External Tour

Upon unpacking the Lian Li PC-D8000 chassis there were some interesting words that sprang forth into our minds, with these being (and amongst others) Behemoth, Grandiose, substantial and granite-like. The case as far as size is certainly impressive and is certainly imposing.

Although its external design could be considered as uninspired by some, we at OCT sway towards the feeling of a to classy minimalist look. The case measures an impressive measures 24.7″ (628mm) tall, 22.5″ (572mm) long and 15.9″ (405mm) wide, and weighs 30.8lbs (14kg) when empty. Due to the aluminium material used within its , which is surprisingly light when you take its dimensions into account.

The front sports it has a sleek brushed black aluminium bezel with six 5.25″ drive bays,  with a single bay acting as the front I/O panel, which is removable without any tools and allows access to the D8000′s 20 drive bays. The I/O panel occupies a 5.25″ bay,though it can be moved if necessary.

The 5.25 inch bay covers are well crafted and unlike Mountain Mods or XSPC cases there is an absence of a  2mm gap between the plate cover and the top of the bay area, of which can only be a good thing. In addition the  covers themselves whilst being tool free they do not pop in or come loose either.

Both of the side doors are removable and sport a ventilation  grill that is directly to the side of the hard drive bay, in order to enable to let air flow over the  drive bays. The aforementioned side panels are held on by three thumbscrews and lock with a reassuring sound.

The top panel also sports the anodised ‘mat black’ look with eight  ’alan key’ based screws. This allows the consumer to utilise either 4x 120 or 140mm fans, ergo either 2x 240 or 280mm radiators. However these sections are not in the centre of the of panel and are situated towards to the rear.

Next we take a look at the rear of the case, of which shows a completely different look. This uses a bare aluminium look, but why Lian-Li have chosen to go with this idea instead of continuing with the black anodised theme is anyone’s guess. However in all fairness the aluminium is finished off rather nicely and looks well presented.

 As we can see by the back panel the PC-D8000 sports a rather large motherboard tray which houses an impressive eleven  PCI-E ports and by this reckoning would be ideal for E-ATX motherboards. Above this is the section for the motherboard I/O shield along with a 120mm fan exhaust. To the right we see what looks like to be a dual fan mounting, Id-Est. both the 12o and 140mm varieties. Upon closer examination of these fan spacings we can see that the spacings for 140mm are of the 120mm variety, which should be compatible with the Hardware Labs Black Ice radiators. However most radiators manufacturers whom produce this type of product have now adopted the 15mm spacing standard. Which in turn brings us to the 120mm fan section and that there is a major issue that the fan spacing for these is totally incorrect and does not adopt the above 15mm fan spacings, of which is the standard for both radiator types. Lastly we can see that this chassis supports two power supplies which in itself is a good thing if it can indeed support twenty hard disk drives.

The bottom panel houses two PSU intake grills along with their much-needed dust filters. As in all cases of this size the Lian-Li PC-D8000 uses four castor wheels for easier transportation.

Well that is about it really for the external tour, so please read on for the internal workings of this product.