Lian Li PC-888

Written by Harry Butler

January 22, 2009 | 09:41

Tags: #case #chassis #expensive #lianli #pc-888 #pc888 #performance #price #testing #thermals #tower

Companies: #lian-li

Lian Li PC-888

Manufacturer: Lian Li
UK Price (as reviewed): TBC - Around £420 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): TBC - Around $500 (ex. Tax)

When you celebrate an anniversary you might go out for a few drinks, perhaps a meal, pop open a bottle of champagne and make a toast to the occasion. Not Lian Li though, who has a history of celebrating its anniversaries by producing chassis that take the humble PC case and turn it into something unique and memorable.

Five years ago we were treated to the bizarre (and yet remarkably popular) PC-777 and now Lian Li has produced a follow up in the form of the PC-888, a chassis that quite simply looks nothing like anything else available on the market today.

Limited to a production run of just 500 units, it’s certainly bound to become an extremely exclusive purchase thanks to its unique appearance and design, but is the PC-888 actually a good case underneath the crazy design? Let’s find out.

Lian Li PC-888 Lian Li PC-888
Click to enlarge

I’m Blue

There’s just no way to confuse the PC-888 with any other chassis currently available – its styling and look are totally unique. Inspired by the shape of a sail (and probably this hotel in Dubai we’d care to venture) the PC-888 breaks the boxy mould of modern PC chassis with a deliciously curved front fascia that’s like nothing we’ve seen before. It’s great to see a finally finally doing something different with case design and while we’re not too sure if it’ll catch on, it’s certainly innovative.

The entire case, inside and out, has been built from high quality blue anodised aluminium, and is a also welcome change from the sea of black, silver and gun metal chassis we see on a day to day basis. While these plain colours are fine, we can’t help but think that they’re becoming the new beige to some degree – what’s wrong with a bit of colour here and there after all?

Lian Li PC-888 Lian Li PC-888
Click to enlarge

The dark blue aluminium and curved front fascia combine to produce what is one of the most visually striking cases we’ve seen in years and we have to admit, we’re really quite taken by it. While it might not be the most practical in regards to use of space, both inside and out, this is no fridge-a-like chassis that’s meant to sit beneath a desk – the PC-888 is big, blue and demands to be noticed.

That’s not to say the PC-888 is totally superficial though and there are plenty of features that you’d expect from a high end PC in evidence. The PC-888’s curved front fascia is made up of 11 separate 5.25” ventilated drive blanking plates, and every single one of them is fitted with a removable washable dust filter. While this does mean that removing and cleaning every single one will take a pretty long time, it’s a thoughtful inclusion considering the design limitations of the curved chassis, as are the two pre-stealthed optical drive blanking plates fitted into the top two 5.25” mounts.
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