LIAN LI LANCOOL II MESH Review

External and Internal Overview

One of the fifth things that we see with the LANCOOL II MESH is its perforated front panel, which features 1.5mm holes with tight spacing. Even with an MSRP of £75, this case features the same level of Lian Li build quality that we all expect, which is great news for budget case users. 

As we discuss below, there are a few areas where we can see Lian Li take cost-cutting measures, but these measures never result in any significant downsides or anything that PC builders should worry about. 

We will first note that the LAINCOOL II MESH features windows side panels which aren’t full height, splitting the chassis into two sections, above the PSU should and below it. Large tempered glass windows are expensive, making this a cost-cutting measure, but it is a design decision that is to this case’s benefit. This choice allows users of the LANCOOL MESH to easily access their 3.5-inch drive mounts without opening up the enclosure entirely, which is excellent for those who want to add or replace one of their hard drives. This option is especially useful for those who want to install Lian Li’s HDD hot-swap upgrade. 
  

  

Moving inside the LANCOOL II, we can see that rubber cable grommets didn’t make it into the design of the chassis, representing another cost-cutting measure which enables this enclosure’s sub-£80 pricing. This is not a downside, as Lian Li offers users of this case plenty of cable routing options. 

The cable management bar towards the front of the LANCOOL II MESH can be removed and reversed, which is what enables EATX support within this enclosure. Keeping this mount in its current location will allow for tight cable management with standard ATX motherboards, though the option to reverse this cable management plate enables a level of versatility that most cases in this pricing category lack. 

  

On top of the Lancool II’s PSU shroud is a plate which can be used to support dual 2.5-inch drives or dual 120mm fans. It is up to the user what they want to do with this plate. There is also a plate there the LANCOOL II’s front fans which allows users of this enclosure to mount large 360mm radiators at the front of the chassis, making this chassis ideal for liquid cooling setups. 

  

The top panel of the LANCOOL II Mesh features a magnetic dust filter and support for two 120mm and 140mm fans. Offset mounts are available for dual 120mm fans, which can be used to mount 240mm radiators with minimal interference with DRAM or motherboard heatsinks. The front of the LANCOOL II also supports 360mm, 280mm and 240mm radiators out of the box. 
  

  
The rear of the LANCOOL II is where the magic happens. Here, we can see two cable management plates which allow users of the LANCOOL II MESH to quickly and easily hide their PSU’s cables, making tidy cable management a breeze. 

  
Behind the LANCOOL II’s motherboard tray is an integrated fan hub, which is wired into the front panel of the chassis. This fan hub supports up to six 4-pin or 3-pin fans, which allows users to fill the LANCOOL II’s main fan mounting locations with ease. 

  

Below we have an example of some quick and hasty cabling within the LANCOOL II, but before you sacrifice us to the cable management Gods for heresy, know that we built our test PC this way to highlight the LANCOOL II MESH’s cable management features. Please scroll down to see this mess of cables when we put on the LANCOOL II’s cable management plates. 

  

Ahh, that’s better. Even with the cable mess above, the LANCOOL II MESH can look great once its cable management plates ate added. These plates give even the messiest builds a professional look, and this factor should make this enclosure very popular amongst those who desire quick and easy cable routing. 

 
 
The LANCOOL II MESH offers users a clear tempered glass window, avoiding the tinted glass that has become common within many premium cases. This panel type is great for this non-RGB chassis, as the enclosure’s lack of integrated lighting would make looking at your hardware a problematic task had the window been tinted. 

  
Here, we can see that event he left PSU shroud side panel is perforated, giving a potential airflow path to the bottom 120mm fan mounting locations, should you use them. 

  
At the base of the LANCOOL II MESH, we can see a strange design decision from LIAN LI, which forces users of the chassis to mount their power supplies in a fan-facing down orientation.   

Typically, modern PC cases offer consumers the option t mount their power supplies whichever way they like, but that isn’t the case for the LANCOOL II MESH. It is unclear to us why LIAN LI built the LANCOOL II MESH this way, though manufacturing simplicity is a likely reason.