| Lancool First Knight PC-K63 Computer Case |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |
| Written by Steven Iglesias-Hearst | |
| Sunday, 23 January 2011 | |
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Lancool PC-K63 Testing and ResultsTesting MethodologyIn the following tests I will be comparing the Lancool PC-K63 to the Thermaltake Armor A90 PC case as they are very similar in airflow pattern and layout. I will be measuring the most important components inside the case and these are CPU, VGA and HDD. To test the CPU I will create a load using prime 95 and monitor the temperature using RealTemp v3.60, taking a reading of the idle temperature before I start. To test the GPU I will create a load using MSI Kombustor v1.0.7 and monitor temperatures with GPU-Z v0.5.0, taking a reading of the idle temperature before I start. To test the hard drive I submitted it to a barrage of various benchmarks and monitored the temperature using HWMonitor, all to no real avail as the HDD's temperature really didn't rise that much in either case. Each test is repeated three times for consistency and the average reading is used in the graphs below. Test System
While the PC is idle the Lancool PC-K63 wins over ever so slightly with HDD temperatures, this is likely due to a better intake than the Thermaltake Armor A90. The PC-K63 has two 140mm intake fans to the Armor A90's one 140mm intake fan. The CPU is ever so slightly warmer in the PC-K63 which is odd as I thought the exhaust would be better than the Armor A90. Temperatures reported in these tests are degrees over ambient (Delta) because the tests were conducted on different days and there was a variant of 2C in the ambient room temperature, varying from 23C on day one to 25C on day two.
In the load tests the results are slightly different, The HDD is once again slightly cooler in the PC-K63 but the CPU is still is slightly warmer. There is now a variance between the VGA temperatures and the PC-K63 snatches it here with a 2C lead. The thermal design in the Thermaltake Armor A90 is better suited to your CPU and the thermal design in the Lancool PC-K63 is better suited to components lower down in the case (HDD's and VGA's). With this said the temperatures are very close indeed and both cases cater really well to the needs of the enthusiast.
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Comments
I studied many reviews and did some tinkering with my top picks over the last 6-8 months, finally settling on an NZXT Phantom black; picked it up locally for $99 on sale. It appears that all the case manufacturers are up to the task of providing excellent "bang for the buck". The future of cases looks bright indeed.
Outside. The pompadore look went out in the 1950s.. Well. How can I describe this.. Have you ever seen a baby that was so ugly that you couldn't look at it for more that a second at a time and you felt like telling the mother the truth but the mother is LIAN LI. The whole front is loser..All the way. I do like the controls and the indented usb panel that is nice but not enough..One E Sata.. One USB3 and one USB2.. are those things that expensive to manufacture. You should have concidered a CoolerMaster style drive bay inside that front Cancerous bump to fill the void you put in the front of that case.
You know if I had an aging Lancool that was scratched and broken on the inside I might consider buying this and putting my old top and front on it.
I will be really surprised if they sell many of these.. remember the Menatour.
It's too bad this case is not very pleasing on the eyes, because it looks like it has a couple of great features like the removable HDD cage and wire management.
Nice review!
Thanks Nate and everyone else for the postive comments.
I also love how you reported the distances, including the distance behind the mb tray. Thanks for that.
I think that Lian Li have built a thoughtful case. Two 140mm fans up front is a great idea, especially if you ditch the junk that Lian Li usually put in their cases and replace them with blue LED Yate Loon D14SL-124B's.
Another fine feature is the pair of 140mm fan positions at the top with no grills. My preferred arrangement is to block off the rear position and use the forward top position as an intake, to feed fresh air to the heatsink. People who have tried this get 3 - 5c better cpu temps than using the top fans as exhaust.
Thanks again for the fine review. It's an excellent introduction to what looks to be a fine case.
I like the simple design of Lian Li and the aluminium look, and I never really liked the usual gamer cases (Antec, Cooler Master etc.). The curves on the K63 look great. I am bored with square cases :)
Question to original reviewer: Taking aesthetics and appearance out of the equation, which one is better?
very very interesting review .. full with information & details .. excellent work !!!
My question is .. how thick 280mm radioator can be installed at the top ?! There is very little information @ web about this case (Lancool site is also very very poor on information)
If there is no room for appropriate radiator @ top .. i think the only other way , is modifying the bottom , but dust-filters+thick radiator+2pull 140mm fans .. i think .. the CFM will decrease a lot.. and the radiator can not be chilled appropriately .
So í'm busy in the summer , eventuelly my build will start Oct-Nov , so if nothing new is commin' out , i guess my choice will be Haf-X .. hopefully the price will be a lil bit lower.. now it's about 160 Euro in my country Bulgaria :)
After your review , i was inlove with this Knight-Case , but 40mm radiator doesnt suits me , i would use smthg lika XSPC or Phobye thicker radiotors (about 60mm) .. So thnx again !! This info was very usefull , because there is nothing so concrete as numbers about this case currently online . You first revelead the truth :))
I've been looking for cases with features:
- Multiple quiet big fans (at least 4), with easily detachable filters.
- Top fan(s) must not block the big CPU-cooler. Outside-mount is better and safe. I've heard someone's top fan broke and fell down and could hit the CPU.
- USB3.0 & Esata at front.
- Side window so I can measure different area temperatures from outside.
- Good wire management, or side window will make my PC look even uglier.
- Black inside out, or side window is not needed.
- 2.5" SSD mount (at least 2).
- Can fit an 11.5" long graphic card.
Around the same price, can anyone suggest other similar cases like this?
- Great observation on mounting six 2.5" HDD, with two unside down. If you haven't said so, no one would ever know.
- In your testing, the CPU hot air flows from front to back, then taken out by the 12" rear case fan, because the two CPU fans are oriented horizontally. I wonder that If you orient the CPU fans vertically upward, would the two 14" top case fans do a better job in taking out the heat.
- The clip-hinge for easy cards installation is a good idea, but not practical. First, most of the hinges can not hang on at top after fully lifted up. They simply drop back down by gravity. I had to use Scotch tape to hold them in order to free both my hands. Secondly, the device is bulky and the open gap after a full lift is only 18mm high. I had a hard time to squeeze in my 3-slot wide, 11" long graphics card. I can either take the top 3.5" rack out, or better yet, take the whole clip-hinge device off, for an easier insertion. Either way, the purpose of the hinge device is invalidated.
Still, it is a well-designed high quality case.
The Zalman CPU cooler it a heatpipe tower cooler, so in this orientation it is in its best theoretical position as the fluid in the hat pipe needs somewhere to rise to. Many of Olin's CPU comparison articles on this website have pointed this out. The best thing you could do is a little bit of experimentation of you own, it's all part of the experience. :)
As for your observations with the expansion slot hinges, I feel what you are saying but I myself didn't find it to be a problem. What sort of a monster video card do you have that uses 3 slots? Sounds like a beast lol.
The second monster is the Asus GTX570 DCII, which occupies 3 slots of the Sabertooth P67 mobo, and wastes me 2 PCI expansion slots. The trade-off is that I get a very quiet and cool card for overclocking.