First Look: Lian Li XB01 - Xbox 360 Case

Lian Li XB01 - Unboxing

Manufacturer: Lian Li
UK Price: £69.33 (inc VAT)
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We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of our review sample of the Lian Li XB01 for a few weeks now and were practically brimming with excitement when the delivery man brought this unassuming black and orange box through our door. Does it work as expected? Does the 360 fit perfectly? Does it make it any cooler or any quieter? Is it worth the upgrade? So many questions, so little time.

Yes, the first after-market case for the Xbox 360 has arrived, ready to rescue us from a world of painfully noisy cooling, red rings of death and overheating. At least, we hope. Taking your 360 apart will invariably void your warranty after all, so that extended three year RRoD warranty will go right out the window if you even attempt to transfer your console to the XB01.

However, what's the price of looking cool? There's no doubt that the current 360 casing lies somewhere "meh" and "crap" when you stand it next to the gloriously shiny Wii and PS3.

There's a lot expected of this case, with criticism levelled at Lian Li that the XB01 only makes the already beefy Xbox 360 even larger. We'll be investigating whether the XB01 can silence the naysayers in a full length review in the next few days, and we'll also be posting up a full fitting walkthrough too.

For now though we'll just leave you with some unboxing pics and our first impressions!


Having gotten used to Lian Li PC cases shipping in monster boxes, the XB01's diminutive size came as something of a surprise - you can comfortably fit this under one arm.


Inside the box, the case is well packaged in foam packaging to keep it clear of any knocks the box might endure, and is bagged to keep all the bits and pieces and manual (you'll need this, we assure you) free of dust and in one place.


And here it is, the XB01 in all it's glory. For those looking for a little scale, the rear exhaust fan is of the 120mm variety - needless to say its more than twice the size of a standard Xbox 360 case. The fan is 12V, 0.27A and comes with a 3-pin Molex connection. We tried looking for details on this and the reports across the net vary - but it shifts around 56 CFM and is between 22-25 dB at 1,300-1,500RPM.