Introduction and little background :
Most enthusiasts and hardcore gamers wouldn't need an introduction to Lian-li .They are well known for their hand crafted PC chassis which exhibit top notch build quality ,ease of use and the innovative tool-less designs. Lian-Li's being built of aluminum are not really affordable for the average buyer who is looking for value for money performance .As a result Lian-li came out with a budget offering of chassis made out of steel and gave it a new brand name .ie -LanCool.
Building PC's for friends and acquaintances particularly high-end gaming machines has been my hobby since a long time.The whole experience of building a rig and finally seeing it boot up is different with each one.
When it comes to chassis, the entry level or midrange offerings from Coolermaster has generally been my personal choice until recently ,I learnt about Lian-Li and Lancool being introduced in India by XtremeGrafix. After reading up about all the Lian-Li madness online, I decided to check them out personally and it was then I instantly fell in love with the full tower -A71F.Recently when friend wanted a complete overhaul of his system ,I suggested him the Lian-Li's after showing him some videos.
Since the high end full towers were out of his budget , we settled for something that seemed most value for money for him, the Lancool Dragonlord PC-K62. During the course of building the system,I was really amazed as to how easy and seamless the installation was and It was then I decided to review this case. Though I have not reviewed a case before, I've tried my level best to provide all the details from an enthusiast point of view.
[BREAK=Specifications]
Specifications :
From Lancool website.
[FONT="]Model[/FONT]
PC-K62
[FONT="]Case Type[/FONT]
Advance Mid Tower
[FONT="]Dimensions [/FONT]
214mm x 496mm x 498 mm (W, H, D)
[FONT="]Front bezel Material[/FONT]
Plastic
Colour
Black
Side panel
SECC Steel
Body material
SECC Steel
Net weight
9.55kg
[FONT="]5.25" drive bay (External)[/FONT]
5
[FONT="]3.5" drive bay (External)[/FONT]
Nil
[FONT="]3.5" drive bay (Internal)[/FONT] [FONT="]Expansion Slots[/FONT]
8
[FONT="]Motherboard[/FONT]
ATX / M-ATX
[FONT="]System Fan (Front)[/FONT]
140mm Blue LED Fan x 1 (1000RPM)
[FONT="]System Fan (Top)[/FONT]
140mm Blue LED Fan x 2 (1000RPM)
[FONT="]System Fan (Rear)[/FONT]
120mm Fan x 1 (1500RPM)
[FONT="]I/O Ports[/FONT]
USB2.0 x 2 / HD+AC97 Audio
Key Features :
[BREAK=Packaging and First Look]
Packaging & First Look.
The case comes packed in a big red & black cardboard box which has a faint glossy finish with a clear image of the case on both sides. It also has all the key features and specifications listed on the other two sides .The box is heavy , owing to the fact that the case is made of steel and weighs close to almost 9 kgs.
Once you open the box you can see the case wrapped around with a thick sheet of plastic and packed with Styrofoam support on the sides. Since I received the case in perfect condition I assume the packaging is good enough to take the abusing of freight all the way from Taiwan to India.On opening the box, the case is revealed along with 2 sheets -a installation manual and list of accessories available from Lian-Li. Also you can spot a small white box enclosed in the case , held firm with tape.This box contains all the accessories like thumb screws, extra screws ,cable management tools and the PSU fastening bracket (we will come to that later).
Exterior Looks .
The case has a very simplistic and clean design .Although looks can be subjective ,I was personally quite impressed by it's seamless straight cuts and sturdy industrial looks .The external panels of the case are constructed with solid plastic and have black matte finish while the internal chassis and side panels are fabricated of high quality steel. The K62 also comes with a transparent side panel which spreads across the left side of the case and lets you have a look at the complete black interiors of the case. This transparent acrylic on the side panel is fixed using small metal screws.
The matte paint finish is top notch and I kind of find it more classy compared to the gloss finish of my Cooler Master 690. The paint doesn't have silk smooth coating instead it has some sort of roughened super fine granular coating which you can feel when you move your hand over the body. Gives the case an industrial look.
Each and every one the panels can be removed to reveal the bare bone steel structure of the chassis .More on the different panels in the next section .
[BREAK=K62 : Exterior]
Lets have a closer look at K62's exterior and various panels.
Top panel.
The top plastic panel of the case is louvered with horizontal slats to let the air out of the 2 X 140mm exhaust fans placed below the panel . The top panel also hold the 2 USB ports ,headphone and mic jack in the midst of the Power and Reset buttons on each side of the I/O connectivity options. There are no e-sata of firewire ports which is a letdown for folks who use them as connectivity options for their peripherals. The power and Reset buttons are fairly big in size and easy to reach regardless of the fact where the cabinet is placed.(below or above the table ).Smart thinking by the designers ,I must say . In between the horizontal slats and the I/O ports in the front there is a small LanCool logo embedded on the panel and it's the only branding which you will see in the cabinet.
Removing the panel is very easy and trust me when I say very easy. Just slide your fingers on to the sides and pull out the the panel with little force. This is the first thing that totally amazed me about the K62.It's the mechanism of the top and front panel which does not required one to apply all their mighty power to remove the panels , the way I have to struggle and fight it out with my Cool Master 690.(and that too end up with a few broken clips
) The top and front panels are both held in place with the help of flexible rounded clips(on the panel) that get locked into the holes on the bare bone chassis.
Once the top panel is removes , you can see the 2 X 140mm Lian -li fans installed on to the chassis .These fans run at 1000 rpm and also have Blue LED's to add to the bling factor of the cabinet. All the fans installed in the K62 chassis ,are fastened using screws which have an anti-vibration rubber padding on them, thereby reducing the vibration noise of the fans by a great extent. Yet another feature which most other manufacturers fail to implement .
Front Panel.
The front panel of the chassis is basically a Plastic frame with metallic mesh between the frame intended for better ventilation .Though the front panel looks like a single piece it upper half is actually split into 5 parts which can be removed to install an optical drive in the drive bays .Each of these 5 bay covers have a horizontal cross bar on it, which add to the visual aspect of the chassis . The lower half of the panel is symmetrical to the upper half but a single piece of metallic mesh with straight bars running across it.
Since the complete front panel is meshed it's expected to turn into a dust magnet. To tackle this problem, Lancool has added sheets of air filter behind each of the 5 drive bays as well as the lower half of the panel .These air filters are made of thin plastic sheets and not of spongy material as seen in a few other cabinets.The advantage being these filters can be easily removed and washed under tap water and there's no wear and tear as in the case of the sponge air filters.
Removal of the front panel is similar to that of the top panel as the same locking mechanism is used. There's a small cutting/ notch at the bottom of panel ,one just needs to hold the panel at this cutting and pull it out.
Once again the bare-bone steel chassis is revealed along with another 140 mm Blue LED intake fan which is used to cool the Hard drives and other hardware. You can clearly see the anti-vibration rubber washers used along with the screws to fit the fan.
Side Panels.
Both the side panels are held in place by two thumb screws and their removal is effortless .It just slides out smoothly once you remove the thumb screws. Both the panels are constructed of steel and painted black inside out .The panel on the left side has a transparent acrylic sheet which is held in place using small screws.The transparent panel is big enough for one to have a complete look of the hardware installed as well as the sleek black interiors.
There isn't any provision to install extra fans on the side panel so the one's who are particular about extra cooling or installing intake fans on the side panel might need to mod the acrylic sheet.I personally don't feel one would need any extra cooling as the 2 X 140mm fans at the top do the work well enough.
The side panel on the other side is bare solid sheet of steel without any windows or air vents .Removing it is similar to the other side panel .Once you remove it you can see the back of the motherboard plate .As you can see the plate has a cut out for installation of retention brackets incase one uses a aftemarket cooler .Owing to this design implementation ,there won't be need of removing the motherboard while changing the cooler.
The rear of the cabinet has a all black theme as well. Nothing much to describe here, there's the 120mm black exhaust fan and slot for the motherboard's I/O plate. Just below the exhaust fan are two holes for tubing incase of a water cooled setup.The lower half has 8 PCI slots which have slanted air vents for better cooling .There's another great feature about these PCI slots which we will see during the installation .As you can see the K62 incorporates a bottom PSU installation like most new mid tower cabinets. The installation of the PSU is also truly innovative and something that you might have not come across till date.
The bottom part of the cabinet has a detachable air filter just below the exahust of PSU fan and it's held in place by small clips. It comes off easily with a slight pull.Also at the bottom there are four big rounded rubber case feets which absorb the fan vibrations and noise before it reaches the ground/table and also adds about a inch or two to the K62's height.
[BREAK=K62 : Interiors & Tool Less Design]
The Interiors.
As I mentioned earlier uninstalling the side panels just requires removal of a pair of thumb screw on each panel. Once the side panels are off the chassis you can have a complete view of the black roomy interiors with some great innovative tool less designs integrated for hardware installations which we will see now.
The motherboard back plate comes pre-installed with all the metallic stand-offs for installing the motherboard. One just needs to match the holes and install the motherboard using thumbscrews. Yes , you read that right it's thumbscrews. Unlike other manufacturers which provide you with those tiny little screws that can be a real pain while screwing them in those corners of the boards ...Lan Cool provides a set of big thumbscrews for easy installation .Few screws are short while a few of them are bit tall for , for hard to reach places.
Also you can see that the motherboard plate doesn't extend till the bottom of the case and also has 4 big cut-outs for better cable management. In addition there's a great tool provided for better cable management which we will see during the installation of PSU .
The cables for the I/O connectivity on the top are nicely braided and routed from the right side of the front panel .They are tied at the very top of the panel and a small hook is provided to keep the cables together. I really like the way Lan Cool has taken care of the smallest things which we enthusiasts insist .During installation some might feel that the feel that the audio cable is short and won't reach till the connector on the board ,in that case you just need to untie the cables from the top of the case .
On the ceiling of the interiors you can see two 140mm fans which we discussed earlier. One really cool(pun intended) thing about the fans is there is no extra layers of meshes anywhere between the interiors of the cabinet, fans and the top panel airflow . Its completely unobstructed air flow.I know some might say this could result in an easy passage for dust but the one's who own a CM-690 would know how the multiple layers of plastic and metal between the fans and top panel obstructs air flow and results in heat traps in the top mst layer of the chassis.
Different tool-less mechanisms :
Now coming to the most important part of the review and these are the things which actually made me fall in love with the chassis during the installation .
Let's start the tool-less journey with the PCI slots.
The PCI slot has metallic(most probably aluminum) levers which you pull up , insert the card in the slot and push down the lever to fasten the card. It has a lot better grip and holds the card more firmly than other tool-less implementations, using plastic levers .On various occasions, while using the plastic tool less mechanism for PCI-slots in other cabinets I've felt that it wasn't holding the card firmly and I ended up using a extra screw to be avoid free play of the card. Once I have even broken one of the hooks while installing my HD4850 GPU in the CM-690.
With these alluminium levers and a tool -less implementation in the real sense its very unlikely I will have to use any additional screws or worry about breaking the mechanism.
Also if you have noticed there is an 8th additional dummy PCI slot for installing non- functional hardware like Fan controllers,esata extension ports etc. This one doesn't have a level but it comes with a thumb screw for installation.
Tool Less optical drive installation :
Similar to the tool less 3.5" drive bay ,the 5.25 " drive bays are screw-less as well but not completely. Of the total 5 slots only top 2 have the complete tool less locking mechanism .There is a long lever running across the sides of the two slots. To install a optical drive , you need unlock the level by pressing it , slide the drive in place from the front. Once the drive is in place and the hole on the drive matches the small locking mould on the lever ,you just need to push the lever and the drives completely locked and immobile .Easy isn't it ?
Only down side is it works only for maximum of 2 drives (top 2).For an addition installation , you will have to use the normal screw mechanism. I doubt any one uses more than 2 optical drives but you never know and some might buy additional 5.25" to 3.5" converter bays as well.(They are not supplied with the chassis).
[BREAK=Tool-less Design : Part II]
Tool-less Hard drive bays and HDD tray :
The K62 has total 4 3.5" drive bays for Hard drive installation ,each of which comes with its own HDD tray made of steel. It might be slightly disappointing for few folks as most other mid range cases come with 5 slots but soon the disappointment will be vanished cause trust me the HDD installation is one one of the most practical and innovative design Iv'e seen till date .At the same time it might be bit complicated as well for the first timers .I had to read through the manual a couple of times to see to it at that I am doing it the right way . Anyways here's how it works.
The 4 individual HDD trays are made up of hard steel and have big vents for air flow .These 4 trays are locked by a single locking lever which has to be unlocked be removing a single thumb screw and moving the lever in the upward direction. This clears the way for the HDD trays to come out .
Along with the HDD trays a sheet of anti-vibration rubber padding is supplied by Lan-Cool.I am not sure if this is essential cause all the HDD trays already have rubbed padded screws on the sides which help it to slide into the slots but then it shows that Lan Cool has taken utmost care to eliminate any noise or vibrations in the cabinet. Impressive !
Installing the HDD in the tray for the first time was a bit confusing for me.The tray two locks on the sides which need to be removed to insert the hard drive in the tray and locked back once the drive was in place weren't working perfectly. The drive just wouldn't stay in its place .It was then I realized what a stupid mistake I have made of positioning drive in wrong direction .SATA & power connectors need to be at the rear(where there are cutouts for the connector) and not in the front . So keep this in mind while installing the drive.
So that's it ,lock the drive in the tray with rubber padding , slide the tray back into the bay and lock the drive bays using the lever and thumb screw. That's how easy it is . No tools, screws required at all and the drive is held in place in the best possible way without any vibrations .
Tool less PSU installation :
Tool-less HDD bays, optical drive bays and add-on card installations is something we all have seen before but a completely tool-less PSU installation ? Yes that's what the designers of the K62 have come up with .
The Power supply needs to be placed over two rubber spacers, running across the PSU's length. These rubber spacers absorb any vibrations caused by the PSU and they also keep the PSU slightly above the bottom surface of the chassis which has air vents for the PSU's exhaust fan.
Here's the key element, once the PSU is placed on the rubber spacers you just need to use the metallic locking belt/clip to fasten the PSU. As you can see from the pictures there is a small notch on the chassis just above the top side of PSU and another one at the bottom of the chassis .You need to insert the locking bracket into the top slot first , tighten it across the power supply unit by applying some force and then lock it completely by inserting the other end of bracket in the bottom notch. It needs a good amount of force to be applied but once installed it's almost impossible to make the PSU move even a millimeter .
That's the end of the most incredible and innovative tool-less design in a chassis of this segment .Now lets move on the the after-assembly and finished looks of the K62.
[BREAK=Assembling ,cable management etc.]
After Assembly and Finished Looks .
Thanks to the the screw less installation techniques
implemented in every corner of the Lan Cool K62, installation was a piece of cake.No cuts, bruises on finger due to sharp edges and no signs of fatigue after installation .The whole installation part was simple and took very little time . The tool-less graphic card installation worked perfectly as described earlier. Same with installation of PSU,optical drive and even the Hard drive. Cable management also didn't take much efforts with the help of the plastic/rubber cable management tool that was installed near the PSU to route the cables properly.
Here are some snaps of the Rig after the final assembly. I have added the snaps of PSU installation and the cable management tool as well.
For those who need some Bling bling in their cabinet, they don't have to shell out any extra cash on LED fans or CCFL tubes .The Blue light from the LED fans adds enough bling to the cabinet and during the night time ,the case looks simply awe-inspiring !
Overall working with the K62 was a completely different experience and I have never enjoyed assembling a rig so much before.(Ofcourse the joy of building up my first one was totally different even though it wasn't so easy.)
I really couldn't find any major flaw with the chassis as such. Even cooling system is incredible with hi-quality Lian Li fans bundled with the case.
The rig consists of a Asus P5Q motherboard,E8200 processor,XFX 8600GT GPU,1x optical drive and HDD.A corsair HX 650 for the upcoming gpu upgrade and other future upgrades .Soon I will be installing a after-market cooler as well .Will update the thread if I am able to install it successfully without removing the motherboard.
[BREAK=Final Thoughs & Conclusion]
Final Thoughts and Conclusion :
The Lian Li K62 might not be the chassis which will make you fall in love with it's curves or beauty .It's simple with clean lines and the bit of industrial touch to it but there are a few things which the designers /researchers of Lan Cool have worked upon that makes this cabinet stand out in terms of performance and true enthusiast point of view.
At times I feel the designers ,researchers themselves must be enthusiasts who are so well aware of the smallest and most minor problems we guys come across during installation or maybe they have taken feeback from the right people. Problems like the small motherboard screws, a tool-less implementation which isn't 100% functional, poor cable management, inappropriate airflow, poor-quality bundled fans etc. -These are small issues neglected by most other main stream chassis manufacturers and this is where Lan Cool scores to make the K62 outperform every other chassis in air flow and easy installation.
Pros :
·Classic looks .(subjective)
·Practical ,functional and a near to perfect tool-less design .
·Tool less implementation in every part of chassis.
·unobstructed air flow
·excellent cooling with quality 120\140mm fans ( low noise and sufficient air flow.)
·easily washable dust filters.
·easy cable management friendly lay out & additional tools for cable management.
·Rubber padded anti-vibration screws used everywhere.
·complete package .(no need to buy additional fans etc.)
Cons :
·only 4 X 3.5" bays and lack of 5.25" to 3.5" bay converters
·Lack of e-sata ,firewire ports on front.
·only 2 screw-less optical drive bays.
·Priced a little higher than most mid-towers which could be an issue for some buyers
IMO, it's actually worth the price because any one else buying a good mid tower like the CM-690 would eventually end up spending close to 6k if he chooses to buy additional quality fans for better cooling and the stock one's aren't so good any ways.
Most enthusiasts and hardcore gamers wouldn't need an introduction to Lian-li .They are well known for their hand crafted PC chassis which exhibit top notch build quality ,ease of use and the innovative tool-less designs. Lian-Li's being built of aluminum are not really affordable for the average buyer who is looking for value for money performance .As a result Lian-li came out with a budget offering of chassis made out of steel and gave it a new brand name .ie -LanCool.
Building PC's for friends and acquaintances particularly high-end gaming machines has been my hobby since a long time.The whole experience of building a rig and finally seeing it boot up is different with each one.
When it comes to chassis, the entry level or midrange offerings from Coolermaster has generally been my personal choice until recently ,I learnt about Lian-Li and Lancool being introduced in India by XtremeGrafix. After reading up about all the Lian-Li madness online, I decided to check them out personally and it was then I instantly fell in love with the full tower -A71F.Recently when friend wanted a complete overhaul of his system ,I suggested him the Lian-Li's after showing him some videos.
Since the high end full towers were out of his budget , we settled for something that seemed most value for money for him, the Lancool Dragonlord PC-K62. During the course of building the system,I was really amazed as to how easy and seamless the installation was and It was then I decided to review this case. Though I have not reviewed a case before, I've tried my level best to provide all the details from an enthusiast point of view.
[BREAK=Specifications]
Specifications :
From Lancool website.
PC-K62
[FONT="]Case Type[/FONT]
Advance Mid Tower
[FONT="]Dimensions [/FONT]
214mm x 496mm x 498 mm (W, H, D)
[FONT="]Front bezel Material[/FONT]
Plastic
Colour
Black
Side panel
SECC Steel
Body material
SECC Steel
Net weight
9.55kg
[FONT="]5.25" drive bay (External)[/FONT]
5
[FONT="]3.5" drive bay (External)[/FONT]
Nil
[FONT="]3.5" drive bay (Internal)[/FONT] [FONT="]Expansion Slots[/FONT]
8
[FONT="]Motherboard[/FONT]
ATX / M-ATX
[FONT="]System Fan (Front)[/FONT]
140mm Blue LED Fan x 1 (1000RPM)
[FONT="]System Fan (Top)[/FONT]
140mm Blue LED Fan x 2 (1000RPM)
[FONT="]System Fan (Rear)[/FONT]
120mm Fan x 1 (1500RPM)
[FONT="]I/O Ports[/FONT]
USB2.0 x 2 / HD+AC97 Audio
Key Features :
- Air filter at the base of the case
- Tool-less optical drive mounting
- Tool-less PCI card holder
- Tool-less HDD cage
- Tool-less PSU holder
[BREAK=Packaging and First Look]
Packaging & First Look.
The case comes packed in a big red & black cardboard box which has a faint glossy finish with a clear image of the case on both sides. It also has all the key features and specifications listed on the other two sides .The box is heavy , owing to the fact that the case is made of steel and weighs close to almost 9 kgs.
Once you open the box you can see the case wrapped around with a thick sheet of plastic and packed with Styrofoam support on the sides. Since I received the case in perfect condition I assume the packaging is good enough to take the abusing of freight all the way from Taiwan to India.On opening the box, the case is revealed along with 2 sheets -a installation manual and list of accessories available from Lian-Li. Also you can spot a small white box enclosed in the case , held firm with tape.This box contains all the accessories like thumb screws, extra screws ,cable management tools and the PSU fastening bracket (we will come to that later).
Exterior Looks .
The case has a very simplistic and clean design .Although looks can be subjective ,I was personally quite impressed by it's seamless straight cuts and sturdy industrial looks .The external panels of the case are constructed with solid plastic and have black matte finish while the internal chassis and side panels are fabricated of high quality steel. The K62 also comes with a transparent side panel which spreads across the left side of the case and lets you have a look at the complete black interiors of the case. This transparent acrylic on the side panel is fixed using small metal screws.
The matte paint finish is top notch and I kind of find it more classy compared to the gloss finish of my Cooler Master 690. The paint doesn't have silk smooth coating instead it has some sort of roughened super fine granular coating which you can feel when you move your hand over the body. Gives the case an industrial look.
Each and every one the panels can be removed to reveal the bare bone steel structure of the chassis .More on the different panels in the next section .
[BREAK=K62 : Exterior]
Lets have a closer look at K62's exterior and various panels.
Top panel.
The top plastic panel of the case is louvered with horizontal slats to let the air out of the 2 X 140mm exhaust fans placed below the panel . The top panel also hold the 2 USB ports ,headphone and mic jack in the midst of the Power and Reset buttons on each side of the I/O connectivity options. There are no e-sata of firewire ports which is a letdown for folks who use them as connectivity options for their peripherals. The power and Reset buttons are fairly big in size and easy to reach regardless of the fact where the cabinet is placed.(below or above the table ).Smart thinking by the designers ,I must say . In between the horizontal slats and the I/O ports in the front there is a small LanCool logo embedded on the panel and it's the only branding which you will see in the cabinet.
Removing the panel is very easy and trust me when I say very easy. Just slide your fingers on to the sides and pull out the the panel with little force. This is the first thing that totally amazed me about the K62.It's the mechanism of the top and front panel which does not required one to apply all their mighty power to remove the panels , the way I have to struggle and fight it out with my Cool Master 690.(and that too end up with a few broken clips
) The top and front panels are both held in place with the help of flexible rounded clips(on the panel) that get locked into the holes on the bare bone chassis.Once the top panel is removes , you can see the 2 X 140mm Lian -li fans installed on to the chassis .These fans run at 1000 rpm and also have Blue LED's to add to the bling factor of the cabinet. All the fans installed in the K62 chassis ,are fastened using screws which have an anti-vibration rubber padding on them, thereby reducing the vibration noise of the fans by a great extent. Yet another feature which most other manufacturers fail to implement .
Front Panel.
The front panel of the chassis is basically a Plastic frame with metallic mesh between the frame intended for better ventilation .Though the front panel looks like a single piece it upper half is actually split into 5 parts which can be removed to install an optical drive in the drive bays .Each of these 5 bay covers have a horizontal cross bar on it, which add to the visual aspect of the chassis . The lower half of the panel is symmetrical to the upper half but a single piece of metallic mesh with straight bars running across it.
Since the complete front panel is meshed it's expected to turn into a dust magnet. To tackle this problem, Lancool has added sheets of air filter behind each of the 5 drive bays as well as the lower half of the panel .These air filters are made of thin plastic sheets and not of spongy material as seen in a few other cabinets.The advantage being these filters can be easily removed and washed under tap water and there's no wear and tear as in the case of the sponge air filters.
Removal of the front panel is similar to that of the top panel as the same locking mechanism is used. There's a small cutting/ notch at the bottom of panel ,one just needs to hold the panel at this cutting and pull it out.
Once again the bare-bone steel chassis is revealed along with another 140 mm Blue LED intake fan which is used to cool the Hard drives and other hardware. You can clearly see the anti-vibration rubber washers used along with the screws to fit the fan.
Side Panels.
Both the side panels are held in place by two thumb screws and their removal is effortless .It just slides out smoothly once you remove the thumb screws. Both the panels are constructed of steel and painted black inside out .The panel on the left side has a transparent acrylic sheet which is held in place using small screws.The transparent panel is big enough for one to have a complete look of the hardware installed as well as the sleek black interiors.
There isn't any provision to install extra fans on the side panel so the one's who are particular about extra cooling or installing intake fans on the side panel might need to mod the acrylic sheet.I personally don't feel one would need any extra cooling as the 2 X 140mm fans at the top do the work well enough.
The side panel on the other side is bare solid sheet of steel without any windows or air vents .Removing it is similar to the other side panel .Once you remove it you can see the back of the motherboard plate .As you can see the plate has a cut out for installation of retention brackets incase one uses a aftemarket cooler .Owing to this design implementation ,there won't be need of removing the motherboard while changing the cooler.
The rear of the cabinet has a all black theme as well. Nothing much to describe here, there's the 120mm black exhaust fan and slot for the motherboard's I/O plate. Just below the exhaust fan are two holes for tubing incase of a water cooled setup.The lower half has 8 PCI slots which have slanted air vents for better cooling .There's another great feature about these PCI slots which we will see during the installation .As you can see the K62 incorporates a bottom PSU installation like most new mid tower cabinets. The installation of the PSU is also truly innovative and something that you might have not come across till date.
The bottom part of the cabinet has a detachable air filter just below the exahust of PSU fan and it's held in place by small clips. It comes off easily with a slight pull.Also at the bottom there are four big rounded rubber case feets which absorb the fan vibrations and noise before it reaches the ground/table and also adds about a inch or two to the K62's height.
[BREAK=K62 : Interiors & Tool Less Design]
The Interiors.
As I mentioned earlier uninstalling the side panels just requires removal of a pair of thumb screw on each panel. Once the side panels are off the chassis you can have a complete view of the black roomy interiors with some great innovative tool less designs integrated for hardware installations which we will see now.
The motherboard back plate comes pre-installed with all the metallic stand-offs for installing the motherboard. One just needs to match the holes and install the motherboard using thumbscrews. Yes , you read that right it's thumbscrews. Unlike other manufacturers which provide you with those tiny little screws that can be a real pain while screwing them in those corners of the boards ...Lan Cool provides a set of big thumbscrews for easy installation .Few screws are short while a few of them are bit tall for , for hard to reach places.
Also you can see that the motherboard plate doesn't extend till the bottom of the case and also has 4 big cut-outs for better cable management. In addition there's a great tool provided for better cable management which we will see during the installation of PSU .
The cables for the I/O connectivity on the top are nicely braided and routed from the right side of the front panel .They are tied at the very top of the panel and a small hook is provided to keep the cables together. I really like the way Lan Cool has taken care of the smallest things which we enthusiasts insist .During installation some might feel that the feel that the audio cable is short and won't reach till the connector on the board ,in that case you just need to untie the cables from the top of the case .
On the ceiling of the interiors you can see two 140mm fans which we discussed earlier. One really cool(pun intended) thing about the fans is there is no extra layers of meshes anywhere between the interiors of the cabinet, fans and the top panel airflow . Its completely unobstructed air flow.I know some might say this could result in an easy passage for dust but the one's who own a CM-690 would know how the multiple layers of plastic and metal between the fans and top panel obstructs air flow and results in heat traps in the top mst layer of the chassis.
Different tool-less mechanisms :
Now coming to the most important part of the review and these are the things which actually made me fall in love with the chassis during the installation .
Let's start the tool-less journey with the PCI slots.
The PCI slot has metallic(most probably aluminum) levers which you pull up , insert the card in the slot and push down the lever to fasten the card. It has a lot better grip and holds the card more firmly than other tool-less implementations, using plastic levers .On various occasions, while using the plastic tool less mechanism for PCI-slots in other cabinets I've felt that it wasn't holding the card firmly and I ended up using a extra screw to be avoid free play of the card. Once I have even broken one of the hooks while installing my HD4850 GPU in the CM-690.
With these alluminium levers and a tool -less implementation in the real sense its very unlikely I will have to use any additional screws or worry about breaking the mechanism.
Also if you have noticed there is an 8th additional dummy PCI slot for installing non- functional hardware like Fan controllers,esata extension ports etc. This one doesn't have a level but it comes with a thumb screw for installation.
Tool Less optical drive installation :
Similar to the tool less 3.5" drive bay ,the 5.25 " drive bays are screw-less as well but not completely. Of the total 5 slots only top 2 have the complete tool less locking mechanism .There is a long lever running across the sides of the two slots. To install a optical drive , you need unlock the level by pressing it , slide the drive in place from the front. Once the drive is in place and the hole on the drive matches the small locking mould on the lever ,you just need to push the lever and the drives completely locked and immobile .Easy isn't it ?
Only down side is it works only for maximum of 2 drives (top 2).For an addition installation , you will have to use the normal screw mechanism. I doubt any one uses more than 2 optical drives but you never know and some might buy additional 5.25" to 3.5" converter bays as well.(They are not supplied with the chassis).
[BREAK=Tool-less Design : Part II]
Tool-less Hard drive bays and HDD tray :
The K62 has total 4 3.5" drive bays for Hard drive installation ,each of which comes with its own HDD tray made of steel. It might be slightly disappointing for few folks as most other mid range cases come with 5 slots but soon the disappointment will be vanished cause trust me the HDD installation is one one of the most practical and innovative design Iv'e seen till date .At the same time it might be bit complicated as well for the first timers .I had to read through the manual a couple of times to see to it at that I am doing it the right way . Anyways here's how it works.
The 4 individual HDD trays are made up of hard steel and have big vents for air flow .These 4 trays are locked by a single locking lever which has to be unlocked be removing a single thumb screw and moving the lever in the upward direction. This clears the way for the HDD trays to come out .
Along with the HDD trays a sheet of anti-vibration rubber padding is supplied by Lan-Cool.I am not sure if this is essential cause all the HDD trays already have rubbed padded screws on the sides which help it to slide into the slots but then it shows that Lan Cool has taken utmost care to eliminate any noise or vibrations in the cabinet. Impressive !
Installing the HDD in the tray for the first time was a bit confusing for me.The tray two locks on the sides which need to be removed to insert the hard drive in the tray and locked back once the drive was in place weren't working perfectly. The drive just wouldn't stay in its place .It was then I realized what a stupid mistake I have made of positioning drive in wrong direction .SATA & power connectors need to be at the rear(where there are cutouts for the connector) and not in the front .
So keep this in mind while installing the drive.So that's it ,lock the drive in the tray with rubber padding , slide the tray back into the bay and lock the drive bays using the lever and thumb screw. That's how easy it is . No tools, screws required at all and the drive is held in place in the best possible way without any vibrations .
Tool less PSU installation :
Tool-less HDD bays, optical drive bays and add-on card installations is something we all have seen before but a completely tool-less PSU installation ? Yes that's what the designers of the K62 have come up with .
The Power supply needs to be placed over two rubber spacers, running across the PSU's length. These rubber spacers absorb any vibrations caused by the PSU and they also keep the PSU slightly above the bottom surface of the chassis which has air vents for the PSU's exhaust fan.
Here's the key element, once the PSU is placed on the rubber spacers you just need to use the metallic locking belt/clip to fasten the PSU. As you can see from the pictures there is a small notch on the chassis just above the top side of PSU and another one at the bottom of the chassis .You need to insert the locking bracket into the top slot first , tighten it across the power supply unit by applying some force and then lock it completely by inserting the other end of bracket in the bottom notch. It needs a good amount of force to be applied but once installed it's almost impossible to make the PSU move even a millimeter .
That's the end of the most incredible and innovative tool-less design in a chassis of this segment .Now lets move on the the after-assembly and finished looks of the K62.
[BREAK=Assembling ,cable management etc.]
After Assembly and Finished Looks .
Thanks to the the screw less installation techniques
implemented in every corner of the Lan Cool K62, installation was a piece of cake.No cuts, bruises on finger due to sharp edges and no signs of fatigue after installation .The whole installation part was simple and took very little time . The tool-less graphic card installation worked perfectly as described earlier. Same with installation of PSU,optical drive and even the Hard drive. Cable management also didn't take much efforts with the help of the plastic/rubber cable management tool that was installed near the PSU to route the cables properly.
Here are some snaps of the Rig after the final assembly. I have added the snaps of PSU installation and the cable management tool as well.
For those who need some Bling bling in their cabinet, they don't have to shell out any extra cash on LED fans or CCFL tubes .The Blue light from the LED fans adds enough bling to the cabinet and during the night time ,the case looks simply awe-inspiring !
Overall working with the K62 was a completely different experience and I have never enjoyed assembling a rig so much before.(Ofcourse the joy of building up my first one was totally different even though it wasn't so easy.)
I really couldn't find any major flaw with the chassis as such. Even cooling system is incredible with hi-quality Lian Li fans bundled with the case.
The rig consists of a Asus P5Q motherboard,E8200 processor,XFX 8600GT GPU,1x optical drive and HDD.A corsair HX 650 for the upcoming gpu upgrade and other future upgrades .Soon I will be installing a after-market cooler as well .Will update the thread if I am able to install it successfully without removing the motherboard.
[BREAK=Final Thoughs & Conclusion]
Final Thoughts and Conclusion :
The Lian Li K62 might not be the chassis which will make you fall in love with it's curves or beauty .It's simple with clean lines and the bit of industrial touch to it but there are a few things which the designers /researchers of Lan Cool have worked upon that makes this cabinet stand out in terms of performance and true enthusiast point of view.
At times I feel the designers ,researchers themselves must be enthusiasts who are so well aware of the smallest and most minor problems we guys come across during installation or maybe they have taken feeback from the right people. Problems like the small motherboard screws, a tool-less implementation which isn't 100% functional, poor cable management, inappropriate airflow, poor-quality bundled fans etc. -These are small issues neglected by most other main stream chassis manufacturers and this is where Lan Cool scores to make the K62 outperform every other chassis in air flow and easy installation.
Pros :
·Classic looks .(subjective)
·Practical ,functional and a near to perfect tool-less design .
·Tool less implementation in every part of chassis.
·unobstructed air flow
·excellent cooling with quality 120\140mm fans ( low noise and sufficient air flow.)
·easily washable dust filters.
·easy cable management friendly lay out & additional tools for cable management.
·Rubber padded anti-vibration screws used everywhere.
·complete package .(no need to buy additional fans etc.)
Cons :
·only 4 X 3.5" bays and lack of 5.25" to 3.5" bay converters
·Lack of e-sata ,firewire ports on front.
·only 2 screw-less optical drive bays.
·Priced a little higher than most mid-towers which could be an issue for some buyers
IMO, it's actually worth the price because any one else buying a good mid tower like the CM-690 would eventually end up spending close to 6k if he chooses to buy additional quality fans for better cooling and the stock one's aren't so good any ways.
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Anyways in most cases you won't need that extra cooling , so go ahead and get the K62.I am sure , you will love it.
