Lian Li PC-O11 Air Mini Review: An Easy, Sophisticated Alternative

We are using the following system for our case test bed:

We’ve recently implemented a new testing setup for our cases, but I’m pulling the old setup out of the closet for the O11D Air Mini to give the fairest comparison. I no longer have all of the same components around, but the motherboard, CPU, memory, GPU, and power supply are all identical. The main difference in the setups is that I won’t be using the vertical GPU riser, as this sample didn’t come with one. I’m also using a slightly different Corsair AIO, and we’re using the included case fans instead of chucking in aftermarket spinners.

Motherboard Installation

The first step in this build process is to install the motherboard. But because I’m too lazy to remove the hard drive cage at the back, I did install the AIO’s CPU block onto the motherboard first.

AIO Installation

Then, I mounted the fans onto the cooler, and installed the AIO’s radiator in the side port. I opted to use this because it’s what I did in the build of the O11D Mini, though I could have mounted it in any of the other locations.

GPU Installation

Then, I dropped the GPU into place. This case does have room for larger GPUs, and I could use our Zotac RTX 3080 Ti. But because the new ATX testing rig isn’t complete yet, and because I want to compare data to the first case, I’m using the FE RTX 2070 Super.

PSU Installation

This is something that took me by surprise when building the system – I had expected the O11 Air Mini to only support SFF-L PSUs at the largest, but no: This case will happily house large ATX PSUs up to 200mm long. Now that’s a relief.

Cable Management in Classic, O11 Fashion

For cable management, I first plugged all the cables in, including the iCue hub that came with the Corsair liquid cooler, and then tidied up all the cables.

And when I say tidy, I mean tidying them up in the classic O11 fashion: shoving them all into the case without a second thought and hiding my mess with the cover.

A Quick Note on the Side Radiator

If you haven’t spotted it yet, I’ve made a mistake in my build process. Although the 240mm radiator fits, with the fans, entirely into the side slot in the main chamber without colliding with the included intake fans, this is not the best way to mount it as it wouldn’t effectively exhaust the air out the side, instead warming up the secondary chamber. 

There is plenty of space for the radiator or fans to fit on the other side, in the secondary chamber. So, I undid the radiator and mounted it correctly, to better exhaust out the side panel.

Build Complete

With that, the build was complete. I’m really digging the tidy mesh front panel. I didn’t think I’d like it more than the pretty glass, but it’s a much more sophisticated look than glossy glass.