Lian Li Lancool 217 Review
KitGuru was first introduced to the Lian Li Lancool 217 at CES this year and our first impressions were excellent. Happily the time has now come for a full review of this chassis which is landing at £110 here in the UK. Is it just another airflow-focused case in an already crowded market, or has Lian Li managed to deliver something special? We find out today.
Specification:
- Motherboard support: SSI-EEB, E-ATX up to 280mm wide, ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX.
- Power supply support: ATX, SFX-L, SFX.
- Expansion slots: 7.
- Included fans: 2x 170mm 1,550rpm front intake, 1x 140mm 1,800rpm rear exhaust, 2x 120mm 1,900rpm on PSU shroud.
- Fan mounts: 2x 170mm front, 3x 120mm/2x 140mm roof, 1x 120mm/140mm rear, 3x 120mm on PSU shroud.
- Radiator mounts: 360mm/280mm roof.
- 5.25-inch optical drive bays: None.
- Internal drive bays: 2x 3.5-inch, 3x 2.5-inch.
- Front I/O ports: 2x USB 3.0 Type-A, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C, audio.
- Dimensions: 503mm H x 482mm D x 238mm W.
Testing
To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor, Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card and an SSD. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the Lian Li Lancool 217’s cooling capabilities.
Test System:
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 3D
- CPU Cooler: Lian Li Hydroshift LCD 360 Fanless + 3x Uni Fan TL Wireless 120
- Motherboard: ASRock X870E Taichi
- Memory: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000
- Graphics card: PowerColor Red Devil RX 9070 XT 16GB
- Power supply: Seasonic Focus GX-1000 Gold
- SSD: Crucial T700 M.2 NVMe
- OS: Windows 11
Cooling Performance Overview
The Lian Li Lancool 217 does a good job and our advice would be to run the fans low and slow to keep noise levels to a minimum. You certainly can turn them up and slightly help the cooling but the noise levels rapidly get unbearable.
Closing Thoughts
The Lancool 217 continues Lian Li’s habit of getting pretty much everything correct while avoiding errors with a product that caters for a mass market at a very acceptable price. Clearly some PC builders would prefer glass on four sides to mesh, while others want stacks of ARGB lighting bling, and no doubt those people will be disappointed by the Lancool 217.
On the other hand we are confident a large swathe of the buying public wants a spacious case that is populated with high quality fans and which flows air with ease. The fact the UK price is lower than the US dollar price adds to our delight and makes it even easier for us to strongly recommend this case for your next PC build.
You can buy the Lian Li Lancool 217 for £109.99 from Scan (from May 5th) HERE.
Pros:
- Immaculate quality of components and white finish.
- Impressive emphasis on cable management and neatness.
- PWM and ARGB fan hub is included.
- Accessories include rails to swap the 170mm fans for 120mm or 140mm.
- Good air flow.
- Supports E-ATX and SSI-EEB motherboards.
Cons:
- Top panel can easily come loose when you move your PC
- Front panel IO is down low and awkward if your PC is on the floor.
KitGuru says: The Lian Li Lancool 217 is packed with goodness.
