The Lian Li Lancool II Performance builds on the original nicely by adding noticeable improvements and features to an already excellent enclosure. While the Performance variant did not exist with the original Lancool II, this addition to the case family with the Mesh certainly makes sense. On top of that, Lian Li has not simply replaced the fans, but has included a functional fan controller along with a better set of fans.

The first thing you will notice is the build quality when unboxing the enclosure. It employs steel all around, including for the top panel and front cover. All ventilated areas are also covered in either magnetic or removable dust filters. Both sides are well engineered, with cool flip-down panels on the bottom thirds of the chassis and the rest covered in clear, hinge-equipped glass panels. With the mesh variant, the flip-down panel on the left now features the same fine perforations as the front of the chassis. These flip-down panels are held in place magnetically, so accessing the interior is easy as well. The individual covers on the backside of the motherboard are another absolutely beautiful feature that results in the chassis looking clean all around even when stuffed full of hardware.

On the interior, the level of detail and engineering continues with a 3-bay HDD cage on the bottom of the chassis, which may be moved to allow for the utmost in flexibility with your choice of liquid cooling. The mesh flip-down panel also means this area now gets some access to cooler air. Also, from a storage perspective, the Lancool II allows for an excellent total of nine drives, which is well above what we are used to from most competitors these days. With the fairly large bottom compartment, fans you would install on top of the divider do actually get access to some fresh air as well, but installing any there will keep you from easily accessing the bottom edge of an ATX motherboard. Speaking of hardware, besides room for a full-size board, this case will easily hold long GPUs, large air cooling, and a potent PSU without issue. Add the fact that both the front and top are meant to be utilized for either air or liquid-cooling and the Lian Li Lancool II Mesh Performance presents itself as a well-balanced chassis.

If there is an issue I have it is the loud fans, even if it is nice to see the inclusion of three fans in a chassis of this price range. Lian Li could have opted for a better balance between noise and performance, though, which has been a topic with the original Lancool II as well. However, with the fine mesh front, cooling performance of this new variant is excellent. Some may also be annoyed by the fact that there is a hole for the USB-C port in the top that is covered by a somewhat unsightly rubber grommet.

That brings us to the final consideration of pricing. All in all, the Lian Li Lancool II Mesh Performance still clocks in at a mere $90, which is extremely affordable for a chassis with well-thought-out engineering, a great material mix, and plenty of features. On top of that, the additional accessories are thoughtful and mostly well priced to boot.