A couple of days ago, I wrote an article about the “Top 10 Best Gaming Cases Of 2018” and I respectively added the Lian Li 011 as the first one on the list. I was feeling that it would be a big deal, due to all the crazy engineering, the price, and many other aspects that make it one of the best gaming PC shells out there.
The very first time that it was announced and showed to the audience was at the very well-known CES 2018 event, and it instantly indicated that people fall for it. Attention towards the two Lian Li O11 models, which are “Air” & “Dynamic”, quickly started building up and tons of YouTubers/ Bloggers expressed fairly their opinions on it. Almost all of them showed that users actually love the case and can not wait for it to hit the stores at a price of $129!
However, a few days ago Hardware Canucks got their hands on the Lian Li O11 Dynamic and they made an incredible in-depth video. It was literally hours after I’ve posted my buyers guide on the top 10 PC cases, so I think that it is the right time to present you with the most advanced and best for the money case of 2018! I am still waiting for the Enermax Saberay to pop out and I assure you that it would be even a bigger deal than the Lian Li O11, so remember my words!
| Materials used: | Type of the case: | Dimensions: | Weight: | Number of slots: | Motherboard type: | Cooling fans: | Outputs for connection: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium and steel | Mid-Tower gaming case | 450 x 450 x 275 mm | ~9.5 kilograms | 8 | ATX or E-ATX | Bottom and sides - 3 x 120mm Top: 3 x 120 mm or 2 x 140 mm | 1 x Microphone & Headphones 2 x USB type C 3.1 2 x USB 3.0 |
What’s the Lian Li 011 PC case?
So, for those who are new to the Lian Li company and intentions, then you should know that recently the manufacturer tries pretty hard to go up on the ranking lists and sell products that would make users happy. For now, they are doing it pretty well!
At the CES 2018, they showcased the two models from the “O11” series and they were instantly considered as the most advanced in terms of design, compatibility, looks, build quality and more accurately – most advanced in anything! The price was also a feature that made the series famous, as the tag was not appropriate for what you get.
I am not saying that it was not worth the money, actually I am telling the exact opposite of that – the price is too good for what you get! The collaboration between Lian Li and one of the best overclockers, Der8auer, is nothing less than perfection and all the ideas put behind the engineering are just genius. You will understand it as soon as you see the PC case in a more in-depth way, I am sure about it.
Design of the Lian Li O11 Dynamic
Of course, the most important thing about a gaming PC case is the looks and nowadays it is the easiest thing, as you have lots of RGB colors and schemes to choose from. With this aspect the manufacturer did great, but that is not the best thing about the design.
What is the most important thing, however, is the build quality of the whole case. It is extremely solid build, clean looking and if you would like to detach something, you can do it with pure ease! The main thing that Lian Li wanted to do about the case, is to make it as least possible as it could be to remove the sides and other components. In other words, if you want to remove some part of the exterior, then you can do it with only your hands, so forget about the need to unscrew 10 bolts in order to get to the part you’d like to change.
On one of the sides, you can see the tempered glass panel, build into a beautiful and non-fragile frame and through that tempered glass you have a clear view on what’s actually going on on the inside. This contributes the most when it comes to attractiveness and charisma, but it is not what helps with functionality. What does help, however, is the way you remove the side. All you have to do is firmly grab it and carefully dismount it from the frame, as it is attached with the “pin-to-hole” method – no screws…
Another thing about the design is the way everything has been stored and located. In an example, the power supply unit is stacked up on the right, non-visible side of the case, which is completely different from the one with the tempered glass. Stacking up the power supply unit on the side left a lot of room for the components on the inside, which therefore solved a lot of the problems for Lian Li and even showed up how genius the manufacturer could be in engineering! They are the first company to ever do this in such a way.
Lian Li decided to sacrifice some of the width of the case, just to make enough room on the core of the inside for hardware components and better airflow. I find their idea pretty reasonable, because no one will complain about a little difference in the width, compared to other Mid Tower PC’s, but will most likely complaint if there are components on the inside, which are pretty close to each other and do not ensure proper flow of the hot/cold air stream.
Moving to the front of the Lian Li O11 Dynamic, you will see that this part was also made out of tempered glass and it is really similar to the one on the side. Not all of the front part is made out of glass, but on the right side, you will see that it has been made out of brushed aluminum. The reason behind it is not only to make it look cool but to create the best spot on which to put the connection deck as well. There you can find 2 USB ports, one USB-C, 3.5mm / microphone jacks, and an HDMI port.
The last thing that you should know about the design of the Lian Li O11 Dynamic is that there are a lot of filters, that are constantly working on removing dust and other particles in the air from entering your gaming machine. You can find one on the top, one on the bottom and 2 on the sides. They, as I have already said, are pretty easy to remove, so you will clean them up in a minute with ease!
How does the case cooling system work?
Aside from the looks and design of the whole system, the other important factor that any top-tier gaming PC case should have is the cooling. Here, with the O11 Dynamic you can use both liquid type of cooling, or air type of cooling. There are numerous grills for the radiators / fans all over the case, but if you think that this is not enough for you, then you can add up some liquid cooling system and you will boost the results.
In total, the case could fit three 120mm big fans on the top or two 140mm big. On the sides, you can add again three fans with 120mm size. If that is not enough for you, then you might have to remove the components attached to the bottom of the case and opt for another three fans there, but for me, I think that this is unnecessary. You already have everything needed for a machine that wouldn’t overheat for sure, so don’t bother adding any more than that.
What can you see in this case that you can not in others?
First thing first, you can see in any other case of this kind a price tag with such an amount. However, not that is what matters the most now, but how actually the case performs its job and does it deserve to spend our money on it? I think that until now I have been pretty clear that the case is superb, so now I will give you some reasons why it is so superb.
So, tell me in which other cases you will find two separate power supply units, stacked up in such a way to allow proper component choreography inside? The design is another unique part about the Dynamic gaming case and it is really important to whoever is into a project of building a new PC to be able to do the things with ease.
Imagine that you bought everything needed to make the master PC and you want to build it up on your own. What are you going to do? Of course, it will be extremely hard for you to do it without any tools, but at least you will be ready with opening the shell of the case within seconds. After you build the whole machine up, then you might like to change something? That’s when the design comes in handy again because you will only have to detach any of the sides just by pulling it up and removing it from the pins.
With the whole RGB lightning inside, components composition, structure, and aesthetics, you can’t do anything else but fall in love with the Lian Li O11 Dynamic. I did fell in love as soon as I’ve seen it at the beginning of the year at the CES 2018 and I instantly knew what kind of a big deal it would be. There was no way I could agree with anyone who said that it would not gain the needed attention because there were no labelings and the company was not that big and competitive…
I am saying this because I have heard it and I completely disagree with this statement. What does it mean that there is not enough labeling on the case? Why should Lian Li put logos everywhere? What is more, it just shows how confident is the company in their product, which lead to Lian Li only putting logos on the inside next to the overclocking German company – Der8auer. And what does that mean, that the company is not that big and competitive? Should you be the top-selling manufacturer of the year, just to claim that your products are the best? No.
I really love the collaboration between the two companies and I personally think that they should continue to work along. Such products are what the market needs and I am more than sure that soon they will bring up another featuring, which will be even better than this one. Of course, the whole project took years to come to live, and I really see the effort put into building it up. Not only effort but thousands of ideas, thoughts and hours were dedicated to this Dynamic case by Lian Li. I hope that fans appreciate it the same way as I do and I truly mean it when I say that this manufacturer deserves more attention than what it receives now.
Where can you find the Lian Li O11 Dynamic?
Even if you don’t fall for the Lian Li O11 Dynamic, there is no chance that you can hate this case. If you think that it does not appeal to you, then you can surely use it as a gift for some of your friends. No matter what the situation is, you have to know that this case could be purchased not only from the manufacturer website but from many other platforms as well.
Click here, if you would like to order it from the Lian Li website, or here if you would like to look up some offers about the gaming case on Amazon. If you don’t happen to find anything on Amazon or the website is currently out of stock, which could rarely happen, then you can look up other websites or your local provider. For the next couple of weeks, it will be a bit hard to find it on other platforms, but I am sure that until next month it will show up on any retail online store, that is related to technology or PC parts.
You would never go wrong if you choose to get this PC for you or for a gift. For $129 it is the superb choice of all out there and it should definitely gain more popularity because every bit of the whole project deserves the attention. I am looking forward to seeing different and crazy mods or parts for it in near future – we will see how the imaginations of gamers will make this case even better.
Special thanks to:
Hardware Canucks YouTube channel – video for The Lian Li Dynamic – Case Of Dreams!
