Assembly

While the Lian Li O11 Vision Compact can take on a classic ATX board, you may also opt for the newer BTF standard to hide all the major connectors. All the cutouts of the motherboard tray are sized well allowing for all the room you will need. The only downside is the fact that the two HDD cages will block some of the headers, but those two may quickly and easily removed at any time.


Speaking of which, adding a 3.5" drive to one of these is straightforward, but does require using a screwdriver to secure it through rubber ring equipped mounting holes. Lian Li has designed the cage with a few guides for the drive to slide into place easily as well. That filled cage can simply be snapped back into place and secured with that one thumb screw through the back of the chassis.


While you could take off the PSU frame and install the unit outside the confines of the chassis, we had no issues simply sliding the large, higher-end PSU into place and secure it with the classic screws unto the frame. As you can see, the fan is facing out of the chassis to pull in fresh air through the side vent once everything is assembled.


At this point adding the GPU makes a lot of sense. This is pretty traditional, but thanks to the large thumb screws, you could potentially get away with not having to use any tools as well. The GPU support bracket doesn't quite manage to withstand the weight of the hefty GPU, unfortunately. While it is extremely sturdy, tightening the thumb screws holding it in place all the way did not provide enough friction.


With the vented top cover, it makes sense to install the 360 mm AIO in this location to show how much room you have to play with. Without beating around the bush: it's a lot. On top of that, we managed to route all the cables through that large grommet in the top right corner of the motherboard. The only exception is the RGB wire of the AIO cold plate.


As a last step, you should add your 2.5" drive as these are mounted on the inside of the branded plate. To prep the drive, Lian Li includes rubber rings and special screws to attach to the drives and then snap them unto the plate securely. Once in place, you can put the hinged cover back and flip it shut with the magnets holding it in place very well.


The final looks of the build within the Lian Li O11 Vision Compact is immaculate thanks to the BTF motherboard, with the tiny exception of the ARGB wire from the AIO cold plate. Even if you opt for a classic ATX variant, the grommets all around the board will allow you to keep things very clean for that type of setup as well. In the rear, we made a point to avoid using any additional Zip Ties, relying only on the Velcro strips and metal cable channels. This actually worked quite well and there is plenty of room to snap the 2.5" plate back into place as well. The only tricky wire was the 12VHPWR wire, which we had to squeeze past the bottom motherboard edge out into the main chamber. That said, it wasn't bad at all, but with the BTF board you have to be mindful of the headers facing you as you route that wire past.

Finished Looks

After removing that support strut and putting the panels back, the Lian Li O11 Vision looks great when turned on. The white power LED is bright and allows you to find the button easily in a dark environment as well.


Thanks to the BTF board and large grommet through which we were able to route the cables from the AIO fans and pump, there is no cable mess visible when viewing the chassis from the front either. In the rear, you could easily cable manage any wires connected to the motherboard backplate to the two hooks of the PSU frame, and the bridgeless expansion slots will allow for universal vertical GPU kits to be used as well.


While there is a gentle tint on the glass, you can still easily see all your hardware. Naturally the Lian Li O11 Vision Compact - much like all the cases of the series, really benefits from fully filling the chassis with ARGB equipped fans to make everything glow in a coordinated fashion. On the opposite side, you can see through the vented parts and still see some elements like the tubing or HDD, which in turn means that airflow should be pretty good as well.

All Glass Looks

While it is awesome that Lian Li includes a metal top for venting, one of the main USPs of the O11 Vision Compact is the fact that you get a top glass cover with a design which joins all three of the panels seamlessly for a nearly unobstructed view. With such a setup, you will want to install your AIO on the side instead as we have done as well.


Even though this is the same type of engineering we have seen in the larger O11 Vision it hits differently when you build your own system and get to enjoy the views from three angles with the clean black borders of the panels on the edges and just that tiny pyramid on the corner.