Lian Li PC-90B 'The Hammer' Review 11

Lian Li PC-90B 'The Hammer' Review

(11 Comments) »

Value & Conclusion

  • The Lian Li PC-90B sells for 179.90 Euro at Caseking.de including taxes, while US readers will have to pay 199 Dollars without taxes.
  • Excellent Price for a HPTX chassis
  • Most compact HPTX chassis out there
  • Space for up to 12 (!) hard drives
  • Cool power + reset buttons
  • 2x Internal USB 3.0
  • All drives rubber mounted
  • USB 3.0 to 2.0 adapter included
  • Excellent build quality
  • Three fans included
  • Internal design allows for unrestricted cooling
  • Quiet fans
  • Front for ODD included
  • Dust filter in all intake areas
  • Openings in mainboard tray do not line up with SR-2 sockets
  • Fragile USB 3.0 to 2.0 adapter
  • Using a large CPU cooler may collide with hard drive bays, so that you may lose up four bays (two for each cooler)
  • Basically no cable management
  • No way to hide cables
  • Installation of hard drives makes connecting them quite complicated
  • No zip ties or cable management parts included
  • No 5.25 to 3.5 bracket included
The Lian Li PC-90 is a pretty crazy case. It comes with the dimensions of a standard mid tower but can pack as much as a beyond-full-size-HPTX-chassis. On top of that it only costs 180 Euros, which puts it right in line just above the Xigmatek Elysium while being cheaper than the Cubitek HPTX-Tank. On top of that the unique design allows not only for such a massive board to be installed, but also up to twelve hard drives if you make sure that the component sizes fit.
These attributes alone make this case a no brainer, but potential buyers should be aware that such unique design has its drawbacks. First off, the hard drives will block any easy access to the mainboard which may make the assembly process quite tricky - especially when using it to its full potential. Then there is the lack of clean cable routing or hiding, which will also become an issue when filling the case to the rim. Then the last point is the fact that the second opening in the mainboard tray does not line up with the second socket of the SR-2. This means that you may have to remove everything just to exchange the coolers. Luckily most people do not really end up frequently moving to new CPU coolers.
Overall this chassis is excellent, not only for the HPTX crowd, as "The Hammer" can easily take any other major mainboard size and still shine. In the end the Lian Li PC-90 is an excellent case, with plenty of expansion room in addition to being the most affordable Aluminum HPTX chassis on the market right now - a no brainer really. If you are in the market for a case that takes these boards, but want to steer clear of the monsters usually offered, the PC-90 is not only the one choice you have, but also an excellent one.
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Jul 24th, 2024 19:33 EDT change timezone

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