Lian Li Lancool 207

[Darksaber]

The Lian Li Lancool 207 may be a compact case, but it still manages to offer full ATX support. This is thanks to a unique layout underneath the shroud of the case, which allows it to be smaller than other modern cases that allow such boards to fit. This simple layout change opens the door to so much more.

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[Chaitanya]

Front IO is missing Reset button as well apart from the LEDs. I do like those flat cables though.

 

[Vario]

Would love this case for my new workstation if it didn't have a glass panel.

A requirement is that I want to be able to move the computer around easily. If its got glass, that's a problem.

 

[EatingDirt]

Looks like a case that'll get dusty inside real quick.

I'm an old grumpy man, so I've stuck to cases with, at the very least, fine mesh filters that prevent anything but extremely fine dust from getting into my PC. In this new trend of mesh-only panels, I'd be curious on what the cooling results would be after a few months of operation in, verses a brand-new testing environment.

Looks great in brand new testing environments. Maybe not so great in real life unless you're willing to blow out the entirety of your case every few months.

 

[Vario]

Looks like a case that'll get dusty inside real quick.

I'm an old grumpy man, so I've stuck to cases with, at the very least, fine mesh filters that prevent anything but extremely fine dust from getting into my PC. In this new trend of mesh-only panels, I'd be curious on what the cooling results would be after a few months of operation in, verses a brand-new testing environment.

Looks great in brand new testing environments. Maybe not so great in real life unless you're willing to blow out the entirety of your case every few months.

I have a similar case O11 Air Mini, I have no filters on it, it doesn't fill with dust, but my house might fairly dust free. I dust it about once a year at most and theres no visible dust.

 

[Chrispy_]

Yay for more compact cases \o/

I'm building more PCs as a side-gig than usual right now and I'm finding a lot of people want the more compact, shifted-PSU variants I'm offering as options:

Mesh Pro – IONZ

ionz.co.uk

ASUS Prime AP201 MicroATX Case｜Cases｜ASUS United Kingdom

The ASUS Prime AP201 is a stylish 33-liter MicroATX case with tool-free side panels and a quasi-filter mesh, with support for 360 mm coolers, graphics cards up to 338 mm long, and standard ATX PSUs.

www.asus.com

 

[wNotyarD]

I was looking dearly at getting a 216 for a custom loop (with both CPU and GPU blocks) project I have in mind, but this 207 got me VERY intrigued. I wonder if it would be easy to mount a pump-rad combo in stead of the GPU sag bracket...
I also wonder if it's possible to install both an SSD and an HDD at the same time in the same tray, even if it involves some ghetto'ing. (EDIT: just thought of the good ol' double-sided tape )

 

[Vario]

Yay for more compact cases \o/

I'm building more PCs as a side-gig than usual right now and I'm finding a lot of people want the more compact, shifted-PSU variants I'm offering as options:

Mesh Pro – IONZ

ionz.co.uk

ASUS Prime AP201 MicroATX Case｜Cases｜ASUS United Kingdom

The ASUS Prime AP201 is a stylish 33-liter MicroATX case with tool-free side panels and a quasi-filter mesh, with support for 360 mm coolers, graphics cards up to 338 mm long, and standard ATX PSUs.

www.asus.com

Oh man that IONZ looks great. Wonder if it can be purchased in the US.
Looks identical to the "GAMEMAX-MESHBOX"

Edit: no 3.5 bays, no front fans, and power supply facing rear are odd decisions. Could have had those feature but in a modular format (removable).

 

[bonehead123]

Nice, but I don't see nothin revolutionary here....

Looksalikeaboringoleboxen....
Soundsalikeaboringoleboxen.......
Feelsalikeaboringoleboxen.............

Guess what....it probably iS a boringoleboxen, albeit a low priced one, so there's that

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Holy shizz, it's less than 220mm wide (just)! I may buy one simply to support the dimensions. But that glass panel tho... want it in metal.

 

[Chrispy_]

Oh man that IONZ looks great. Wonder if it can be purchased in the US.
Looks identical to the "GAMEMAX-MESHBOX"

Edit: no 3.5 bays, no front fans, and power supply facing rear are odd decisions. Could have had those feature but in a modular format (removable).

It is great. It's simple but has good build and material quality.

The PSU sits at the front of the case suspended from the top, with the intake fan breathing air taken in from the front panel and exhaust spat out of the roof. Unless you have a massively-long PSU the modular cables don't get in the way of longer GPUs either.

It's a top-to bottom cooling arrangement like so many SFF designs - intakes on the bottom, exhaust out the top/back.

 

[wheresmycar]

Very nice!! I'm glad the focus remains on case air intake from the bottom especially with GPUs nowadays munching up on power like theres no tomorrow. This is much better than those THICK dual chamber fish tanks which i admit i do like but can't fit on my desk. Front accessible dust filter is another +1

Almost perfect... I was looking to upgrade my work build with a Lian Li 216 / Fractal North / similar (i do a bit of gaming on it too). Unfortunately this new 207 isn't gonna cut it. The PSU heat exhaust would be directed towards me which would SUCK!! Can't avoid it either with this work setup:

I think its evident why a front dust filter at the bottom is also important for me + the thumb-screw tooled bottom mesh front panel is somewhat inconvenient. In general the tool-less approach would have been much better.

Outside of these individual limitations, the 207 looks fantastic!

Yay for more compact cases \o/

I'm building more PCs as a side-gig than usual right now and I'm finding a lot of people want the more compact, shifted-PSU variants I'm offering as options:

Mesh Pro – IONZ

ionz.co.uk

ASUS Prime AP201 MicroATX Case｜Cases｜ASUS United Kingdom

The ASUS Prime AP201 is a stylish 33-liter MicroATX case with tool-free side panels and a quasi-filter mesh, with support for 360 mm coolers, graphics cards up to 338 mm long, and standard ATX PSUs.

www.asus.com

Love these cases. AP201s or the Mini-ITX NR200 have been on my wishlist since day one but I got lured into the tempered glass hype after doing a few fancy builds for others. "every time i try to get out, it sucks me back in".

Just checked out the iONZ Mesh Pro. Its only £42 on Amazon UK. Honestly, I'm blown away! (>WISHLIST)

 

[_roman_]

Thanks for the case review. I really love to read those.

Well they try something new.

I never understood why people will use single use zip ties when there are a better alternative like "velco straps".

At a certain price point I expect a vertical "PCIE express card mount".

I had a case a year ago for a short while with that "230V AC" power cord extension cable. I'm against it, as it does not have a secure lock in mechanism. (yes I know there is a specific name for it and a part number - I hardly doubt anyone will know it by name anyway)

After a closer look. I dislike fans without cover. When just by coincidence something fells down - it goes instantly in the moving fans. this is not an issue with a graphic card for example as above it usually the printed circuit board is and everything is screwed on. The idea of fans close to the graphic card is not bad - I'm not sure if I like this particular design choice.

I dislike being robbed of choices. Assuming you want to use the other connectors from the mainboard for the Front panel - It's impossible. I expect a two pin connector for two pin cable. As it always is with many cases.

As already mentioned. there are no extra buttons on the top case like Reset and for something else like cmos-reset / rgb / whatever button. My ASUS mainboard needs regularly the reset button. Of course I could press much longer the power button twice to cold boot. But that's not the purpose of a reset button. One usb-c on the top is far too less. It seems USB-c will be the new standard and therefore there should be more usb-c ports on the front also.

 

[wNotyarD]

After a closer look. I dislike fans without cover. When just by coincidence something fells down - it goes instantly in the moving fans. this is not an issue with a graphic card for example as above it usually the printed circuit board is and everything is screwed on. The idea of fans close to the graphic card is not bad - I'm not sure if I like this particular design choice.

True, it would be nice to have a magnetic dust filter there, even if its goal would not be exactly filtering dust but anything else from hitting the fans.

 

[Heiro78]

Very nice!! I'm glad the focus remains on case air intake from the bottom especially with GPUs nowadays munching up on power like theres no tomorrow. This is much better than those THICK dual chamber fish tanks which i admit i do like but can't fit on my desk. Front accessible dust filter is another +1

Almost perfect... I was looking to upgrade my work build with a Lian Li 216 / Fractal North / similar (i do a bit of gaming on it too). Unfortunately this new 207 isn't gonna cut it. The PSU heat exhaust would be directed towards me which would SUCK!! Can't avoid it either with this work setup:

View attachment 365943

I think its evident why a front dust filter at the bottom is also important for me + the thumb-screw tooled bottom mesh front panel is somewhat inconvenient. In general the tool-less approach would have been much better.

Outside of these individual limitations, the 207 looks fantastic!



Love these cases. AP201s or the Mini-ITX NR200 have been on my wishlist since day one but I got lured into the tempered glass hype after doing a few fancy builds for others. "every time i try to get out, it sucks me back in".

Just checked out the iONZ Mesh Pro. Its only £42 on Amazon UK. Honestly, I'm blown away! (>WISHLIST)

That's a really striking case in you setup! The two toned black and white are really cool. Can you tell me what case it is?

 

[Ayhamb99]

Would love this case for my new workstation if it didn't have a glass panel.

A requirement is that I want to be able to move the computer around easily. If its got glass, that's a problem.

Same reason I ended up going with the Fractal Design Pop Air instead of one of the Lancool cases, got the version with no tempered glass side panel.

 

[Vario]

It is great. It's simple but has good build and material quality.

The PSU sits at the front of the case suspended from the top, with the intake fan breathing air taken in from the front panel and exhaust spat out of the roof. Unless you have a massively-long PSU the modular cables don't get in the way of longer GPUs either.

It's a top-to bottom cooling arrangement like so many SFF designs - intakes on the bottom, exhaust out the top/back.

Are there ways to put fans on the front and add 3.5 drives?
Those are my main concerns with that model, otherwise I like the design.

Same reason I ended up going with the Fractal Design Pop Air instead of one of the Lancool cases, got the version with no tempered glass side panel.

That looks like a good product. Looking to get a small / mid atx tower that has a lot of metal and a lot of airflow and no glass. I wish SSUPD made a big version of the Meshroom.

 

[adilazimdegilx]

@Darksaber Under "Finished looks" section

Turning on the Lian Li Lancool 407,

I always like Lian Li's approach at budget market. Chart-topping cooling performance with good noise levels in a compact case with support for 360mm AIOs and largest of GPUs for just 80 bucks. Great review, great case.

 

[saphire]

There is no exhaust fan like 206? I would prefer 216 it has also have fan controller (considering that their prices are almost equal).

 

[wheresmycar]

That's a really striking case in you setup! The two toned black and white are really cool. Can you tell me what case it is?

Thats the old NZXT S340 elite from 2016/2017. Its been pimped up/modded a bit for the aesthetic appeal with decal stickers, an acrylic plate with some artwork on the PSU shroud, some internal mods to clear a 2x2 push pull config on the rad, conduit piping to give the pump some visual flare, a custom design GPU backplate, sleeved cables, etc. Without some of it, its just one of NZXTs earlier plain boxes with not the best airflow and other limitations (eg. only 1 top fan mount for exhaust). Still a very functional case for todays standards unless we're planning on throwing in one of those modern higher-tier power famished GPUs in there.

Sadly i fell for the aesthetics and gave my brother my airflow performant Fractal Mesh C when taking on the S340 elite. A bit of a gamble but temps were way better than anticipated.

 

[Gmr_Chick]

Instantly interested in this case. I think it would fit my needs quite well.

 

[Upgrayedd]

They moved the psu and still no dual rear exhaust. I wonder if the little fans would fit in pcie brackets space.

 

[Chrispy_]

They moved the psu and still no dual rear exhaust. I wonder if the little fans would fit in pcie brackets space.

What would the point of dual rear exhaust be? There's nothing generating heat down there in the PSU chamber that needs airflow, and forcing exhaust from that area with a fan just reduces airflow from the main chamber where all the hot stuff needing the airflow is.

The hottest things you could install down there would be a couple of hella noisy 15K SCSI mechanical drives, and even then we're only talking around 30W which will be serviced fine by the passive airflow out the back via positive case pressure.

Would love this case for my new workstation if it didn't have a glass panel.

Same reason I ended up going with the Fractal Design Pop Air instead of one of the Lancool cases, got the version with no tempered glass side panel.

I'm starting to see a rebellion against RGBLED on Youtube from an increasing number of streamers now. The stupid pricing, the stupid software ecosystem(s), the fragility and weight of these EVEN MORE GLASS fishtank cases, and the cable spaghetti are starting to become an irritant even for previously die-hard RGBLED advocates.

RGBLED and tempered glass doesn't have to go away, but I'm starting to appreciate that a few more cases are moving back to mesh and steel panels again, and it's a very welcome change.

 

[Ayhamb99]

I'm starting to see a rebellion against RGBLED on Youtube from an increasing number of streamers now. The stupid pricing, the stupid software ecosystem(s), the fragility and weight of these EVEN MORE GLASS fishtank cases, and the cable spaghetti are starting to become an irritant even for previously die-hard RGBLED advocates.

RGBLED and tempered glass doesn't have to go away, but I'm starting to appreciate that a few more cases are moving back to mesh and steel panels again, and it's a very welcome change.

I never really liked RGB in the first place because I don't like my setup being colourful and bright anyways, prefer something more neutral tbh.

Right on point with the stupid pricing. I also hate how due to this RGB ecosystem, it has become one of the reasons why motherboards have gone up in prices and caused the low-end motherboard market to regress in proper reliability and features.

 

[Vario]

I never really liked RGB in the first place because I don't like my setup being colourful and bright anyways, prefer something more neutral tbh.

Right on point with the stupid pricing. I also hate how due to this RGB ecosystem, it has become one of the reasons why motherboards have gone up in prices and caused the low-end motherboard market to regress in proper reliability and features.

I've always hated it, but I bought my O11 Air Mini anyway because it had nice features otherwise. I've thought about making a wood panel the same dimensions as the glass. Really reluctant to buy another glass case though, I keep hoping theres a high airflow Lian Li around the corner that has no glass. If Lian LI made the SSUPD Meshroom but bigger I'd be down for that. Or the O11 Dynamic Evo with metal mesh (or solid) side panel.