hole cut for the drives bays, and it is a superb finish on them with only the smallest of gaps between surfaces when the panel is fixed in place. You can see on the images below the air intake grilles (which feed the three 140mm fans fitted under the front panel) on either side of the case. Lian Li used a black metal mesh and it makes the case look quite sporty.
The top panel is just as well finished, with two simple black switches for the reset and power, which tie in with the simple theme of the case nicely. The peripheral slots are hidden by a lift up cover which is also in keeping with the case styling. There are four USB, one Firewire, and one E-SATA slots, plus the usual audio in/out 3.5mm jacks under the cover.
Most Recent Comments
I think the minor niggles are perhaps something that can be overcome - but I do hear that for £305 u really shouldn`t have to, or there should be options included in the kit to assist u.
Ur damn lucky to get ur mits on that, it looks a pleasure to build in and work in.
The only thing I really don`t like are/is the i/o on/off section. The rest of the case features can be forgiven with the style and such, placing the things on the top is perhaps weird. However, I don`t think it`s designed to go under a desk, more to stand on it`s own in a room as a feature. A piece of furniture to comment upon. I`d imagine with it stood on the floor, the buttons/ports are very accessible.
Very nice review, I`d get them, not for the price they are atm tho.
Even if I got rid of the bay full of stuff and the fan controller, I'm still one bay over the limit. If I was going to spend £305 on a case, I would expect enough room to stick in more optical drives. What if you were to buy a 5.25 res?
Other than that though it looks great, but I can't help feeling that its targeted markets such as HTCP (too big) or performance (not enough expansion) have been missed.
My only point is that if I spent £300+ on a case, I'd want it as close to perfect as possible and having to make do with only 2 5.25" bays and a 3.5" isn't my cuppa. Perhaps they could have got rid of the 3.5 external for a third 5.25" (I seem to be the only person who still needs an fdd)
A: They should have used black pcb boards for the sata section
B: Used black internal cables for the usb etc
C: Fan controller is in a completely ridiculous place, do something mad, touch screen it and make it flat with the case.
D: The price!!!!!!! DAMN!!! could go on holiday for that.
Nice case, not enough features for what they are asking rrp.
And im with you on that drive bay res, what if you do buy one (which most people do) then your screwed for placement of another bay. ( I only have 1 dvd drive and a fan controller and the fan controller is only there as I lost a bezel, ROFL)
But I do like the case, espcially the way they have coloured the inside which is one thing I think all companys should do.
Typo on last paragraph on last page: Lain Li
amazingly designed
reeks quality as the rest of ya have said
very good review, very thorough
shame bout the price
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Originally Posted by name='BloomerzUK'
Nice review.
Typo on last paragraph on last page: Lain Li |
When I reviewed the case, I was concerned about the lack of drive bays, but unless Lian Li (got it right this time
) had made the case taller or wider then they would be struggling to get any in. I think Lian Li have used every bit of available space they could in the design. Also as this is partly being touted as a HTPC, there isn't really a great call for massive amounts of 5.25" drive bays. I have the Antec Fusion HTPC case and that has just one 5.25" drive bay and it works brilliantly. I do agree that Lian Li could have done some things differently and the scores given do reflect this.I have been using the rig built up since Saturday now, and I am still loving using the case, flaws and all. I tried the rig in my lounge last night and it looks superb stood next to my LCD TV. I had a spare TV card and got it running under Vista Media Centre. As my LCD is black with a small silver bezel, the case tied in and looked really cool. Even the missus agreed, which is no small feat
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Originally Posted by name='stuartpb'
I tried the rig in my lounge last night and it looks superb stood next to my LCD TV.
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Originally Posted by name='Diablo'
Is it big enough for an Eatx board? If it is, then it would be pretty good for a server. But as a HTCP case, looking around, although it isn't small form factor, it seems to be the price a lot of other high end HTCP cases go for. If you could stealth it a bit (Maybe hide it behind a big speaker etc.) it would very good.
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That thing is HUGE.
As they have made all these different compartments, there's no where to hide most of the mobo's cabling!
Bad design, they should have though it though.
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