Lian Li has long had a reputation for crafting excellent cases at exorbitant prices, and the Tyr PC-X1000 upholds both standards. Like the PC-X2000 (rebadged as the ABS Canyon 695 and reviewed in December 2008), the PC-X1000 swaps depth for height, measuring more than 26 inches tall but less than 18 inches wide and 9 inches deep. The Tyr PC-X1000 offers a lot of compelling features, from five 14cm fans to thermally isolated compartments to 2.5-inch hard drive mounts. It’s visually striking, packed with amenities, and (of course) expensive. Is it worth it?
Thanks to its height, the Lian Li Tyr PC-X1000 looks much thinner than it actually is. The black brushed-aluminum design is minimalist but attractive, eschewing LED fans and internal lighting altogether—fine by us, especially as the side panels lack windows. The X1000 has plenty of front connectors: four USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, eSATA, and audio.
What it lacks in flash, the PC-X1000 makes up for in features: Like its predecessor, the X1000 is divided into three thermal zones. The bottom zone holds the PSU, a three-slot removable hard drive bay, and a 14cm intake fan. The main compartment has two dust-filtered 14cm intake fans and one 14cm exhaust fan, a removable motherboard tray, two toolless 2.5-inch hard drive brackets, a toolless PCI retention bracket, and the same useless retention bar that we removed from the X2000. The top compartment holds two stealthed 5.25-inch optical drive slots, one 5.25-inch/3.5-inch combo slot, and another three-slot removable hard drive cage, as well as an additional 14cm exhaust fan.
The hard drive bays aren’t hotswap and don’t use rails, unlike the bays in the X2000. Instead, drives are secured with rubber antivibration grommets and thick thumbscrews. The 2.5-inch bays at the bottom of the motherboard compartment are also removable.
We dig the sturdy PCI-card retention latches, which work well to keep your expansion cards secure in lieu of screws, but the plastic cowling on some dual-slot graphics cards can keep the lower slot from latching securely. Fortunately, the whole set is removable, so we were able to use more-standard thumbscrews when we needed to.
That’s a lot of stuff to fit into a case that’s only 18 inches from front to back, and Lian Li takes some steps to maximize usability—most notably in that virtually every cage and bay is removable. Both the top and bottom three-slot drive trays are easily removable using a thumbscrew, as is the front fan panel, for easy filter cleaning. Thanks to the removable motherboard tray and drive bays, installation was easy. Still, the closer quarters means there’s not a lot of room to hide cables, so you’ll have to work hard to avoid a cluttered-looking build.
The Lian Li Tyr PC-X1000 is a good-looking, well-constructed case with excellent cooling and a whole host of conveniences. But it’s also a bit cramped inside, with no room for an internal water-cooling reservoir. And we miss the SATA backplanes of the PC-X2000. But the biggest downside to this case is its price. The PC-X1000 retails for $400—twice the price of the Cooler Master ATCS 840, our favorite full-tower. If the PC-X1000 were $200, it would be a compelling alternative to bulky full-towers and shoddy mid-towers. At $400, it’s skippable.
Good toolless mechanisms; five multi-speed fans; built-in 2.5-inch bays; removable mobo tray.
Way overpriced; no hard drive rails/SATA backplanes; just two optical bays.
nedwards
January 29, 2010 at 1:24pm
Yeah, we go with centimeters rather than mm for fan measurements. 14cm is 140mm.
kiaghi7
January 25, 2010 at 3:50pm
It's another one of these cases designed for people to "make a statement" with... The statement is that they would rather flush X amount of dollars down the toilet completely unnecessarily on a rediculously overpriced case than do anything productive with it.
nsvander
January 25, 2010 at 3:17pm
I still have my PC70-B that I bought many many years ago, they are not just a case they are an investment. Well worth the bennies they cost! I think I have had no less then 7 systems in my case and it has handled all of them. I have thought about getting a newer one, but dont see the reason when this case has handled everthing I have thrown it. As for no hotswap drive bays, is that really a feature that the general person uses, I know I dont ever worry about it, that is what my external USB drive is for.
kevaskous
January 25, 2010 at 5:02pm
Agree'd i've owned all the rest and i just hate dealing with them after having 7 or so Lian li's They last a lifetime and they also have tons of replaceable parts if need be and upgrades aswell. you pay for more then a name they also use much higher grade materials and manufacturing processes. Further more they also retain their value, that said, what you buy for the 400$ now, could be worth close, as much, or more then that 4 years later when they are no longer made. I know my old PC-75 was being offered away from me for 230$ i paid 190 on sale 3 years previous.
I must say i think you don't give Lian Li enough credit here, guys.
Ruins
January 25, 2010 at 2:43pm
I see problems mounting a lot of heatsinks with only a 9 inch depth.
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