Lian Li 011-Dynamic XL Case Review

Regular eTeknix readers may recall our review of the Lian Li 011-Dynamic just a couple of months ago. Well, Lian Li is back and they’re going big! The new Lian Li 01–Dynamic XL is their latest monster-case built for those with big intentions. Massive water cooling and air cooling potential, huge tempered glass windows, and uncompromising hardware support? It has them all, and then some. If that’s not enough, it’s also ROG Certified. Albeit, to my knowledge that means the built-in RGB can be used with Aura Sync and it has a ROG logo on the side. But hey, that’s still cool with me.

Lian Li 011-Dynamic XL

While it’s clearly not a bulk consumer-focused case, the 011-Dynamic XL is still pretty exciting. There’s certainly a market for big, flashy, overbuilt, expensive PC cases. For the enthusiast market, you’re unlikely to want to house £4k worth of graphics cards and likely the same value of CPU, motherboard and RAM in a £100 case; although it can be easily done. Something like the XL is more fitting, literally in size, to the extreme end of the hardware market.

Features

• Support ATX and EEB Motherboards
• Up to 320mm and 280mm radiators
• Up to 10 x 120mm fans or 4 x 140mm and 2 x 120mm fans
• 10 x 2.5″ SSD mounts
• 4 x 3.5″ HDD Mounts
• 8 PCIe slots
• Tempered glass front and side
• Tool-free side panel design
• Dual-chamber installation

Specifications

For in-depth specifications and features, please visit the official product page here.

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.

Interior

Getting inside the Lian Li 011 Dynamic XL is pretty darn easy, and it doesn’t require any tools. There are two thumbscrews at the back of the top panel, which you have to remove first.

Behind that, you can easily get to the dust filters and mounts for the top cooling bracket. However, now the top panel is removed, the two side panels and the glass all just lift right out. It’s that simple, just remove the top, then lift them out!

Stripped

With the glass removed, there’s an enormous amount of space to work with on the interior. The removed front panel gives you plenty of extra elbow room too. For custom looping, this could really make the install process a hell of a lot easier for you.

Mounts

Speakings of custom loop, there’s a massive radiator mount right in the base. Of course, you could use this for AIO or just for fans too. What’s cool though, is that there’s clearance here for a thicker radiator, without compromising the lowest PCIe slot on the motherboard.

Expansion

Plus, since it supports massive motherboards, you’ll be able to take full advantage of all eight expansion ports on the rear. Can anyone say Multi GPU monster for me?!?

Oh and room for a humble 120mm fitting in the rear here. Now, you’ll notice that there are zero fans in this case. Why? Well, enthusiasts like to buy their own specific brand, so I think any included ones would likely have been removed by the end-user anyway. You’d think that would make it cheaper, but no, ha.

Routing

There are holes, hidden panels, grommets, cut-outs, angled grommets and more everywhere. Seriously, if you can’t get neat cable routing with this fantastic setup, then you couldn’t open a tin of beans that were already open.

I would like to point out that there are gaps on the right. It turns out two of the back panels had fallen out after being brutally shaken in the UPS truck. They clipped back in later in this review, but they are meant to be removable also.

Around the Back

See those panels on the left? Those are the ones that had fallen off, but again, they’re back now. They can be removed to mount a radiator on the side panel. However, like this, they can be used to mount SSDs and HDDs, or just close it up so it looks neat and tidy.

Sneaky Hub

Down here, there’s a load of space for the PSU and a LOT of cables. It all hides behind removable panels, in large holding areas. However, there’s a tiny little SATA powered hub here too. It’s simply for the ARGB on the front panel. Didn’t see the LED lights? You wouldn’t, they’re hiding; more on that in the next page.

Complete System

Installing a full ATX motherboard, a STRIX RTX 2060 graphics card and a big Phanteks air cooler inside the XL was easy. However, despite this all being pretty hefty size, high-end hardware, it looks like a bad joke in here. The XL is big, but you don’t fully appreciate how big until you put regular full-size hardware inside it.

Clearance

As I said before, even below the motherboard, there’s an enormous amount of room. You can easily see how you could fit radiators, reservoirs, pumps, etc. Even with thicker expansion cards, there’s room to space. Plus, you’ll have extra room to have clean tubing runs, which could be fantastic for hard-tubing loops.

Graphics Cards

There’s not a graphics card on the market that wouldn’t fit in here. There’s plenty of length to space. Plus, many new GPUs are pretty wide, and again, that’s REALLY not going to be an issue.

Up Top

The same is true in the top, where a slim radiator and fans will fit with ease. There’s more room in the base, but still, you’re not exactly running short up here either. Air coolers shouldn’t be much of an issue either, but really, I don’t think you needed to be told that “there’s lots of room” again. I did it anyway though.

I love how everything just looks like it’s floating though. All that space really frames the build quite nicely. Plus, the cable routing runs are perfectly placed, so even with standard PSU cables, my build looks exceptionally clean.

Tempered Glass

With all panels back in place, the build looks even better. It’s quite dark in there, as the system is off. However, the glass is crystal clear, so if you do put lighting in there, it’s going to dazzle.

RGB

I didn’t put in a load of RGB fans, as honestly, that’s just not really my speed. I like RGB, but I want it to be more subtle. Fortunately, the Lian Li 011 Dynamic XL has what I desire. The front panel glass is mounted against a hidden strip of ARGB fans in the front panel. This illuminates the edge of the glass with a strip of indirect lighting. What is the end result? Freaking awesome, that’s what it is.

Plus, if you do have RGB on your hardware, it shines through with ease. The white model we’re reviewing especially so, as the light reflects off of the case interior, giving you more ambient glow.

ROG Certified

Now, you can sync the lighting on the front panel to the motherboard. However, the front panel has two buttons (M & C). These buttons allow you to cycle through colours and effects that are built-in; knight rider style effects, colour fades, flashes, solid colours, etc. Even if you don’t have ARGB on your motherboard, you can enjoy the light show. Of course, if you AURA Sync you can match it up with your other lights via your motherboard.

How Much Does it Cost?

At the time of writing, we didn’t get the final price from Lian Li. However, I know what time this review goes live, and we believe the stock will land later in the day at retailers. You can check Amazon here for new stock and prices right here. The standard Dynamic is anywhere from £115-160 dependant on variation. Just because of the higher number of materials, expect over £200 to be the norm.

Overview

So, throwing back a few weeks to my 011 Dynamic review. I loved that case, it’s staggeringly beautiful and very fairly priced. The work Lian Li is doing with Der8auer to revise their range is commendable. For me, that’s the one I would buy or even the cute as a button TU150. However, that’s just not enough for some. If you need something bigger, bolder, and just more capable of housing extreme hardware, then the 011 Dynamic XL is the obvious choice.

Competition

The extreme PC case market is littered with prime examples. The likes of Corsair, Thermaltake, Silverstone, etc, all have something great to offer for £200+ E-ATX beasts. However, Lian Li has a strong reputation and a proud history all of their own. I think it all comes down to personal taste though. You either love the 011 Dynamic XL look or you don’t. Personally, I can’t find a single fault with it. It’s a stunner to look at, especially with that white finish and brushed aluminium front panel. It’ll give anything else on the market a run for its money, that’s for sure.

Innovation

There’s nothing “new” in this case, it’s more just bigger is better. However, the tool-free side panel. The lift-out mounting of the glass, the tool-free drive bays, fantastic cable routing, and more. All of these things add up. If you’re building a complex system, you’ll be happy to find lots of quality of life features that make building in the 011 Dynamic XL easier than most. Add to that the usual high standard of fit, finish and general engineering you expect from a Lian Li product, and you know you’re making a sound investment.

Should I Buy One?

If you’ve got the room for it, the money to do it justice with a kick-ass ultra-fast gaming rig or workstation, and you love the look, I say DO IT! It’s easily one of the best-made cases in its class, and it’s likely to be a big hit with the modding scene too.