Lian-Li DK-01 Aluminium Desk Chassis Review
Peter Donnell / 9 years ago
Introduction
Not all chassis’ are created equal, that much we know already, but there are some that are so far ahead of the rest, its almost rude to call them a chassis at all. Lian-Li is no stranger to the extreme end of the PC market, having already created some incredible products that cost large sums of money, capable of housing everything from rendering workstations, to ultra-high-end gaming systems. Today, however, they’ve gone even further, creating a chassis that breaks from the usual bonds of a box that houses components, by creating a chassis that is also a fully fledged desk!
The DK-01X is big, it’s expensive, it’s packed full of features and it’s got more ultra high-quality aluminium in it than anything else I’ve ever reviewed. It’s also one of the most expensive chassis I’ve ever reviewed, actually it’s also the biggest chassis I’ve ever reviewed; let’s just say there’s a lot of new records being set today.
How expensive is this chassis you ask? A frighteningly expensive £734.99, near as makes no difference $1000 in the US! There’s a good chance that if you’re reading this review, you’re either just fascinated to see what this product is actually like, or you’re actually planning on buying one, either way, it’s going to be fun to test this thing, so let’s get to it!
Specifications are no issue here, as there’s room for the biggest and the best hardware on the market, with virtually no exceptions.
Unboxing of this monster took an hour, although that includes a little extra time to photograph each component. If you’re planning on building one of these things, you may want to set aside a full day. First out of the box, the two legs, which come pre-built and have the feet and runners already installed. They’re quite heavy too, but given what they have to support, that’s no bad thing.
They’re exceptionally well made and finished, with precision cut aluminium and a brushed black finish.
The runners are really nice, with excellent ballbearings that allow the rails to glide effortlessly.
All the screw holes and fittings are pre-drilled and all exposed screw holes are countersunk to provide a clean final product.
Overall, both very nice fittings and it’s nice that they’re already pre-built.
The base plate is a huge piece of aluminium. it’s thick, it’s heavy and it’s incredibly well finished. Admittedly, all the components are incredibly well finished, so let’s just take that for granted with every other component I will be showing you.
The top support arm.
The top panel, this is the one that the glass sits on top of and there are four cut-outs for fitting some rubber grommets that will grip the glass into place.
A thick sheet of tempered glass. This is easily the heaviest component of the chassis and one that proved to be quite a nightmare to get a photograph of.
The main section of the chassis comes pre-constructed with all major fittings already on the inside. This part alone is bigger than most chassis’ you’ll have ever used.
There’s a vast amount of space on the interior, so large motherboards, a huge power supply, ultra-long graphics cards and banks of storage and cooling should prove absolutely no issue for this chassis.
There’s several high-quality dust filters pre-installed, which feed clean air to the three 120mm fans that don each side of the chassis.
The dust filters lift right out without the use of tools, making maintenance a nice and easy task.
Ten expansion slots, each fitted with thumb screws and ventilated covers. There’s more than enough bays here to accommodate a quad GPU setup, or any other expansion cards you may require.
The power supply is mounted on its side and there’s a pair of rails to help lock it firmly into place; you can mount the PSU with the fan facing toward or away from the motherboard.
Behind the motherboard, you’ll find a large CPU cooler mounting cut-out, freeing up space for a thick backplate. All major stand-offs are pre-installed too, which should help make the motherboard installation a quick and easy process.
There’s a total of seven fans pre-installed in the DK-01, all of a high quality and all come fitted with metal fan blade guards to prevent wires from getting snagged; all the fans come with a standard 3-pin header.
Another large dust filter in the front of the chassis, with room for more fans or a radiator should you feel the need for them.
All the hard drive bays are completely removable, as is the optical drive bay towards the front; this is good news for those who want extra room for high-end water cooling components or other mods.
The optical drive bay is a slim-style, but also has room for an extra 2.5″ drive should you need it.
This tray can be slotted onto the front of the main chassis, giving you an extended space for your keyboard and mouse.
It can be installed tool free and just like everything else, it’s made from black brushed aluminium.
Also included in the box, a leather mat, which fits into the keyboard and mouse tray, giving you a much better surface than using your mouse on the aluminium.
The back panel cover is a nice bonus, as you can hide all your cables and plugs inside a rear hidden compartment of the chassis.
There’s three removable covers at the back, which can be used for monitor clamps and cable pass through.
An optional extra is included in the box, a storage area for things such as flash pens, controllers and a few pegs to hang your headsets and other accessories on.
If you want to use it, it’s simply a case of screwing it on to the side of the chassis.
Building a large chassis like this needs a lot of components, so you’ll find a plethora of screws, thumb screws, washers, velcro fittings, cable management solutions and more in this rather large component box.
The instructions are a little cumbersome, but looking at it, you’re going to want an extra set of hands to manage a few of the trickier steps.
Building the DK-01
It took about 90 minutes to construct this desk/chassis, which is a pretty hefty amount of time given that I’ve yet to install a single hardware component. However, even without a system installed, this is truly a sight to behold.
The peripheral tray can be mounted on either side of the chassis, I’ve put it on the left, but as I said before, you don’t have to install it at all if you don’t want it.
On the underside of the front of the chassis is a small handle, which will help make it easier to slide out the main tray section of the chassis.
You’ll also notice a line of ventilation grooves, which will feed the optional front mounted cooling.
The whole tray is very heavy, but it slides out with the grace of a feather in a breeze; getting inside and tweaking your hardware couldn’t be any easier.
Of course, if you want to keep sticky fingers out, there’s a set of keys and a built-in lock on the front panel.
Complete System
Time to get the work of art turned into a system! As I said before, it took me nearly an hour to get everything out of the box and ready. It then took me a further 90 minutes to get it built into the desk we’ve seen so far. Beyond that, it’s also taken me almost two hours to get my test system installed in there, which is a long time given that this isn’t a crazy high end build, if you’re planning on water cooling and getting a super neat build, expect to clear your whole weekend; admittedly, the effort will be worth it.
First up, hard drive installation. The bays remove with a simple thumb screw on each.
The drive slotted back into place, certainly enough bays for an epic RAID array here.
All the major components dropped into place easily enough, there’s certainly no shortage of space, so there were zero issues with compatibility here.
Excess cable is your biggest enemy here, fortunately, there’s a little overhang on the top panel, so a few cable ties can keep things out of sight and the fact that all internal cables are black is a big help. I’ve also employed the use of some black braided cable extensions, but the obvious prime choice in my opinion would be custom-made sleeved cables, all of the exact lengths you require.
The GPUs installed, again, no room issues here, despite the fact that our Sapphire R9 270X Toxic have that massive cooler on them.
PSU installation was a breeze, with loads of room for cabless and it’s great for those who need to upgrade their components, as you can quickly access the power connectors.
A couple of Velcro straps help keep the cables in check, wouldn’t want it looking messy in here!
The tray does slide out, but be advised that shifting that much weight forward could cause the system to tip forward a bit, or worse, tip over altogether! Common sense will go a long way in this respect, but it’s certainly an awesome feature for quickly cleaning our your dust filters or tweaking a component.
The build really does look great and it’s awesome to see everything laid out like this.
Now that we’ve got the glass panel back in place, you can see that there’s quite a heavy tint to it. This means that most cables and other bits and bobs are obscured from view, but lighter details are easily visible. Some of the pictures below make it easy to see inside, but keep in mind I played around with the shutter speed and ISO of the camera as well as various lighting conditions. In reality, the tint does look quite dark.
Final Thoughts
Pricing
There’s no way of getting past it, the Lian-Li DK-01X is freaking expensive, in fact, the entire DK desk series is expensive, however, that’s not really a bad thing as I think you’ll agree, you get exactly what you pay for. This isn’t a standard chassis, this thing is massive, with extensive amounts of high-quality aluminium, precision engineering, tempered glass and a whole lot more. The only limit here is your own budget, but I couldn’t imagine being able to buy something of this standard for anything less, without sacrificing build quality and materials. The DK-01X can be purchased from Overclockers UK for £734.99 or Newegg for $989.00 (US).
Overview
Where do I even begin with this! It’s incredible, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that. I’m sure many of you simply read this review because you want one, despite the fact you’ll likely never buy one. This is to chassis’ as the Bugatti Veyron is to a standard Volkswagen Golf. It’s Lian-Li flexing their chassis building prowess and they’ve done a fantastic job of it.
Build quality is as good as it gets. There’s a lot of very high-quality aluminium here and a lot of work has gone into cutting and drilling it to handle a multitude of high-end hardware. Throughout the entire build process, I didn’t find a single rough edge and every component locked together with laser-like precision. You’re paying for a premium quality product and nothing less than perfect would be acceptable in this price range, fortunate then that Lian-Li have delivered the goods.
Practically speaking, this chassis is a real pain to put together. You’re going to need a lot of work space, the installation is time-consuming and requires a little more care and effort than your typical build. The end results are worth it and while it’s a fantastic show piece for displaying your system, it’s also incredibly practical. I have a desk the same size as this chassis, but I also have a full-tower chassis alongside it. With the DK-01X I would no longer need that floor space for the chassis, and all the power cables and more would be tucked into the back compartment. While it may empty your wallet, the chassis is actually a fantastic space saver, despite its large size.
A lot of care has gone into the design of the DK-01 and while it is big, it’s still very easy to maintain. Sure you’re going to need to get the duster out a little more often to keep that top panel in great condition, but the slide out tray of the main section is an incredible thing to have. Being able to slide it out and get instant access to your graphics card, motherboard, hard drives, or any other component for that matter is fantastic. It makes cleaning the dust filters a lot easier too and the next time you need to swap out a stick of RAM, it could only be easier if you had an open air test bench; just remember to keep the locking key somewhere safe, as it’d be a real shame if you locked yourself out of the chassis. With a hidden compartment at the back to store a multiplug adaptor and any excess cables, as well as a place to mount a monitor stand, this really is an all-in-one solution, with the exception that it doesn’t also come with a chair.
Personally, I like using the glass top for my keyboard and mouse, simply because I have a glass topped desk of my own that’s the same size and height. However, I really do like the option of the keyboard and mouse tray that hangs from the front, but I would have much preferred one that slides out from under the chassis. That keyboard tray, combined with the optional headset mount and tray on the side, makes this a really versatile chassis, with a lot of possible configurations to suit your needs.
Pros
- Exceptional build quality
- Innovative design
- Combine your desk and chassis in a single unit – potential space saver
- Great for showing off your components
- Extensive component compatibility
- Water cooling support
- Slide out dust filters
- Optional keyboard/headset trays
- Rear compartment for storing cables and plugs
- Supports monitor clamps
- Modular hard drive bays
- Seven high-quality fans pre-installed
Cons
- Expensive
“One of the greatest chassis’ I’ve ever seen. It’s a remarkable piece of engineering and design that will quickly leave a hole in your wallet, but it’s certainly a product you wouldn’t regret once it got delivered. A chassis like this demands a high-end build and if you’ve got a build that you really want to show off, this is easily one of the grandest ways you can do that.”
Thank you Lian-Li for providing us with this sample.