Lian Li Announces Four New Case Prototypes at 2021 Digital Expo

[btarunr]

LIAN LI Industrial Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of aluminium chassis and PC accessories, hosts its second online event with the LIAN LI 2021 DIGITAL EXPO, which premiers February 18th, 9 am EST on YouTube (here). The 2021 DIGITAL EXPO unveils soon to be launched products, with new editions of the O11D MINI and UNI FANS, as well as exclusive looks at four prototypes. Each prototype will receive an in-depth look from case reviewers.

Q58: The Q58, a 14.3L SFF case, is equipped with split hinged panels made of tempered glass and aluminium mesh, and a dual-tone front solid aluminium panel. With support for MINI-ITX, 320 mm long GPUs, and up to 280 mm radiators, the Q58 is capable of supporting a variety of configurations with SFX PSUs or ATX PSUs due to an adjustable motherboard tray that can be moved for more clearance.



A4-H2O: A collaboration with DAN Cases from Germany, the A4-H2O is an SFF case at only 10.4L. Inspired by the original A4-SFX, the all-aluminium A4-H2O offers a refined look and sleek design. Compatible with Mini-ITX motherboards and SFX or SFX-L power supplies, the A4-H2O can fit in any GPU up to 315 mm in length and 2.7 slots in thickness, and any 240 AIO with CPU block clearance of 56 mm. The A4-H2O's mesh at the top, right, and left panels offer plenty of airflow for proper thermal management. In addition, the A4-H20 has lots of storage space with mounts for 2 SSDs behind the front panel.

V3000+: A redesign of the original V3000, the V3000+ is a modernized aluminium full tower case that masters water cooling, airflow, modularity, storage, and high-performance component compatibility. With support for up to three 480 mm radiators plus a 360 mm radiator, sixteen 120 mm fans, two systems, two PSUs, and horizontal or vertical GPU up to 420 mm in length, the V3000+ is the ultimate case for the performance systems. Up to 16 HDDs or 19 SSDs can be fitted in the V3000+, enough to turn this case into a powerful storage server. With a tempered glass panel on the left, meshed top panel and shroud panels, solid front and right side panels, the V3000+ also includes accents of RGB around the front panel which can be controlled by a magnet-mount remote control.

O11D EVO: Designed as an airflow optimized O11 Dynamic, the O11D EVO offers features of the O11D XL in the footprint of the O11 Dynamic. The 2 aluminium panels at the top and right side feature a redesigned mesh that acts as a dust filter while providing the system with unparalleled airflow. The aluminium strip at the front of the case is a flip panel that covers the case-control buttons, as well as an optional SDD case for two 2.5" SSDs or HDDs. In terms of compatibility, the O11D EVO supports motherboards ranging from E-ATX to MINI ITX, GPUs up to 445 mm long, and PSUs up to 200 mm in length. Users now have the option to place their GPU beside the motherboard, in an upright position. As for radiators, fans, and storage support, three modular brackets which can be arranged for either 280/360 radiators/fans, or 2.5"/3.5" SSDs/HDDs are included.

LIAN LI also has updates of its award-winning products that will launch in the coming months. The O11D MINI adds a Snow Edition with an all-white interior and exterior, removing black accents from the previous white version. SFX power supplies will be bundled with the O11D MINI in the SP750 and SP850 editions. In addition, the second generation of the innovative interconnecting fan series, UNI FAN AL120 and AL140, and an update on L-Connect with more software options and the ability to control all LIAN LI RGB devices.

To catch the full 2021 DIGITAL EXPO, make sure to subscribe to the LIAN LI YouTube channel.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[jesdals]

Ill gues a snow edition will make sence about now - considering any build will expect up to12 months delay due to stock issues with cpu, gpu and psu...

 

[bonehead123]

They appear to be of the same great quality/styling as other LL cases, but otherwise just anutha b.o.r.i.n.g snoozerfest IMHO

 

[Valantar]

That A4-H2O looks like a great expansion on the excellent original. Good to see that Lian-Li is getting more serious about their SFF game, though of course they've been the OEM behind the A4 (and the Ncase M1, unless I'm misremembering), as well as being one of the parties behind SSUPD and the nice-looking (but terribly named) Meshlicious.

 

[dyonoctis]

Not bad, I'm just hoping that PCIe 4.0 will be the end of the riser cable hell. Otherwise sandwich case are going to be cosltly on the long run. Looks like the people in charge on PCIe decided to press the gas pedal, we haven't even touched the limits of 4.0, that we are already getting 5.0 shoved down our throat

 

[Turmania]

are they selling it as Dan A4? or with their own name on it?

 

[Valantar]

Not bad, I'm just hoping that PCIe 4.0 will be the end of the riser cable hell. Otherwise sandwich case are going to be cosltly on the long run. Looks like the people in charge on PCIe decided to press the gas pedal, we haven't even touched the limits of 4.0, that we are already getting 5.0 shoved down our throat

PCIe speeds and standards are driven forward by the server market, where the need for bandwidth is essentially infinite. Consumers don't need anywhere near the same rate of advancement, but we're along for the ride to a certain extent. The issue is that servers don't really care about cost, so they can just stick a ton of redrivers and retimers on everything and call it a day. Doing that in a consumer application results in noticeable price increases, and doing so on a riser makes it difficult to manufacture. PCIe 5.0 and 6.0 aren't likely to be any better, though hopefully it'll be a few years still until we see that in consumer motherboards.

 

[Diverge]

are they selling it as Dan A4? or with their own name on it?

Looks that way. They manufactured the Dan A4, so it kinda makes sense. I hope the designers are getting their cut...

 

[Valantar]

Looks that way. They manufactured the Dan A4, so it kinda makes sense. I hope the designers are getting their cut...

It's still a Dancase case, so yes, clearly. Kind of unexpected given the upcoming Dan C4-SFX, but that's yet another notch bigger than this, so I guess it makes some sense. The C4 fits pretty much anything you might want (and has tons of flexibility, even potential for a dual rad layout if you're a fan of close tolerances), so this is more along the lines of an upper mid-range GPU+240 CPU AIO case. Probably appeals to a lot of people wary of CPU cooling in the stock A4.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Some welcomed updates to the 011D thats for sure. Not so sure i like these new UNI fans though. I preferred the non light diffusing blades of the first UNIs that I have now, and the RGB being more of a light strip when fans are connected up. Hoping they don't discontinue the first UNI fans for these.

 

[Operandi]

Lian Li does it pretty well but I'm stick of the tempered glass RGB thing, even when done with restraint and with at theme its becoming a tired look that doesn't fit in with anything else. They need to bring back some solid all AL designs and play with the form factor and layouts. Also maybe try some other premium materials that are not AL or glass to bring something new to the landscape.

 

[docnorth]

Unfotunately (for me) that's the new trend, even business oriented cases don't have an option for optical drive. And to anticipate justified comments about external devices, a cheap full height DVD+/_ RW is 2 times faster compared to external (and slim internal) DVD RW.

 

[Valantar]

Unfotunately (for me) that's the new trend, even business oriented cases don't have an option for optical drive. And to anticipate justified comments about external devices, a cheap full height DVD+/_ RW is 2 times faster compared to external (and slim internal) DVD RW.

Yeah, given how few people use optical drives these days that's the reality. Guess it's sad for those who still use them, but they're a dying breed. I have several external drives, but I don't think I've actually used an optical drive for a decade beyond testing if my salvaged laptop BD drive in an ebay case actually worked. I understand Japan is a major exception here though, and cases designed for the Japanese market still have optical drive bays.

 

[aktpu]

Q58 seems really interesting, hopefully they'll manufacture it in non-black version too

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

I like all of these cases. I was wondering why all the big conventional cases had gone from Lian Li's site: Because they were doing new ones.

Think I'll be getting a V3000+ eventually. I want to run dual 480 rads for my main rig.

 

[PLAfiller]

For a second I thought Zalman had a new offering, dunno why.

 

[Valantar]

Here's an update from the creator of Dan Cases over on smallformfactor.net:

This [Optimum Tech] video is an prototype preview that was made for the Lian Li Expo 2021. The dimensions aren't final and we (Lian Li & DAN Cases) are currently tweaking these values for a nice compatibility with many cards.

This case will be sold and supported by Lian Li so the correct name will be something like LIAN LI A4-H2O (designed by DAN Cases).

Founder Edition cards:
The case will come with included stand offs that allowes to lift up the riser position. This will increase the distance between RTX 30x0 FE and PSU/MB-Tray for better airflow and temps on these cards.

Btw more pictures (not very polished):

http://imgur.com/a/FygxUPC

I will create its own thread in the next days. At the moment i am very suprised because i didn't had any release dates for the LianLi Expo and the Optimum Preview.

So apparently there's been some communication mishaps here, which is a bit weird, but happens. Frankly I think the idea of selling this as a Lian Li product is good, as that means they can distribute it through their regular sales and distribution channels, dramatically simplifying global distribution. Also good that the design is still being tweaked for clearances and fitment.

 

[MDWiley]

Those new AL120 Unifans appear to have a full fan radius, instead of the thick frame on the current Unifans. Good to see Lian Li make changes with performance in mind!

 

[Caring1]

"the O11D EVO supports motherboards ranging from E-ATX to MINI ITX, GPUs up to 445 mm long, and PSUs up to 200 mm in length. Users now have the option to place their GPU beside the motherboard, in an upright position."

About friggen time they fixed that faux pas from their earlier design, what a wasted opportunity.

 

[Chrispy_]

Most of that looks like the usual tempered-glass RGBLED bling from Lian-Li that qualifies as "oversized showy crap for content creators who want something pretty to put on their desk and show off in their stream". There's nothing wrong with the Lian-Li design but they're showcase PCs that take up a lot of space and realistically most people just want a PC under their desk out of the way. Few people have enough desk space to give up a third of it to a PC and its cable clutter when all of that can be neatly hidden behind the desk with a PC on the floor.

The collaboration with Dan for a 10L mITX case on the other hand: That is what I'm interested in. The Dan A4 is a fantastic little case, but with the advent of 350W graphics cards, it's perhaps in need of a refresh for slightly larger cooling systems, and here we have it.

 

[Valantar]

Most of that looks like the usual tempered-glass RGBLED bling from Lian-Li that qualifies as "oversized showy crap for content creators who want something pretty to put on their desk and show off in their stream". There's nothing wrong with the Lian-Li design but they're showcase PCs that take up a lot of space and realistically most people just want a PC under their desk out of the way. Few people have enough desk space to give up a third of it to a PC and its cable clutter when all of that can be neatly hidden behind the desk with a PC on the floor.

The collaboration with Dan for a 10L mITX case on the other hand: That is what I'm interested in. The Dan A4 is a fantastic little case, but with the advent of 350W graphics cards, it's perhaps in need of a refresh for slightly larger cooling systems, and here we have it.

Now, the TU150 was already a pretty good ITX case, so Lian-Li does have some history with space efficiency. Plus them being the OEM for Dan, Ncase, SSUPD and some others, of course. But making this more official, and selling the case as "Lian-Li A4-H2O by Dancase" rather than "Dan A4-H2O" with Lian-Li as a silent partner is great progress. That Q58 also looks really promising - ventilated panels next to the GPU mount, good radiator support, flexibility and relatively broad compatibility, and the size is still really small for what it does. That we suddenly have two (this and the Meshlicious) 14l ITX cases with 3-slot GPU support, 280mm radiator support and optional ATX PSU support (even if that impinges on the previous two points) from mass-market brands is pretty amazing considering that something like that was unheard of a year ago. Lian-Li is really stepping up as a premier supporter of premium (yet reasonably priced!) SFF cases, and that's fantastic. I mean, the Q58 seems to do pretty much everything the Formd T1 does, just with better AIO support and potential ATX PSU support, slightly larger, and at half the price. That's not bad at all.

 

[billEST]

Now, the TU150 was already a pretty good ITX case, so Lian-Li does have some history with space efficiency. Plus them being the OEM for Dan, Ncase, SSUPD and some others, of course. But making this more official, and selling the case as "Lian-Li A4-H2O by Dancase" rather than "Dan A4-H2O" with Lian-Li as a silent partner is great progress. That Q58 also looks really promising - ventilated panels next to the GPU mount, good radiator support, flexibility and relatively broad compatibility, and the size is still really small for what it does. That we suddenly have two (this and the Meshlicious) 14l ITX cases with 3-slot GPU support, 280mm radiator support and optional ATX PSU support (even if that impinges on the previous two points) from mass-market brands is pretty amazing considering that something like that was unheard of a year ago. Lian-Li is really stepping up as a premier supporter of premium (yet reasonably priced!) SFF cases, and that's fantastic. I mean, the Q58 seems to do pretty much everything the Formd T1 does, just with better AIO support and potential ATX PSU support, slightly larger, and at half the price. That's not bad at all.

yes , i have tu150 , there is enough place for atx psu but not compatible , its the base for the razer case

Q58 is the solution : expect psu more 170 mm ....it would be perfect

i have bought xbox serie X , its impressive the power in this itx format 1/2 TU 150 and no noise !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chrispy_]

Now, the TU150 was already a pretty good ITX case, so Lian-Li does have some history with space efficiency. Plus them being the OEM for Dan, Ncase, SSUPD and some others, of course. But making this more official, and selling the case as "Lian-Li A4-H2O by Dancase" rather than "Dan A4-H2O" with Lian-Li as a silent partner is great progress. That Q58 also looks really promising - ventilated panels next to the GPU mount, good radiator support, flexibility and relatively broad compatibility, and the size is still really small for what it does. That we suddenly have two (this and the Meshlicious) 14l ITX cases with 3-slot GPU support, 280mm radiator support and optional ATX PSU support (even if that impinges on the previous two points) from mass-market brands is pretty amazing considering that something like that was unheard of a year ago. Lian-Li is really stepping up as a premier supporter of premium (yet reasonably priced!) SFF cases, and that's fantastic. I mean, the Q58 seems to do pretty much everything the Formd T1 does, just with better AIO support and potential ATX PSU support, slightly larger, and at half the price. That's not bad at all.

Yeah, I haven't built in a TU150 yet but I've certainly considered it.

I like Lian-Li, they were the first "premium" case I owned with a PC-60 over 20 years ago, and they are the enabler company that has brought some other great crowdfunded cases to market like the Dan A4 and NCase M1. I definitely endorse them stepping up to the plate as a mainstream SFF case maker. Silverstone was, for a long time, the only player and whilst their stuff is generally well designed, not all of it is good quality, with quite a lot of being either flimsy steel, poorly-painted, or brittle plastics.

 

[Operandi]

Most of that looks like the usual tempered-glass RGBLED bling from Lian-Li that qualifies as "oversized showy crap for content creators who want something pretty to put on their desk and show off in their stream". There's nothing wrong with the Lian-Li design but they're showcase PCs that take up a lot of space and realistically most people just want a PC under their desk out of the way. Few people have enough desk space to give up a third of it to a PC and its cable clutter when all of that can be neatly hidden behind the desk with a PC on the floor.

The collaboration with Dan for a 10L mITX case on the other hand: That is what I'm interested in. The Dan A4 is a fantastic little case, but with the advent of 350W graphics cards, it's perhaps in need of a refresh for slightly larger cooling systems, and here we have it.

Yeah, its all pretty shit looking in my opinion. It seems like there are two options now; you can have a oversized ATX case with glass panels all over and a super nova of unicorn vomit light shooting out or tiny ITX form factor with actual good design aesthetics, quality materials and an efficient use of space. Personally I think the ITX cases looks really good and the smaller foot print is nice but having worked in a couple its a lot more work and sometimes you want more than on expansion slot and a few hard drives.

Ironically Lian Li used to make a crap load of really high quality clean looking all aluminum ATX, mATX cases, now everything aside from their ITX offerings are pretty much like you said gaudy is AF show pieces. Hopefully they can start making some clean looking minimal ATX and mATX designs again.

 

[Valantar]

Yeah, I haven't built in a TU150 yet but I've certainly considered it.

I like Lian-Li, they were the first "premium" case I owned with a PC-60 over 20 years ago, and they are the enabler company that has brought some other great crowdfunded cases to market like the Dan A4 and NCase M1. I definitely endorse them stepping up to the plate as a mainstream SFF case maker. Silverstone was, for a long time, the only player and whilst their stuff is generally well designed, not all of it is good quality, with quite a lot of being either flimsy steel, poorly-painted, or brittle plastics.

Yeah, Silverstone has sadly fallen quite a bit from their heights of being the most innovative case maker out there to being somewhat of a me-too brand with lackluster quality. I mean, the FT03 mini was amazing when it launched. It's pretty sad, as they used to be really, really good at coming up with unique solutions (and at times still do, like with their NAS cases). I've seen some good concepts from them in recent years, but I don't think any of them have come to market, and they've kind of gotten stuck in the ITX cube/oblong box form factor for SFF. I still really like them as a company, but they need to pick up the pace if they are to avoid being left entirely behind by others.

yes , i have tu150 , there is enough place for atx psu but not compatible , its the base for the razer case

Q58 is the solution : expect psu more 170 mm ....it would be perfect

i have bought xbox serie X , its impressive the power in this itx format 1/2 TU 150 and no noise !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, but remember that the XSX doesn't have to rely on a single standard form factor part. PSU, motherboard, cooler, disc drive and fan are all proprietary. Well, scratch that: the SSD is a standard m.2 2242. But beyond that, it's all proprietary. Space efficiency becomes much more of a challenge when you have to fit standardized parts into as small a volume as possible. PSUs for example are quite problematic - the only SFF options are the still quite large SFX (very good densityat 500W+, lackluster below that) and FlexATX (loud as all get-out). MS gets away with a lot due to having a made-to-order PSU that's cooled by the system fan and designed to fill a specific volume in the case. Still, you can get very close to XSX performance and volume with the original Dan A4, though it'll likely be louder due to the CPU cooler limitation.