Lian Li PC-K8 Case Review

Article Index
Lian Li PC-K8 Case Review
The Exterior
The Interior
Installation
The Tests
Performance Summary
Conclusion
All Pages

Quote: "The PC-K8 is part of this hybrid series utilising an external Aluminium shell and an internal SECC structure, the case being aimed at gaming and computer enthusiasts as a product with more value and branded with Lian Li to suggest it holds some quality design. But the PC-K8 already hit a snag when I first began to look at it, simply because it isn’t on Lian Li’s own website, However from what information I did gather, it comes already installed with a PSU and boasting some rather large fans, and once it arrived it was time to put it to the review"

Article PDF: Lian Li PC-K8 Review.pdf

 

Introduction
Lian Li have been in the business of manufacturing case for well over 20years. Their huge variety spans all shapes and sizes, many of which are unique and the vast majority are made from aluminium which has become a key feature of Lian Li Cases. There are arguments that aluminium absorbs heat better and that it is lighter yet just as strong as other metal cases, but Lian Li for a while have also been making what is known as the K-series cases which are basically the hybrid range, containing both aluminium and other metal elements.

The PC-K8 is part of this hybrid series utilising an external Aluminium shell and an internal SECC structure, the case being aimed at gaming and computer enthusiasts’ product with more value and branded with Lian Li to suggest it holds some quality design. But the PC-K8 already hit a snag when I first began to look at it, simply because it isn’t on Lian Li’s own website and it has already been a few weeks since it was launched here in Australia. However from what information I did gather, it comes already installed with a PSU and boasting some rather large fans, and once it arrived it was time to put it to the review. 

Specifications

 

 

The Box
 The box was plain and ordinary, not with any fancy colouring or illustrations, but it was bound with straps and was thick cardboard to give the case some solid protection. Out of the box came our new PC-K8, wrapped in the usual Styrofoam and a blue plastic cover to prevent bumps, bruises and scratches. It is very much an industry standard to see cases like this and I don’t imagine it will change for a very long time.
Box dimensions were: 590mm (H) x 530mm (L) x 295mm (W)

The Front
The front of every case gives a face to the computer and perhaps some sort of personality. Every time you use your computer or turn it on, you will need to see its face and it will give you a greeting.

The front of the PC-K8 is very plain and straight, but made from aluminium and nicely curved around the edges to the side panels. Atop on the right hand side are the tiny Power and HDD LEDs which are barely noticeable until the case is powered on.

Neatly aligned in the centre are the 4 external 5.25” bay outlets covered with the hard aluminium slot protector, all of which fit smoothly with the front of the face. Below these is the single 3.5” external drive bay which is also hard covered, but indented slight.

On the low end of the case is the “grill” of the case which acts as the air intake for the 140mm fan. This grill is very nicely curved and cut out by metal working standards but when standing from a far, it does have a peculiar look to it, either something like jaws on your case or perhaps a set of prison bars to keep the fan restrained, but this could all just be my imagination getting the better of me. Behind the large bars is a perforated sheet of metal to cover the fan and to stop large objects entering the grill.

The Top
The top of the PC-K8 holds the smooth aluminium shine and it’s here you can see the power & reset buttons followed by a small flip hatch. Inside the hatch are the Input & Output ports.

The hatch is a nice little addition to the case and makes it seem neater when the ports are not needed, but if you had something it gets used all the time like headphones, then it would probably mean your little hatch would always be open and wouldn’t need to be closed ever. Still it’s a nice little thing to have on the case.

The Sides
The side of the case are very straight forward with nothing extraordinary. It was here where I used my hands to pick up the case and found that finger prints are attracted to the aluminium sides leaving smudge marks all over, but it was quick to wipe off with a cloth and spray.

Now one noticeably sad fact to the side panels is there are no additional air intakes on the sheets which is likely to reduce air flow. It’s unfortunate especially because Lian Li has created the PC-K8 for gamers and enthusiasts but it doesn’t seem to cover airflow correctly, and we will find out more about this shortly.

 

The Bottom
Now the bottom of the PC-K8 does have some interesting parts. Firstly there are the larger sound absorbing feet attached to this case and secondly on the left hand side are a large number of holes and a couple of screws. It’s here were you can change the direction your hard drives are mounted which I will demonstrate later on.

 
The Back
The back of the PC-K8 reveals what’s underneath the skin of aluminium, and it isn’t aluminium. It’s here the dull coloured SECC which is used for the vast majority of computer cases can be seen, but it shouldn’t matter, because this is the back after all.

You can see the 450W power supply that is already installed and that it is top mounted. Below that is the I/O area for the mother board which is purposely left open to accommodate various motherboard panels; I believe that is smart given the already issued panel on cases is usually removed. Beside that is the 120mm Black exhaust fan.

We can also see the 7 slots for motherboard expansions which are also punched with air flow holes to promote airflow through the back of the case. The side panels can be seen held on with thumb screws.

Opening
Opening the case is nice and simple, but yet again, finger prints become an issue all over the side panel, hence I turned the panel over for this photo, each panel measured 1mm in thickness. Inside lies the anti-corrosion paper with a small box that contains a huge amount of goodies. Power cables and I/O cables are all neatly arranged and read to plug in.

Also included are 2 sheets of paper, one showing instructions for installing drives and everything about the case, while the other shows a variety of other Lian Li cases that are probably all completely aluminium and what you probably should have bought instead.

The Box of Goodies

 

Out of the box of goodies, you will find:
•    A Power cable
•    A Standoff screw screwdriver
•    A speaker
•    Standoff Screws
•    Motherboard Screws
•    5.25” Drive Screws
•    HDD Screws with Sound Absorbers
•    2 Cable Organisers
•    3 Cable Ties

If they could give you a screw driver for the standoff screws, I’d like to know why they couldn’t give you one for the normal screws. But regardless, this box of goodies was packed and pretty well has everything (except that screwdriver), that you could need to secure your hardware.

Removable Motherboard panel
You can really see the SECC infrastructure and surprisingly it’s thicker than normal cases, it was difficult to measure because majority of edges were rolled, but we did get a reading of about 1mm for thickness which is great for the strength of the case. The feel is vastly different from that of the aluminium outer shell.

On this side you can see the motherboard panel which is removable and this is perhaps for easier installation. Also you can see two metal prongs which come out to assist in organising your cables on this side of the panel.

Front Panel
The front panel is easy to remove, but it requires a Phillips screw driver and some time to remove 4 tiny screws, two up top, two at the bottom. One these screws are out, the front panel slides off and two plastic mounting units, one at top and other at bottom can either come off with it, or you can leave them clipped onto the case. You will need to take off this panel if you’re either planning on removing the front 140mm fan or changing the direction of the HDD bays. This panel is aluminium so remember, fingerprints will stick.

The Top
The PC-K8 has a removable top and this is perhaps good for modifying the top of the case or perhaps an easier angle to install things like the PSU. You can see here on the front the screws that hold the top onto the case.

The top holds the I/O port and cables that extend through the case. It quite obvious these cables are long enough to reach anywhere on the motherboard when installed. Also on the sides of the top piece are small metal tabs on either side; I believe these are put in to help reduce noise in the case.

 
The Inside
The removable motherboard area has plenty of elevation screw holes to mount ATX, Micro-ATX and ITX boards, although no elevation screws have been put in yet, but that doesn’t matter because they supplied me with the screw driver to put them in.

 
There are large oval holes which lead to the other side to help put cables out of the way. I will repeat that the motherboard panel is removable so as to make installing the motherboard easier, but I personally did not remove it and I apologise for not getting photos of that.

Overall there is plenty of space inside this case for the average user’s needs which is expected for all midi towers. Something interesting you can see is that the HDD bays are mounted sideways and this is possibly for either better air flow over the drives or maybe for improved cable management. Oh and I actually did find aluminium is part of the internal infrastructure and this does significantly add to the hybrid design of this case, It’s in the picture! (A slight hint of sarcasm there)

The PSU
Already installed in the case is a 450Watt generic PSU which houses a single 120mm fan at its base hance this PSU is a “noise killer” using less rpm on the large fan to keep the gear quiet yet cool. I’m sure Lian Li had the best intentions in mind to get users up and running as soon as possible with this PSU, but it has 2 really serious issues. The case was meant for gamers and hence these issues would affect gamers/enthusiasts more than a normal person who just needs a computer case.

Firstly, it’s a 450W PSU, and for consistent gaming that amount of power would only just barely be alright for a lot of modern video cards but stick in two video cards with SLI and presto! All your hardware will fight over a power shortage.

And Secondly, this PSU has 4 x 4pin peripheral (Molex), 1 x SATA, 1 x 20+4pin main ATX, 1 x 4pin ATX and a floppy drive power cable and that’s it! Where’s the 8pin PCI-Express power cable for my video cards? Well bad news, this PSU is a bit out of date, end of life and it’s earns a thumbs down from gamers, lacking the 8pin PCI-Ex power cable, I’m not sure Lian Li were really aiming this case for gamers or not.

This PSU was not meant for graphically demanding tasks and is too out of date for most modern video cards, so if you’re hardware is geared for gaming, this case is starting to look bad, it’d be cheaper to find a case without a PSU and buy a proper power supply for your needs. I’d say this case with PSU is really here for moderate computer users who have general work and home use in mind.

If however you’re adamant about getting this case and changing the PSU well here’s the empty bay with a Swiss cheese look but elevating the PSU slightly above it. The existing PSU dimensions were: 150mm (W) x 140mm (L) x 85mm (H).

Drive Bays
The PC-K8 mounts 4 external 5.25” drives, the top two have added clips that help lock in drives quickly and hold them in place for adding extra screws.

Just above the two upper drives is the power and reset switches that connect to the top of the case lid.

The 5.25” drives are surrounded on the far side with the small metal sound absorbers to help dampen the sound of the media drives.

As we go lower, we find the other two 5.25” drives which lack the plastic clip and sound absorbers, but I imagine that is because not all devices would fit into those clips and not all devices are as noisy as a DVD drive. After all 5.25” bays is the 3.5” bay which has an aluminium bracket to mount a floppy drive or 3.5” device. This can be removed to mount the 3.5” drive and also has its own small front panel attached.

The HDD Bays
In a neat little separate bay are the slots for 4 3.5” Hard disk drives. This bay came installed with hard drives parallel to the to the front 140mm fan, possibly to get more surface area cooled from the fan, but this unit can be removed and refitted so that HDDs face the front with cable ends pointing to the motherboard.

Now remember the small screws underneath the case? Well it’s here that 4 of them are holding onto the HDD bays.

There is also one screw in the front of the case, so it requires the front panel off.

Once all 5 screws are removed, then the bay is free to move around.

I mounted the HDD bay so that they would all face forward, you’ll only be able to use the 4 bottom screws, there wasn’t a place to mount the side screw which connected to the front of the case.

You can see the strange curved candy cane shape on the HDD bays, but there is a reason and it’s to make installation of the HDDs easier and also to add to the noise reduction of the case.

Fans
This case has a 140mm intake fan at the lower front and a 120mm at the back for exhaust. The front one is also a blue LED fan to add some character to the case when it is switched on. Both move a good amount of air making speeds of 1000rpm and 1200rpm respectively; there is no additional areas to mount extra fans unfortunately.
 

The Equipment
To help bench mark computer cases, I’ll be using the same equipment which is suitable for a media centre or home type of computer, now lets welcome back this lot:

 
•    ASUS P5N-T Deluxe Motherboard
•    Intel Celeron 2.2GHz
•    Transcend 4GB DDR2 RAM
•    Seagate 500GB HDD
•    Sapphire Radeon HD4350
•    Samsung SH-S223F DVD Burner

Although pictured, I won’t be using the 430W Thermaltake PSU, instead since this case already has it’s own, I might as well utilise it. In addition, there are no spots to put my extra 120mm fans.

Motherboard
The first thing I need was to put the standoff screws in and fortunately I was supplied with their screwdriver:

Unfortunately, 2 of the holes I came across were very stubborn and the standoff screw driver was difficult to turn, so I brought in something more solid.

Motherboard went straight in quite simply, all straight forward stuff, so moving onto the expansion card.

Device Installation
Again straight forward, each panel is screwed on and can be removed as needed and refitted should you change the position of your expansion cards on your motherboard and I find that a nicer feature than the simple snap off covers.

The 5.25” drive clips are useful and fit perfectly on my Samsung drive. It just holds it in place and could be left as is, but I added the additional screws to ensure it was completely secure.

To mount a HDD into the bay, you need to first put the screws in the HDD with a little rubber sound absorber like so:

It basically looks like a HDD on wheels.

Then it simply slots in like a roller coaster on tracks. This angle is how the HDD bay and HDD slot together if the bay was unmodified and parallel to the front case fan.

Quick, secure and sound absorbers on, this HDD just needs to be plugged in.

 
Cabling
Cabling took some time in this case, perhaps because I wanted to show how neatly you can arrange it. The front I/O Panel and LED cables are all ample length to reach anywhere on the motherboard.

 

Although it takes time, you can really make a large amount of air space by hiding all the cables behind the motherboard like so:

Powered On
When powered on the blue LED fan really lights up and brings some positive attention to the front of the case and that grill structure looks like prison bars trying to hold back a beastly fan.

Air Flow Test
Airflow for this case depended entirely upon the front inlet and its 140mm fan and fortunately that big fan drags a large amount of air in.

 
However this case unfortunately doesn’t have any other air inlet, all components are relying on the single front inlet to pull air to them which mean they are all fighting over a shorter supply of air. At the rear the 120mm pulls the warm air out and not much of it passes through the tiny holes created at the back where the expansion ports are.

Watch the video here

From the side you can see that initially, airflow seems fine, but it does becomes apparent that there is a build up of air in the case and although the 140mm is bringing in new air and we can see movement, it’s not enough to force the old air out and that rear 120mm is also struggling to remove the old air as fast as possible. This means that the CPU and GPU are absorbing this slightly older air which is going to increase their heat. Now airflow could be improved by changing to stronger fans or having more inlet/outlet holes but then that pretty well suggests that you will need to use effort and resources to change parts of this case.

Alternatively, this case is supposedly able to take water cooling units, however since I am unable to get one, I won’t be able to do a liquid cooling test, sorry guys.

Temperature test
Ambient temperature was the usual 21?C; I used Bios to read temperature of the CPU and Motherboard while for GPU and HDD I opened the case briefly to point the laser heat reader. I then took 5 temperature readings of each and recorded the highest and lowest to give a general range for each device. Now our temperature questions stand at does the PC-K8 aluminium hybrid make a difference? And does its airflow help the hardware?

Well lets look at some results:

*Estimated Value

These temperature results are some proof that the air flow isn’t at the top. The HDD maintained a good temperature level which I believe is because it has a 140mm fan as its neighbour, and both the GPU and CPU were kept in their temperature operating ranges but towards the high end. I believe that the lack of additional intakes and the older air as shown in the smoke test contribute to making this a slightly warmer case and it would appear using aluminium side panels didn’t absorb heat, however all this isn’t a problem for my basic hardware outfit, so a home computer or media centre would live fine, but if someone who is a computer enthusiast with more powerful hardware than what I had tried this case then I’d assume the temperature would start to become an issue. Then again, an enthusiast might turn to liquid cooling.

 
Sound Test
Looking at the case earlier, there are quite a few things that are equipped to minimise it’s sound output, from the “noisekiller” PSU to the rubber wheels on the HDD, so does it all make a difference?

Well if you put your ear right up next to the front of the case, you’ll find it isn’t too bad, that fan does make a buzz but it averages between 43-47dBA which is reasonably fine. But I don’t really imagine having my ear held up to the front  of the case unless I somehow become irrevocably compelled to listen to the sound of a 140mm fan, so lets take a step or so back.

And taking a step back brings the sound into a better view, with the system maintaining around 38dBA. As we loaded a DVD, the DVD drive did its usual buzzing, but we still got less than when next to the system fan, around the 43dBA mark.

And from the side, you barely notice a sound.

 

 

Scoreboard 

Factor	Comments	Score
The Look & Aesthetics	Modest, Simple, it’s designed in a nice sense and when added with the blue LED fan gives a meaner look to it, however as soon as you hand makes contact with the outer case, fingerprints become its new style.	3.5 / 5
Storage Capacity	Takes 4 x 5.25” Drives but is also limited to 4 x HDDs, but this should still be enough for any average user.	3.5 / 5
Case Material & Structure	Aluminium & SECC hybrid and it’s all at least 1mm thick, giving it strong support and some quality metal work.	4.5 / 5
Overall Installation Difficulty	Although standoffs were missing, you can remove the motherboard panel, 2 x 5.25” drives has clips, HDDs roll straight in, and cables can be arranged inside or outside depending on whether or not you want to put in effort.	4 / 5
The Air Flow Test	Only a front air intake and a rear exhaust with provided 140mm and 120mm fans, does lead to some build up of warm air clouds.	2 / 5
The Temperature Test	Keeps HDD and motherboard in the cool, but left the GPU and CPU sweating it out.	3 / 5
The Sound Test	Nicely quiet, the noisiest thing was the DVD drive but it manages to keep that sound somewhat low.	3.5 / 5
Bonus Features and Marks	Already installed PSU, but only 450W and out of date, 1 x 120mm fan and 1 x 140mm fan, Removable motherboard tray.	3.5 / 5
Total Score		27.5 / 40

 

 

 

 

Price & Performance
A 27.5 out of 40, this case does very well for it’s performance but when we bring the other biggest factor in, the price, we see something different. The RRP for this hybrid case is AU$179 looking at other cases at the same RRP, I’ve noticed the other cases seem to have better features while the Lian Li PC-K8 may simply be relying on it’s material and structure as the key selling point.

Take for example the CoolerMaster RC-690, also having a PSU but 460W, made from SECC, argues it has good installation and cable management, also at $179 RRP, but it has additional air intakes and is able to mount a total of 7 fans with 3 already supplied. Something tells me this one scores the Air flow test a bit better than the PC-K8.

Many of the slightly cheaper and similar priced cases also don’t include a PSU to get the price down and since the PSU in this case isn’t anything spectacular and not really for gaming, it is better to get one of the cheaper cases and choose your own PSU. Lian Li funnily enough have the PC-8 which has no PSU, is full aluminium and is around the $180 mark.

Also looking at the recent Antec VSK-2000 review where this case was about $90 cheaper but still punched a score of 25/40. Is two and a half points of performance really worth $90? Well, I’ll let you be the judge for that one. But it just goes to show, that some low priced cases are able to keep up with this mid-ranged gear.

PC-K8

 

PC-8

Why Should I get the PC-K8?
•    I need a case for a media centre or home PC,
•    I need a case with a PSU already to go,
•    I want installation to go as smoothly as possibly,
•    I need a case with a decent look to it,
•    I’m a fan of Lian Li,
•    I like the idea of hybrid metals,
•    I’m willing to give this case a complete makeover to change all of its flaws and making it into a piece of art; starting with this power drill, I will make extra air intake points.

Why I shouldn’t get the PC-K8?
•    I play computer games frequently or run high temperature hardware, hence I need good airflow,
•    I need a PSU with more power and correct cables, I might as well get a case without a PSU,
•    I’m on a tighter budget and want more value for money,
•    I don’t like cleaning fingerprints,
•    I prefer the idea of all aluminium,
•    I’ve found cases that looks better,
•    I have found giving a case a complete makeover is a long and usually uncoordinated effort that resulted in the destruction of my previous case, hence I’m here to find a new case and this one isn’t it.

 

Conclusion
The PC-K8 is definitely not the gaming case it claims to be, but more of a home computer or media centre type of case. The reasons for this are firstly and most obviously the PSU that comes with the case lacks the power to give to most modern video cards. The PSU also is not properly equipped power PCI-Express and this is because upon inspection of the PSU we found it was an end of life product and useless for gamers needs, hence it would be better to get a case which either had a better PSU or a case without a PSU and buying it separately. The case’s second big problem is it’s air flow which is limited to a single inlet and a single outlet and although both already come with fans they don’t pull enough air through the case to keep things optimally cool, which once again is a negative thing for gamers.

But there are up sides to this case such as it’s strong 1mm metal work along with its noise reduction capabilities. It’s these two things which boost the cases and lend it as a potential nominee for media centre and home PC because it will sit around quietly and it will protect the hardware effectively. In addition, since heavy power isn’t needed the 450Watt PSU is suitable and the installation of hardware is straightforward with a manual provided to guide you through some of their trickier steps. In fact this whole case was designed with some idea of the home user learning how to install hardware into a case and it is all very simple apart from cabling which depends on how fussy you are with organising the cables. When in the home the PC-K8 would sit somewhere near the desk with the blazing blue fan making it appear somewhat technically advanced and impressive to those who come to your home to watch a movie, just remember to keep it somewhere where there’s fresh air else it may start baking the hardware, or in my case, crispy and smoked.

Despite what it offers though, the PC-K8 is not the case of value, try looking at other midi towers on the market and you will find many different brands that have many other features even at lower prices that can match and outmatch this case, even Lian Li are somewhat cannibalising their own sales with their PC-8, a very similar case but completely aluminium and no PSU. Despite this the hybrids are still out on the town for those who may see it’s brighter qualities.

Click here to purchase the PC-K8 from Techbuy