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View Full Version : Review: The Lian Li V2110B Case.



Broly
08-26-2008, 11:52 AM
Wow, is all I can say when I think of this case.

Being 20, nearly 21 at the end of this year, I have been building for 8 years and 8 months. Since the age of 9 I remember my love for computers. My first build was a Pentium 1 200 mhz with an S3 Virge video card on 32 MB of EDORam on a whopping 2.4gb hard drive. Looking back I should have seen that I'd be destined for this hobby that I not only eat,sleep and breathe; but one I also respect and cherish. That computer changed my life that day, infact I was unhappy because the "Box" looked ugly and I thought the computer sucked.

Those were the days, being young and looking at the box and being unsatisfied. I'll never forget the next day at school where my friend said my computer was quite good and that his was a Cyrix 166 MHz on 24mb of EDO Ram with only 1.6GB. I should have counted my blessings but that case, man did it ever irk me.

Cases changed everything, and when I turned 12 I built with the budget I was given. Unfortunately that required me to "skimp" on my case; and I ended up getting a P2 400 with the great AOpen board with... get this.. A GEFORCE 256 and 128mb ram! I also had the sony 8x cd burner! WOW Was I ever on top of the world! But some business remained unfinished, as the case was just a bland case since I wanted a hardcore gaming PC.

So, with a minor upgrade 2 years later (AMD Athlon XP 2000+, A7V333, 512 MB Ram, Geforce 4 Ti4400), another 2 years flew by and this time I was given a 6k budget.
P4 3.2 Ghz
1GB Ram
FX5900 Ultra Golden Sample
P4C800 Deluxe
blablabla

The case?

This is when I was first really introduced to the badass calibre of Lian Li's. When I was 14 I'd heard of them, never seen them or had one of my own. They were all special order and I couldn't get my dad to buy me a 250 dollar case at that time. So, I'm 16 now and I want one. The kicker? Special order only! The wait? 2-3 months! So... I said to myself, screw that and I bought my first "cool looking" case; the Xaser 3 by Thermaltake. A great case when it wasn't being abused by me.

Business was left unfinished. I ended up getting my first Lian Li V1000B Watercooled case by Koolance when I was 19. It wasn't the dream case I wanted; it was blocking my bottom SLI slot so this case was out as fast as it came in.

Now... Well I've finally gotten the case I've wanted. I ordered it in May, came in Mid June. The Lian Li V2110B. This case is a marvel. I am not saying this because I have one. I have had the Cosmos S, the V1200B, the Wave Master (When it was cutting edge), the TJ07; nothing comes close to this thing for build quality and just feel.

This thing is so large, it dwarfs the cosmos S in size and ability to hold things. I have spent a good 2 months testing this case's limits and there is nothing you can't take out; nearly everything has been left adjustable by Lian Li. This case is not a mere evolution of the v2100B, it's a REVOLUTION.

Let's get started.

Build Quality:
Absolutely stunning, the finish is perfect. Any blemishes you see are self created due to frustration of my watercooling loop (My first one, and took me nearly 30 man hours to build/rebuild and perfect, even though it may not seem perfect). The panels are all brushed aluminum, perfectly parallel. The case panels are come with sound insulating material that do not increate the temps too much. I need to get these drilled to have them with exhausts all near the bottom. The case comes with 2 watercooling outlets which I elected to make my filiport holes since I have 2 radiators cooling this setup.
The interior is very spacious and well thought out. Any sort of blemishes you see on the metal are from my dremel work (I cut a piece for my DDC pump so it has open ventilation, basically sits on the metal seperator and has free air beneath). It has a slide out motherboard tray that works from removing the panel that sits behind the motherboard, then you remove the thumbscrews on the outside and just slide/pop it out. It doesn't slide outside the way most do, but it is still convenient to be able to pop it out from the back with all of your stuff housed.
The only qualm I have with the build quality is the non flush fitment of PCI-E/PCI cards. It happened in my TJ07 as well. Basically you have to compensate and make sure the card will fit albeit not flush and flex the bracket a little to ensure securefitment and proper seating. Everything on the inside has rounded edges and it is nearly impossible to cut yourself on the metal alone.

Overall build quality:
A-

Broly
08-26-2008, 11:53 AM
Room:

This case is absolutely stunning on the inside. IT has a lot of room. One thing lian Li could have done better in the case design is remove this one flat piece that sits amongst the the 5 1/2" Bays. It's a flat piece screwed in. You can remove it but it's quite a :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: since the screws to remove them are only about 1 inch away from the actual frame of the case which means you'd be awkwardly screwing it out and it's very difficult to do. There were drive bays where my PA120.3 is located right now. Frankly I don't miss them. I still have to buy an HD Caddy to hold my HD but it won't be too tough to install since the lian Li is very friendly in sliding things into the bays from the front of the case which makes my work much easier. This case is easily holding my 120.3 and 120.2 right now. Even though they're both in unorthodox positions I have no air in my system, just that bubbly biocide I still have to flush from my 120.3 loop which I plan to do soon. The drive bays are very easy to remove. There are screw holes at the bottom and top of the case to unsecure them and put them away for a later date. I also created more room by dremelling a bigger passthrough in the seperator for more of my tubing. For non watercoolers there is ample space to get all of your wires through neatly and organized. For all watercoolers there is ample room unless you're using a 2-rad setup in which you're going to need to make sure all of your power wires and your loop will fit through it, but light dremelling fixes that.

Room Score:
A+

Broly
08-26-2008, 11:58 AM
Customization ability:

If my Room paragraph didn't let you know how customizable this case is, let me re-iterate! It's very customizable. Nearly EVERYTHING in the case is removable. The drive-bays being removable allowed me to fit my 120.3. That's all I really needed to do. You can also add/remove a given fan bracket that allows you to attach another 120mm fan to have a total of 3x120mm fans in the case. One is in the bottom and one is in the top by the motherboard. The 3rd is optional and I chose not to install it :P

<More to be added>

Broly
08-26-2008, 11:59 AM
*reserved*

billdavis
08-26-2008, 02:36 PM
wow are lots of cooling capability

tekjunkie
08-27-2008, 06:08 PM
I have the case and I have to say that it's not a good case for air cooling. The air fow inside the case sucks.With parts that generate a significant amount of heat like I do(Qx9650+8800GTX SLI), it does get pretty toasty in there with only one 120mm fan as exhaust and no top vent.

Mr.Guvernment
08-27-2008, 10:01 PM
cable management!!!!!!

Broly
08-27-2008, 10:04 PM
This case is great for air cooling, how is it not? The whole front is preforated and the rear has an exhaust...

Should have bought your TJ07 and not copied me Tekjunkie, I bought this case becuase it's the best.

tekjunkie
08-28-2008, 08:34 PM
This case is great for air cooling, how is it not? The whole front is preforated and the rear has an exhaust...

Should have bought your TJ07 and not copied me Tekjunkie, I bought this case becuase it's the best.

I had the case @ my doorstep June 3, much before you did, so shush.

Proof
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/8295/ppcqb2.th.jpg (http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ppcqb2.jpg)

Also, it's just my opinion anyway. I have tested the same hardware on my P180B and also this case. It runs much hotter than on my P180B and P180B is a mid tower for crying out loud. Also check out the review @ Anandtech. Quoting them "Even with the fans all set to high the back corner of the top panel does get quite hot during extended gaming sessions ... ".

Please understand that I am entitled to my opinion much like you are entitled to yours and Please dont accuse somebody of stuff like copying you when you don't know the entire truth.

blazarcher
04-16-2010, 08:07 PM
It sure is a beauty but very cramped compared to the Lian Li V2100B. Check out my thread, I am fitting 2 120mm radiators, a 480mm radiator, and a 240mm radiator all internally. Thanks to the lower compartment being larger than the newer 2110, it can fit a 480mm and a 240mm underneath it all with a whopping 1500W Silverstone PSU without any modding whatsoever. So yeah, a real beast. Only problem is that it's scratch prone. Already got a few here and there. Still need to get the side panels cut though...

Movieman
04-16-2010, 08:35 PM
It sure is a beauty but very cramped compared to the Lian Li V2100B. Check out my thread, I am fitting 2 120mm radiators, a 480mm radiator, and a 240mm radiator all internally. Thanks to the lower compartment being larger than the newer 2110, it can fit a 480mm and a 240mm underneath it all with a whopping 1500W Silverstone PSU without any modding whatsoever. So yeah, a real beast. Only problem is that it's scratch prone. Already got a few here and there. Still need to get the side panels cut though...

PSSST! Look at the dates of the posts above you!..OLD,2008..:D

AAbenson
04-16-2010, 10:03 PM
...more pictures please:)
can anyone else confirm that this is a watercooling only case?