Lian Li answers cries from Xbox 360 owners

Author: Tim Smalley
Published: 10th January 2008
Comments (45) Digg Stumble
Lian Li answers cries from Xbox 360 owners

Lian Li's Xbox 360 chassis looks like it could be a winner, but there is no word on pricing or availability just yet.

We popped along to see Lian Li this morning and it had one of the more interesting cases that we’ve seen during this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, and this one isn’t for PCs – it’s for Xbox 360 owners.

The company has designed an all aluminium Xbox 360 replacement enclosure that lives up to Lian Li’s reputation for quality and sleek, stylish design. The chassis was a prototype, but it contained a fully-functional Xbox 360 on which I had time to do a quick race in PGR4.

Of course, you’re going to have to pull your Xbox 360 out of its original case, which means that your warranty will be void. But with that said, Lian Li’s solution is a vast improvement over the Xbox 360 chassis’ cooling, which means that it will be a much quieter design and overheating should be less of an issue as well.

Lian Li’s representatives said that, due to the prototype case’s design, there is the chance for end users to replace the Xbox 360 hard drive with something cheaper and larger too, because Microsoft’s drives aren’t exactly good value for money when it comes to pounds per gigabyte.

This product is by no means final, but Lian Li is hoping to launch it later this year – we’ll bring you more information on the product as and when it becomes available on the market. For now though, we’ll leave you with some pictures that you can discuss in the forums.



Quote chrisb2e9 10th January 2008, 04:42
I dont think that its a bad idea, if my product was out of warrenty. but if its still in warrenty, and it breaks, i can have it fixed for free. but if i take it out of the case and there has already been enough damage that its just a matter of time before it breaks, not only have I now spent the money on a case, but i have to pay to have it fixed.
so I would just keep it as is rather than risk it.
Quote slugbug 10th January 2008, 05:43
Having your xbox 360 in a case like this just might solve some of the overheating problems. Now if Microsoft would get together with Lian Li and offer this case as an option they'd be doing something.
Quote glaeken 10th January 2008, 05:51
better give it a face lift because it looks pretty boring as it is. Nothing too radical, just something more than a metal box.
Quote Firehed 10th January 2008, 05:54
Hm... good concept, but it really doesn't stand up to the simple yet elegant looks I expect from Lian Li.
Quote Stonewall78 10th January 2008, 06:24
Nice idea and all but you just can't throw a bigger HDD in there and have it work.
Quote HourBeforeDawn 10th January 2008, 07:04
huh I like the idea, like it better if xbox made a line like that.
Quote zoom314 10th January 2008, 07:53
I like the idea, But All It does besides help solve the cooling problem possibly, is make the Xbox360 look like a PC, It lacks something, But I can't put My finger on It.
Quote Cadillac Ferd 10th January 2008, 08:17
Oh mah god.
Do ****ing want.
Quote Amon 10th January 2008, 08:18
It's as if it was made solely for the Bit-tech crowd. Xbox + modding.

You might even be able to fit a PC in there, simultaneously.
Quote mmorgue 10th January 2008, 08:54
Yep -- to make this a complete killer, M$ would need to partner up and offer it as an alt box/case so as to preserve the warranty.

But i do like!
Quote Speedo 10th January 2008, 09:02
I've been waiting for someone to produce something like this for about a year now, and I never expected it to be a company like Lian Li. I find this to be a very minor overhaul though, as far as I can see the GPU will have less directed airflow over it and the optical drive is in the same position as before. If the optical drive was lifted (plenty of space in that box) and the gpu given a better heatsink it'd probably make a massive difference! I hope there's an option without the silly window too, don't want that in my AV stack!
Quote Jamie 10th January 2008, 09:19
That's certainly big enough for some decent watercooling.
Quote Nikumba 10th January 2008, 09:34
Oh hell yes, now make it in silver so it blends with my AV stack
Quote Bursar 10th January 2008, 09:39
I think it hit every branch as it fell down the ugly tree! People joked about the size of the 360 when it launch, and it looks as if that replacement case is about twice the size of the normal one!
Quote AlexB 10th January 2008, 09:40
I really like it
Quote Mister_X 10th January 2008, 10:44
I'm all for custom chassis but this IMO looks very poor....
Quote Bursar 10th January 2008, 10:47
Plus, it looks like everything is behind that pop down door. Need to swap discs, open the door. Want to have a wired controller or your play and charge kit hooked up? Yup, gotta have that door open the whole time.

Doors on PC cases are bad enough, but to have them on your consoles as well? No thanks.

Besides, Lian Li already make a case for my 360. It's called the PC70 and my console sits very nicely on top of it :)
Quote Mister_X 10th January 2008, 10:48
though I'll give it bonus points if it is quieter...
Quote MilkMan5 10th January 2008, 10:53
Don’t like it – it reminds me of a normal PC case – what’s so interesting about it.
Quote Djizasse 10th January 2008, 11:25
This is not up to lian-li standards :\ A prototype, and an uggly one. It's so bland. The window could be a nice touch, but at least they should've brightned the interior.
A case like the PC-C30A would better fit in the living room.
Quote steveo_mcg 10th January 2008, 11:30
Not really a fan of the window, but the concept is good. Especially if it'll keep the damn thing quiet.
Quote sub routine 10th January 2008, 11:32
looks fine to me, I like the quiet idea too instead of having a wind tunnel under me tv :D

think it need something else to be marketable though?

ps2 mouse/ keyboard support would be good, also some tive type remote I woud like. They would need to talk to microsoft though obviously, warrenties are nice too.
Quote chiper136 10th January 2008, 11:35
I've always intended that as soon as my warrenty runs out i'm re-casing my 360, now i'm on my 3rd one.

I agree that this case seems a little ugly and the door a bit pointless but on the flip side its such a perfect foundation for a good 360 cosmetic mod
Quote Bursar 10th January 2008, 12:44
Quote:
Originally Posted by sub routine
ps2 mouse/ keyboard support would be good, also some tive type remote I woud like. They would need to talk to microsoft though obviously, warrenties are nice too.

The 360 doesn't have PS2 ports, so they'd be a pointless. No idea if USB to PS2 convertors would work, and it would only be for the keyboard anyway.

If you wanted wireless keyboard, you could always get the keyboard add on thing for the controller.

And what warranties? The only one you'll have on the console will be voided as soon as you crack it open to start putting it into the Lian Li case.
Quote DXR_13KE 10th January 2008, 14:27
this is a prototype.... so the final version might be a lot better..... and MS might start selling the XBOX360 lian-li edition.........
Quote liratheal 10th January 2008, 15:16
Any word on and HDMI compatible version, or is that way out of sight since this is a prototype?

Also: What's he yammering about the HDD for?

IIRC there's some fancy trickery that does an absurdly good job of stopping people doing that.
Quote Tyinsar 10th January 2008, 15:52
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stonewall78
Nice idea and all but you just can't throw a bigger HDD in there and have it work.
That was my understanding as well. Do these guys actually know enough about the 360?
Quote:
Originally Posted by zoom314
I like the idea, But All It does besides help solve the cooling problem possibly, is make the Xbox360 look like a PC, It lacks something, But I can't put My finger on It.
Elegance is what I think it lacks. I hate to say it but it looks too much like your standard PC case with a window. Look at the standard 360 case and the shape of the controllers - last gen was boxier but this gen is smooth & curvy - like a polished river rock - not an industrial looking box.

But at least this looks better than that last bunch of LL cases I saw.
Quote phonon45 10th January 2008, 16:43
Is it really going to fix the heat flow problems with the power supply in there?
Quote Dark~3nergy 10th January 2008, 17:15
realy nice ! I'm gonna buy one of these, does anybody know when lian li will start to sell it and is the rear fan a 120mm ?

the psu isn't inside, you can see the xbox360 power cable from the back photo. and the only probleme is the wifi adapter.
Quote Otto69 10th January 2008, 17:40
You must be kidding. I'm going to put a case that big next to the 23" flat panel display in my bedrom where I have my xbox and PS2?

Hey I've got an idea, let's just package it in a mini-fridge and that way we can cool some beverages along with our xbox.

Seriously, I thought this article would be about something in a form factor close to that of the xbox with quieter fans and better airflow.
Quote bahgger 10th January 2008, 17:50
But I don't want a fat window in my XBox360 case.. Goddamnit!$&@$!
Quote DougEdey 10th January 2008, 18:17
100% WILL BUY!
Quote pendragon 10th January 2008, 18:31
this is a prototype... i'm not surprised that it's not super-polished-looking yet.. Neat idea. Lian-Li++
Quote Jipa 10th January 2008, 19:59
What the F is up with Lian-Li?!?! At first glance I though it was made by some one-limbed modder or something else that would make it special. It looks terrible.

I thought it Might be good to make a replacement-case that was 42 cm wide (normal hifi-width) so it could be stacked with AV-amp, but this one... Damn.
Quote 500mph 10th January 2008, 23:31
eh, if i got this, this would be my basis for modding my xbox.
i might be getting this this christmas
Quote Elspuddy 11th January 2008, 00:21
err, wont MS ban you from live if you change the case ??
and i'v seen better replacement cases
Quote samkiller42 11th January 2008, 01:00
Nice concept, few tweeks required.
A: Move the DVD drive
B: Loose the Door
C: Make it large enough for W/C (This would do nicely)

Job Done

Sam
Quote DougEdey 11th January 2008, 08:17
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elspuddy
err, wont MS ban you from live if you change the case ??
and i'v seen better replacement cases

They can't tell if you change the case? And they'll only band you from live if you have a large volume of complaints made against you and/or you have an illegal mod-chip in your unit.
Quote Blademrk 11th January 2008, 08:17
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elspuddy
err, wont MS ban you from live if you change the case ??
and i'v seen better replacement cases

Can't see why (or even know that you've changed cases for that matter).

I like it, but I think the DVD drive should be horizontal and lose the door.
Quote timmehtimmeh 12th January 2008, 08:59
would be even better with an internal PSU mounting for the brick or just doing away with it all together and providing the user with a new standard PC PSU and cable. Looks good.
Quote hankchen 13th January 2008, 16:12
You can change the HDD for XBOX360, but not all HDD work for XBox 360.
There is a mod for HDD change from HDDHacker, http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EEyAZlukkkkGLVUagB.php
Quote kempez 13th January 2008, 22:49
That looks sex!

I'm thinking watercooling, modding and DVD drive sound proofing :D
Quote dahl 14th January 2008, 12:51
YES! I hate my Xbox :) It makes to much noise!
Quote devdevil85 14th January 2008, 22:00
wow, extra money people will have to spend on their (I'm guessing) older 360.. and that's just to make it "dependable".....sad....isn't MS taking care of this w/ the extended 3-year warranty? or is that only for the RRoD specifically?, but isn't that what this case is trying to help avoid?...confused....
Quote kempez 14th January 2008, 23:46
Umm, I'd just get it to make my 360 look snazzy and have something to mod the cr@p out of (inc water-cooling), not to make it being dependable, same as most who say this is a good diea. Don't assume things my friend :)
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