Which case? CoolerMaster or Lian-Li?

[Superself]

Originally posted by: Poohbee
I'd recommend the Cooler master. It has a better quality finish and construction. It has a removeable back panel for the power supply and a removeable front face plate. To remove the face plate all you need is a hex driver. Incidentally the filter is behind the plate.

Contruction wise the CM is so much better than lian li. the alum. used is thicker and better fitted. If you take a lian li case and push-pull from opposite corners you will see it start to "flex" and warp. Same with the door panels... The door panels are so thin I would be cautious in mishandling them. On the other hand the Cooler master case structure is very rigid and doesn't warp or "flex" like the lian li. The door panel itself is thicker than the lian li by a large margin. The finish on the exterior is similar to that of car paint/finishes with a clear coat applied.. The aluminum inside is nice and clean matte finish. The edges won't cut you or scratch you, unlike the lian li. Incidentally, the lian li uses those plastic edge guards to protect you from getting cut

overall Cooler master is the way to go. It's pricey, but you do get waht you pay for and you will never find a better well made and stylish case.

Somehow, I just don't believe this. I have taken the doors off of my Lian Li, and they don't flex at all. Even the extra side panel I purchased with the glass window is VERY sturdy...no flexing. The case all around is very professionally done. The only caution have to have is such the case with all aluminum cases...it can be scratched.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Poohbee
I'd recommend the Cooler master. It has a better quality finish and construction. It has a removeable back panel for the power supply and a removeable front face plate. To remove the face plate all you need is a hex driver. Incidentally the filter is behind the plate.

Contruction wise the CM is so much better than lian li. the alum. used is thicker and better fitted. If you take a lian li case and push-pull from opposite corners you will see it start to "flex" and warp. Same with the door panels... The door panels are so thin I would be cautious in mishandling them. On the other hand the Cooler master case structure is very rigid and doesn't warp or "flex" like the lian li. The door panel itself is thicker than the lian li by a large margin. The finish on the exterior is similar to that of car paint/finishes with a clear coat applied.. The aluminum inside is nice and clean matte finish. The edges won't cut you or scratch you, unlike the lian li. Incidentally, the lian li uses those plastic edge guards to protect you from getting cut

overall Cooler master is the way to go. It's pricey, but you do get waht you pay for and you will never find a better well made and stylish case.

Somehow, I just don't believe this. I have taken the doors off of my Lian Li, and they don't flex at all. Even the extra side panel I purchased with the glass window is VERY sturdy...no flexing. The case all around is very professionally done. The only caution have to have is such the case with all aluminum cases...it can be scratched.

It depends on which Lian Li case you have that you would detect flexing. Flexing was mainly detected in the PC-70 series (PC-70, PC-71, PC-75 etc.). This was due to the very large size of the case itself, but no increase in thickness of aluminium that was used to construct the cases. To my knowledge, the other case designs did not really suffer this problem. But once you get labled for having one case design that "flexes", everyone just assumes that all the cases flex that have the same thickness of aluminium used, but that is not the facts.

Anyway, I myself was looking at either a Lian Li or a CoolerMaster (more specifically the Lian Li PC-75 and the CoolerMaster ATC 201a-SX1). I eventually went with the CoolerMaster for 2 reasons. 1) Intel approved it as an excellent cooling performance case. 2) I figured out a way to get everything I wanted into a case with only 4x 5.25 slots (Found out that the Audigy 2 Platinum Ex did not use up a 5.25 bay like the Platinum version did, so I spent an extra $40 and got a better card which didn't need the slot...thus allowing me to fit the DVD +-R/RW, DVD-ROM, CD-RW and Sunbeam that I wanted in the case).

 

[xavguy]

Is the only difference between the CM 201B SXK and 201B SX2 the port on top of the box?

I noticed they were the same price, and why not have the option for a fan on top?

 

[xavguy]

Nevermind, I see now that the SX2 has a potluck color option for your side and top sides. Either a pewter or brownish color depending on who is painting that day, not silver like the front. This case would be awesome if not for that, but is still very nice.

 

[beatle]

The 201-SX I got from Newegg is more of a pewter finish on the case. Looks great.

 

[trak0rr0kart]

Lian-Li. Personal Preference...

 

[s3ntrySP1]

Dunno about the SX2, but i have a Cooler Master ATC-201B-SXK holding my personal system rigth now and its the best case i have ever worked with! Highly recommended.

 

[Scroatdog]

Originally posted by: xavguy
Nevermind, I see now that the SX2 has a potluck color option for your side and top sides. Either a pewter or brownish color depending on who is painting that day, not silver like the front. This case would be awesome if not for that, but is still very nice.

My CM ATC-201 SX2 has a sort of pewter color on the top and sides. I assure you, it's anything but pot luck". If you're into PERFECT, M I R R O R finishes, then this is the case for you.

I love mine. I'm just trying to figure out how to cram watercooling into it, because I want a SILENT PC

 

[smahoney]

I was almost ready to get a Coolermaster case myself till I went to my local CompUSA where I was able to compare them side-by-side.

The motherboard tray slides in and out easier on the Lian-Li cases.
The Aluminum is of comparable quality as is the finish.
I felt that the Lian-Li was easier to work with.

I ended up getting the CompUSA/Lian-Li modified PC-82 for $149.99 - The coolermaster was $152 on the web but with one less rear fan.

The PC-82 at CompUSA comes with a side windows and five fans. It is a bit shorter than the PC-65 which is an extended length version of the PC60 series.

Either company makes an excellent product - pretty much personal choice and price - the PC-82 at CompUSA was the best value I was able to find though.

 

[snowwie]

Originally posted by: smahoney
It is a bit shorter than the PC-65 which is an extended length version of the PC60 series.

PC65 is same thing as pc60 except it has a window

you're thinking of the PC62

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: hmsrolst
I believe that that model of Coolermaster is all aluminum. I have an all aluminum 201C that has no sharp edges, and the fit and finish easily trumps my Lian Li.

CoolerMaster cases totally rule... period!

 

[Corporate Thug]

i'm very bran loyal towards coolermaster because i have NEVER been dissapointed by them so i must once again vote for the coolermaster

 

[eastvillager]

I've got 3 coolermaster 201 cases. All of them are the same basic model, but each one has numerous 'fixes' over the previous model. If you haven't looked at what they're doing recently, you owe it to yourself to check them out.

For instance, somebody mentioned the separate removable plate for the powersupply on the lian-li, cm 201 series has that now too.

They've made them even easier to get into with modifications to the side doors like flared grip areas to remove the sides, more sensibly placed thumbscrews, and a much easier to get to power supply bay. The removable mother board tray is much more 'solid' in recent versions, as well.

I'd like to see them change the front grill to allow much better airflow, and add 2 firewire ports to the front access bay. Other than that, the cases are perfect for me.

I've not had to work with lian-li cases, only checked them out at a local pc shop, and honestly, for pure fit and finish, the ones I saw didn't hold a candle to coolermaster 201. Course, they were 20-40 bucks cheaper, but you get what you pay for. I've already had about 4 different long term configurations in my 1st case, and I expect to keep using it for as long as ATX is around.

 

[FluxCap]

You definitely made the right choice smahoney, enjoy it !!!

 

[lianliperson]

i have Lian-Li PC65 i say its awesome, but th coolermaster is good competition, both lian-li and coolermaster are in a class of their own, they are above other case but they compete n the same level, i say Lian-Li just because that is what my last 3 homebuilt pcs have been, and i say lian li because of their intake fans, they are horizontal and the hard drives mount vertically in a REMOVEABLE HD rack. thats a plus, Lian li is all thumbscrews too, im nto sure about CM's. Lian li have the plastic molding, and mine doesnt coem off unless i intentionally PULL IT OFF! lian li has a removeable PSU mounting bracket. removeable floppy rack, which has no point but its cool,