Lian Li PC-P50 Review

Item: Lian Li PC-P50 Review
Author: Mark Mackay

Written by Mark Mackay

May 29, 2009 | 09:56

Tags: #aluminium #aluminium-case #atx #pc-case

Companies: #lian-li

Results Analysis

When you test the thermal performance of lots of PC cases you start to get a feel for how a case will perform when you run it through the gauntlet. Although the PC-P50 has two oversized 140mm exhaust fans on the roof, we were unconvinced that the single 120mm intake was going to give the airflow enough beans to put the chassis at the top of our graphs.

Initially though it looked as though like we might be proved wrong. Starting with the idle temperatures, Lian Li’s aluminium beast was in the top group in terms of CPU cooling, holding a CPU delta T of 8°C - similar performance to Cooler Master’s excellent HAF 932 case. However, starting up Prime95 to put the CPU under heavy load and cracks started to appear in the surface of Lian Li's anodised aluminium effort (metaphorically speaking that is). Although a CPU delta T of 24°C is respectable, it puts the Lian Li in the middle of the 14 other cases on comparison. With another couple of 120mm intake fans, it may have been somewhere closer to the top.

The chassis did pull a few points back with the GPU under load however. With FutureMark’s 3DMark 06 working the poor little Radeon HD 3850 into a frenzy, the PC-P50 kept the GPU at a respectable 33°C above ambient temperature. While this was beaten by a full 5°C by the Antec Nine Hundred Two with the fan speeds turned up, it was still ahead of most of the other cases including many with side panel fans providing direct airflow over the graphics card. Clearly, the two 140mm exhaust fans are a highly effective means of exhaust.

Value and Final Thoughts

The most obvious rival for the PC-P50 to pin down to the count of three, is the Antec Nine Hundred Two. The tricky thing is though that the heavyweight Antec is steel, a cheaper material than the luscious aluminium of the Lian Li. This is likely to be the reason that Antec has managed to stuff so many features into the Nine Hundred Two and yet still keep it under the £100 mark. In addition to having more cooling than the Lian Li, the Antec also features independent fan controllers throughout and more options in the way of drive bays. Something else that may factor into your equation is that the Nine Hundred Two has a side panel window and the Lian Li doesn’t.

The Cooler Master HAF 932 is another steel chassis that looks remarkably similar to the Lian Li, costs practically the same and also boasts more cooling that a fish tank full of LN2. Picking between these three cases (the Lian Li, the Antec and the Cooler Master) would be pretty tricky, especially if you weren't ultra fussy about the aesthetics. If you’re in the market for a new case and you’re stuck between these three it will come down to factors such as whether you want more drive bays than the Lian Li offers as standard and whether you want to pimp out the internals to show off your awesome taste and love for LEDs.

If you're looking for out and out performance for your hard earned cash then the Cooler Master and the Antec both have the measure of the Lian Li, something like might be changed if you opt to add in some additional intake fans. However, if you do so, then you're looking at additional cost that needn't have been spent had you not opted for Lian Li.

Considering how feature packed the Lian Li is though, it’s a very reasonable price for a full aluminium chassis and the shiny sheets of metal will appeal to many people. Lian Li has obviously put a lot of thought into the tool less installation process but it's argubale this is simply a case of engineering; at the end of the day, is it really so hard to get out a screw driver? Either way, this is still a solid case at it's heart, offering fine build quality formidable cooling potential and an attractive exterior to complete the package. .