A Closer Look - Outside

Taking a first look at the massive case, it features a very simple look. There are no angled edges, fancy cutouts or LEDs. Lian Li even ships the PC-D8000 without the casters installed. To avoid scratching up your working surface or the floor, attaching these should be your first order of business.


Taking a look at the front, the entire panel is completely solid, and it can be removed easily because it is only held in place by four plastic pins. Our sample actually arrived with two of the four pins broken off, and we had to get the entire front replaced as the pins themselves are not replaceable. This issue came about because Lian Li chose to use compact foam spacers to curtail overall packaging dimensions, and the foam spacers were placed at the front and rear of the chassis instead of top and bottom. You should really check to see if your case is alright once you get it. Lian Li was kind enough to replace the entire panel right away and free of charge, once I provided them with pictures of the broken pins. The rear is pretty basic, but does show full HPTX support, with the power supply bays at the bottom.


Both side panels essentially mirror each other, featuring air vents next to the hard drive bays, which allows fresh air to enter the chassis around these areas. There are no other markings or openings anywhere. Their overall size leaves these panels with a tiny bit of play, even when secured with screws. It would have been nice to see a thin layer of rubber lining to minimize vibrations from these areas.


You will only find a small Lian Li logo on the bottom of the front. The six external drive bays take up the top area. Divided into two sets of three, it should be apparent that Lian Li took two full tower cases and essentially combined them to achieve the overall look and size of the PC-D8000. One of the bays has the power and reset buttons, along with four USB 3.0 connectors. There is no audio I/O anywhere, though, which I do consider a basic feature regardless of the chassis' purpose.


Rolling the case around, there are two PSU bays on the bottom, while the motherboard expansion slots and exhaust fan opening can be found on the left. This left area essentially looks like a full tower chassis with a removable motherboard tray that has HPTX support. There are also three large fan placement possibilities on the right.


Lian Li has placed two covers on top of the chassis. Both can be removed to install dual 120 or 140 mm frames for various cooling scenarios. The frames are unfortunately sold separately, adding to the overall cost should you want to install such units into the chassis. This is also where the separate fan grills would come into play; that is, if you take that path. Both openings for the PSU bays are covered by easily removable and washable dust filters—you will not have to worry about dirt settling inside your power supplies over time.