Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic Chassis Review: Affordable Luxury

Early Verdict

Overall, the PC-O11 Dynamic is a reasonably priced, full-featured chassis that would be a fantastic foundation for an exceptional system build. From Mild to wild, this chassis can handle it all.

Pros

  • +

    Great Value Great Looks Fantastic Water Cooling Support Attractive Design / Quality Craftsmanship Acoustic performance

Cons

  • -

    No fans Thermal performance

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Features & Specifications

Lian Li's latest case offering, the PC-O11 Dynamic, is a gorgeous chassis with large tempered glass panels, outstanding water cooling support, and a surprisingly reasonable price tag of $99.

Exterior

Sharp eyed readers will remember that the Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic was awarded our "Best Value PC Case" award at CES 2018 earlier this year. This chassis, designed in collaboration with renowned extreme-overclocker Roman “Der8auer” Hartung, features steel-and-tempered-glass construction, with a brushed-aluminum accent panel. The chassis measures 450 x 275 x 450mm (L x W x H), is painted black inside and out, and weighs in at just under 22lbs.

The top of the chassis is flat and, with the exception of a 5 by 15-inch row of ventilation slots, is featureless. There are no handles, buttons, slots or ports on the top if the PC-O11 Dynamic. The aforementioned slotted vents span almost the entire length of the left-hand side of the chassis, front to back.


The right-hand side of the front of the chassis is covered by a brushed aluminum panel that is home to two USB 3.0 ports, microphone and headphone jacks, a power button, and a single USB Type-C port. The majority of the front of the case is covered by a 420 x 220 x 4mm tinted tempered glass panel. 

The fact that this chassis is equipped with a full-cover tempered glass side panel isn't anything special, many cases these days have one or more glass panels. But It's the rather ingenious way the tempered glass panels are attached to the case that make this chassis stand out. The tempered glass panels can only be detached once the top panel has been removed. This clever design minimizes the possibility of dropping a glass panel during installation or maintenance, and the lack of traditional thumbscrew fasteners gives the PC-O11 Dynamic a sleek and stylish look.

Those of you concerned about airflow need only to look at the panel on the opposite side of the case, where you'll find slotted vents, identical to those on the top panel, covering both the front and back of the stamped-steel panel. Just as with the glass panels, the top panel has to be removed in order to gain access for cleaning and maintenance.

The rear of the chassis is home to eight expansion card slots, a motherboard I/O area in the center, a mounting location for a bottom-mounted PSU, as we as an opening for two 3.5" hard drives (or a secondary power supply). The bottom of the case has three filter-covered mounting locations for 120mm fans, as well as four large, rubber-lined plastic feet.

The PC-O11 Dynamic features a solid fan filtration system. Every intake fan mounting location in this chassis is equipped with a large washable magnetic filter. Overall, these filters do a good job preventing dirt and dust particles from entering your system.

MORE: Best Cases

MORE: All Case Content

  • AgentLozen
    I really like the aesthetic to this case. Also, how many cases do you see with USB type C built into the front panel? Very neat.
    Reply
  • Scorpionking20
    I'd love this case, but I have 1 too many hard drives, and my psu is 15mm too long to fit. :(
    Reply
  • Co BIY
    One of the nicest looking cases I've seen. I'm not sure I understand the point of the dual chambered design. I prefer a slimmer tower so I can keep more desk.

    I'd like to read an article on setting up a PC with two power supplies.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    Wish newegg had it in stock.
    Reply
  • zodiacfml
    Too large for me. I hope to see a model without support for 360mm radiators
    Reply
  • 2Be_or_Not2Be
    20896461 said:
    Too large for me. I hope to see a model without support for 360mm radiators

    So, how about the Q-10 then?
    Reply
  • mischon123
    @cobiy: One chamber for MB and one for the PSU? Works cool here. Nice case and holes in panels are cheap. In some climates dust looks like wet lint. Filtration in the tropics is a must or your PC will short out. Many coolers and watercooler keep it running at acceptable speed even when hot.
    Reply
  • BaRoMeTrIc
    I dont mind lian-li not including fans, every case i have bought over the past 3 years i immediately rip the preinstalled fans out and replace them with corsair af 120's or their sp 120's, but lately i've been going with the hd120's and ll120s. I know have a box full of crappy fractal, corsair, phantek, and zalman fans.
    Reply
  • Dark Lord of Tech
    Newegg just bumped it up $30.00 for future orders , was $99.00.
    Reply
  • Loadedaxe
    Almost Lian Li, airflow is a concern.
    Reply