Introduction

At CeBIT 2010 in Hannover Lian Li exhibited a great deal of new housing, which belonged to the PC X900R also. In our today’s review we make us now more specifically the red one and make it to the test.

Already at first sight is the MIDI-Tower his siblings PC-X 500 (computer base test), as well as PC-X 2000 (computer base test) map. The rounded corners and the same construction allow for such a conclusion. However, has stood also Lian Li’s not on the spot, but clearly further developed some concepts. While in the PC-X 2000 still a terrasem Interior found was, our today’s subject has only two separate zones. Different color combinations are a further development on the part of Lian Li: typically black, silver, and red.

As at cases of Taiwanese, want the PC-X 900 with much aluminium convince, but some models of the new series have no longer the elegant charm, it has been used so far by the Asians. Whether this is the case with the PC X900R, clarify the following pages.

Delivery and data

• Material: outer shell completely made of aluminum
• Dimensions: CA 598 x 230 x 388 mm (H x W x D)
• Weight: approximately 8.2 kg
• three 5.25 “-front drive bays, of which either a 3.5″ drive Bay
• seven 3.5 “drive bays (internal)”
• five 120 mm LED fan with speed monitoring
• Motherboard form factors: Micro-ATX and ATX
• four USB – 3.0-, two audio and each one eSATA and FireWire port in the port Kit

In addition to the usual screws and instructions are for connection to the motherboard included a partial roll up frame, a can of bolt, two ties and a small speaker.

Facilities outside

If there has been a decisive change in the Super-case series with the PC X900R, it is the transformation of the front. Where for example, in the PC-X 2000 an integrated area has dominated the front area of the case, a continuous perforated sheet, after which the three installed 120 mm LED fan come to the Vorscheinen is located in our today’s volunteers on three-quarters of the area.

Compared to the predecessors are the drives immediately to the front. While this show at the big brother to the pages and may adversely be reached, if the case directly to the desktop, the buyer now from front on it can access. For the black version of the PC-X 900 plays it although not as crucial as in the Red Edition, worth mentioning it seems us anyway: Lian Li is now, at least at the top of the three 5.25 “drive bays, on an aperture.” It is kept in the same optics as the front and is thus not interrupted by a possibly colour inappropriate drive. In addition to the disk drives are, as usual, the two status LEDs installed, which signal the operation as well as the disk access.

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It juxtaposes the two siblings, the lid of the form and the facilities are so forth barely differentiated. In the front range, Lian Li still relies on the well-known port Kit, which is hidden behind a cover and is thus protected against unnecessary pollution. However, is the new port Kit with the latest developments and internalized what already has made one Lian Li at CeBIT on the topic number: USB 3.0. This new standard finds himself in the form of four USB 3.0 ports exactly is by two audio and one eSATA and FireWire port added. Right next to the port Kit, power and reset switch are placed. While the calculator via the generously dimensioned power switch can be simply turned on, you need a thin object when the reset switch already, to push the button, small in diameter. The remaining top is to ensure a level of stability in only two chassis parts from solid material.

At the back, another change to the big brother 2000 clearly is X: the Division of the Interior into two zones. A lighted 120 mm LED fan working at the top of the back and ventilated the upper HDD cage of the Interior. In addition, a potentiometer, all connected fans between seven and twelve Volt can be regulated with the located. Quick access to this fan controller is thus not given, also, we would have pleased at this point a shared control. So, every fan can be controlled at the same time. The standardized construction of a housing is located under the first section, and thus the first zone: A further 120 mm LED fan with ATX-bracket for the connections of the mainboard and seven brackets of the expansion slots, all of them fitted with diagonal trending ventilation slots, to ensure the flow of air from the fans in the front by the rear wall.

The power supply is, similar to how we in the future version of the X 2000 at CeBIT 2010 have already seen it, attached to the bottom of, and is, as usual, screwed with a blind and then with the chassis. In addition are two tubing runs to the operation of an external water cooling. In the test of the cooler master 690 we have found the largest hose couplings II, in the PC X900R, these are not so generously dimensioned. At the bottom, some ventilation slots, which allow the power supply protected by a dust filter, to refer his fresh air from the outside are located to the rear under the power supply. Thus, an own cooling circuit is built at least at this point.

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As is already in the forward continuously confirmed previous tests on products from the House of Lian Li, the level of processing quality is very high. We can confirm this once again in our today’s volunteers. However, the chassis itself is not as stiff as it is the case, for example, at the least tested housing from the House of cooler master, if the walls are dismantled.

Facilities inside

When you open the PC X900R, so the Interior is visible, who largely view had already been through the generous window. The hardware is – divided into the two temperature zones – installed so that the optical drives as well as four maximum seven the hard disk in the 3.5 “format in a separate section at the top of the housing fits for.” Although both disk cages are connected, not with the chassis so that they, provided they are not needed, can be removed, but the buyer may make any Exchange. The different mounting mechanisms do not allow for this.

At the top provides to carry one of the five 120-mm LED fan for the warm air of the storage media from the inside of the case. Between upper HDD cage and back the tax Board of fan control is also at the 3-pol four slots for fan cables are available. Lian Li sets in two Y-cable included, so easily all built-up fan can be operated and regulated. This is not desired, so can all fans via 3 pin Molex adapter be connected and powered on the power supply. When Lian Li would have heard our prayers, we finally find the tool-less concepts missing from us in the test of X2000BW in the X900R. So can at least two of the three 5.25 “drives per clip are attached to the drive Bay, for the optional 3.5″ drive thumb screws are still available.

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At the bottom of the case, we can say that the famous drive clips are not the only complaint, the Lian Li meanwhile has eliminated. Also the seven slots for expansion cards are now equipped with a sliding mechanism, allowing to use all the cards without tools in the package. And the list of changes is not yet complete. Behind the motherboard a large cut-out is now, so that can be exchanged at verbautem motherboard, the CPU cooler and back panel. Also, a variety of small holes in the motherboard tray are designed to fix all rearm laid cables with cable ties.

At the heart of this MIDI towers are the three 120 mm LED fan that flood the entire interior with air and so even with very powerful hardware to ensure that the resulting heat conveyed reliably from the inside.

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Also in the Interior a comparative look at the big brother PC-X 2000 raises and then the marginal price difference between X900R and X2000BW to heart leads, one is sorely: the noise reduction. Despite the almost the same price level, the side walls in the X900R are not even covered with a layer of foam. A feature at one such ‘ high cost could well be expected.

Experience

Due to the high design of PC X900R the presumption may arise at the first thought of it that our hardware installation proceeded quite easily. This also applicable, is basically but the one or the other place in the case turned out to nevertheless be problem.

This is the smaller problem was that Lian Li attaches no extension cable for the power connector to the processor this expensive piece of jewellery and the cable across from the power supply must be moved by the whole housing. Is but then installed the motherboard with already installed processor together with cooler, it requires some sensitivity to connect the power cable to the motherboard. Because we not only encounter this test exactly this problem, noting at this point explicitly, that it makes sense to only use the CPU cooler if the mainboard is already installed and wired.

Often, a second problem area is the back of trays. As are particularly thick cable such as the 24-pin power connector of the mainboard and the two eight-pin cables of side by side behind the tray card and get also may have the one or the other cable for hard drives, optical drives and fan at the top of the case, the wiring behind the tray grows to a size almost unpleasant. Nevertheless, settled the right side panel in this case quite easily include and stood no further away from the chassis as the left – all clear.

Third not only potentially problematic area proved the clearance between the bottom hard drive cage and the aperture in the tray. There inevitably some cables accumulate, even with a power supply with modular cable management. How good is the cooling system, will be seen now in the practical test.

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Lian Li is measured with the PC in this MIDI-Tower the place for video cards,-X 2000 a spacious big brother at his side has, again quite lush. So just 31 inches available are installed fans in the front. Thus, all video cards available currently on the market fit into it. Our 9800 GTX + was still tidy despite power connectors facing towards the front fan.

To give an overall view of all previously tested housings, a complete list is located in the below attached Klapptext.

&Lt; div > < div > eternal list of available space for graphics cards

Test system in operation

The test system in detail:

AMD Phenom II X 4 940 Black Edition with Scythe Mugen 2 (with Scythe SlipStream 600 R/min)
Gigabyte MA790FX-DQ6
2 x 1024 MB Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800
GeForce 9800 GTX + with Scythe Musashi
Western Digital Caviar SE16 320 GB
Enermax MODU-82 + 425 W

Volume
The volume measurements have been with a “Voltcraft digital sound level meter 320″ carried out, the sound level in the range of 30 to 120 decibels measures. The basic volume of the measuring Chamber was subjectively felt silence beneath the measuring range, so in less than 30 decibels. The distance was half a meter – the usual least distance between user and system to get close to this.

Power consumption
The power consumption was measured, while only the power supply was in the housing and the fan or any illumination supplied with electricity. Alone measure the power supply to the case of the power supply out of the total consumption of the case to rake, was previously. The result of the measurement was about 2.2 Watts and is subtracted for each measurement in the case of the total consumption.

Temperatures
The temperatures were measured, while the system FurMark in the Xtreme-burning mode completed and this brought the graphics card to temperature. At the same time, the processor with prime95 (download) in the maximum heat mode is utilized. As the load generated in this way in everyday life is in fact impossible, so the maximum temperatures are achieved and any subject can show what is in him. Documented are the temperature values with the help of Diagnostics tool Everest Ultimate Edition.

Measurements

Much like cooler master at the 690 II, Lian Li, also follows the path dimension all fans for a sensitive ear, as well as for large flow capacity. Many of the users who use their computer not only to play but primarily also to work, a clear trend towards “Silence,” noted in recent years. Was formerly at more volume attributed automatically attribute line thickness to the domestic computers (what was at that time quite true), this transport units are called in modern times rather than “annoying”.

Lian Li has been with a fan controller the X900R on the way, with all five built-up fans between voltages from 5 to 12 volts can be regulated. In operation at 12 volts, giving it a relatively high noise to the best, but at the same time provide an interior flooded with air. You listen closer, but only a few storage sounds are otherwise only the air turbulence have besides a slight hum to hear. If the fans are then governed by control to five volts down, they are more or less not more to listen to, which is reflected in a very good placement in the 5-V ranking. In the 12-V ranking a completely different language, spoken as initially indicated. Our today’s subject from the House of Lian Li only in the lower third is reflected there.

For an overview of all cases tested so far with our sound level meter, a complete list is located in the Klapptext.

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Already in our test the cooler master 690 II we arrived for the first time on the power consumption of our test candidates, but there is still no possibility of comparison. Since the power consumption is among other things on the temperature and also enormous fluctuations during the load suspended, we changed final system. Now the power consumption without hardware is carried out, to capture only the fan and lighting elements. The power supply is bridged here with an adapter for filling a water cooling and thus to start. The power consumption of the power supply is expected this out. Particularly the big difference between the operation at five and the twelve Volt is interesting in the PC X900R. While the fans lit at five volts consume only about 1,5 Watt, this continues to to 8.4 Watts in operation at 12 volts.

The system temperatures, sets our today’s candidate for the time being new standards and takes over the leading position in the 12-V ranking almost everywhere. In three 120-mm-LED fans in the front, which equally provide almost the entire volume of the Interior with fresh air, this was also to be expected. All components can work at reasonable temperatures. The low noise in operation at five volts go hand in hand in this test with higher system temperatures, with all values in a completely non-critical area. Due to this good performance we have already involved this case 470 and GTX 480 in advance in a test of NVIDIA’s latest GPU generation GTX, to obtain a direct comparison to the Corsair Obsidian 800dx. This clear result: less volume at almost the same temperatures. However, volume of GeForce cards is with the PC-X900R in terms to operate just damage control.

To get an overall view of all previously tested housings, a complete list is also here in the Klapptext.

&Lt; div > < div > eternal list of system temperatures