Lian Li PC-9

Performance Analysis

Despite the striking the similarities in layout between the Lian Li PC-9 and our standard testing case, the Lancool K7 (a rebadged Lian Li), the PC-9 is able to provide some very reasonable CPU cooling. CPU Idle and load Delta T values of 11°C and 24°C respectively is a great result for a case with just a single 120mm cooling the core hardware. However, it is still some way off high airflow chassis like the Cooler Master HAF 932 and Thermaltake Spedo. It's clear that the fully ventilated front fascia of the case goes a long way towards supplying a steady stream of cooler air into the case, and the solid CPU temperatures reflect this.

As expected though, the lack of any direct intake fans and the reliance on passive airflow through the highly ventilated front of the case has resulted in some very poor GPU performance, with the GPU load delta T at a whopping 49°C – a full 18°C higher than the top conventional cases. For this reason we’d certainly think twice before fitting a dual GPU setup into the PC-9, especially with the lack of any additional fan mounts.

Pleasingly though the fan noise from the PC-9 is very reasonable even with fan controller set to high. You’ll still know the PC is switched on, but it’s by means intrusive in anyway, which is pretty darn impressive considering the half decent CPU cooling performance. Switching the 120mm fans to low using the PC-9's fan controller drops the noise levels from noticeable to practically inaudible, and while this will obviously have a significant impact on cooling performance, it’s nice to have as an option.

Value

Frankly we were shocked when Lian Li told us the MSRP for the PC-9; £150 is a very large price tag even for a well made premium aluminium chassis, and for the same money you’ve pretty much got your pick of the entire after market case market. Aluminium cases generally occupy the very top of the chassis market, so competition is predictably fierce.

Sadly though the PC-9 isn’t in a very strong position to compete in this price range as it lacks the myriad of features and top end cooling performance you’d expect for a case costing this much. For just £35 more you could grab yourself the superb Cooler Master ATCS 840 (if Cooler Master ever gets round to releasing it in the UK) which while a whole lot bigger than the PC-9, packs a great deal more features and superior build quality.


There’s also the excellent Akasa Omega, also built from brushed aluminium and available for a good £20 less, although you’ll need to fork out for some extra 120mm fans to get the most out of it. Even if you’re absolutely dead set on aluminium Lian Li chassis, there are better options out there, with the awesome Lian Li v1110 available for just a £30 to £35 more. While we appreciate that the pound has weakened recently, the PC-9 really does struggle to justify the £150 Lian Li is asking for it.

Final Thoughts

I must admit to having something of a soft spot for highly compact ATX cases. One of my personal favourites of yesteryear was the Antec LanBoy – a very compact and well built aluminium ATX chassis much in the vein of the PC-9 which had a lot of the features of higher specification chassis, while still being very affordable.

Sadly though, the PC-9 has been a disappointment, and it’s not just the high price that’s put us off. While the all aluminium construction and solid Lian Li build quality is there, aluminium chassis from competing manufacturers like Akasa and Cooler Master have generally better build quality, with more solid construction and thicker panelling.

It’s also very tricky to build a system into the PC-9 thanks to its diminutive chassis size, and Lian Li has made very little effort to improve the situation with no removable motherboard tray and half hearted attempts at cable routing and dust filtering. While the front accessed hot swap hard drive cage is a wonderful little feature that’s been well implemented with the four SATA drive hot swap PCB, it’s the only feature that comes close to setting the PC-9 apart from the competition, with average overall cooling performance from a very limited cooling setup failing to justify the extravagant price tag.

While it’s obvious Lian Li has tried to keep things simple with the PC-9, it ends up feeling more like a chassis designed from a checklist rather than a well thought out product in its own right. Features like cable routing, dust filtering and an adjustable fan controller have been included but are poorly implemented and there’s little of the attention to detail that has so often made Lian Li a first choice for enthusiast cases. With the high price only adding to its woes, the Lian Li PC-9 is a disappointing and unconvincing showing from Lian Li.

• Features
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 6/10

• Build Quality
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

• Ease of Use
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 5/10

• Performance
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 6/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 6/10

Score Guide

*ADDENDUM*

Since publishing the review, Lian Li has informed us that the pricing information for the Lian Li PC-9 we received was inaccurate. The case will actually retail for closer to $190 MSRP (£150). While usually we don't adjust scores after publishing, in this case the score was based on faulty information, and since the chassis is still yet to be launched, we have adjusted the value score. While still expensive, the PC-9 is now much more reasonably priced.