Lian Li PC-D888 Review

Performance Analysis

Regular readers will know that we only test cases with the fans they're supplied with, even if, as with the PC-D888, that number is zero. However, in all honesty doing any thermal testing with this case is almost pointless since it should really be used for water-cooling – precisely why it ships with no fans in the first place.


Even so, we had to scratch the itch and ran the numbers anyway. With our system completely dwarfed by the PC-D888, we saw the CPU hit a delta T of 65°C and the GPU reached 49°C. This is very warm for the CPU (although amusingly still 5°C cooler than the Phanteks P400S at minimum speed), but the GPU is actually relatively cool. The vents in the front and bottom allow air to enter naturally.

OCUK also sent us a load of its 120mm case fans as well as a fan controller to see what it could really do. We ended up using eight fans, all in the main chamber – five intake fans (three front, two bottom) and three exhaust fans (two roof, one rear). Interestingly, the GPU didn't see any benefit when the fans were at minimum speed, but the CPU dropped by a whopping 13 degrees now that hot air was actually being exhausted. We then turned everything to maximum, at which point the noise was really too much for normal use, but the results for both components were unsurprisingly better than anything we've seen so far.

Conclusion

This is clearly not your average case, so assessing it requires us to view it from a different perspective to what we normally would. As we said, this case is designed pretty much exclusively for triple or quad-GPU systems, as only these are ever going to demand the level of water-cooling support that's on offer. So, with that in mind, is the PC-D888 a success?

The answer is yes, mostly. While the commitment to aluminium does have some drawbacks (fingerprint magnetism and occasional squeaky panels, for example), it is overall a desirable material and the brushed effect is really rather attractive here. We also like the easy access panel system, and inside it's easy to keep things tidy thanks to the dual chamber design and ample cable routing holes. In terms of clearance and support, this chassis will have no issues housing super-high-end systems and the requisite water-cooling gear.


However, there are a few niggles to be aware of. We would have liked dust filters on the bottom fan mounts, for example, but the main question is why SSDs aren't better catered for? In a case this size, it should not be as difficult as it is to install an SSD or to access it post-installation. It is borderline unforgivable, in our opinion. The other concern, of course, is the price. £500 for a case is, frankly, laughable. Given the calibre of hardware that will be going inside this one it's true that it's just another very expensive component in a long list of them. Even in that context though, it still feels overpriced. Still, 8Pack has always been about tiny niches and PCs that are the absolute pinnacle of performance, and the PC-D888 is a reflection of that - it's more than capable of housing any hardware you care to throw at it. As such, if extreme system building is your game, this is well worth a look.