Lian Li PC-TU100 Mini-ITX Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on May 29, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Mini ITX
- Lian Li
Noise and Thermal Testing
I concede that I didn't go into testing with high hopes for the Lian Li PC-TU100, and my reasons for that are fairly evident. One powerful fan blowing through the right components can definitely be an extremely efficient way to keep things cool as SilverStone's Temjin TJ08-E can attest, but it has to be well-placed and well-chosen. The 120mm fan in the PC-TU100 seems a little underwhelming, and its airflow is directed almost entirely at the CPU with very little ancillary flow making it to the expansion slots.
That iffy fan positioning turns out to be problematic even for just the CPU; the Core i3 in our testbed isn't overheating, but the PC-TU100 isn't thermally competitive. 5C higher than the middle of the pack just doesn't bode well.
With just a 3-pin intake fan and no real fan control to speak of, idle noise isn't very good either. The case is still quiet, but SilverStone's Sugo SG08 is able to produce both superior thermals and superior noise. Fractal Design's Node 304 also proves to be a better choice on both fronts.
Add in even a modest graphics card like the ZOTAC GeForce GTS 450 Eco we use, and things only get worse for Lian Li's carry-on case. Thermals on the video card are poor, but worse, a pocket of heat builds up at the bottom of the case near the drive trays. Note that the GTS 450 Eco is under 75W and draws all of its power from the PCIe slot, and imagine how much worse things might be with a more powerful card.
With the video card added, noise turns out to be an even bigger issue as well. SilverStone's comparably sized Sugo SG08 outclasses it at every turn, and the Fractal Design Node 304 puts in a stellar showing against it as well.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
23 Comments
View All Comments
EnzoFX - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
More of the same. Wish they'd actually innovate. How about something like: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1750863&...mcbowler - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
or this http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1717132barry spock - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Wow!DanNeely - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
That's intriguing. What's the 3rd expansion slot for though? One of the handful of 3 slot cooler GPUs that have shown up or something else?WhiteAdam - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Love my job, since I've been bringing in $82h… I sit at home, music playing while I work in front of my new iMac that I got now that I'm making it online. (Home more information)http://goo.gl/8jSFj
chang3d - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
I've been following that NCase for a while now. I love its design and compactness.Assuming that Dustin will review it, I will guess that he will not like it too. The designer Necere himself did several temperature & noice benchmarks. And they are high. In fact, he doesn't even recommend watercooling the GPU with the H220 due to the fans have a lack of airflow. It is recommended to use a video card with a blower style cooler.
If you are watercooling, only use the 120mm radiator kits. The case needs the other fan slot. So you'd be better off with a nice air cooler from Noctua, etc.
Based on that, Dustin will have the same complaint here. And most likely another complaint because it's so small and tight.
P.S. I will get an NCase. I'm not hating on it. I'm just saying Dustin likely will.
meacupla - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
So, basically, too big for a compact mITX case, but too small for anything you'd want to put in a larger mITX case.Or, more succinctly, mediocre. Especially with the likes of APU and Haswell and their improved graphics that don't require the extra space.
If only antec would give an updated version of their ISK310...
epoon2 - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Antec is probably scared off from post PC era and abandoned their case position.thesavvymage - Thursday, May 30, 2013 - link
honest question: what else does Antec even make? Seems to me they only make power supplies and cases... if they dont continue to innovate in cases because they are scared of a post pc era, what else would they even do to survive?epoon2 - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
This case looks like targeting to address small, low power usage customers. The heat/thermo tradeoff does not concern me...