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The Lian Li PC-Z70 is another fabulous case from the masters of chassis design. We literally see hundreds of cases every year and the high end Lian Li products really are diamonds in the rough. While the appearance is simple, sleek and understated we find many of the modern designs from competing products to be sometimes cluttered, complex and rather unattractive. The PC-Z70 takes many of the excellent design decisions from the X2000F and presents them in a more affordable package.
The Lian Li PC-Z70 is still not a casual, spur of the moment purchase decision. At £260 inc vat it is still a noticeable investment, but it does tip the scales considerably lighter than the £413.47 outlay for the class leading X2000F.
The PC-Z70 doesn't have the all encompassing internal black finish, and Lian Li have ditched the adjustable fan settings. It would be fair to say that the overall design isn't quite as eye catching. Just as importantly however they have created a stunning case for the money which has 6 quality case fans installed, out of the box.
The PC-70 does include a class refining, metal expansion slot locking system, a PSU locking bar and support for up to 9 hot swappable hard drives with an additional 2 Solid state positions underneath. The manufacturing standard is exactly what we have come to expect from Lian Li … no sharp edges, high grade aluminum and smooth mechanical implementation on all the moving pieces.
It is abundantly clear that the research and design team have invested time and resources with cable routing, as everything is perfectly located for a neat, tidy build, with rubber housings. The bundle is also impressive, with a tough, practical plastic storage tray the icing on the cake. It isn't quite as eye poppingly good as the X2000F, but with the price reduction this is going to sell many more units.
Pros:
- bundle is great
- 6 high quality case fans as standard. All 120mm and 140mm sizes.
- finish is beautiful
- internally this case will accommodate the most demanding of system builds
- watercooling support
- 11 expansion slots with metal tool-less locking system
- power supply locking system is great
- cheaper than class leading X2000F
Cons:
- its not black inside
- no fan control
- its expensive
KitGuru says: Right now, for under £300, this is surely one of the best high end cases on the market, thanks to a thoroughly well researched internal layout and structure.
And they do it again. I think Zardon likes Lian Li 🙂
Yeah thats quite stunning. I miss the black interior of the X2000F, but this one is almost affordable !
Once I persuade the missus, im ditching my IN WIN bargain from last year 🙂
As much as the insides are great, they come at great cost. Silverstone can be expensive too. I tend to opt for Coolermaster as they look great and hover around the 100 mark.
Coolermaster arent bad I agree. same with thermaltake, although coolermaster are better.
I really do like some of the bitfenix design ideas, but their engineering quality is terrible. Im one of the 10 people who bought a collossus and the thing has fallen apart. check out my thread on the OCUK forums.
its a false economy bying a budget case
Thermaltake do nice Armor cases, they aren’t like this lian li, but they are like 1/5 the price and do ok for a build for home.
For £260 I could get a new CPU and some momory. Lian Li are way ahead of Bitfenix, thermaltake or coolermaster for cases. I prefer Silverstone however.
I dont know why silverstone get such a good name,. I saw the kitguru review of the Raven 03 and thought you guys oversold it. its ugly as sin. this is much nicer although the cost is higher.
Bitfenix are exciting, but they have a lot of work ahead of them IMO. they are concentrating on the secondary aspects of a case, like glowing lights and colour changing, rather than working cooling, for example 🙂
dear sir, i was highly impressed after viewing review, i would like your suggestion, iam having X8DTG-QF, MO BO dual processor from super micron its size is 13.2″x 15.2″ and says EATX, will this chassis support this board, iam already having with me 2nos, of xeon x5650 and 5000 quadro. but system chassis is very expensive, will i have to make any modifications in this or the mo bo will fit in strait in . please suggest a PSU up to 1000w to 1200w, as iam a freelance designer, please suggest . Awiting for your reply at the earliest
thanking you
Regards adi mehta.