We've been SLAMMED this past week. Check out the YT community page for GN for a preview! Watch our case reviews playlist here: ruclips.net/video/jVcCuvLMb48/видео.html GN Teardown Toolkits now have an arrival date! Back-order now to make sure you get one in the next shipment: store.gamersnexus.net/products/gamersnexus-tear-down-toolkit
I actually beleive Lian Li on this one. Perforated metal, even if you are designing and manufacturing in house, is surprisingly easy to screw up when you start actually producing it. You want at least 40% open area for any mesh design on a computer case. Anything less starts to be a problem. The new design is clearly at least a 10% increase in open area over the old one based on the videos. Fine circle perforated metal usually comes in a 23% open area, a 26% open area, a 40% open area, and a 46% open area. The 46% open area can be pretty flimsy so it makes sense for a computer case to go with the 40%. Edit: Wow, I should have waited to post until actually watching, they totally did go from 23% to 40%. If only lian li and every other RUclipsr who did an earlier review took some dang calipers to it, things would have been fixed way sooner. Honestly, that's what I find incredibly stupid. Check your dang work, that's all I'm asking.
I bought a coaster pack as soon as you announced them in order to support you. I've been using coasters I've stolen from our home collection upstairs to keep hostage in the study, but no more! Sadly I have no current need for the toolkit set and figured it would be against the spirit of so much of what you do to order one when I have no need of it. Keep up all the great work you guys do, it's truly amazing :)
@Matt To an extent this is probably true, but anyone who has any understanding of case design and what's available for perforated metal can immediately pick the correct product faster than any reviewer save for maybe 1-2. Even so, it's super easy for orders to get miscommunicated and the wrong perforation to be used. I've been there personally but actually checked it when recieved so it was easily taken care of. It should have been caught at multiple stages and every freaking reviewer needs to start just using a dang set of calipers. It's just incompetence not to check open area for mesh. Airflow through perforated metal is almost exclusively determined by open area%, not by shape. Just check the percent open area and you can get a very good idea of the performance even before testing.
Channels like this are a blessing to PC builders who expect quality out of the expensive products they buy. I used a Lian Li case for nearly ten years without issue until retiring it a couple months ago for a new build. Lian Li has made solid cases for a few decades, but not without their faults. Thanks for holding their feet to the fire, Steve.
As a PC enthousiast I LOVE this era we living it. So many informations avaible if you just take the time ... It used to be a gamble back in the days, you would buy and pray that the thing does what it says it does or that it would be compatible with your system...
@@Blafard666 Same here! I know man, back in the day, choosing a component felt like such a gamble in some aspects. I mean, there were popular brands, which made it feel like those were of higher quality and more consistent, but that wasn't necessarily the case and there weren't basic written review systems as is now common. I want to add to my original comment that my Lian Li case was fantastic! When I bought it, I was swamped in a market of pre-RGB, but overwhelmed-with-lit-colored-fans cases. I just wanted a case that wasn't obnoxious, and Lian Li cases at the time were the gold standard for well-built, professional-looking cases. After a quick skim just now of their lineup, well, I can't say I'd be able to differentiate them much from any other case-maker nowadays. Hopefully they're honoring their decades long legacy!
To be fair, these are boxes with attachment points. It should be extremely hard to mess that up. One of those things where you thank them for doing it, but they don't get credit and congratulations for making it well. They SHOULD only be berated for messing it up.
I saw their announcement on delay and knew that the whole reason they would go for an expensive retool is because of the watching eyes of outlets like yours. Could you imagine this level of investment happening a few years ago?
@@unitedfools3493 I would actually disagree, I've built in a few Lian Li cases as well as others by Corsair and Fractal and have to say in general they are not known for particularly good build quality that other brands can achieve. The screw issue here is pretty extreme but defects like this are not atypical for their QC, and their panel rigidity is not great either. Where they actually do lead is innovative layouts and modularity stemming from what must be class-leading expertise in rapid tooling deployment, especially in the SFF and MFF markets not only with the O11 mini but also with actual sff cases like the NCASE M1 and the SSUPD Meshilicious. So you're not really paying for a luxury case with Lian Li, you're really paying to be on the forefront of case tech, which at times is both a curse and a blessing. Once commercially successful patterns are established I'd say other brands are definitely the way to go for luxury builds as they can take those concepts and execute them much better.
For anyone concerned about GPU temps, I can confirm that (at least in my situation) sticking a 120mm intake fan on the bottom beneath the GPU improved my 3080ti Trio thermals by 5c. Adding a second 120mm knocked another 2c off. This was running the fans at a slow RPM (~40% pwm 800rpm on T30s). Overall things run slow, even under load, and my CPU and GPU are cool and the system is practically silent.
@@CosmicCleric I have a totally different setup compared to what Steve did here (he just moved the stock fans, whereas I added fans throughout / replaced the stock fans with noctuas). What I have setup is closer to the results shown around @19:00 .. I have 3x120mm on top running low and slow as well.
I have a setup with 7 fans. 3 original(2 front, 1 rear) and 4 Silent Wings(2x 140 bottom, 2x Top 120,140). I can confirm that it's running very, very cool. I run them at 600-1000 rpm and it's a comfortable noise. The GPU is a 2080 Ti X Trio and very silent, the cpu is a 12700K and in games running cool at 50-60W(undervolted by 0.105v).
@@Slyizable I ended up with basically the same configuration, but 120mm on the bottom. The 140mm on the bottoms were to tight of a fit with a full ATX. Awesome case!
You guys did this. I have been in the PC building space since the 90s and was a consumer before that and there was never someone with hard data to hold manufactures accountable before. I loved Byte magazine but they never did the hard work to quantify things like air flow. "Runs hot" was about the extent of it. Same with PCWord, MaximumPC and others. Fans were "loud" or "quiet". No data, just subjectivity. Thank you.
With all the damage GN seems to find from incorrectly tightened screws I find it shocking that these manufacturers don't just use torque drivers. The top quality, non-adjustable, meant for aerospace torque drivers cost $60. Replacing that case for a customer would probably cost Lian Li more than $60.
O11 - Air Mini owner here. I did what Steve recommended. I raised the O11 with wooden legs (that compliment the looks) and in total the case sits about 5cm (2 inches?) above the surface. Configuration: Ryzen 5600 non X XFX RX 6700 XT 16GB Ram DDR4 Tomahawk B550 mobo Arctic E-Sports Duo CPU Cooler GPU Temps are absolutely perfect, the case has 2 X 140MM Artic fans on bottom and 3 x 120 Slim Arctic on top. WARNING: DO NOT try fitting beefy fans on top, the room gets even smaller and varies depending on your Mobo and CPU cooler choice. I recommend Arctic's 120mm Slim fans which fit like a dream. GPU temps are about 30/36-7 degrees on idle/ browsing, watching etc. Basically shivering. And around high 60s - mid 70s (package) on heavy duty load with mid 80s junction temperature. CPU is at about mid 30s on idle/40s when browsing, listening to music, some office related work stuff. Compared to my other Fractal Torrent build, this case is perfect for people looking to occupy least space possible without sacrificing performance and emptying their pockets and able to fit most beefy GPUs and CPU coolers with little effort. Easy to maintain and clean too. Awesome case, only con - the modulation backplates are a bit pain in the ass for fitting the MOBO back I/O plate and depending on your motherboard brand and size the cables for Audio, USB, Power control buttons might be a bit annoying to fit. For the USB ones I recommend those flexible and slim cables that can be found in Amazon. Anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks for your message. I have a question, if you don't mind. Are your botton Arctic fans slim version too? I have read in Lian Li's website that max thickness for bottom fans is 20mm. I currently have a few Arctic P12 that I can re-use, but according to official specs, they're 25mm, so technically not fit for this case. Also, do you have any HDD on your setup? I'm having issues with vibrations on my current case, not sure if there's any kind of anti-vibration mechanism in this case for HDD. Regards.
It turned out to be really interesting, being able to see the comparison between the old and new panels. I'd imagine the lack of GPU temp improvement with the bottom fan might have something do with the restrictive nylon mesh filter in addition to the limited access to air. It would have been cool to see one of the front fans moved to the top, right above the CPU cooler. That would contrast the intended positive pressure setup with a negative setup using the same fans. Comparing negative and positive pressure arrangements, in a case that can sensibly be configured either way with its stock fans, might be something you could delve into in a future video.
For me, O11 Mini was a rare niche product that precisely matched my use (hah) case: after an upgrade, repurposing an older ATX system into a smaller-than-usual box which would fit inside a storage system at home. CoolerMaster's Q500L was a poor option for obvious reasons, and while the original Mini has aesthetics, the Air one adds more flexibility for building similar repurposed systems that could still be of use to people even after their role as the "main" machine has passed, so I definitely see this as a welcome lineup expansion.
Same here, needed to fit my pc to an IKEA TV stand and this case was the only one that would fit! And it looks like it belongs there. The ability to swap the case fans to the bottom was crucial. The front is flush against the wall, so no air coming from there. I think I should add a couple of top fans though, the gpu indeed gets a bit loud when it's running at max speed.
Would love to see "Best case scenario" results, where the configuration of fans is what you think is best for the case and the results of that is compared to the rest of the cases in their best configurations :)
Christopher Flanagan is a solid pc building channel from the UK who does this I’m almost positive he has one up for the air mini, although it might be the original panels But check him out it’s super thorough as well
That would make most sense tbh, as we're comparing case layouts to one another, so using that layout in the most effective way possible (temps & noise wise) is what endusers (us) are going to do anyway. Idealy we would need two "Best case scenario" setup, one with CPU air cooler, one with CPU water AIO, as most builds nowadays use as much one as the other. Every other test (stock & standardized) is honestly too specific and non representative of a real use case to be relevant imo.
@@ClemAparia Yeah, I' m also missing these specific tests. So far the best out of the box airflow for air cooling seems to be the Fractal Torrent, but it offers poor radiator support, so the test with an AIO for CPU should be worse. An O11 on the other hand is mediocre at best out of the box, but if you put a fan everywhere possible it's almost unbeatable. Wish there would be tests that would show this, because I don't give a single fuck about stock cases.
Oh man, I was waiting for this video... Curious how pissed Roman was when this case was released with his name on it, initially. Granted, kudo's to Lian-Li fixing it afterwards!
I’ve had this case for almost a year and really like it. It was my first pc build these are the parts I used : b650ef , 7900x, 7900xtx, rog stix II. Works great!
Hey Steve, are you planning on doing a Phanteks P600S case review? I know it’s an older case but it would be nice to see how the unique mesh compares to things like the P500A, Meshify 2, etc
I forgot about that thing! I would love to see this too, I want to compare it to my P400A, and I'm sure others would too considering it's such a popular case!
I would love to see it, even though i own that case now since it launched. Really a nice case to build in & the thermals seems to be good, i mean my Vega 64 hasn't complained or overheated so far, so i take that as a win
Very interesting info for me, since I'm researching parts for a brand new build. I want to really like this case but have stayed away because of the thermals. Thanks Steve for your being so thorough.
Not sure if you're still looking to buy a case but I'm pretty sure gn had a bit of a mistake here by doing their testing with the case in 5 slot mode while using an atx motherboard. According to lian Lis website, 5 slot mode only supports matx or itx to prevent the gpu from being choked out. Not sure 100% if that will fix the gpu thermals but I'm pretty sure it will and will be buying this case
I would say the optimal air-flow layout for this case would be to remove the bottom dust filter, place some pieces of cardboard underneath the feet to up the bottom mesh clearance from the table from 2mm to 3mm, then simply run with 2 x 140mm fans on the front (intake), 1 x 140mm fan on the bottom (intake), 1 x 140mm fan on the top (exhaust), and 1 x 120mm fan in the rear (exhaust). This will give you a positive pressure setup and remove the bottom air restriction so that your GPU can run much cooler. This should prove to be much better on GPU thermals as well as make the case one of the strongest overall performers in CPU+GPU combined thermals available on the market today, especially considering its slightly smaller form factor. I would imagine in this configuration the performance could get quite close to my 3x 140mm intake Phanteks P500A.
I remember when Lian Li was a meme case designer. Crazy to see them acting better than most case companies when it comes to being proud of their product.
I haven't been around the PC space long enough to remember that, but it's worth noting that Lian Li was always a premium case manufacturer. Only in recent years have they started making more budget oriented cases. It makes sense for a premium brand to show more pride in their product, if you want to call it that.
@@braydenhardman3112 awww man 😂 surely you gotta know about the yacht case? So many crazy designs over the years, the pc 011 designs even has a predecessor pc 010 and pc q37 before debauer got a hold of it. No one talks about those cases actually, I think it's cz they were so niche and expensive.
I'm genuinely impressed that the company decided to do the right thing and eat the cost of retooling, on top of extended delays. Most companies would just shove it out half done and release the corrected panel as some sort of "pro" component upgrade. It warms my heart to see that some people still care about making a high quality product. I haven't used Lian Li products in the past, and I had zero expectations going into this video, but they have earned my respect and I am going to be eyeing them extremely closely for a new build I am working on. Keep up the good work, Lian Li! And kudos for Gamers Nexus for the excellent and complete coverage. It had to be maddening to redo so much testing, but if anyone is going to put in the effort, it's this channel! :)
I would love to see a benchmark of how well dust is kept out with dust filters vs mesh vs passively cooled computers. In a couple of typical environments such as gaming computer in a home on the floor, office etc. Also some more unusual environments would be interesting such as a cnc controller in wood or metal workshop.
YES the old ones DID ship to customers. I picked one up in Tokyo Japan over a month now. NO the store will not take it back i hope lian li can send me replacements :)
You know, I miss the full aluminum Lian Li cases of the old, those cost about 200-300 dollars if you account for inflation, but Lian Li managed to be completely mainstream now, instead of being a bit of a boutique item just 5 years ago. However, this also means the company has a lot of revenue and it won't go the same way Caselabs did.
CaseLabs is making a come back!! Check out GN's video on it! I can't wait to *finally* get my hands on one... don't even care how much it costs, it *will* be mine. :)
The main purpose of dual chamber is that you can add direct airflow for the GPU. What would the temps be with two bottom, two front and 1 back fan with feet raised additional 5cm with four blocks of wood worth 1$?
My bet is that raising the case wouldn't lower the GPU temperature almost at all (because there's still enough room between the bottom of the case and the table for the air to flow relatively unrestricted) but it would be an interesting experiment, and I could be wrong. I'm a little surprised that Steve didn't test that, as it would have been an easy test to do, and the matter clearly bothered him somewhat.
One thing I would like as an additional test is that you mentioned if the case legs had been longer, it might have been better. So as an additional test, put it under pieces of wood increasing it to see what the length of the case legs should be. It might make them consider to change that aspect of the case, or change it in a future case.
It looks designed to trap every single dust particle while sounding like a dentist's drill, with a tiny whiney fan for exhaust. Plus, 2 slot, 180mm card max, with no airflow will make it less than ideal for gaming builds. It looks like a decent lan party / esports rig, otherwise, it's all form over function.
I have a Lian Li Lancool 2 Mesh Performance case I got off of the chart you guys use. The holes it has are indeed circular lol. I'd bet a testicle that someone in Lian Li's supply chain did notice the defect but that by the time they got word of it it was too late to have it corrected so they stayed quiet and hoped for the best. Then quality control found out, sent it up the chain, found the cause, and are now fixing it before it gets out.
i'd still like to see a review of the o11 D mini just to get a true thermal comparison. y'all are honestly the only channel i trust with thermals. would be interesting once the o11 Evo comes out to do a o11 round up and put all version against one another
Micro-atx seems to be the sweet spot for this case. Compared to something like a Fractal Define C Mini or Meshify Mini C(both dedicated matx cases with five slots) it's pretty much the same length and height, only wider and with more airflow/cooling possibilities. Would love to see some matx case recommendations from Gamers Nexus.
Steve, I don't kow if you ever read these, but I have a request! I'd be really curious to know how this case would do in a best case scenario. Like, you've got standardized testing, and I love that! But if **I** were to buy this case I'd be populating every fan slot, trying different airflow configurations, and putting it on top of some books to get better ventilation. Your testing is perfect for answering the question "Is this case worth the price," but some of us want to see what the absolute best possible performance looks like.... Any chance we could get a "best case scenario" test added to the lineups?
I really enjoy building and rearranging components in my O11 dynamic. One of the weak points are the rubber wire channels which will break and tear over time. Lian Li does not offer replacements for these rubber channels (I've tried many times), so be careful with them!
Want a tip for the future on that? Something that can do wonders for the long term, is to treat the rubber gaskets with some Silicon Lubricant. It keeps the rubber slippery and prevents it from drying out over time, reducing the likelihood of it breaking and tearing. I do this all the time to keep my assortment of timing belts in good condition while in storage. Do mind to only use Silicon. Silicon doesn't react with the rubber and forms a protective layer, while petroleum based (mineral) oil likes to penetrate and react, slowly damaging it over time.
I have the D-Mini and it gets good temps. It's custom looped and there is 2 intake fans at the back behind the EK-Quantum Kinetic FLT 240 reservoir and three on the bottom. Great video by the way thanks.
this channel deserves more subs. Like there's not a single thing left out in any of his experiments on anything. The methodology is super professional, 0 bias.
Definitely. But keep in mind "gamers" are, mostly, young people. The noisy (Linus) and silly (Jay) videos are more appealing to this demographic, even if a lot of informations are lost in the process...
@@Blafard666 Yeah. Im a 20 y/o gamer but I don't like the silliness. Jay is actually cool because it's almost dad/pc jokes but linus is too corny. When he starts mentioning "rgb and fps" but in a hyperbolic manner, I just cringe. Don't get me wrong I like rgb and the pc that I'll build soon will have a lot of rgb, but when they just say it like that it's a cringy moment
I wish Lian Li would change the grills like the h510 flows holes and add a fine mesh filters and making it a little bigger all around to fit a 360 AIO or large air cooler to future proof it for upcoming hotter CPU's and GPU's. Changing the front brackets would also help and maybe making it to fit 3 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm fans would be nice to easier fit a AIO on bottom.
Really sad to see the rather high temps on the GPU in this one. The O11Air Mini would have easily been my new favourite case if this wouldn't have been the 'case'. Really love the rather unique and efficient design that rather deviates from most mid-tower cases like a Lian-Li Lancool II Mesh (which I happily own), especially with the PSU and HDD bays placed behind the motherboard-tray instead of restricitng potential airflow like with the modular Lancool II Mesh' HDD bay, as well as the smaller height of the overall chassis.
I wonder if the feet of any of the larger O11's can fit on the Air Mini. That + some 15mm fans (I assume 25mm is going to be too thick in many builds) would probably sort GPU temps out. The Air Mini I think could be interesting in a side mount 240mm radiator on intake, roof intake, front intake, bottom intake, and rear exhaust, creating a massive pressure differential that sucks forward across the components and out. Of course, we are talking about 6 or so fans to do so.
Hi Steve, I have to say I love the review process of this channel, particularly the cases, btw have you seen the raidmax x616? it has 2 200mm rgb fans included and it cost 70 usd on amazon right now.
Check out this email from Lian Lie regarding my 011 air mini order from last week. Dear Customer, First of all, I’d like to thank you for choosing Lian Li O11Air Mini. As you might heard that we improved the ventilation before we launched the case. However, due to warehouse management error, your case was shipped without upgrade. We are deeply sorry about this mistake and will provide you a set of side/ front/ top panels for free, or you can choose to return the case for a fully refund. The replacement is expected to ship within 3 weeks. Without the replacement, the case still offers a high performance. Please use it without any concern. Best regards, Jameson Chen / Brand Director of Lian Li Apparently this is a common thing happening according to the Lian Li subreddit.
Just got mine today! So far it seems freaking sweet! I can't build in it yet, as I don't have my new MOBO or DDR5 ram yet, but I have everything else! Im so excited! I had one problem with it. The power button was sticking. I was able to get it to stop doing that by taking off the cover on the I/O panel and gently rocking the switch back and forth a little bit and pressing it at different angles. Now it pops up every time. Must have had some plastic burrs that needed to be worn off. Other than that, it feels really high quality!
I finished my build in this case the other day! It's so awesome! It can be a little harder to get things in there than bigger case, but it's not too bad, and once you do it's totally worth it! Enjoy guys!
@@BluesElwoo2 Yeah of course its a bit harder to get the components in but the smaller als also thicker look is so priceless. I hope it will be shipped next week. As I said I ordered it directly when it was available but today it again says „available 30th december 2021“. I hope it was not a technical issue yesterday when it said it was available ehhh
Managed to get this case just after release, no regrets! 280mm h115 elite calpex keeps my 12600k between 27-35 degrees idle/light use and under max load I have yet to hit 60 degrees (celcius). Watching this review now after recommending the case to a friend made me realise why my gpu is so hot though. I'll raise the feet and hopefully drop the temps by a few degrees. Otherwise build quality is great, had no issues there and perfect for atx boards. Being able to fit an atx psu in this day and age is a big plus too. Would highly recommend!
Adding 1/2 inch rubber feet is simple and relatively inexpensive. I did it for my original 011D but I didn't do any before/after testing. It just seemed to make sense when installing intake fans on the bottom. It would definitely work for the Air Mini.
Just got one of these cases to do a new build recently (for $60). I'm doing a full water cooled build and with just a little fiddling I am putting in 2x 280mm x 30mm rads and one 240mm x 45mm rad. It only took a small amount of cutting in the front but I am putting one of the 280mm x 30mm rads in the front actually in the front with the fans behind inside the case. If Lian Li had made the front just slightly larger (maybe 2mm wider) it would have made it so the 280mm rads would fit easily. Little gripe from me, I really wish they would have lined up the fan/rad slots on top/front/bottom, this would have made for a little cleaner look with water cooling loops, you could have lined up the ports in rads to do some very tubeless runs between them, or at the least had slightly better looking lines.
I am amazed you got a great shot with your cat standing still at 5:38 Maybe coincidence but this last year alone have had a lot of packages for food and gadget's/mail where products are tightly sealed or glued. So not as surprised with the screws breaking. Other wise great review, and impressive dual chambered, feature rich case!
Ive liturally just finished building my o11 mini glass pc build D: My biggest grip was the SF power supply and yeah its a little bigger than normal mini atx, but i still like this case.
Love the review I have a standard 011 with an atx setup and an aio on a 5600x I’m considering switching to this case with an air cooler The gpu temps suck it looks like, but I’m thinking, as you said, might be a case where you can fix that simply by adding small lifts to the legs (i think i found a use for nzxt “pucks”!!)
These front panel changes makes me *VERY* aware of how important the design of the front panel is for intake fan airflow. I never would have assumed it would be so significant. It also makes me concerned that my Rosewill Magnetar case which has a double layer mesh front is significantly restricting air flow of the 3 intake fans. :/
For my 011 Mini, I built myself a small rolling cart with a cutout on the bottom, locking castors, and panted it black. It gives better air flow and makes the pc much easier to work on since I can spin it around easy. I can make you one so you can test it 😏
I’ve had this case for a year and it’s been flawless. Fits my EATX motherboard with 7950X + RTX 4090FE. Slow-moving Noctua fans and careful tuning of voltages and fan curves means the PC runs cool and silent even under sustained full load. Absolutely amazing. Thanks Lian Li and thanks Steve.
Built in this, used a B650 MATX with a 7800X3D and a Gigabyte Windforce 7900 GRE. My thought, this case is begging you to prioritize GPU cooling by putting the case on an open frame cart that elevates the bottom intake. I kept the stock fans as is, put two 140mm pure wings 3 in the bottom as intake and put a 280mm pure loop 2 in the top as exhaust. I'm probably trading a couple degrees of CPU temp for a very cool, very quiet GPU. I can't seem to run a synthetic load that gets the GPU loading more than 45 above ambient. The CPU loads to about 79 C in synthetic load tests, so pretty good given the 280mm AIO and not feeding it air from outside the case. To me, I think this is how this works best, forget the ATX 7 slot mode, drop the board to give you roof space, do a standard thickness 280mm AIO in exhaust to prioritize GPU cooling. Get an open frame cart, get some nice cool intake on that GPU. The foot height was a massive oversight in an otherwise brilliant design. Super easy to build in and you can drive a fantastic result if you plan your build out.
I understand GN test cases with whatever fans provided by the manufacturer to keep a baseline but everyone who buys the 011 Mini Air will most likely populate all the fan slots so most of the thermal benchmarking wouldn't apply to the end-user result. I have the original 011D Mini and my CPU temps usually hover around 45c and GPU at around 47c (like watching GN on youtube). This is with the front glass panel and double stacking mesh filters but with all fan slots populated.
You've affected positive change for consumers, and provided useful feedback and information to inform our purchase. You are the literal definition and epitome of a sales consultant.
Thanks for the review. Just finished assembling a build with this case. If I could have changed anything, I would have used a micro ATX board rather than full ATX. Using a MSI Z670 Tomahawk with Arctic Freezer II 240, fitment can be a little complicated. The AOI interfered with the TridentZ Neo RAM. This could be solved with the RB-001x offset brackets, but they were not in stock. 140 fans in the top interfere with the mobo VRM heatsink. One 140 can be installed on top with this board. You could use 120s in the top. So ended up removing the stock 140 front fans, put one on top and one on the bottom and AOI on the front. I really like this case, but as mentioned in the review you have to choose parts carefully. Use a micro ATX or smaller. A 240 AOI provides the most mounting flexibility, but if going for front mount, might as well go with a 280. I wasn't interested in using the side mount for AOI, just seems weird to me. ;-)
I just bought this case and the GPU thermals are already better than they were in my old case. I mounted my radiator at the top as an exhaust and I have 1 other exhaust fan in the back, and I have 2 fans at the front and 2 more at the bottom mounted as intakes. My GPU went from nearly reaching 90° to barely even reaching 70°. I think I made a very good choice with this case.
I don't consider my O11 Mini as an ITX case, but as a reasonably small chassis for whatever Mobo I have now, and whatever I'll be upgrading to in the foreseeable future. This could be ITX, mATX or full ATX, whatever will be the most efficient when it comes out. As for stock cooling charts, I don't believe many enthousiasts like us will just use the stock fans. I bought two Arctic P12 value packs and with the 10 fans running as low as 35% or 750rpm (barely audible) the case is perfectly cool. Stock fans to me are just an unnecessary price increase only good for stock benchmarks.
Great review. I was really excited about this case and I'm glad to hear about the GPU thermals ahead of time. Thanks for all your hard work! I would also love to a see an updated recommended build from you guys. Maybe from each of you and you could go though some of the smaller details other people leave out. I know your more a news outlet but I trust you guys more than most people I know. Never Change :)
I probably would have bought this case a few months ago when i moved to itx if the original model had supported full size psus. I have a nice seasonic unit and didnt want to have to compromise with a sfx unit. I ended up with the thermaltake core p1. Keep the awesome vidoes up steve.
question. how big of a difference do you think it would make if you 3D printed new feet for the case and replaced the stock feet to raise the case up to get better GPU results. I think it could be an interesting thing to check out in another peace maybe?
Maybe my HAF X has too many problems but you can't really beat having 4x 230mm fans + 2x 140mm intake and 1x 140mm exhaust. That single exhaust fan I had to take it to 60% power because all the pressure made it spin out of its rpms. Yes, it's loud but I like that no gpu nor cpu ever got above 69C since 2011.
Still loving my Lian Li Lancool II Mesh. "Upgraded" my Lancool II with the mesh panels. O11 Mini is on my short list for my next build. GN bros! I wanna buy a hoodie and a teardown crystal cube... When will they be in stock?! Glad I got in on the coasters! They're sweet!
Would a less wide, side exhaust GPU do better in this case Steve? Since your MSI card has the heatsink fins going in the length axis, it seems the front fan just pushes hot air back in?
I've got a Liancool mesh case. Only issues I have with it are that the hard drive bays vibrate REALLY bad with an HDD, causing some unholy noises, and that the cable side is a bit lacking in space for amateur or lazy attempts at cable management, which isn't helped by that side also being a tempered glass panel with magnetic locking, meaning that unlike other cases, you can't just use the side panel to compress things in and be fine so long as it's not pinched. I guess maybe the lack of hard drive activity light could be considered a problem? But then, the bays vibrate loud enough to not be an issue there, so it's whatever. It isn't really too AIO/watercool friendly if you are trying to use a 360mm rad, either. But most users don't NEED a 360mm rad anyway, and can more than get away with a 240mm, which fits fine in the case as a top mounted one.
Any chance we could see cases with all available fan slots filled, noise normalised. For me the standardised fan test and stock fan test don't represent anything close to the cooling capabilities.
the reality is the vast majority of people just buy a case throw the system in it and call it a day.. you can't account for every possible setup so if you're going to be the 1% that actually fills every slot(which you really shouldn't be doing anyways) then you need to determine that on your own.
Was looking at this case for a build for my brother, 5900x/X570/RTX3090 and the GN review scared me.....until I remembered that for some reason GN only test with the fans supplied with any given case. GPU temps and the case feet height were an issue.....because GN were basically relying on passive airflow to the GPU from the bottom vents...cause Lian Li don't supply fans with the case for this area. Sure GN moved one of the supplied fans from the front to the bottom to test but that results in not much improvement because now you're relying on passive intake from the front. Supply your own fans for the bottom intakes aimed at the GPU which most of us enthusiast builders would do anyway and there is nothing wrong with GPU thermals in this case. TBH I think GN are a bit anal in this regard where they will only test with the supplied fans and potentially criticise a case for poor thermals when in fact the case might have great thermals if you add fans to the locations that were obviously designed for them. Sure, criticise them for poor value, or cost cutting or penny pinching by the manufacturer for not supplying fans for all locations. However, even then an argument could be made that many/most of us would want to pick and choose our own fans anyway, assuming the supplied fans would be cheap/not a design we like. ie. I'd rather the case be $40 cheaper with no supplied fans and I supply my own fancy RGB fans, than pay $40 more for the case with a full complement of supplied fans....that I'll take out straight away and dump in a drawer for the next 5 years. To conclude. I've no fear for GPU temps with this case, will order in the next few days, when it arrives I'll dump the Lian Li supplied fans in a drawer and fill 'er up with some Corsair QL120's and QL140's.
Hey Steve, could we get a video / review or just your general thoughts going over two of the test benches that are commonly used and I believe you have...that being the Open Test Bench and the Top Deck Tech Station. I've been back and forth between both for a fun open air gaming rig, and would be curious to hear your take on both as someone who has experience.
I wonder if placing it on its side (glass side up) would help. Stick some sub woofer sticky legs too it or something similar for a stand off. Great review as always GN, the new coasters rock BTW using mine daily.
That NZXT H510 Flow is based on all the same tooling as their S340 from 2014. Its over 7 years old now and despite all the refreshes of the base design; it still only has one top fan mount. Without the ability to mount a 240/280 radiator in an exhaust position so it doesn't compromise air intake for other components, then it continues to be a failure in my opinion. The S340 I used, even without the restrictive front panel, was genuinely awful for cooling. The only good thing about the H510 Flow is that you can buy it for as little as £75 a few months after release...
I had a preorder on the O11 mini in white and I’ve had so many issues with the case fitment and screws being stripped out of holes as soon as you unscrew them, making them useless and on. I love the look of the case and it just fits 360mm radiators but I wish I didn’t preorder it because I feel like I got a learning curve case
Great review, but I’m really surprised that you didn’t elevate the case to validate your assumptions that the short feet were the cause of higher GPU thermals. It’s a safe assumption, but also an easy one to quantify. With easy access to 3D printers these days buyers can remedy this issue, but it would be good to have outlets such as GN validate these mods.
Dang, I bought a corsair 280x for my next MATX computer build and I just saw this case the other day. Now I'm tempted to get this case as well to use for the time being as I'm planning on modifying the 280x to remove & replace the front & top glass panels to improve airflow. The fact that this case supports vertical GPU mount option with additional purchase of vertical GPU bracket makes it very very tempting. Decisions, Decisions... At least the Corsair 280x was pretty much free as I bought it with bitcoins mined with my old gpu when not gaming (minus the cheap power costs)
Curious how the vertical mount GPU would perform thermally. In horizontal mode I assume the hot air is being blown straight onto the glass and probably getting recirculated into the GPU. I'm guessing a vertical mount would allow more movement of air from both the bottom and front fan intakes.
The O11 dynamic had that issue, vertically mounting my GPU helped dramatically. The o11 mini is wider on the motherboard side, so it probably wouldn't benefit as much from swapping to a vertical mount, but it still may make a difference.
I think I got your missing captive thumb screw in my lancool 215 case a month ago. When opening the box to check it out before the delivery driver left a captive screw fell out. I've checked the manual and schematic and can't for the life of me find anywhere it belongs so....
Not a fan of this case, tbh. The idea of the 011 Mini was the dual glass to showcase the build, but this new version is just a regular case that has been sat on to make it wider. I would still love to see if you can get a hold of the Lancool 205 Mesh to review; it's another well built Lian Li case, but with included rgb fans, great airflow, and a reasonable price.
The 205 mesh has dropped in price in the last month too - I bought one for a mid-tier design work pc for 55 gbp a couple of weeks ago and it's at least anecdotally a huuuuge improvement over the msi case I had. The space for cable management around the back leaves a bit to be desired though.
gpu temps will be nothing until we put 2xfans at the bottom, with 2x fans intake (stock 140 fans) 2x bottom , 2x top exhaust, and 1x side exhaust, this case will be one of the best cases in gpu temps so far
I like the look of this case. But the GPU temps is kind of off putting. Would an easy fix really just be raising the feet a little and add intake fans at the bottom and extra exhaust fans on the sides. Or maybe extra exhaust fans at the top? That would be a lot of money on extra fans. I don't really know what the best fan configuration would be.
Tiny feedback: could you use the greek letter for delta over ambient in the charts? (ΔT instead of dT) Wouldn't want anyone thinking it's a derivative.
I keep looking at Lian Li's case because I really like the design of putting a HDD cage and PSU in a separate chamber, but also want at most an mATX-sized case. I don't think they really understand what people expect out of "mini" branded cases if they're going to make something that's almost as large as a full ATX case.
I wonder what GPU temps would be like if there was 280mm rad in the front pulling air in, 2x140mm fans at the bottom pulling air inside the case and then 2x140mm fan or 3x120 fans + back fan blowing air out.
H510 Flow is going around 69 bucks in my country at the moment making it one of the cheapest good cases. Considering all your complaints were about the price, is it ok if I buy the h510 flow?
I am astonished that the smallest modern mid tower case (or one of the smallest) seems to be the only one (aside from Fractal Design ones) that supports more than 2 HDDs, or it's at least in the the 5% of modern cases that do.
We've been SLAMMED this past week. Check out the YT community page for GN for a preview!
Watch our case reviews playlist here: ruclips.net/video/jVcCuvLMb48/видео.html
GN Teardown Toolkits now have an arrival date! Back-order now to make sure you get one in the next shipment: store.gamersnexus.net/products/gamersnexus-tear-down-toolkit
I actually beleive Lian Li on this one. Perforated metal, even if you are designing and manufacturing in house, is surprisingly easy to screw up when you start actually producing it. You want at least 40% open area for any mesh design on a computer case. Anything less starts to be a problem. The new design is clearly at least a 10% increase in open area over the old one based on the videos. Fine circle perforated metal usually comes in a 23% open area, a 26% open area, a 40% open area, and a 46% open area. The 46% open area can be pretty flimsy so it makes sense for a computer case to go with the 40%.
Edit: Wow, I should have waited to post until actually watching, they totally did go from 23% to 40%. If only lian li and every other RUclipsr who did an earlier review took some dang calipers to it, things would have been fixed way sooner. Honestly, that's what I find incredibly stupid. Check your dang work, that's all I'm asking.
I bought a coaster pack as soon as you announced them in order to support you. I've been using coasters I've stolen from our home collection upstairs to keep hostage in the study, but no more! Sadly I have no current need for the toolkit set and figured it would be against the spirit of so much of what you do to order one when I have no need of it. Keep up all the great work you guys do, it's truly amazing :)
@Matt To an extent this is probably true, but anyone who has any understanding of case design and what's available for perforated metal can immediately pick the correct product faster than any reviewer save for maybe 1-2. Even so, it's super easy for orders to get miscommunicated and the wrong perforation to be used. I've been there personally but actually checked it when recieved so it was easily taken care of. It should have been caught at multiple stages and every freaking reviewer needs to start just using a dang set of calipers. It's just incompetence not to check open area for mesh. Airflow through perforated metal is almost exclusively determined by open area%, not by shape. Just check the percent open area and you can get a very good idea of the performance even before testing.
This case needs high-pressure bottom intake fans for the GPU. I would love to see a "recommended fan configuration" section in your excellent reviews.
It's because you posted a picture of the giant crate of cash Nvidia sent you
Channels like this are a blessing to PC builders who expect quality out of the expensive products they buy. I used a Lian Li case for nearly ten years without issue until retiring it a couple months ago for a new build. Lian Li has made solid cases for a few decades, but not without their faults. Thanks for holding their feet to the fire, Steve.
As a PC enthousiast I LOVE this era we living it. So many informations avaible if you just take the time ... It used to be a gamble back in the days, you would buy and pray that the thing does what it says it does or that it would be compatible with your system...
@@Blafard666 Same here! I know man, back in the day, choosing a component felt like such a gamble in some aspects. I mean, there were popular brands, which made it feel like those were of higher quality and more consistent, but that wasn't necessarily the case and there weren't basic written review systems as is now common. I want to add to my original comment that my Lian Li case was fantastic! When I bought it, I was swamped in a market of pre-RGB, but overwhelmed-with-lit-colored-fans cases. I just wanted a case that wasn't obnoxious, and Lian Li cases at the time were the gold standard for well-built, professional-looking cases. After a quick skim just now of their lineup, well, I can't say I'd be able to differentiate them much from any other case-maker nowadays. Hopefully they're honoring their decades long legacy!
@@syntaxoid lian li cases are still mostly RGB-less .. the exception being the partnership cases they have
To be fair, these are boxes with attachment points. It should be extremely hard to mess that up. One of those things where you thank them for doing it, but they don't get credit and congratulations for making it well. They SHOULD only be berated for messing it up.
Mmm
feet
*runs away from the picketers*
I saw their announcement on delay and knew that the whole reason they would go for an expensive retool is because of the watching eyes of outlets like yours. Could you imagine this level of investment happening a few years ago?
Possibly but Lian Li have always been at the quality end of the market so it's not like it's unusual.
@@unitedfools3493 I would actually disagree, I've built in a few Lian Li cases as well as others by Corsair and Fractal and have to say in general they are not known for particularly good build quality that other brands can achieve. The screw issue here is pretty extreme but defects like this are not atypical for their QC, and their panel rigidity is not great either. Where they actually do lead is innovative layouts and modularity stemming from what must be class-leading expertise in rapid tooling deployment, especially in the SFF and MFF markets not only with the O11 mini but also with actual sff cases like the NCASE M1 and the SSUPD Meshilicious. So you're not really paying for a luxury case with Lian Li, you're really paying to be on the forefront of case tech, which at times is both a curse and a blessing. Once commercially successful patterns are established I'd say other brands are definitely the way to go for luxury builds as they can take those concepts and execute them much better.
@@katherinesilens2994 Unfortunately, in todays world of planned obsolescence, the quality of their cases has gone down dramatically, yeah.
@@unitedfools3493 your user name is fucking hilarious i love it hahahahaha
That´s not Corsair ....
For anyone concerned about GPU temps, I can confirm that (at least in my situation) sticking a 120mm intake fan on the bottom beneath the GPU improved my 3080ti Trio thermals by 5c. Adding a second 120mm knocked another 2c off. This was running the fans at a slow RPM (~40% pwm 800rpm on T30s). Overall things run slow, even under load, and my CPU and GPU are cool and the system is practically silent.
Does what you are saying conflict with what Steve states @ 16:14 ?
Or were you speaking in addition(al fans) to what Steve used for the test?
@@CosmicCleric I have a totally different setup compared to what Steve did here (he just moved the stock fans, whereas I added fans throughout / replaced the stock fans with noctuas). What I have setup is closer to the results shown around @19:00 .. I have 3x120mm on top running low and slow as well.
Good to hear! Just got this case.
I have a setup with 7 fans.
3 original(2 front, 1 rear) and 4 Silent Wings(2x 140 bottom, 2x Top 120,140).
I can confirm that it's running very, very cool. I run them at 600-1000 rpm and it's a comfortable noise. The GPU is a 2080 Ti X Trio and very silent, the cpu is a 12700K and in games running cool at 50-60W(undervolted by 0.105v).
@@Slyizable I ended up with basically the same configuration, but 120mm on the bottom. The 140mm on the bottoms were to tight of a fit with a full ATX. Awesome case!
You guys did this. I have been in the PC building space since the 90s and was a consumer before that and there was never someone with hard data to hold manufactures accountable before. I loved Byte magazine but they never did the hard work to quantify things like air flow. "Runs hot" was about the extent of it. Same with PCWord, MaximumPC and others. Fans were "loud" or "quiet". No data, just subjectivity.
Thank you.
With all the damage GN seems to find from incorrectly tightened screws I find it shocking that these manufacturers don't just use torque drivers. The top quality, non-adjustable, meant for aerospace torque drivers cost $60. Replacing that case for a customer would probably cost Lian Li more than $60.
O11 - Air Mini owner here. I did what Steve recommended. I raised the O11 with wooden legs (that compliment the looks) and in total the case sits about 5cm (2 inches?) above the surface.
Configuration:
Ryzen 5600 non X
XFX RX 6700 XT
16GB Ram DDR4
Tomahawk B550 mobo
Arctic E-Sports Duo CPU Cooler
GPU Temps are absolutely perfect, the case has 2 X 140MM Artic fans on bottom and 3 x 120 Slim Arctic on top.
WARNING: DO NOT try fitting beefy fans on top, the room gets even smaller and varies depending on your Mobo and CPU cooler choice. I recommend Arctic's 120mm Slim fans which fit like a dream.
GPU temps are about 30/36-7 degrees on idle/ browsing, watching etc. Basically shivering. And around high 60s - mid 70s (package) on heavy duty load with mid 80s junction temperature.
CPU is at about mid 30s on idle/40s when browsing, listening to music, some office related work stuff. Compared to my other Fractal Torrent build, this case is perfect for people looking to occupy least space possible without sacrificing performance and emptying their pockets and able to fit most beefy GPUs and CPU coolers with little effort. Easy to maintain and clean too.
Awesome case, only con - the modulation backplates are a bit pain in the ass for fitting the MOBO back I/O plate and depending on your motherboard brand and size the cables for Audio, USB, Power control buttons might be a bit annoying to fit. For the USB ones I recommend those flexible and slim cables that can be found in Amazon.
Anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks for your message. I have a question, if you don't mind. Are your botton Arctic fans slim version too? I have read in Lian Li's website that max thickness for bottom fans is 20mm. I currently have a few Arctic P12 that I can re-use, but according to official specs, they're 25mm, so technically not fit for this case. Also, do you have any HDD on your setup? I'm having issues with vibrations on my current case, not sure if there's any kind of anti-vibration mechanism in this case for HDD. Regards.
Where did you get the wooden legs?
It turned out to be really interesting, being able to see the comparison between the old and new panels. I'd imagine the lack of GPU temp improvement with the bottom fan might have something do with the restrictive nylon mesh filter in addition to the limited access to air. It would have been cool to see one of the front fans moved to the top, right above the CPU cooler. That would contrast the intended positive pressure setup with a negative setup using the same fans. Comparing negative and positive pressure arrangements, in a case that can sensibly be configured either way with its stock fans, might be something you could delve into in a future video.
For me, O11 Mini was a rare niche product that precisely matched my use (hah) case: after an upgrade, repurposing an older ATX system into a smaller-than-usual box which would fit inside a storage system at home. CoolerMaster's Q500L was a poor option for obvious reasons, and while the original Mini has aesthetics, the Air one adds more flexibility for building similar repurposed systems that could still be of use to people even after their role as the "main" machine has passed, so I definitely see this as a welcome lineup expansion.
Me, looking for a small case that can fit an old Optiplex motherboard for my (future) NAS build.
@@ArchusKanzaki Seems interesting
Same here, needed to fit my pc to an IKEA TV stand and this case was the only one that would fit! And it looks like it belongs there. The ability to swap the case fans to the bottom was crucial. The front is flush against the wall, so no air coming from there. I think I should add a couple of top fans though, the gpu indeed gets a bit loud when it's running at max speed.
Would love to see "Best case scenario" results, where the configuration of fans is what you think is best for the case and the results of that is compared to the rest of the cases in their best configurations :)
Christopher Flanagan is a solid pc building channel from the UK who does this
I’m almost positive he has one up for the air mini, although it might be the original panels
But check him out it’s super thorough as well
That would make most sense tbh, as we're comparing case layouts to one another, so using that layout in the most effective way possible (temps & noise wise) is what endusers (us) are going to do anyway.
Idealy we would need two "Best case scenario" setup, one with CPU air cooler, one with CPU water AIO, as most builds nowadays use as much one as the other.
Every other test (stock & standardized) is honestly too specific and non representative of a real use case to be relevant imo.
@@mongoosemcmongoose2786 Thanks for the recommendation! :)
@@ClemAparia Couldn't have Sait it better myself :)
@@ClemAparia Yeah, I' m also missing these specific tests. So far the best out of the box airflow for air cooling seems to be the Fractal Torrent, but it offers poor radiator support, so the test with an AIO for CPU should be worse. An O11 on the other hand is mediocre at best out of the box, but if you put a fan everywhere possible it's almost unbeatable. Wish there would be tests that would show this, because I don't give a single fuck about stock cases.
Oh man, I was waiting for this video... Curious how pissed Roman was when this case was released with his name on it, initially. Granted, kudo's to Lian-Li fixing it afterwards!
I’ve had this case for almost a year and really like it. It was my first pc build these are the parts I used : b650ef , 7900x, 7900xtx, rog stix II. Works great!
Hey Steve, are you planning on doing a Phanteks P600S case review? I know it’s an older case but it would be nice to see how the unique mesh compares to things like the P500A, Meshify 2, etc
I'd like to see it too!
I forgot about that thing! I would love to see this too, I want to compare it to my P400A, and I'm sure others would too considering it's such a popular case!
I'd love to see it as well! I actually went with the p600s over the p500a and would be very interested to see the comparison.
Honestly, I think the p600s without the front and top plate is almost equivalent to the p500a.
I would love to see it, even though i own that case now since it launched. Really a nice case to build in & the thermals seems to be good, i mean my Vega 64 hasn't complained or overheated so far, so i take that as a win
Very interesting info for me, since I'm researching parts for a brand new build. I want to really like this case but have stayed away because of the thermals. Thanks Steve for your being so thorough.
Not sure if you're still looking to buy a case but I'm pretty sure gn had a bit of a mistake here by doing their testing with the case in 5 slot mode while using an atx motherboard.
According to lian Lis website, 5 slot mode only supports matx or itx to prevent the gpu from being choked out. Not sure 100% if that will fix the gpu thermals but I'm pretty sure it will and will be buying this case
I would say the optimal air-flow layout for this case would be to remove the bottom dust filter, place some pieces of cardboard underneath the feet to up the bottom mesh clearance from the table from 2mm to 3mm, then simply run with 2 x 140mm fans on the front (intake), 1 x 140mm fan on the bottom (intake), 1 x 140mm fan on the top (exhaust), and 1 x 120mm fan in the rear (exhaust). This will give you a positive pressure setup and remove the bottom air restriction so that your GPU can run much cooler. This should prove to be much better on GPU thermals as well as make the case one of the strongest overall performers in CPU+GPU combined thermals available on the market today, especially considering its slightly smaller form factor. I would imagine in this configuration the performance could get quite close to my 3x 140mm intake Phanteks P500A.
I remember when Lian Li was a meme case designer. Crazy to see them acting better than most case companies when it comes to being proud of their product.
I haven't been around the PC space long enough to remember that, but it's worth noting that Lian Li was always a premium case manufacturer. Only in recent years have they started making more budget oriented cases. It makes sense for a premium brand to show more pride in their product, if you want to call it that.
they made that fish tank case lol
@@braydenhardman3112 remember the spider itx "case" lol I still want one
@@BoredPandaZA I just looked it up 😨
@@braydenhardman3112 awww man 😂 surely you gotta know about the yacht case? So many crazy designs over the years, the pc 011 designs even has a predecessor pc 010 and pc q37 before debauer got a hold of it. No one talks about those cases actually, I think it's cz they were so niche and expensive.
I'm genuinely impressed that the company decided to do the right thing and eat the cost of retooling, on top of extended delays. Most companies would just shove it out half done and release the corrected panel as some sort of "pro" component upgrade. It warms my heart to see that some people still care about making a high quality product.
I haven't used Lian Li products in the past, and I had zero expectations going into this video, but they have earned my respect and I am going to be eyeing them extremely closely for a new build I am working on.
Keep up the good work, Lian Li! And kudos for Gamers Nexus for the excellent and complete coverage. It had to be maddening to redo so much testing, but if anyone is going to put in the effort, it's this channel! :)
I would love to see a benchmark of how well dust is kept out with dust filters vs mesh vs passively cooled computers. In a couple of typical environments such as gaming computer in a home on the floor, office etc. Also some more unusual environments would be interesting such as a cnc controller in wood or metal workshop.
@@hydraulixx agreed!
YES the old ones DID ship to customers. I picked one up in Tokyo Japan over a month now. NO the store will not take it back i hope lian li can send me replacements :)
They will if you contact them
I was wondering why I couldn't buy one. Glad they are working on this because I really like this case.
You seriously need to test dust filtering efficacy as well. A mesh that does not properly filter dust might as well be left out completely.
Lian Li will always have a soft spot in my purchasing heart due to their willingness to accept criticism and then act upon it for improvement.
You know, I miss the full aluminum Lian Li cases of the old, those cost about 200-300 dollars if you account for inflation, but Lian Li managed to be completely mainstream now, instead of being a bit of a boutique item just 5 years ago. However, this also means the company has a lot of revenue and it won't go the same way Caselabs did.
CaseLabs is making a come back!! Check out GN's video on it! I can't wait to *finally* get my hands on one... don't even care how much it costs, it *will* be mine. :)
I have a PC-v353 from 2013 and love the full aluminum construction. They also made awesome specialty cases like the boat, train, spider.
The main purpose of dual chamber is that you can add direct airflow for the GPU.
What would the temps be with two bottom, two front and 1 back fan with feet raised additional 5cm with four blocks of wood worth 1$?
True, adding 1 inch elevation to the case might improve the gpu temp considerably
Or just turning the case on its side
I always put fatter on mine so I can dust underneath. Do I have OCD ... Maybe..
My bet is that raising the case wouldn't lower the GPU temperature almost at all (because there's still enough room between the bottom of the case and the table for the air to flow relatively unrestricted) but it would be an interesting experiment, and I could be wrong. I'm a little surprised that Steve didn't test that, as it would have been an easy test to do, and the matter clearly bothered him somewhat.
One thing I would like as an additional test is that you mentioned if the case legs had been longer, it might have been better. So as an additional test, put it under pieces of wood increasing it to see what the length of the case legs should be. It might make them consider to change that aspect of the case, or change it in a future case.
I’m actually sad they didn’t just run a test to prove a point.. like if it really just needs another 0.5” then prove it!
Steve did you see Teenage Engineering made a case? It's sold out but it might be a fun case review. It looks different than most cases, it's mini-itx.
Saw that.. All looks, 0 airflow hahah
It looks designed to trap every single dust particle while sounding like a dentist's drill, with a tiny whiney fan for exhaust. Plus, 2 slot, 180mm card max, with no airflow will make it less than ideal for gaming builds. It looks like a decent lan party / esports rig, otherwise, it's all form over function.
They built it for in-house workstation purposes I believe. Interesting, but not really compatible with current gaming cards.
I have a Lian Li Lancool 2 Mesh Performance case I got off of the chart you guys use. The holes it has are indeed circular lol. I'd bet a testicle that someone in Lian Li's supply chain did notice the defect but that by the time they got word of it it was too late to have it corrected so they stayed quiet and hoped for the best. Then quality control found out, sent it up the chain, found the cause, and are now fixing it before it gets out.
Just bought one and can confirm that the PCIe screws are not overtightened anymore, just normal tight.
i'd still like to see a review of the o11 D mini just to get a true thermal comparison. y'all are honestly the only channel i trust with thermals. would be interesting once the o11 Evo comes out to do a o11 round up and put all version against one another
Micro-atx seems to be the sweet spot for this case. Compared to something like a Fractal Define C Mini or Meshify Mini C(both dedicated matx cases with five slots) it's pretty much the same length and height, only wider and with more airflow/cooling possibilities. Would love to see some matx case recommendations from Gamers Nexus.
Subjectivity disagrees with this case and an EVGA Z690 classified specd for my build. Smol case, big parts, much air
Steve, I don't kow if you ever read these, but I have a request! I'd be really curious to know how this case would do in a best case scenario. Like, you've got standardized testing, and I love that! But if **I** were to buy this case I'd be populating every fan slot, trying different airflow configurations, and putting it on top of some books to get better ventilation. Your testing is perfect for answering the question "Is this case worth the price," but some of us want to see what the absolute best possible performance looks like.... Any chance we could get a "best case scenario" test added to the lineups?
I really enjoy building and rearranging components in my O11 dynamic. One of the weak points are the rubber wire channels which will break and tear over time. Lian Li does not offer replacements for these rubber channels (I've tried many times), so be careful with them!
Want a tip for the future on that? Something that can do wonders for the long term, is to treat the rubber gaskets with some Silicon Lubricant. It keeps the rubber slippery and prevents it from drying out over time, reducing the likelihood of it breaking and tearing. I do this all the time to keep my assortment of timing belts in good condition while in storage.
Do mind to only use Silicon. Silicon doesn't react with the rubber and forms a protective layer, while petroleum based (mineral) oil likes to penetrate and react, slowly damaging it over time.
I have the D-Mini and it gets good temps. It's custom looped and there is 2 intake fans at the back behind the EK-Quantum Kinetic FLT 240 reservoir and three on the bottom.
Great video by the way thanks.
this channel deserves more subs. Like there's not a single thing left out in any of his experiments on anything. The methodology is super professional, 0 bias.
The only bias is his awesome hair. If his hair doesn't like the air that comes out of the exhaust then the case is considered done lol
Definitely. But keep in mind "gamers" are, mostly, young people. The noisy (Linus) and silly (Jay) videos are more appealing to this demographic, even if a lot of informations are lost in the process...
@@Blafard666 Yeah. Im a 20 y/o gamer
but I don't like the silliness. Jay is actually cool because it's almost dad/pc jokes but linus is too corny. When he starts mentioning "rgb and fps" but in a hyperbolic manner, I just cringe. Don't get me wrong I like rgb and the pc that I'll build soon will have a lot of rgb, but when they just say it like that it's a cringy moment
I wish Lian Li would change the grills like the h510 flows holes and add a fine mesh filters and making it a little bigger all around to fit a 360 AIO or large air cooler to future proof it for upcoming hotter CPU's and GPU's. Changing the front brackets would also help and maybe making it to fit 3 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm fans would be nice to easier fit a AIO on bottom.
Really sad to see the rather high temps on the GPU in this one. The O11Air Mini would have easily been my new favourite case if this wouldn't have been the 'case'. Really love the rather unique and efficient design that rather deviates from most mid-tower cases like a Lian-Li Lancool II Mesh (which I happily own), especially with the PSU and HDD bays placed behind the motherboard-tray instead of restricitng potential airflow like with the modular Lancool II Mesh' HDD bay, as well as the smaller height of the overall chassis.
I wonder if the feet of any of the larger O11's can fit on the Air Mini. That + some 15mm fans (I assume 25mm is going to be too thick in many builds) would probably sort GPU temps out.
The Air Mini I think could be interesting in a side mount 240mm radiator on intake, roof intake, front intake, bottom intake, and rear exhaust, creating a massive pressure differential that sucks forward across the components and out.
Of course, we are talking about 6 or so fans to do so.
Hi Steve, I have to say I love the review process of this channel, particularly the cases, btw have you seen the raidmax x616? it has 2 200mm rgb fans included and it cost 70 usd on amazon right now.
Check out this email from Lian Lie regarding my 011 air mini order from last week.
Dear Customer,
First of all, I’d like to thank you for choosing Lian Li O11Air Mini.
As you might heard that we improved the ventilation before we launched the case. However, due to warehouse management error, your case was shipped without upgrade.
We are deeply sorry about this mistake and will provide you a set of side/ front/ top panels for free, or you can choose to return the case for a fully refund. The replacement is expected to ship within 3 weeks.
Without the replacement, the case still offers a high performance. Please use it without any concern.
Best regards,
Jameson Chen / Brand Director of Lian Li
Apparently this is a common thing happening according to the Lian Li subreddit.
Just got mine today! So far it seems freaking sweet! I can't build in it yet, as I don't have my new MOBO or DDR5 ram yet, but I have everything else! Im so excited! I had one problem with it. The power button was sticking. I was able to get it to stop doing that by taking off the cover on the I/O panel and gently rocking the switch back and forth a little bit and pressing it at different angles. Now it pops up every time. Must have had some plastic burrs that needed to be worn off. Other than that, it feels really high quality!
Ordered mine a few hours ago. So excited
Need to add that the case was not available before in Germany. I ordered as fast as possible
I finished my build in this case the other day! It's so awesome! It can be a little harder to get things in there than bigger case, but it's not too bad, and once you do it's totally worth it! Enjoy guys!
@@BluesElwoo2 Yeah of course its a bit harder to get the components in but the smaller als also thicker look is so priceless. I hope it will be shipped next week. As I said I ordered it directly when it was available but today it again says „available 30th december 2021“. I hope it was not a technical issue yesterday when it said it was available ehhh
Size of this case is perfect 😀 Space for ample cooling, while cutting dead space from atx.
Itx does not necessarily = want to build tiny computer.
Managed to get this case just after release, no regrets! 280mm h115 elite calpex keeps my 12600k between 27-35 degrees idle/light use and under max load I have yet to hit 60 degrees (celcius). Watching this review now after recommending the case to a friend made me realise why my gpu is so hot though. I'll raise the feet and hopefully drop the temps by a few degrees. Otherwise build quality is great, had no issues there and perfect for atx boards. Being able to fit an atx psu in this day and age is a big plus too. Would highly recommend!
Did raising the feet help with dropping the temps?
Adding 1/2 inch rubber feet is simple and relatively inexpensive. I did it for my original 011D but I didn't do any before/after testing. It just seemed to make sense when installing intake fans on the bottom. It would definitely work for the Air Mini.
@@agnez4435 no thanks. Happily Married Man!!!
Are there standard screws that hold the feet in place or did you have to use some modding?
which 1/2 rubber feet you went with?
Just got one of these cases to do a new build recently (for $60). I'm doing a full water cooled build and with just a little fiddling I am putting in 2x 280mm x 30mm rads and one 240mm x 45mm rad. It only took a small amount of cutting in the front but I am putting one of the 280mm x 30mm rads in the front actually in the front with the fans behind inside the case. If Lian Li had made the front just slightly larger (maybe 2mm wider) it would have made it so the 280mm rads would fit easily.
Little gripe from me, I really wish they would have lined up the fan/rad slots on top/front/bottom, this would have made for a little cleaner look with water cooling loops, you could have lined up the ports in rads to do some very tubeless runs between them, or at the least had slightly better looking lines.
I am amazed you got a great shot with your cat standing still at 5:38
Maybe coincidence but this last year alone have had a lot of packages for food and gadget's/mail where products are tightly sealed or glued. So not as surprised with the screws breaking.
Other wise great review, and impressive dual chambered, feature rich case!
Ive liturally just finished building my o11 mini glass pc build D: My biggest grip was the SF power supply and yeah its a little bigger than normal mini atx, but i still like this case.
Hate SF power supplies. Why why why why
I would love to see you add a test where you fill every available fan spot.
Love the review
I have a standard 011 with an atx setup and an aio on a 5600x
I’m considering switching to this case with an air cooler
The gpu temps suck it looks like, but I’m thinking, as you said, might be a case where you can fix that simply by adding small lifts to the legs (i think i found a use for nzxt “pucks”!!)
These front panel changes makes me *VERY* aware of how important the design of the front panel is for intake fan airflow. I never would have assumed it would be so significant. It also makes me concerned that my Rosewill Magnetar case which has a double layer mesh front is significantly restricting air flow of the 3 intake fans. :/
Great work on this review (just like all the others). Thank you very much Steve!
For my 011 Mini, I built myself a small rolling cart with a cutout on the bottom, locking castors, and panted it black. It gives better air flow and makes the pc much easier to work on since I can spin it around easy. I can make you one so you can test it 😏
I’ve had this case for a year and it’s been flawless. Fits my EATX motherboard with 7950X + RTX 4090FE. Slow-moving Noctua fans and careful tuning of voltages and fan curves means the PC runs cool and silent even under sustained full load. Absolutely amazing. Thanks Lian Li and thanks Steve.
I was thinking about getting this case. Thank you all for covering it in-depth with great testing! Thumbs up.
Built in this, used a B650 MATX with a 7800X3D and a Gigabyte Windforce 7900 GRE. My thought, this case is begging you to prioritize GPU cooling by putting the case on an open frame cart that elevates the bottom intake. I kept the stock fans as is, put two 140mm pure wings 3 in the bottom as intake and put a 280mm pure loop 2 in the top as exhaust. I'm probably trading a couple degrees of CPU temp for a very cool, very quiet GPU. I can't seem to run a synthetic load that gets the GPU loading more than 45 above ambient. The CPU loads to about 79 C in synthetic load tests, so pretty good given the 280mm AIO and not feeding it air from outside the case. To me, I think this is how this works best, forget the ATX 7 slot mode, drop the board to give you roof space, do a standard thickness 280mm AIO in exhaust to prioritize GPU cooling. Get an open frame cart, get some nice cool intake on that GPU. The foot height was a massive oversight in an otherwise brilliant design. Super easy to build in and you can drive a fantastic result if you plan your build out.
I understand GN test cases with whatever fans provided by the manufacturer to keep a baseline but everyone who buys the 011 Mini Air will most likely populate all the fan slots so most of the thermal benchmarking wouldn't apply to the end-user result. I have the original 011D Mini and my CPU temps usually hover around 45c and GPU at around 47c (like watching GN on youtube). This is with the front glass panel and double stacking mesh filters but with all fan slots populated.
You've affected positive change for consumers, and provided useful feedback and information to inform our purchase. You are the literal definition and epitome of a sales consultant.
Thanks for the review. Just finished assembling a build with this case. If I could have changed anything, I would have used a micro ATX board rather than full ATX. Using a MSI Z670 Tomahawk with Arctic Freezer II 240, fitment can be a little complicated. The AOI interfered with the TridentZ Neo RAM. This could be solved with the RB-001x offset brackets, but they were not in stock. 140 fans in the top interfere with the mobo VRM heatsink. One 140 can be installed on top with this board. You could use 120s in the top. So ended up removing the stock 140 front fans, put one on top and one on the bottom and AOI on the front. I really like this case, but as mentioned in the review you have to choose parts carefully. Use a micro ATX or smaller. A 240 AOI provides the most mounting flexibility, but if going for front mount, might as well go with a 280. I wasn't interested in using the side mount for AOI, just seems weird to me. ;-)
I just bought this case and the GPU thermals are already better than they were in my old case. I mounted my radiator at the top as an exhaust and I have 1 other exhaust fan in the back, and I have 2 fans at the front and 2 more at the bottom mounted as intakes. My GPU went from nearly reaching 90° to barely even reaching 70°. I think I made a very good choice with this case.
I don't consider my O11 Mini as an ITX case, but as a reasonably small chassis for whatever Mobo I have now, and whatever I'll be upgrading to in the foreseeable future. This could be ITX, mATX or full ATX, whatever will be the most efficient when it comes out. As for stock cooling charts, I don't believe many enthousiasts like us will just use the stock fans. I bought two Arctic P12 value packs and with the 10 fans running as low as 35% or 750rpm (barely audible) the case is perfectly cool. Stock fans to me are just an unnecessary price increase only good for stock benchmarks.
Great review. I was really excited about this case and I'm glad to hear about the GPU thermals ahead of time. Thanks for all your hard work!
I would also love to a see an updated recommended build from you guys. Maybe from each of you and you could go though some of the smaller details other people leave out. I know your more a news outlet but I trust you guys more than most people I know. Never Change :)
I probably would have bought this case a few months ago when i moved to itx if the original model had supported full size psus. I have a nice seasonic unit and didnt want to have to compromise with a sfx unit. I ended up with the thermaltake core p1. Keep the awesome vidoes up steve.
question. how big of a difference do you think it would make if you 3D printed new feet for the case and replaced the stock feet to raise the case up to get better GPU results. I think it could be an interesting thing to check out in another peace maybe?
i hopped to see comparison with the mini none Airflow model , the LLO11d Mini
Maybe my HAF X has too many problems but you can't really beat having 4x 230mm fans + 2x 140mm intake and 1x 140mm exhaust. That single exhaust fan I had to take it to 60% power because all the pressure made it spin out of its rpms. Yes, it's loud but I like that no gpu nor cpu ever got above 69C since 2011.
lian li has got a well deserved reputation and it's good to hear they're trying to keep it
Still loving my Lian Li Lancool II Mesh. "Upgraded" my Lancool II with the mesh panels. O11 Mini is on my short list for my next build. GN bros! I wanna buy a hoodie and a teardown crystal cube... When will they be in stock?! Glad I got in on the coasters! They're sweet!
Hey thanks for this review I ended up buying this case and felt good about it. The torrent was sold out everywhere I had locally.
Would a less wide, side exhaust GPU do better in this case Steve? Since your MSI card has the heatsink fins going in the length axis, it seems the front fan just pushes hot air back in?
Been waiting impatiently for this one, after the mixed thermal results amongst reviewers!!
Woah I absolutely love the modularity and thumb screw use on the rear panel. Fantadtic design!!
I've got a Liancool mesh case. Only issues I have with it are that the hard drive bays vibrate REALLY bad with an HDD, causing some unholy noises, and that the cable side is a bit lacking in space for amateur or lazy attempts at cable management, which isn't helped by that side also being a tempered glass panel with magnetic locking, meaning that unlike other cases, you can't just use the side panel to compress things in and be fine so long as it's not pinched.
I guess maybe the lack of hard drive activity light could be considered a problem? But then, the bays vibrate loud enough to not be an issue there, so it's whatever. It isn't really too AIO/watercool friendly if you are trying to use a 360mm rad, either. But most users don't NEED a 360mm rad anyway, and can more than get away with a 240mm, which fits fine in the case as a top mounted one.
Any chance we could see cases with all available fan slots filled, noise normalised. For me the standardised fan test and stock fan test don't represent anything close to the cooling capabilities.
Yeah I'm planning to buy this case since it was released, and of course I'm not planning to use stock fans, I want to stuff it full with rgb fans
the reality is the vast majority of people just buy a case throw the system in it and call it a day.. you can't account for every possible setup so if you're going to be the 1% that actually fills every slot(which you really shouldn't be doing anyways) then you need to determine that on your own.
@@sirmonkey1985 but who is standardised for? I also think that 1% is a drastic exaggeration
Was looking at this case for a build for my brother, 5900x/X570/RTX3090 and the GN review scared me.....until I remembered that for some reason GN only test with the fans supplied with any given case. GPU temps and the case feet height were an issue.....because GN were basically relying on passive airflow to the GPU from the bottom vents...cause Lian Li don't supply fans with the case for this area. Sure GN moved one of the supplied fans from the front to the bottom to test but that results in not much improvement because now you're relying on passive intake from the front. Supply your own fans for the bottom intakes aimed at the GPU which most of us enthusiast builders would do anyway and there is nothing wrong with GPU thermals in this case.
TBH I think GN are a bit anal in this regard where they will only test with the supplied fans and potentially criticise a case for poor thermals when in fact the case might have great thermals if you add fans to the locations that were obviously designed for them. Sure, criticise them for poor value, or cost cutting or penny pinching by the manufacturer for not supplying fans for all locations. However, even then an argument could be made that many/most of us would want to pick and choose our own fans anyway, assuming the supplied fans would be cheap/not a design we like. ie. I'd rather the case be $40 cheaper with no supplied fans and I supply my own fancy RGB fans, than pay $40 more for the case with a full complement of supplied fans....that I'll take out straight away and dump in a drawer for the next 5 years.
To conclude. I've no fear for GPU temps with this case, will order in the next few days, when it arrives I'll dump the Lian Li supplied fans in a drawer and fill 'er up with some Corsair QL120's and QL140's.
When in doubt. Always add more speed holes
Hey Steve, could we get a video / review or just your general thoughts going over two of the test benches that are commonly used and I believe you have...that being the Open Test Bench and the Top Deck Tech Station. I've been back and forth between both for a fun open air gaming rig, and would be curious to hear your take on both as someone who has experience.
@6:33 That's not screwing with CONFIDENCE!
Well, I mainly needed a full ATX and full sized PSU case shorter than 40cm. This fits the bill nicely. I'll just keep the bottom fans in place
I wonder if placing it on its side (glass side up) would help. Stick some sub woofer sticky legs too it or something similar for a stand off. Great review as always GN, the new coasters rock BTW using mine daily.
Huh. I'd never think the bolts weren't monolithic. Learn something new every day!
I think the size is spot on.. I'd wish there were more ITX cases that can accomodate custom cooling for big boy parts..
That NZXT H510 Flow is based on all the same tooling as their S340 from 2014. Its over 7 years old now and despite all the refreshes of the base design; it still only has one top fan mount.
Without the ability to mount a 240/280 radiator in an exhaust position so it doesn't compromise air intake for other components, then it continues to be a failure in my opinion. The S340 I used, even without the restrictive front panel, was genuinely awful for cooling.
The only good thing about the H510 Flow is that you can buy it for as little as £75 a few months after release...
Thanks for a great video👍 If I can't get a 1.5mm drill into a hole in the panel does this mean I have the old panel?
Love your case reviews! Is it possible to get a GT501 case review?
I had a preorder on the O11 mini in white and I’ve had so many issues with the case fitment and screws being stripped out of holes as soon as you unscrew them, making them useless and on. I love the look of the case and it just fits 360mm radiators but I wish I didn’t preorder it because I feel like I got a learning curve case
Great review, but I’m really surprised that you didn’t elevate the case to validate your assumptions that the short feet were the cause of higher GPU thermals. It’s a safe assumption, but also an easy one to quantify. With easy access to 3D printers these days buyers can remedy this issue, but it would be good to have outlets such as GN validate these mods.
Dang, I bought a corsair 280x for my next MATX computer build and I just saw this case the other day. Now I'm tempted to get this case as well to use for the time being as I'm planning on modifying the 280x to remove & replace the front & top glass panels to improve airflow. The fact that this case supports vertical GPU mount option with additional purchase of vertical GPU bracket makes it very very tempting. Decisions, Decisions...
At least the Corsair 280x was pretty much free as I bought it with bitcoins mined with my old gpu when not gaming (minus the cheap power costs)
Curious how the vertical mount GPU would perform thermally. In horizontal mode I assume the hot air is being blown straight onto the glass and probably getting recirculated into the GPU. I'm guessing a vertical mount would allow more movement of air from both the bottom and front fan intakes.
The O11 dynamic had that issue, vertically mounting my GPU helped dramatically. The o11 mini is wider on the motherboard side, so it probably wouldn't benefit as much from swapping to a vertical mount, but it still may make a difference.
I think I got your missing captive thumb screw in my lancool 215 case a month ago. When opening the box to check it out before the delivery driver left a captive screw fell out. I've checked the manual and schematic and can't for the life of me find anywhere it belongs so....
Not a fan of this case, tbh. The idea of the 011 Mini was the dual glass to showcase the build, but this new version is just a regular case that has been sat on to make it wider.
I would still love to see if you can get a hold of the Lancool 205 Mesh to review; it's another well built Lian Li case, but with included rgb fans, great airflow, and a reasonable price.
The 205 mesh has dropped in price in the last month too - I bought one for a mid-tier design work pc for 55 gbp a couple of weeks ago and it's at least anecdotally a huuuuge improvement over the msi case I had. The space for cable management around the back leaves a bit to be desired though.
I actually got one of the pre fix Air minis, I contacted lian-li and they said that they shouldn't have been sold lol.
Will they send you a replacement front panel?
@@dcpantou Nope they said to ask the store I bought it from lol
NR200 is arguably a medium form factor case... Small form-factor is generally
gpu temps will be nothing until we put 2xfans at the bottom, with 2x fans intake (stock 140 fans) 2x bottom , 2x top exhaust, and 1x side exhaust, this case will be one of the best cases in gpu temps so far
I like the look of this case. But the GPU temps is kind of off putting. Would an easy fix really just be raising the feet a little and add intake fans at the bottom and extra exhaust fans on the sides. Or maybe extra exhaust fans at the top? That would be a lot of money on extra fans. I don't really know what the best fan configuration would be.
I bought my Lian Li Lancool II Mesh because of your case reviews. Thanks for helping us make informed decisions, GN!
Tiny feedback: could you use the greek letter for delta over ambient in the charts? (ΔT instead of dT) Wouldn't want anyone thinking it's a derivative.
I keep looking at Lian Li's case because I really like the design of putting a HDD cage and PSU in a separate chamber, but also want at most an mATX-sized case. I don't think they really understand what people expect out of "mini" branded cases if they're going to make something that's almost as large as a full ATX case.
Just bought the o11 Air mini today. 2+ years later massively over tightened screws and sheering.
I wonder what GPU temps would be like if there was 280mm rad in the front pulling air in, 2x140mm fans at the bottom pulling air inside the case and then 2x140mm fan or 3x120 fans + back fan blowing air out.
H510 Flow is going around 69 bucks in my country at the moment making it one of the cheapest good cases. Considering all your complaints were about the price, is it ok if I buy the h510 flow?
I am astonished that the smallest modern mid tower case (or one of the smallest) seems to be the only one (aside from Fractal Design ones) that supports more than 2 HDDs, or it's at least in the the 5% of modern cases that do.