LIAN LI Lancool III RGB Black Aluminum/SECC/Tempered Glass Gaming Case with 4 × 140 PWM Fans (ARGB) - LANCOOL 3R-X

Product Information

The second chamber of the LANCOOL III provides comprehensive cable management to ensure the case is looking its best. Behind two removable cover panels mounted on hinges and magnetically closed, 8x Velcro straps are built into the case. Three large Velcros with multiple channels to organize and separate the front panel cables, motherboard 24-pin and GPU power cables, and fan hubs. Around the motherboard area, 5x smaller Velcro straps are installed for routing cables such as the CPU EPS cable and storage drives. In addition, there is enough room for the mounting of up to four fan/ARGB hubs.

The front IO is removable, and can be placed to be oriented at the top or the bottom of the case. Two screws makes the change easy work. Having seen just about every form of case over the years, we can safely say that Lian Li's Lancool III is impressive in just about every way. While the Lancool III hasn't changed much aesthetically from the Lancool II Mesh, it's a much different story functionally. Having the ability to have three 360mm radiators simultaneously makes having enough cooling capacity for the hottest running of components. If you choose the more traditional air cooling, the Lancool III can support tower coolers up to 185mm (7.3 inches). Supported GPU length is up to 420mm (16.5 inches), so even the most oversized graphics cards should fit without issues. Our acoustic test consists of three scenarios: We run the CPU at full load, the CPU and GPU at full load, and an optimized mode. The CPU full load test runs the CPU and case fans at their maximum speed. For the CPU and GPU full load acoustic test, we also stress the Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC and set the fans at 75% speed, because in gaming the fans never run at 100 percent and are far too loud when they do. We’ve updated our testing hardware to use Intel’s 12 Gen “Alder Lake” platform, which has shaken up the desktop landscape (and taken prominent spots on our best CPUs for gaming list). We’re now using a Core i7-12700KF, which is being cooled by a Noctua U12s air cooler. Our graphics card is a Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC.

I like this case MUCH better than the Lancool 2, for the sake of simply appearances. The lancool 3 gives the ability for a uniform 3x fans on top and bottom for a uniform look, as opposed to the lancool 2 which only gave 2 fans for the top and bottom which gave an asymmetrical appearance. There was a nice attention to detail to allow the SL fans RGB to be viewed from the front. Magnetic, hinged, and removable cable cover doors hide cable clusters and provide easy access at the same time. As we mentioned before, the right side of this case is not hidden due to the use of a tempered glass panel, so cleaning up your cables is almost a requirement. Personally, I’m not a fan of cable management, but Lian Li have made this so much easier with their cable management system. Note that the PSU shroud itself is not adjustable so the presence of the power supply (which could be an SFX unit) doesn't affect accessibility to the motherboard or other components. With the Lancool III as your PC chassis, you’ll have plenty of scope when it comes to component choices. To begin with, this case can fit motherboards ranging from Mini-ITX all the way to E-ATX boards (under 280mm wide). Furthermore, this PC case is able to house even the largest graphics cards easily, with 8 expansion slots provided and 420mm of clearance. You’ll also be able to install a powerful PSU to power all your components, as Lian Li has provided a dedicated chamber with 220mm of clearance for an ATX power supply.

With the ability to support 3 × 360mm radiators simultaneously, the LANCOOL III can offer custom water-cooling enthusiasts, lots of imagination. Would have been better if they made the side panel out of those covers, opened out like fancy car doors from the middle - or had optional replacements to slap in side-exhaust for even more radiator placement options I previously had a front mounted front push/pull configuration in my Lancool 2, but I did not want to waste the ability for a large 420 front intake fan configuration, so, when building the Lancool 3, I opted for a top mounting the AIO instead, which was a previously impossible configuration in the Lancool 2. The mesh panels located on both sides of the PSU shroud area can be removed for cleaning when the front panel is unattached.

We tested the Lian Li Lancool III in sweltering hot weather (for the UK) and it stormed through the tests. While we saw some improvement in temperatures as we ramped up fan speeds we also heard a great deal more noise and would strongly recommend you run the fans at a nice, quiet 1,000rpm. Closing Thoughts

The results we got from the Lancool III were, well, strange. There was barely any difference in noise between our two tests. Nonetheless, the results weren’t too bad if you keep in mind that this case comes with four 140mm fans that sport relatively high RPMs. It’s also worth mentioning that this chassis has more porous panels than most mesh-covered cases, as the flaps on the PSU shroud are also mesh. The acoustic results were a bit louder than I would’ve liked, but that’s typically the tradeoff with airflow-first cases–unless you’re getting the NZXT H7 Flow. Thermal Results for the Lian Li Lancool III adjustable drive cages (each for 2 x 3.5” HDDs or 2 x 2.5” SSDs) can be individually removed or adjusted. The LANCOOL III sports a futuristic look with its two brushed aluminium strips located at the front. Each strip doubles as a door handle for the right and left side tempered glass panels. With a modern I/O located at the top of the front panel (Power button, Reset button, two USB 3.0, USB Type C, Audio), users have the option to relocate it to the bottom for easier access when the case is placed on a desk.

To mark the occasion, I bought strimers to replace my old extensions. The 8 pins were easy to install on a founders edition 3080 TI, by simply unclipping the clips and placing the LED cover over the GPU (12pin -2x 8pin adapter). No sweat. As you can see the Lancool 3 is significantly larger, in both length and height. This is to accommodate either a 360/420 at the top and front, and a 360 fan configuration at the bottom. This is way more flexibility when compared to the lancool 2, which only gave utility for a 280 /240 top, and 360 front, and 2 x(120) at the bottom. Well upon receiving this case my son and I were in awe of the over engineering of this case its totally awesome the space and configuration of how the case is built is awesome I cannot reccomend this case highly enough wish I'd bought one of these ages ago. Optionally moving the IO to the bottom will be an asbolute winner with certain crowds - floor PC users want it on the top, while some desk users would salivate over that bottom mount

Lian Li was kind enough to send out a Lancool 3 in white as part of the early access program. Below is my efforts to transfer my system from the Lancool 2 mesh to this new beast of a case! I like the rubber grommet + thumbscrew mounting method for mech drives - anti vibration is a big deal, and it makes hotswap easy while people not using spinning rust get to keep those parts out of the case The Lancool III provides a plethora of options for keeping all your components cool. To begin with, the front mesh panel facilitates great airflow and dust filtration. This is due to it having 15mm holes 2mm apart offering an exceptional 51% porosity. Out of the box, this case comes with three 140mm RGB PWM fans pre-installed at the front, coupled with a 140mm PWM fan in the rear of the case. Alongside these fans, another three 120mm fans can be installed above the power supply chamber, and three 140mm fans can be attached to the top of the case. With a spacious interior, the Lancool III is able to accommodate some of the largest components that are available. For the foundation of your next PC, you can opt for a whopping E-ATX motherboard, and if you choose to air cool your CPU, you can easily fit a tower cooler inside thanks to having 185mm of clearance. Moving on to the star of any PC when it comes to gaming or workflow, the GPU. With 420mm of clearance, the Lancool III is able to accommodate even the longest of long boi graphics cards, with room to spare. As the second chamber located on the right side is visible, great consideration has been given to cable management. The LANCOOL III features an upgraded solution to ensure neat cable routing with toolless magnetic cable cover doors, and a well-organized layout for hubs and cables.Oh, and if you find the traditional standard GPU installation a bit boring, the company will also offer a vertical GPU mounting kit, similar to the O11D Evo, with your choice of PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 riser cables. The kit will even let you mount the card in two places above the PSU shroud so you can leave clearance for fans or let it sit lower down if you don’t have spinners there. The company hasn’t yet told us how much the riser kit would cost. Testing Hardware The case is big, which is a given considering the expansive front and top fan and radiator support. And with big(ger) cases, they lean more towards custom liquid builds - not like custom liquid doesn't work in smaller cases(I know they do).