Credit: Alaina Yee / IDG
After what seemed like an endless wait, Lian Li has finally released the O11 Dynamic Mini—the littlest version of its popular O11 Dynamic cases. Since we last saw it at CES 2020, it’s undergone several minor changes, but has hung onto its most important feature: modularity.
As you’ll see in the video above, the Lian Li O11D Mini still sports its set of swappable back plates that lets you choose between three main configurations, each with a different number of PCIe slots available. In 7-slot mode, you can install ATX, micro-ATX, or mini-ITX motherboards, with varying limitations on the clearance for fans and/or radiators mounted to the top and bottom of the case. In 5-slot mode, your options shrink to micro-ATX or mini-ITX, and 3-slot mode restricts you to just mini-ITX but also opens up the most amount of room for water cooling. Want to rock a push-pull config for your radiator up top? You’ll have plenty of space.
Incidentally, this case offers an extraordinary amount of flexibility for adding cooling to a build—even if you choose to air cool and skip the liquid stuff all together. The top and bottom accommodate up to 3x 120mm or 2x 140mm fans and up to a 360mm radiator, while the side can rock up up to 2x 120mm fans or 2x 140mm fans and up to a 280mm radiator.
Alaina Yee / IDG
A view of the side opposite the tempered glass panel. On the left are mounting points for fans; in the middle is the SSD mounting bracket; and on the right is the PSU mounting spot (top) and hard drive cage (bottom).
The 7-slot and 5-slot modes also support the optional $45 vertical GPU mount bracket, expanding your layout options to a total of five. And thanks to the case’s slightly wider size (as compared to mid-towers of similar volume), you’ll have more breathing room for airflow when vertically mounting a graphics card.
Does that all sound too hard to picture? Then you’ll definitely want to check out our video. Instead of one of our more typical teardowns—which we already did at CES—we’ve opted to show what the different configurations can look like. Our examples include an ATX motherboard in 7-slot mode; a micro-ATX mobo in 5-slot mode, and a mini-ITX board in 3-slot mode. All have been paired with a 280mm closed-loop cooler and 120mm chassis fans to help illustrate clearances and give you the ability to eyeball your own ideal layout.
The Lian Li O11 Dynamic Mini is available now for purchase through Newegg in two colors, white and black, for an MSRP of $99, though the hotly anticipated case currently is out of stock. (Our sample is the white model, which features white panels and silver aluminum trim.) Shipping begins December 22.
