A Closer Look - Inside

You may remove all external panels of the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo, and while it is not necessarily needed for a classic build, we will go ahead and look at the interior of the case with these off, as we will also explore the so-called reverse layout at the same time.


Looking at the interior, the general layout of the O11 Dynamic Evo has not changed much from what we have seen in the original from 2018. That said, there are a number of tweaks, starting with the upgraded grommets, of which there are now two on the top and two larger ones on the side of the dividing panel. Lian Li has also gone for a 90° bend instead of the slightly angled setup of the original O11 Dynamic. On the side, there is still the fan/radiator mounting placement for up to two 140 mm or three 120 mm fans, or a radiator of up to 360 mm.


On the other side is that central plate for 2.5" drives that was introduced in subsequent O-Series cases and has now found its way into the Dynamic series as well. Lian Li used to place the der8auer plaque here, which is now included as part of the accessories, so you are free to stick it wherever you like. Once the plate is removed, you can see three pre-applied Velcro strips and metal tooling with further cutouts to route additional Velcro or general zip-ties through. As such, you should be able to keep things nice and clean here, though users won't get to see this side of the system.


Just like in the original, there is a 3.5" HDD cage which utilizes metal trays that may also hold 2.5" drives. It now has a vented top cover for an additional 2.5" drive to be placed on top of it and adds the ability to install up to two 60 mm fans on the side to keep the drives as cool as possible. Unfortunately, Lian Li has long removed the ability to purchase and attach hot-swap brackets to the cage, which diminishes the usefulness of having external access to the metal trays within the cage a little bit. The PSU bay is pretty straightforward and comes with a little support bracket on which the ATX unit will rest. This is important as that space below the power supply is needed to successfully route cables to the motherboard tray openings.


Lian Li included a spring-loaded lever you have to push up to remove the air/liquid cooling plate if replacing it with the solid plate that gives you an additional four 2.5"or two 3.5" storage positions, or mounting holes for liquid-cooling components like reservoirs or pumps. As we'll show later on, it will also need to be installed when opting for the upright GPU-mounting bracket.


The eight expansion slots are in the main compartment of the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo, with each held in place by a high-quality thumb screw. While the case does not offer out-of-the box vertical GPU installment, Lian Li does sell an accessories that gives you all you need for such a setup. In the very top, the rear fan-mounting placement is pretty straightforward and should work well even with elaborate cooling in the ceiling of the chassis.


Looking at the floor and ceiling of the chassis, they essentially look identical. The brackets are only held in place by two different methods dictated by the general case layout. The small, round cutouts in these frames are needed when employing the rails to install storage on one of these. Doing so will allow you to add an additional four 2.5" or two 3.5" drives. At most, the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo can hold a total of nine storage drives when employing six 3.5" variants. Alternatively, that number grows to a whooping thirteen if going for nothing but 2.5" variants.


All cables within the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo are sleeved black, and there is a unified motherboard plug alongside a flat USB 3.0 cable and angled USB Type-C connector. The ARGB controller utilizes SATA power and comes with a header to connect to your motherboard should you want to control the embedded lighting in the front via software.

A Closer Look - Reverse Layout

To reverse the general layout of the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo, you do have to take out some of the guts of the case for the best-possible result. While not pictured, this also includes disconnecting the I/O panel. Once the case is bare, all you do is flip it over to then put the internal parts back into place to mimic the original setup. The exception is the rotated PSU support bracket since it needs to be tall enough to allow the PSU to be on the bottom of the chassis. This is also why Lian Li includes a rubber spacer to ensure the best-possible fit. Lian Li also suggests you adjust the placement of the cable-management part, which would be hidden by the 2.5" mounting plate, but moving it around isn't necessary. You may opt to keep your PSU in the top of the case for the reverse layout, which slightly simplifies that reversal process as well.


The other step is to ensure the mounting mechanism of the top and bottom frames is reversed for external access to the top via classic screws while using a thumb screw for the bottom frame.