Lian Li PC-888

Performance Analysis

The PC-888 manages to deliver some pretty mediocre performance across the board, and while up to the task with its dual 140mm intake fans, is a long way off from the cooling offered by the high airflow kings like the Cooler Master HAF932 or Thermaltake Spedo.

Idle performance is absolutely fine with the fans set at either low or full speed, but CPU load temperatures were admittedly very poor – the PC-888 is one of the hottest PC chassis we’ve tested with its fans set to low, with the CPU running a full 9°C hotter under load than in the CPU champ, the Silverstone FT01. Setting the fans to full speed does improve things a little, resulting in a drop in CPU temperature of 2°C.

We’ve seen in the past that the best cases for CPU cooling effectively surround the CPU with intakes and exhaust fans, but here the cooling is a very conventional front to back setup and the CPU temperatures, while perfectly safe, just aren’t able to compete.

GPU cooling is a lot better thanks to the close proximity of those dual 120mm intake fans, but still some way off what high airflow chassis are capable of. With the fans set to high the PC-888 is able to produce a very respectable GPU delta T value of 41°C, although dropping the fans to their lowest speed results in a 7°C increase in GPU operating temperature.


However, a big positive with the PC-888 is that the three low RPM cooling fans were wonderfully quiet – only just audible when set to high and as close to silent as you’ll get when set down to the lowest speed. This seems to be a direction that Lian Li has taken with many of its chassis recently, sacrificing a few °C in cooling to ensure the case doesn’t sound like a vacuum cleaner.

It’s an approach we can appreciate, but when you look at Cooler Master’s new lines of chassis which are able to offer both excellent airflow and low noise thanks to the use of larger and larger fans, it’s a little frustrating – in an ideal case you shouldn’t have to choose between silence and cooling.

Value and Final Thoughts

While it’s not on sale yet, the PC-888 is set to retail for in excess of $500 (ex. Tax) or £420 (inc. VAT). Frankly, that pricing is pretty insane even for an exclusive limited production product, and the fact that the PC-888 still has some pretty obvious flaws, especially with its very poor cable management and limited capacity for custom setups like watercooling loops, makes it a little harder to stomach.

The mediocre cooling performance only rubs salt into the wounds and there is no way that the PC-888 represents acceptable value for money. While we do appreciate the costs associated with doing a limited production run are high and have to be passed off somewhere, now is probably not the time to expect customers to pay through the nose for something that's fairly average in some respects.

But for those who’ve been hooked by the unique design and look of the PC-888, the crazy price won’t matter too much. For your ludicrously huge investment you’re getting a case that only a handful of other users around the world will ever have and in a world where individuality is so precious, for some that’s worth the price.

For all its faults and mental price tag though, the PC-888 does have some redeeming features. The blue anodised aluminium really is a wonderful thing and the whole case is very well put together and solid, a real return to what we expect from a Lian Li chassis after some recent disappointing offerings. There are also plenty of small touches to make you feel a little better about your massive purchase, with the colour co-ordinated hard drive handles, inbuilt card reader and excellent fan controller all working in the PC-888’s favour.

For those of us with our sanity intact though, it’s not enough. In fact, even if the PC-888 was the coolest and easiest case to use in the world it probably still wouldn’t be enough. Paying over £400 for a case is just nuts, even when you discount the fact that it’s outperformed and under featured in comparison to other premium cases like the awesome Cooler Master ATCS 840.

While we appreciate the exclusivity involved in its ownership there’s few or none of the benefits you’d expect from a high cost exclusive purchase. Stay in a five-star hotel and you’ll get five-star service. Buy a Lamborghini and you’ll get a super car arguably worthy of the price tag. Buy the PC-888 and you’ll get a decent chassis that, underneath the unique design and blue aluminium, is no better than a much more affordable case.

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• 9/10

• Ease of Use
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• 4/10

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• 7/10

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• 2/10

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Score Guide