Take The Train: Lian Li PC-CK101, Built, Tested, And...Driven?

Fun With A Fan

A Steam Locomotive Needs Lots of Air

A fan comes mounted between the tender and the locomotive. While Lian Li excels in many different market segments, alas, fans are not one of them. The bundled fan isn't a gratuitous noisemaker, but it is certainly audible and its sound level is greater than what you hear from the PSU's cooler. To solve this, either throttle the fan down to 7 V (you can buy an adapter to do this) or simply replace it with a quieter fan of similar dimensions. Nice and neat.

I replaced the fan with a Noiseblocker model from the eLoop series, which is currently state-of-the-art. Since this isn't a chassis for penny-pinchers anyway, a few bucks more for an excellent fan shouldn’t be a deal-breaker. The powerful model I chose is probably a little overkill for a small platform without a graphics card. But I thought it might help cool our initial processor choice, Intel's Core i7-3770K.

As a side note, you can forego the enclosed air filter if you mount the fan so that it blows air out of the case. Low-pressure cooling may even improve thermal performance. Try it.

  • Trueno07
    I am so jealous right now, this looked like it was a blast to put together!
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    I am surprised you didn't use the model with the moving train!
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Not the first time I've seen it, but I still think this case is just an exercise in sheer ridiculousness.

    But since the PC era is coming to an end, who can blame Lian Li for having a little fun while they still can?
    Reply
  • edogawa
    This thing is so awesome...if it wasn't for the noise I would get one...I love trains...
    Reply
  • ASHISH65
    awesome! i want to drive that train
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    The Little Engine That Could...
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    *Ozzy Osbourne Voice* ALL ABOARD!!! HA HA HA HA....
    Reply
  • bambiboom
    Just brilliant. Finally, a computer case with a bit of style suitable for grownups.

    Taking the mobile computing theme further, and addressing the limitations on computing power, if you had a Dell Precision M6600 or 6700 laptop with a broken screen, how about mounting the components, motherboard , PSU, batteries, drives, Wifi and all? Then, there could be an i7 CPU and a Quadro 4000M, all very quiet and still getting more air than it's used to. And, appropriately, no power cord!

    The idea of a serious, self- propelled workstation steam train model seems the best use possible of this fantastic enclosure idea. That the computer is itself the game is on the borderline of being art.

    And congratulations to Igor Wallossek for an excellent description of something so wonderfully out of the ordinary.
    Reply
  • shikamaru31789
    I remember when I first saw this on Newegg. I thought I'd lost my mind for a moment. It's definitely a unique case.
    Reply
  • ojas
    Tom's Hardware's German team has a lot of fun, i can see :D

    Really enjoyable read, Igor! Also got to know about that Gigabyte wireless streamer, should prove useful!

    Nice house btw :)
    Reply