Lian Li Lancool 217

[Darksaber]

The Lian Li Lancool 217 shines in the spotlight, much like the Lancool 207, its baby brother. With extremely good cooling performance, a thoughtful and functional engineering design coupled with a compellingly solid feature set, it really is a no brainer. Especially for the asking price.

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[Event Horizon]

Would prefer I/O at the top, and the PSU dust filter ejecting toward the side. Otherwise looks good.

 

[Chaitanya]

So there is space for 2 power buttons but 1 Reset button is too much to add.

 

[MrDweezil]

Would prefer I/O at the top, and the PSU dust filter ejecting toward the side. Otherwise looks good.

Yeah I like nearly everything about this, but that bottom-mounted I/O won't work for me.

 

[Shakallia]

Its basically Lina Li's version of the Antec Flux pro.

 

[Chrispy_]

Seems okay to me. Reasonable price, and a meaningful amount of wood to feel like it's not just last year's case with the thinnest single slab on adhesive-backed veneer - a low-effort trend I dislike, since we've been able to stick a thin strip of wood veneer on cases ourselves for decades already.

As always for a LanCool model - it's well-priced, looks tasteful, and has no deal-breaking issues.
Easy Editor's Choice and an easy recommendation.

So there is space for 2 power buttons but 1 Reset button is too much to add.

I'd rather see two separate buttons with cables terminating in connectors for two pins, then connected with a Y-adapter to the unified front panel header (which would be good, since that adds flexibility). Instead, these seem to be both wired into the unified header directly so you have a redundant power button that nobody asked for, and no second button to use for reset, RGBLED, or fan speed control.

Annoying, but not unchangeable, since you can just cut off the two wires for the second button and replace with an individual connector yourself, either from salvaging one from an old case, or from a big old $4 bag of 200 connectors, should you happen to have such a bag lying around like I do.

 

[Gmr_Chick]

And I very much hope they do end up releasing a variant of this case without the wood paneling. Seems like a nice case.

 

[id_mew]

Would love a comparison between this case and the Meshify 3.

 

[Chomiq]

Its basically Lina Li's version of the Antec Flux pro.

Except Flux Pro can fit 420 at the top.

Would love a comparison between this case and the Meshify 3.

Meshify 3 is more like Meshify 3 Compact.

 

[_roman_]

I read this review today on my laptop.

I checked geizhals for any 170x170 mm fans. I did not really found many 170x170 mm fans. Those I found I think were not pc style fans.

I think it should be a big negative point that this case uses 170x170mm front fans. Lian li claims five preinstalled fans. It was unclear with their homepage what they compare about. It was unclear if these are all 170x170mm fans. This review shows on the initial page that only two 170x170mm front fans are installed.

the db value on the homepage in 30cm measuring distance are not good. I appreciate that they give the measure distance for the noise and honest values.

 

[wheresmycar]

Not sure about you guys, but this ones nailed it for me. The black variant looks slick, just the right amount of wood in the right places for that slick-clean and refreshing natural aesthetic. Purely personal taste: the 217s wood on white doesn’t carry the same appeal, I’d have to see it in person. Strangely, white works on the Fractal North but as always black naturally does it better with wood accents. I was never a fan of the Fractal Norths smaller glass panel, even if the thick side panel on the right of the glass compliments the overall natural wood look. Then there's the Antec FLUX, the way they mixed in wood didn’t land with me, dunno maybe it was the distracting sword slashed like pattern on the front mesh or just the overall design didn't cut it. The 217 seems to get it spot on... sexy, x5 fans included, 360mm top support + removable frame, adjustable GPU bracket, PSU shroud bottom x3 fan support, front dust filter, etc... each and every mention is exactly what i've been looking for without compromising on the overall look, size and price. Speaking of price, $120 = nailed it! For the size, I usually prefer something a bit more compact for a desk sitter, but thats the trade-off for chasing triple fan support on the top and bottom. Can’t have it both ways.

Totally agree with the first comment - side (or front) access for the PSU dust filter would’ve been great. A lot of us have our builds stood against a wall, so reaching the back is a pain. I’m fine with the bottom side I/O though - actually all for it. My case sits on the desk to my right, so its conveniently accessible.

Some nice additional features too. The two-way PSU dual mounting orientation is very useful, significantly improves access to PSU connectors. Unfortunately, I can't run with it as it will exhaust hot air directly towards my position. No biggie the usual orientation is fine. Tool-less fans are a nice surprise and useful if you fancy swapping around that adaptive front fan mounting bracket to see which configuration works best for CPU/GPU thermals. The 2 power buttons... i would have been alright with one, I hardly use it but can't complain unless me little one pops in whilst im in the middle of a campaign win and turns the lights off.

I can't see any real downsides with this one or did the hyped enthusiasm miss something? None of the review cons are a deal breaker for me.

 

[Chrispy_]

The two-way PSU dual mounting orientation is very useful, significantly improves access to PSU connectors. Unfortunately, I can't run with it as it will exhaust hot air directly towards my position.

A PSU will barely raise the air temperature; Your system is likely to use 400W at full load and with your 80PLUS Platinum PSU, that's 24W of heat from the PSU in a worst-case scenario, but in reality it's likely to be even less than that. 24W cooled by a 140mm fan is going to be an imperceptible temperate change in the air coming out of it compared to the air going into it, even at low RPM.

Does your system even push the PSU into its active-cooling range? I wouldn't have thought your PSU fan even spins, unless your system specs are out of date

 

[Pets4Ever]

I read this review today on my laptop.

I checked geizhals for any 170x170 mm fans. I did not really found many 170x170 mm fans. Those I found I think were not pc style fans.

I think it should be a big negative point that this case uses 170x170mm front fans. Lian li claims five preinstalled fans. It was unclear with their homepage what they compare about. It was unclear if these are all 170x170mm fans. This review shows on the initial page that only two 170x170mm front fans are installed.

the db value on the homepage in 30cm measuring distance are not good. I appreciate that they give the measure distance for the noise and honest values.

I agree, 170mm fans should definitely be called out. They couldn't have just made it slightly wider to accommodate 200mm fans?


Personally, I do not care for how they incorporated wood into the design. It looks cheap and tacked on. I think the Fractal North and Antec Flux both look better.

 

[_roman_]

Same with the fractal design torrent case. I was so motivated to get it. When i looked at all the datasheets and specs the non standard fan size, i think 200x200x?? mm ones, kept me away from the purchase.

 

[Event Horizon]

Same with the fractal design torrent case. I was so motivated to get it. When i looked at all the datasheets and specs the non standard fan size, i think 200x200x?? mm ones, kept me away from the purchase.

Stock is configured with 2x180 in the front, 3x140 at the bottom. The front also supports 3x140 or 3x120, and the bottom can be changed to 3x120 or 2x180. I have been more annoyed by the cable management.

 

[wheresmycar]

A PSU will barely raise the air temperature; Your system is likely to use 400W at full load and with your 80PLUS Platinum PSU, that's 24W of heat from the PSU in a worst-case scenario, but in reality it's likely to be even less than that. 24W cooled by a 140mm fan is going to be an imperceptible temperate change in the air coming out of it compared to the air going into it, even at low RPM.

Does your system even push the PSU into its active-cooling range? I wouldn't have thought your PSU fan even spins, unless your system specs are out of date

You're probably looking at the first build in system specs with the HX1200 plat. The HX is a 200-long monster, incompatible in that rotated orientation. Yep no fan spin. Its so unbelievably silent you'd think the systems running off cmos. Just curious, you mentioned 400W. I was thinking more along the lines of 450-500W? PCPP over-estimates around ~600W. My wall meters playing hide and seek for over a year so might grab another.

Its the third build in system specs, named Ahemmm, getting the make-over or a full blown replacement nuke. No immediate plans though just drooling over the possibilities.

You're right about "imperceptible temp change' but it does get a little perceptibly warm in the immediate area where heat escapes. Not really a concern but its my 2 monitor + case cockpit style layout on desk and the mouse hand getting real close (~2/3 inches) to the source of warmth that just doesn't cut it. I might drop a pic tonight.

btw, Just wandering how you arrived at 24W. If it were 400W at full load with a 92% efficient juice box, i'm getting 400/0.92=435-400=35W. I had this working in the bag at some point but might of fudged it.

 

[Chrispy_]

You're probably looking at the first build in system specs with the HX1200 plat. The HX is a 200-long monster, incompatible in that rotated orientation. Yep no fan spin. Its so unbelievably silent you'd think the systems running off cmos. Just curious, you mentioned 400W. I was thinking more along the lines of 450-500W? PCPP over-estimates around ~600W. My wall meters playing hide and seek for over a year so might grab another.

Its the third build in system specs, named Ahemmm, getting the make-over or a full blown replacement nuke. No immediate plans though just drooling over the possibilities.

You're right about "imperceptible temp change' but it does get a little perceptibly warm in the immediate area where heat escapes. Not really a concern but its my 2 monitor + case cockpit style layout on desk and the mouse hand getting real close (~2/3 inches) to the source of warmth that just doesn't cut it. I might drop a pic tonight.

btw, Just wandering how you arrived at 24W. If it were 400W at full load with a 92% efficient juice box, i'm getting 400/0.92=435-400=35W. I had this working in the bag at some point but might of fudged it.

400W was just a rough number using the first system in your system specs, and I just plugged in typical gaming power-use values for your CPU and GPU to arrive at 380W, then added 20W for leftovers like fans and chipset.

For efficiency, your PSU is way better than 92%. That's the bare minimum for a platinum grade at 20% load. HX1200 isn't a bare minimum PSU, nor is 400W 20% load. I spent two seconds to google "HX1200 review" and Tom's is the first result:



It looks like 94% at the 400W mark to me, so your working method is correct, you were just plugging in the wrong value for efficiency at 400W, so 400W/0.94 = 424W from the wall when delivering 400W to the system, AKA 24W of PSU waste heat.

Using numbers for "Ahemm" instead, that's 91W+ 231W +misc so lets' call it 350W system draw during gaming loads at 91.5% efficiency:


source = TPU

That's 350/0915 = 382W, AKA 32W of PSU waste heat...

 

[wheresmycar]

400W was just a rough number using the first system in your system specs, and I just plugged in typical gaming power-use values for your CPU and GPU to arrive at 380W, then added 20W for leftovers like fans and chipset.

For efficiency, your PSU is way better than 92%. That's the bare minimum for a platinum grade at 20% load. HX1200 isn't a bare minimum PSU, nor is 400W 20% load. I spent two seconds to google "HX1200 review" and Tom's is the first result:

View attachment 401881

It looks like 94% at the 400W mark to me, so your working method is correct, you were just plugging in the wrong value for efficiency at 400W, so 400W/0.94 = 424W from the wall when delivering 400W to the system, AKA 24W of PSU waste heat.

Using numbers for "Ahemm" instead, that's 91W+ 231W +misc so lets' call it 350W system draw during gaming loads at 91.5% efficiency:

View attachment 401896
source = TPU

That's 350/0915 = 382W, AKA 32W of PSU waste heat...

I just took a quick look as well - seems like maybe a couple of reviews are missing. From what I remember, it was hitting around 90–92% efficiency at 500W and peaked at 94% around the 50% load mark. No complaints though, I’ll take that extra 2% efficiency any day of the week

Appreciate you clearing that up!

 

[wheresmycar]

@Chrispy_

I might drop a pic tonight.

The cockpit:

 

[Chrispy_]

LOL, your PC is sat on your mouse mat.
That'd do it

 

[wheresmycar]

LOL, your PC is sat on your mouse mat.
That'd do it

guilty as charged

Nah, just a rogue corner hiding from the sun.

 

[R4ynor]

I was looking at the noise testing on 217 compared to the 207, and it's a huge difference.
Model 217 has 2x170mm front fans compared to 2x140mm front fans on model 207, and also 217 model has 1 rear 140mm fan., where 207 model has none.
All those are contributing to the noise 48.9 dba on 217 compared to 44.5 dba on 207.
Could be that the new 170mm fans are moving more air and being close to the mesh, they produce more noise.

 

[Chrispy_]

I was looking at the noise testing on 217 compared to the 207, and it's a huge difference.
Model 217 has 2x170mm front fans compared to 2x140mm front fans on model 207, and also 217 model has 1 rear 140mm fan., where 207 model has none.
All those are contributing to the noise 48.9 dba on 217 compared to 44.5 dba on 207.
Could be that the new 170mm fans are moving more air and being close to the mesh, they produce more noise.

It's just a symptom of the different fan speeds/power. TPU's case tests aren't noise-normalised, so you can't really compare cases against each other because a louder case may simply be running fans much faster, and therefore delivering far more cooling. The noise chart simply tells you how noisy the case is at max fan speed with it's included fans, nothing more.

In this instance, the 207 comes with two 4.8W fans in the front and the 217 comes with 6W fans in the front, so the 217 is louder whilst delivering much more airflow. If you look at the temperature results you'll see it's several degrees cooler than the 207.

 

[R4ynor]

Thank you for the explanation ! I was chasing this case to replace my O11 Dynamic Evo XL which is hurting my back (it has around 20 kg empty) , and I was worried a bit about the noise on the 217 model.
I think GamersNexus are doing noise-normalized tests, but they didn't tested yet the 217. I'm keeping an eye on it

 

[Chrispy_]

Thank you for the explanation ! I was chasing this case to replace my O11 Dynamic Evo XL which is hurting my back (it has around 20 kg empty) , and I was worried a bit about the noise on the 217 model.
I think GamersNexus are doing noise-normalized tests, but they didn't tested yet the 217. I'm keeping an eye on it

Yeah, TPU doesn't have the test data but I would GUESS that the 217 is quieter than the 207 for the same amount of cooling.

There's a lot more to noise levels than just a dBA number. In general, the lower the frequency, the less intrusive it is - and the 170mm fans will be spinning more slowly AND producing those decibels at a lower frequency when matching the airflow cfm of the 140mm fans in the 207.

IME, proximity of the leading edge of a fan's blades to a mesh makes a huge difference to the noise level and tone, but you can customise this distance with washers, spacers, a gasket, or something 3D-printed easily enough. 3-4mm is enough to make a loud fan install into one that's practically inaudible.