A Closer Look - Outside

Right out of the box, the Lancool 2 makes an excellent impression in regards to the material mix. While the market in general has really embraced the drive to utilize less plastic. the Lancool 2 comes with two fairly thick glass panels and an all steel exterior. For a $90 case, this is already excellent, but the level of engineering makes it even more impressive.


The front is made out of metal and comes with two large vents. while there is a Lian Li logo on the bottom edge of the enclosure. In the rear, everything looks pretty traditional with the PSU bay on the very bottom.


You may pull off the front of the Lancool 2 with a firm tug, which reveals a single 120 mm intake fan of retail quality. You may install up to three such devices in this area, and Lian Li has designed the mounting bracket to not only be removable, but also rotatable, so you have the utmost flexibility on how to arrange your air and liquid cooling. Speaking of radiators, there is plenty of room for thick 360 mm radiators here as well, but it will eat into your GPU length compatibility slightly if you choose to go down that route. Instead of a firmly attached cable, Lian Li has chosen to go for a PCB-based, spring-loaded connector to power and light up the RGB lighting in the front. There are also two magnetic dust filters to keep dirt and grime out of the interior.


The side panels both utilize glass panels that cover around 70% of the surface area. As you can see, there are no visible screws on these, which is great! Below each are solid metal elements you may actually flip down to not only access to the area below the shroud, but also give you the grip to pull open the glass panel thanks to its hinges. All these elements are held in place by magnets for easy access. The bottom elements on the main side come with a nifty little shape and a small air vent.


On the other side, things looks quite similar, with the same partial window. Due to this, Lian Li has included two covers on the motherboard tray so things look clean regardless, which is pretty awesome. Another flip-down cover allows for access to the bottom parts of the chassis. Here, the bottom panel is solid and flat, as you may install up to two 2.5" drives straight on to that panel, which means the Lancool 2 has four dedicated mounting positions for 2.5" drives.


In the rear, the PSU cutout comes with a single set of mounting screws and plenty of space on both sides. Above that are seven expansion slots, each covered by a reusable metal cover next to an additional air vent to the right. In the very top is another 120 mm fan set to push hot air out the back of the Lancool 2. Elongated mounting holes allow you to align the fan with your CPU cooler.


In the top is a large magnetic dust filter that covers an air vent you may utilize for two 120 or 140 mm fans or a radiator of up to 240 mm in size. If you look closely, you will find a third 120 mm fan mounted in the rear position, which brings the total out-of-box cooling units within the Lian Li Lancool 2 to an excellent three.


In regards to I/O, Lian Li has kept things rather simple with two USB 3.0 and audio plugs alongside the usual power and reset buttons. You will also find two large, square buttons for color and mode control of the built-in RGB lighting. An interesting note is the rubber-covered opening for a Type-C plug. You better not loose that little unit or you will have an ugly hole here. Lian Li allows customers to buy the connector separately for $12 instead of including and charging for it. I honestly think it would have been perfectly fine as part of the default configuration with the Lancool 2 for just shy of $100 instead.


in the bottom is a dust filter that is extremely sturdy and a bit hard to pull out, but it may be removed for easy cleaning without having to tip over the full system.