Test System

Assembly

Installing the motherboard is done by traditional means, with the included screws to secure it to the pre-installed spacers. The board sits right on top of the shroud, and there is a little bit of space on the top edge. That having been said, the offset fan-mounting holes in the ceiling will definitely come in handy.


As we have the possibility to show off SSDs so nicely within the Lancool 2, we will use one of two exposed plates. Simply take it off the motherboard tray, screw down a drive, and put it back in place. As you can see, it is positioned well, so you won't see any of the cables with everything closed off.


Adding a 3.5" drive is pretty straightforward as well, but unfortunately requires screws and a screwdriver. It would have been nice if these trays were tool-less, especially as this would make things much easier when utilizing the hot-swap feature. Once filled, simply slide the tray back into place and use the lever to lock it into place.


Adding the power supply does not bear any surprises, either. Thanks to the large opening, you won't run into any issues when sliding it into place, and basic case screws hold it in place. There is plenty of space for a potent unit, but you need to watch the overall length if you happen to move the HDD cage towards the back to allow for thick liquid cooling in the very front of the chassis.


Once everything is installed, the interior of the Lancool 2 makes a very clean impression. Only the PCIe power cable is slightly visible as the Palit GPU is just too long to allow for it to be routed differently without going above its cool metal PCB plate or below across the cooling fan.


In the opposite side, I did not really spend a lot of time managing cables as I was able to use the four Velcro strips to contain most of the leads. After putting the two covers in place and ensuring the cable for CPU power is off to the side by as much as possible, everything looked extremely spiffy even before putting the glass panel back in place.

Finished Looks

Once the system is turned on, I was surprised by the vividness of the RGB element in the front. Lian Li has done a great job by using the metal mesh dust filters as surfaces for the illumination to bounce off. Thanks to the optional, diffused LED strip, you have that additional lighting element along the bottom of the glass panel of the main side, which is just as spiffy. A white LED lights up around the power button to let you know the system is up and running as well.


Due to the clear glass, you can clearly see all the hardware within the Lian Li Lancool 2. So even though the RGB elements provide mostly indirect lighting, none of the detail is lost. As you would expect from a modern mid-tower chassis, all the components in the rear are easily accessible. On the other side, the partial glass panel looks just as great, and once again, thanks to the lack of tinting, you can clearly see the SSD, and it all looks extremely clean as well because of the covers.


You may cycle through a good number of animation modes thanks to the built-in RGB controller, but the Lancool 2 also offers the usual seven solid color choices for you to cycle through. Due to the fact that the additional RGB strip on the side is connected directly to the front panel, its color and effect change to match those in the front.