Lian Li Lancool II - mesh or no mesh?

[Lord Blue of Screenshire]

Hi guys and gals,

 

I am looking into building a new machine and am looking for a case to settle on. A case I immediately fell in love with was the Lian Li Lancool II (no mesh), but the GN's review wasn't particularly great in terms of thermals. Alternatives I amconsidering are therefor the Lian Li Lancool II mesh and the PHANTEKS Eclipse P400A, but I have to admit it prefer the look of the orignal Lian Li Lancool II. Do you think the thermals are actually an issue (or at what point they would become one) for the Lian Li Lancool II?

 

Thanks!

[jaslion]

The difference between the lancool II mesh and no mesh is pretty big and thermals could very well become an issue.

[zeusthemoose]

What are your system specs and what cooling will you have? Getting a case with better airflow will always be better, but for me at least, making sure you like the look of the case is very important. If you have hardware that doesn’t run too hot and have adequate cooling, it will be fine as long as your are ok with higher temps (still safe though) and/or the system being louder.

[Lord Blue of Screenshire]

Probably should have included the specs indeed.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9 GHz 8-Core Processor	€339.00 @ Azerty
Motherboard	MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard	€185.05 @ Azerty
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	€164.90 @ Azerty
Storage	ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	€149.89 @ Alternate Belgium
Video Card	Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC 3X Video Card	€533.99 @ Alternate Belgium
Power Supply	Corsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	€104.05 @ Azerty
Custom	Phanteks Eclipse P400A Digital	€94.50
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€1571.38
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-18 21:03 CEST+0200

 

[jaslion]

2 minutes ago, Lord Blue of Screenshire said:

Probably should have included the specs indeed.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9 GHz 8-Core Processor	€339.00 @ Azerty
Motherboard	MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard	€185.05 @ Azerty
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	€164.90 @ Azerty
Storage	ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	€149.89 @ Alternate Belgium
Video Card	Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC 3X Video Card	€533.99 @ Alternate Belgium
Power Supply	Corsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	€104.05 @ Azerty
Custom	Phanteks Eclipse P400A Digital	€94.50
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€1571.38
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-18 21:03 CEST+0200

 

Can you wait for the new cards that are launching in a couple weeks? With those specs a no mesh lancool could pose a problem especially with using the stock cooler on the ryzen. Also small tip don't spend money on a 3800x it's a lot extra for barely any better performance over a 3700. The money you save can go towards a cooler for the 3700.

[zeusthemoose]

Are you planning on using the stock cooler for the cpu? I would get a slightly better cooler like the hyper 212 Evo or any noctua one. Also it would be best to add an extra case fan or two as it only comes with 2 of them.

When are you buying? Nvidia 3000 is coming out in a few weeks so you should wait until then to get the gpu if possible. New CPUs and amd GPUs will also be coming out later this year if you can wait.

 

Remember to quote or tag so people see your responses

[Lord Blue of Screenshire]

2 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

Nvidia 3000 is coming out in a few weeks

 

5 minutes ago, jaslion said:

the new cards that are launching in a couple weeks

I guess I could wait a bit longer, I have to admit that it feels like I'm always postponing buying a new system so I feel like I need to force myself to spend some money. Will the prices off the old products drop immediately after the release/announcement or will it take a couple or more weeks on top of that?

[zeusthemoose]

1 minute ago, Lord Blue of Screenshire said:

Will the prices off the old products drop immediately after the release/announcement or will it take a couple or more weeks on top of that?

Chances are current products won’t drop in price by much if at all. They are being discontinued not reduced in pricing. Hopefully the 3070 will be the same price though so you could get that and stay in the same budget.

[Lord Blue of Screenshire]

All this talk about mesh lead me back to the Evolv SHIFT Air, a case I considered in the past... It really seems like there is no "perfect case".

[Lord Blue of Screenshire]

1 minute ago, zeusthemoose said:

Chances are current products won’t drop in price by much if at all. They are being discontinued not reduced in pricing. Hopefully the 3070 will be the same price though so you could get that and stay in the same budget.

Will the 3070 immediately be available though, i though they 3080 is launched first and then only after a couple of weeks/months the 3070 follows.

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Lord Blue of Screenshire said:

All this talk about mesh lead me back to the Evolv SHIFT Air, a case I considered in the past... It really seems like there is no "perfect case".

I mean there is. A pretty much perfect case for watercooling is the Lian Li 011 dynamic (also great for air but looks super empty) and the silverstone RL06 for air.

[zeusthemoose]

Just now, Lord Blue of Screenshire said:

Will the 3070 immediately be available though, i though they 3080 is launched first and then only after a couple of weeks/months the 3070 follows.

Last I heard, the 3070, 3080, and 3090 (if that’s what it’s called) will be announced beginning of September and be available for sale a few weeks after that. The lower end cards will likely be a month or so after that.

But check the topics in tech news about the cards for the lost up to date rumors about them and their launch.

[jaslion]

2 minutes ago, Lord Blue of Screenshire said:

Will the 3070 immediately be available though, i though they 3080 is launched first and then only after a couple of weeks/months the 3070 follows.

We will know more in a little over a week. Op if you don't mind waiting till the 30th to know when the new cards come out I would highly recommend it. I usually do just say get what you want but I start advising postponing when a big upgrade is only a couple months away and really really push it when it's mere weeks.

[Lord Blue of Screenshire]

@zeusthemoose @jaslion

 

I guess I'll scratch my urge with some more pc build videos in the mean time.

 

This certainly is a drool-inducing vid: 

 

[jaslion]

2 minutes ago, Lord Blue of Screenshire said:

@zeusthemoose @jaslion

 

I guess I'll scratch my urge with some more pc build videos in the mean time.

 

This certainly is a drool-inducing vid: 

 

I get why some people like it but to me I just want a box that has the best stuff I could get for the money. I really could not care less about looks :p. This built will have cost a pretty penny extra for the theming I'm assuming :p.

[Lord Blue of Screenshire]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

I get why some people like it but to me I just want a box that has the best stuff I could get for the money. I really could not care less about looks :p. This built will have cost a pretty penny extra for the theming I'm assuming :p.

I actually really like the white theming, but also am not willing to pay extra for it. I think a case should still look good though. RGB I would probably never turn on.

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Lord Blue of Screenshire said:

I actually really like the white theming, but also am not willing to pay extra for it. I think a case should still look good though. RGB I would probably never turn on.

I really don't care as long as it is cheap, not horrible quality and performs well :p. My first proper gaming pc was in a zalman z9 case (the original from 2008) and that thing looked super edgy. Still rocking a antec nine hundred now and a q300l for the used parts mini system because it was dirt cheap :p.

[Jason 57]

On 8/18/2020 at 3:32 PM, Lord Blue of Screenshire said:

I actually really like the white theming, but also am not willing to pay extra for it. I think a case should still look good though. RGB I would probably never turn on.

Well the case should be one that you like overall. 

As for Thermals, it really depends on how far you are going to push your system. 

 

I just (literally last night) built my upgrade in a Lancool 2 Mesh Performance.

I kept thinking about the RGB version, but my 16yr old daughter said I didn't need it and should focus on how well it runs. 

For me, I needed to fit 3HDD and 3 SSD. And have nice airflow. 

I want to put in 2 more fans, but at least this doesn't sound like a wind tunnel like my 8 yr old desktop I just upgraded from. 

 

Of course waiting is always an option, but after awhile, it will eat at you. 

 

[TVwazhere]

On 8/18/2020 at 3:04 PM, Lord Blue of Screenshire said:

Probably should have included the specs indeed.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9 GHz 8-Core Processor	€339.00 @ Azerty
Motherboard	MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard	€185.05 @ Azerty
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	€164.90 @ Azerty
Storage	ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	€149.89 @ Alternate Belgium
Video Card	Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC 3X Video Card	€533.99 @ Alternate Belgium
Power Supply	Corsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	€104.05 @ Azerty
Custom	Phanteks Eclipse P400A Digital	€94.50
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€1571.38
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-18 21:03 CEST+0200

 

What do you plan on doing with the system? Gaming, or workstation productivity? Do you plan on overclocking anything? How much do you care about thermals?

 

The original Lancool 2 is fine. Middle of the road nothing crazy special thermals. The Lancool 2 Mesh gets a lot of praise because it's a near chart topper in many categories for keeping everything cool. You can see the A/B between the two (and the Lancool One I guess) below which used an OC'd 6700K and an MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X.