O11 Air Mini or O11D Mini?

[ItsFluffyMexican]

Hey peeps!

 

I wanna hear which you prefer... the new Lian Li Air Mini or the Lian Li O11D mini?

 

Which one and why?

 

I currently have both in transit from Newegg and I'm honestly 50/50 between which one I want to keep and which I want to return

[Arael]

Considering their both the same besides on being glass and one being mesh, it honestly depends on what you want. Want better airflow? go with the air mini, you like glass? go with the non airflow one. Since i like airflow i would go for the airflow one.

[Forleb]

I believe the O11 Air will have notably better temperatures, as that fan configuration should work just as well as it does in the Lancool II Mesh. That is however a chart topper from multiple reviewers, so the O11D will be fine if you prefer the aesthetic.

[SquintyG33Rs]

Air mini supports ATX PSU, and has some quality of life changes that the mini didn't get. but the OD mini looks better for all that matters.

really since the hardware capabilities are slightly different it depends on what you're putting in it.
if you're not custom watercooling the OD mini won't be great, and even then it kinda has to be ITX if you have more than 1 radiator. it's very flexible but technically the air mini is easier to put more stuff in....

[SquintyG33Rs]

1 minute ago, HigurashiFan said:

Considering their both the same besides on being glass and one being mesh, it honestly depends on what you want. Want better airflow? go with the air mini, you like glass? go with the non airflow one. Since i like airflow i would go for the airflow one.

they're actually not the same confusingly enough....

[Arael]

1 minute ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

they're actually not the same confusingly enough....

Oh boy, i sure do love when companies do that.

[SquintyG33Rs]

2 minutes ago, HigurashiFan said:

Oh boy, i sure do love when companies do that.

yeah especially when the big O11D is the same in both. but the minis have different PSU options (the air got ATX but the og only got SFX) and the modular panels for different sizes motherboard and stuff are different. also since the ATX takes more space in the back i'm fairly sure the Air mini has LESS tower cooler/GPU height clearance. cause you know who would put an NHD15 in an AIR case..... basically all the details are different. the Air is actually better in almost every way but looks worse without the glass. because the OG mini has all these options  on paper but you can't possibly use them all at once so it's uber confusing to kit out your build.

ATX motherboard but only with 240mm side tray radiator.
mATX can use either top or bottom radiator mount but not both. and then the side tray radiator might get cut off depending on what position the motherboard gets mounted
Itx can use top and bottom but then side tray will almost always be blocked....

the air mini got different spacing plates that simplify these options and remove some of the really dumb ones.(while keeping the option for all 3 mobo sizes)
 

but it's basically a huge pain in the ass to wrap your head around, to get the best case on the market when it comes to build options vs size. I'd love to get one but it wouldn't fit my stuff...... or I'd have to buy an SFX PSU and i don't really have the space on my desk so it wouldn't do it justice....

[skeebs1]

My daily driver setup is in an O11D Mini in snow white and she is a BEAUT. I wouldn't worry too much about airflow. Ofc, it depends on your fan configs/placements/ambient temp but at very average fan settings, I idle at 39/36C, up to 65/45C when playing COD Vanguard (keep in mind I had YT playing on a second monitor the whole time). Yes, I could improve those by a few decibels and definitely audible when side by side, I really don't think you'll notice such minute changes on its own. My only and, ironically, BIGGEST gripe about the O11D Mini is that it can only fit an SFX PSU, as mentioned by @SquintyG33Rs. Something to note tho is it's relatively easier (at least, when I was searching) to find good deals on ATX PSU's with more than enough wattage at gold+ ratings, while you may be limited to Cooler Master's line (i heard they fixed it but it had some coil whine issues and just overall noisy), Seasonic (probably your best bet), or going for the premo Corsair SF units. I don't know your system specs, but if your build is looking to need upwards of 700W+, I'd definitely go with the Air, especially if you're intending to make upgrades in the future that would demand higher power.

 

O11D Mini (This is based on my personal use and comparing it to my previous LianLi Cool Mesh II, which averaged about 34/30 idle, in exchange for its thiccness)

Pros - visually, I think it shows off your components the best. Lots of ways to cable manage. Compact, and assembly/disassembly couldn't have been simpler which I really appreciate, lets me tuck away a stray wire or add components without taking apart the thing.

Cons - Referring to SquintyG33Rs again, an air CPU cooler wouldn't be the right move here. If you have an AIO or water cooling setup though, this is perfect for you.

 

TL;DR - if you're moving a build over that's already running on a SFX PSU and/or cooled via AIO, you'll be fine with the O11D Mini. If this is your first or second build and plan on upgrading from here on out - or already have an ATX PSU you planned on using for this build - go for the Air. I'm a firm believer in the importance of having ample headroom in terms of PSU's though, so YMMV.

 

[ItsFluffyMexican]

Thanks everyone for your opinions! It's great to see why you would it wouldn't go with one or the other. 

Special  shout out to Squinty for giving us a detailed spec sheet on the twos major differences (stuff I did already know but still very helpful).

 

I already have an AIO and an SFX psu and I thought about going with the o11d mini but my little brother wanted to build a pc and I figured I would help him out and give him the 3 included fans that the air comes with. I know that's a dumb way to base your decision on but still. 

 

Also anyone do that front screen mod on their o11 d mini? How'd that turn out? If I were to get the o11d mini I would definitely be doing that mod cuz it looks sick. 

[ItsFluffyMexican]

1 hour ago, skeebs1 said:

My daily driver setup is in an O11D Mini in snow white and she is a BEAUT. I wouldn't worry too much about airflow. Ofc, it depends on your fan configs/placements/ambient temp but at very average fan settings, I idle at 39/36C, up to 65/45C when playing COD Vanguard (keep in mind I had YT playing on a second monitor the whole time). Yes, I could improve those by a few decibels and definitely audible when side by side, I really don't think you'll notice such minute changes on its own. My only and, ironically, BIGGEST gripe about the O11D Mini is that it can only fit an SFX PSU, as mentioned by @SquintyG33Rs. Something to note tho is it's relatively easier (at least, when I was searching) to find good deals on ATX PSU's with more than enough wattage at gold+ ratings, while you may be limited to Cooler Master's line (i heard they fixed it but it had some coil whine issues and just overall noisy), Seasonic (probably your best bet), or going for the premo Corsair SF units. I don't know your system specs, but if your build is looking to need upwards of 700W+, I'd definitely go with the Air, especially if you're intending to make upgrades in the future that would demand higher power.

 

O11D Mini (This is based on my personal use and comparing it to my previous LianLi Cool Mesh II, which averaged about 34/30 idle, in exchange for its thiccness)

Pros - visually, I think it shows off your components the best. Lots of ways to cable manage. Compact, and assembly/disassembly couldn't have been simpler which I really appreciate, lets me tuck away a stray wire or add components without taking apart the thing.

Cons - Referring to SquintyG33Rs again, an air CPU cooler wouldn't be the right move here. If you have an AIO or water cooling setup though, this is perfect for you.

 

TL;DR - if you're moving a build over that's already running on a SFX PSU and/or cooled via AIO, you'll be fine with the O11D Mini. If this is your first or second build and plan on upgrading from here on out - or already have an ATX PSU you planned on using for this build - go for the Air. I'm a firm believer in the importance of having ample headroom in terms of PSU's though, so YMMV.

 

My Specs are:

 

CPU: R7 5800x

Mobo: Aorus Elitve V2

Ram: 32gb (4×8) Corsair 3200 MhZ

GPU: 1660 super (Will be upgraded to 6700xt down the line)

PSU: Lian Li SP750

AIO: Lian Li Galahad 240mm

6 Lian Li Unifans