Exterior
Well, with a name like XL is no surprise that this model is bigger than the last one. What this means, is we now have support for thicker radiators, bigger graphics cards, larger motherboards, etc. However, it’s hardly oversized to the point where it can’t be managed either. It’ll still fit under a desk, or on top of a sturdy desk. It’s pretty heavy, albeit a lot of that comes from the glass panels too.
Brushed Aluminium
The case is mostly white painted aluminium, as you would expect from Lian Li. However, it does have this rather dashing strip of brushed aluminium running down the front panel. The case already looks staggering in white, but the strip on the front really sets it off.
It runs all the way down to the bottom of the front too. Plus, with two sides of tempered glass, you get a really unobstructed view of the case interior.
The glass is etched on the bottom left side. It’s a simple ROG certified logo, and it is permanent. I’m sure some will love that, but I wonder if a sticker would have sufficed for those who don’t want this.
Airflow
The top panel is also white and features a massive ventilation section. Behind it, you’ll find a magnetic dust filter, as well as mounts for fans and radiators in the top of the case.
I appreciate the little details too. Such as the black trim on the glass, which hides the frame and fittings, giving it a very clean and uniform appearance overall.
I/O
You’ll find a nice bank of USB ports on the front I/O. This includes a USB Type-C port too. What’s neat is that they’re all blacked out to keep it looking smart; not those bright blue USB 3.0 ports we usually see.
There’s even two more tucked into the bottom, so cables don’t have to trail all the way down the front if you don’t want them to.
Right Side
Here you can see a frankly massive amount of ventilation. The front is where you can mount side radiators or fans. However, it’ll also give passive airflow to the same bit where you can optionally mount HDD/SSD drives. Towards the rear, it’ll give airflow to the PSU and HDD cages.
Around the Back
There’s loads going on around here also. There are two hot-swap HDD cages on the left, each with two removable drive trays and plenty of ventilation. Below that, the PSU mounts on its side in the bottom corner. The right side is more straight forward, with the usual ATX slots and a 120mm fan mount on offer.
Thank you for detailed review and nice pictures!