TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 1,997
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Rife with an insane amount of features, if this is the first PC case you're ever going to build in, you won't regret it. In isolation, the 217 is a solid pick, and comes with some seriously potent pre-installed fans too. The only major downside comes in the form of the price, certainly compared to other Lian Li offerings and the competition, which are far cheaper.
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This here is the Lancool 217 chassis from Lian Li. Now, for the uninitiated, Lancool, for the longest time, was a subsidiary part of Lian Li. The concept behind it was to cater more towards budget-oriented PC builders and folk who preferred airflow over shiny glass and tempered aluminum hot boxes. Without necessarily capitulating on all of those wee PC building quality of life improvements that the big cuboid chassis often delivered.
In the modern era, that whole premise has now changed, and quite dramatically at that. Lancool is no longer its own isolated thing, but almost just a product line within Lian Li's chassis arsenal, with the brand's logo now strapped on everything from the box art to the front panel of this wood-lined boy.
Pricing, too, has equally shifted in a far tighter direction. The 217 here rocks up at $120, or £103 in the UK. Compare that to Lian Li's more premium solutions, such as the O11 Vision Compact for example, and you can find that thing for $125 or £110 in ol blighty. Not a lot more for a beautiful glass case, with arguably just as much airflow clout (in fact, it's arguably one of the best PC cases full stop).
That puts the Lancool 217 at a significant disadvantage. Not only does it have to contend with premium flagship offerings internally, but these price ranges have become increasingly contested over the last few years as well.
Form factor: Mid-towerDimensions: 48.2 x 23.8 x 50.3 cmMotherboard support: ITX, mATX, ATX, E-ATX (up to 280mm), SSI-EEB (up to 330 m) + Back connectors for ATX, M-ATXExpansion slots: 7 horizontalFront IO: 2x Power Button, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.2 Type C, 1x Microphone/Headphone ComboTotal fan support: 10Fan count: 3x140/120 mm or 2x170 mm FRONT, 3x120 mm or 2x140 mm TOP, 3x120 mm BOTTOM, 1x140/120 mm REARRadiator support: Up to 360 mm TOPGraphics card support: 380 mm lengthStorage: 5x 2.5-inch; 2x 3.5-inchPSU support: ATX (up to 220 mm or 180 mm rotated)Weight: 9.25 kgPrice: $120/£103
NZXT's H7 Flow RGB can be had for $90, complete with a full-tower design, epic airflow, and an included 360 mm RGB fan setup too. And that's not to mention the cases coming out of Phanteks, Corsair, and Fractal, too. The long and the short? The 217 has some seriously stiff competition.
The good news, then, is that the 217 comes with an absolutely insane amount of features baked in it as standard. It's hard to undersell that as well. No avant-garde metaphors or silly wordplays really do it justice.
There's support for E-ATX and EEB motherboards, back connections, multiple PSU mounting directions, vertical GPU support, integrated anti-sag brackets, an insane amount of included high airflow fans, plus the opportunity to strip down almost every panel off the thing, 3D-printing STL files, and twin power buttons too, one on top and one on the side for your convenience, just to name a few. It's nuts.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
It's the aesthetic that will likely catch the most schtick, mind you. It has this love-it-or-hate-it, kinda vibe, the marmite of the PC building world, as it's this sort of hybrid mix of modern "wood" style, meets late 2010s case design.
You've got that classic steel mesh and overall frame, with wooden accents. You can either have the thing in black or white, with either a walnut or oak trim, respectively. It looks to be a veneer rather th...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
PC Gamer's got your back
Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.
This here is the Lancool 217 chassis from Lian Li. Now, for the uninitiated, Lancool, for the longest time, was a subsidiary part of Lian Li. The concept behind it was to cater more towards budget-oriented PC builders and folk who preferred airflow over shiny glass and tempered aluminum hot boxes. Without necessarily capitulating on all of those wee PC building quality of life improvements that the big cuboid chassis often delivered.
In the modern era, that whole premise has now changed, and quite dramatically at that. Lancool is no longer its own isolated thing, but almost just a product line within Lian Li's chassis arsenal, with the brand's logo now strapped on everything from the box art to the front panel of this wood-lined boy.
Pricing, too, has equally shifted in a far tighter direction. The 217 here rocks up at $120, or £103 in the UK. Compare that to Lian Li's more premium solutions, such as the O11 Vision Compact for example, and you can find that thing for $125 or £110 in ol blighty. Not a lot more for a beautiful glass case, with arguably just as much airflow clout (in fact, it's arguably one of the best PC cases full stop).
That puts the Lancool 217 at a significant disadvantage. Not only does it have to contend with premium flagship offerings internally, but these price ranges have become increasingly contested over the last few years as well.
Form factor: Mid-towerDimensions: 48.2 x 23.8 x 50.3 cmMotherboard support: ITX, mATX, ATX, E-ATX (up to 280mm), SSI-EEB (up to 330 m) + Back connectors for ATX, M-ATXExpansion slots: 7 horizontalFront IO: 2x Power Button, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.2 Type C, 1x Microphone/Headphone ComboTotal fan support: 10Fan count: 3x140/120 mm or 2x170 mm FRONT, 3x120 mm or 2x140 mm TOP, 3x120 mm BOTTOM, 1x140/120 mm REARRadiator support: Up to 360 mm TOPGraphics card support: 380 mm lengthStorage: 5x 2.5-inch; 2x 3.5-inchPSU support: ATX (up to 220 mm or 180 mm rotated)Weight: 9.25 kgPrice: $120/£103
NZXT's H7 Flow RGB can be had for $90, complete with a full-tower design, epic airflow, and an included 360 mm RGB fan setup too. And that's not to mention the cases coming out of Phanteks, Corsair, and Fractal, too. The long and the short? The 217 has some seriously stiff competition.
The good news, then, is that the 217 comes with an absolutely insane amount of features baked in it as standard. It's hard to undersell that as well. No avant-garde metaphors or silly wordplays really do it justice.
There's support for E-ATX and EEB motherboards, back connections, multiple PSU mounting directions, vertical GPU support, integrated anti-sag brackets, an insane amount of included high airflow fans, plus the opportunity to strip down almost every panel off the thing, 3D-printing STL files, and twin power buttons too, one on top and one on the side for your convenience, just to name a few. It's nuts.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
It's the aesthetic that will likely catch the most schtick, mind you. It has this love-it-or-hate-it, kinda vibe, the marmite of the PC building world, as it's this sort of hybrid mix of modern "wood" style, meets late 2010s case design.
You've got that classic steel mesh and overall frame, with wooden accents. You can either have the thing in black or white, with either a walnut or oak trim, respectively. It looks to be a veneer rather th...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?