Benchmarks - Thermal
Describing the cooling equipment that comes with a case just doesn’t cut it for us. We need to see how it actually performs to see if it is as effective as what the manufacturer’s say. We have hand-picked a full system, which we believe is the current system setup for the average user.| PC Mid-Tower Test Bed | |
Chaintech VNF3-250 |
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The thermal readings for the key components and points on the motherboard during operation were as follows. The numbers in each square represent the average ambient air temperature of that particular square inch of the case in degrees Celsius:
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We noticed how effective the CPU air duct was at helping to cool the heat sink fan as well as the CPU under it. The area above and around the CPU heat sink fan is about 1-2 degrees cooler, on average, compared to that of the PC-6070, and we safely assume the same compared to the original PC-60 case.
The side mounted blower fan also helped cool the area around the video card by moving warm air out through the back of the case. The temperatures here were decreased about 1-2 degrees on average also.
The most important improvement to the cooling system was the change to a 120mm fan at the front as an intake as well as the additional 80mm fan at the top of the case as an exhaust. Overall, the PC-60 Plus has an exceptional cooling system and it performs as well as some of those cases with 5-6 case fans. As we zero in on each critical system component, we predict the PC-60 Plus’s cooling system will have a positive effect on them as it did for the case’s ambient air temperature.
Take a look at the temperature readings of each critical component in our test rig.
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Our predictions were right - the temperatures of each critical component were 2-3 degrees cooler on average compared to the temperatures in previous case reviews. The CPU, heat sink fan, and video card especially ran much cooler due to the added air duct and blow fan.
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val - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
29,32: you are also right. 140euro for CM stacker was very nice price for perfect case. But LianLi is not the way to go.With CM you get two silent 120mm and one silent 80mm fan, 6 USB, FW on top, 12 5,25" positions and rubber mounted 4in 3 HDD holder. Case is not too heavy, have alu sides, removable mainboard tray, two power supply holders, many accesorries. EATX, BTX,...
And - it is aluminium where it makes sense (sides) and looks awesome. Best case ever for all needs except SFF.
Noli - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Totally agree #25Like the plain elegant style but at that price I really want it much quieter and (near) tooless. And why haven't they bothered putting the external ports higher?! Mid- or top of case makes much more sense IMHO. Sounds to me like Antec are making cases that are both better and cheaper. It's a no brainer. Now if we could combine Lian Li style with Antec features...
stromgald - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Does anybody know how heavy it is? I'm looking for a very lightweight ATX case, and since this is all aluminum construction, it should be pretty light. My other choice would be an Antec Super Lanboy. Its hard to find information on the weights of LianLi cases (couldn't find it on their website) to make a comparison.WileCoyote - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Not much better than the original. The new features are all very gimmicky. The PC-60 was good back in the day but there's a lot of better options now. I have two complaints about my PC-60: sometimes the case vibrates from the fans and some power supplies don't fit. My case doesn't have any front usb ports either. I still think it looks awesome.defter - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Who is buying these cases? You pay $150 and get a case with a four case fans and 54dB noise level???I rather get a plain $20 case with zero case fans and a quiet $50 power supply.
XRaider - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Nevermind about the sideways mounting - went back and read it again. "or three HDDs mounted horizontally with the included cage partition. "but no rubber grommets :(
XRaider - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
Ok case. Not thrilled with the way the HDD mounts on it's side and no rubber grommets... oh well. The air holes for the videocard fan seem small for efficient airflow, no?Also - "One thing we notice is that the frame of the case interferes when using a screwdriver to install or remove these thumbscrews" I guess if you can get ur fat fingers in there then your alright.
I've noticed that Lian Li likes the single 80mm fan in the rear of the case - wouldn't dual 80's be better?
val - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
sorry for language. too less sleepinval - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
i believe that myth of Lian Li is driven by the fact that in the past there were not much alu only case manufacturers in the past. now is lianli without much inovations only living from that "name"but there is already long time much better cases for much better price available.
theways - Sunday, February 27, 2005 - link
All Lian Li's are very plain, very loud, and only hold bragging rights for the amount of money spent on them. Innovation is a concept lost with these case designers, left by the wayside long ago with originality and style.If you want a sleek lightweight aluminum case with quiet 120mm fans, a well built and quiet hard drive rack, and very interesting modding capabilities, I'd get the Antec superLANboy for $80 or less. Hell for the price of a Lian Li you could get 2.