Lancool One Digital

Not all PC cases are made equal, and that’s something Lian-Li has proven time and time again. The masters of aluminium and glass are back, with the drop-dead gorgeous Lancool One Digital. Lashings of brushed aluminium, a huge tempered-glass side panel, and some clever front panel RGB integration should go a long way to justifying this cases’ (almost) £100 price tag.

It’s not all show and no go either. It offers support for E-ATX and ATX motherboards, plenty of cooling support, vertical GPU mounting, a PSU shroud and so much more. For those who are wanting to build a premium PC gaming system, it seems like the perfect tool for the job. However, it looks good on paper, but today we’ll be diving in for a closer look at what the latest Lian-Li has to offer. I must admit though, I have very high hopes for this one.

Features

• Striking brushed aluminium front panel with pre-installed addressable RGB LED lighting
• Robust tempered glass side panel
• Convenient snap and lock mechanism for installing and removing components
• Room for up to E-ATX form factor motherboards and plenty of components.

Specifications

• Case Type: Midi Tower
• Dimensions: (W)220mm x(H)472mm x(D)450mm
• Case weight: 8.25kg
• M/B Type: E-ATX/ATX/Micro-ATX
• VGA: 420mm
• CPU Cooler: 175mm

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

Product Trailer

What Lian-Li Had to Say

“The Lian Li LANCOOL ONE Digital is an elegantly designed case. It features a brushed aluminium front panel with a distinct diamond shaped air inlet with integrated, addressable RGB LED lighting to create appealing visual effects. The left-side of the LANCOOL ONE has a tempered glass side panel, which lets you display the components you’ve assembled within the case. Thanks to a convenient snap and lock mechanism the case can be modified without tools.” – Lian Li @ OCUK

Exterior

The Lian-Li design department never let us down, and the Lancool One is by far one of the slickest looking cases they’ve ever produced. There’s not as much aluminium as some of their older models, there’s a lot more steel in here these days. However, that’s helped to lower the price by a rather large amount. Of course, there’s tempered glass on the left, as well as that drop-dead gorgeous brushed aluminium front panel.

Trimmed

The edges of the metal are smoothly cut and polished, which looks superb. The dark grey finish of the aluminium is really brought out by the shiny edges quite nicely. There’s a load of RGB hiding between this gap too, but we’ll see that in action shortly.

The right side panel is just a matte black panel. Nothing fancy, but it certainly gets the job done. You can see here, there’s loads of ventilation down the sides of the front panel, so airflow should be decent, overall.

Top Panel

The front I/O comes equipped with both USB 3.0 and USB Type-C connectivity. There’s a power button and the usual audio jacks. No reset button though, as that is now used to control the RGB lighting.

There’s a huge dust filter/air intake on the top, which is great for those that need extra fans. However, it’ll let heat out passively too.

It’s held in place with some incredibly strong magnets, so it’s unlike to come loose on its own.

On the underside, you’ll find mountings for 120 and 140mm spaced fans and slim radiators.

Around the Back

Everything is as you would expect around the back. I’m happy to see they kept the matte black finish on all the fittings though, it blends in very nicely from all angles.

There’s a height adjustable 120mm fan mount at the top.

Seven expansion slots, all fitted with reusable metal covers. Plus, an additional two mounted vertically if you’re using a riser cable.

It’ll support an ATX PSU too, which comes with its own slide-out dust filter for easy maintainance.

Interior

There’s a huge amount of space on the interior. This is good news for those who want to install extra-long GPUs or any other expansion cards. It should also mean there’s room to spare up front for thicker radiator designs too. A large cut-out behind the motherboard will help with CPU cooler mounting, and there are loads of cable routing options in here too.

PSU Shroud

There’s a full-length PSU shroud in the bottom of the chassis. That’ll do nicely for hiding all your cables out of the way. However, there’s also a couple of HDD mounts on the top, as well as plenty of cable routing holes towards the back. Well done Lian-Li, most brands forget to leave a hole for the front panel audio cables.

A small cutaway towards the back, which will help ensure you can get your screw driver to the expansion slots. It’s a minor detail, but it shows they paid attention while designing it.

Cooling

There are two Lian-Li branded fans pre-installed in the Lancool One. There’s a 120mm in the rear, which is perfect for the exhaust.

And there’s one more in the front, mounted nice and low to pull in cool air.

Of course, the front will support 120/140mm fans, or full-height radiators if you wanted to throw in an AIO or custom loop configuration.

Behind the Motherboard

There’s a decent amount of cable routing space behind the motherboard, although I think a little more would be nice. Of course, with the PSU shroud, you can easily hide excess cables out of the way, so it’s hardly an issue.

There’s a tiny PCB which controls the front panel RGB. It’s powered by a Molex (come on, make it SATA, this isn’t 1998). Of course, you can use your motherboard 5v RGB header too if you desire.

Even more cable routing holes at the top, ensuring you can keep cable trail to an absolute minimum throughout.

Storage

Two SSD mounts are lurking behind the motherboard, giving us four in total with the two on the PSU shroud.

There’s two more 3.5″ HDD bays below the PSU shroud too, should you need them.

There’s room for a truly huge PSU down here also, as well as all your excess cables.

Finally, we have the front panel. Pull it away, and you’ll find a huge dust filter behind it. There’s also a light box (in white) which features loads of addressable RGB lights.

Complete System

Building the system inside this chassis was a pretty easy task… sort of. The motherboard, CPU cooler, PSU, GPU, etc all dropped in with plenty of room to spare. The RGB 24-pin cable that Lian-Li sent me to use in this build, that was a real pain in the arse to put together. All is forgiven though, as mock as you may, the RGB cable looks amazing. Even more so, as the RGB cable is synced with the front panel RGB lights.

PSU Shroud

I love the shroud, it’s superb tidy and really cleans up the build. Plus, with all those cable routing holes, there’s hardly any cables on show throughout the build.

Well, except for the 24-pin, which is lit up like a Christmas tree, but we did that on purpose. There’s room enough in here for some truly massive GPUs too. The GTX 1080 Ti FE barely takes up 2/3rd of the chassis length. Plus the front fan is perfectly placed to keep it cool.

Pretty much any enthusiast air cooler will fit too. There’s plenty of space, and if you opt for radiators, you’ll find mounts in the front, top and rear of the chassis.

RGB!

The Strimmer RGB 24-pin cable looks superb, and again, I love how it pairs up with the front panel lighting. Even when you have effects flowing through, it all matches.

It’s really bright too, lighting up the interior of the case in a warm glow of colour.

Tempered Glass

With all the panels back in place, we still get a great view of the interior of the case. Of course, the bright sunlight in my room means there’s a lot of reflection in the window; can’t help that today though, sorry.

The glass is quite clear though, no tinting, so it’s lucky the cable routing is tidy, or you would be able to see it all… *shudder*

Overall, a truly fantastic looking build. I wouldn’t want something this good looking tucked out of sight. I’ve put it up on my desk to show it off, as I’m sure you would want to too!

How Much Does it Cost?

You’re really spoilt for choice with the Lancool One from Lian-Li. It’s available in a few stunning finishes, from the black we reviewed, gold, silver, etc. They all look stunning too, I love them all. The prices range from just £91.51 to £109.99 in the UK. In the US, we found them from $89.99 to around $110.

The Strimmer RGB PSU cable isn’t a cheap add on, and can be found for £35/$38.

Overview

Not all PC cases are created equal, and Lian Li often like to prove they’re one of the (if not the) best at what they do. Sure, they’ve dropped the full aluminium construction on their recent models. However, the quality is still as high as ever, but the price is about £200-300 cheaper too. That’s economics that I doubt any of you will complain about. At £100, the Lancool One isn’t “cheap” but for the style, build quality and features you get, it’s worth every penny.

Features

The big selling points here are easily that sexy front panel and the tempered glass. Sure, everyone is doing something similar these days with RGB and glass. However, the Lian Li front panel design is one of the coolest I’ve seen in years. The RGB integration is less in your face too, adding highlights, rather than a full-on RGB disco. Most brands just put RGB fans in the front, Lian Li really made the chassis RGB instead.

The inclusion of dust filters throughout, a full-size PSU shroud, plenty of HDD mounts, excellent cable routing, RGB control hub, USB Type-C, radiator support, two pre-installed fans… Deep breath… Vertical PCIe slots, stealth SSD mounts, a magnetic top panel cover, tempered glass, tool-free side panels, Velcro cable tie downs, and, am I missing anything? Either way, all of it goes a long way to justifying the premium price tag. You really do get what you pay for.

$6000 ULTIMATE Watercooled Gaming PC Timelapse – With the Lancool One!

Should I Buy One?

I can think of plenty of amazing chassis for around the same price. However, the Lancool One from Lian Li is one of the absolute best looking on the market today. Easy to work with, great to look at, and exceptionally well made. What’s not to love!?