A Closer Look - Outside

Unlike the Dynamic, the PC-O11 Air comes with a plastic exterior and single glass panel. The rest of the chassis is made out of steel. That mix of materials not only allows Lian Li to offer the chassis at a much lower price point, but also reduces the overall weight considerably.


The front and top look similar, with thin lines that act as intake areas and an edgy look. You may pull the front off after popping off the top and removing some screws. This reveals the two pre-installed 120 mm fans and dust filter. While this is great, you actually don't have to go through this side of the case to get to these cooling units.


The I/O of the chassis consists of a USB 3.1 Type C connector, two USB 3.0 ports, and the usual audio plugs. The square power button is framed in a white LED.


The main side panel also uses nothing but glass to give you an unobstructed view into the interior. Lian Li has done a great job of hiding the mounting mechanism, which means there are no visual panel markings or holes at all. The opposing panel is made out of metal and comes with two sets of openings. These come equipped with magnetic metal mesh dust filters to keep grime out.


In the rear, the layout is quite a bit different from what you would expect. Lian Li has moved the PSU bay to the left of the eight expansion slots for the motherboard. Above that, you will find a cover on top of another potential PSU bay, which is meant to be used for 3.5" drives out of the box. There are no fan mounts in the rear as the chassis has plenty on top. Featuring a dual-PSU setup in such a compact case is quite the nice touch and should be of interest to those planning to deck out the system, which could include overclocking it with a large liquid-cooling loop.


On top, you will find the other plastic cover with the same design as the front. You may remove it to reveal mounting holes for up to a 360 mm radiator or three 120 or two 140 mm fans. A metal mesh filter with magnetic strips keeps dirt out of this area as well.


On the bottom is a similar cutout for another 360 mm radiator or an equivalent number of fans as in the floor. Lian Li showed the chassis at CES this year, decked out with fans and liquid cooling.