Lian Li XB01 Xbox 360 case unboxed and put to the test

Correct us if we're wrong, but the Lian Li XB01 chassis for the Xbox 360 marks a notable departure for the case mod industry. Far from making the 360 "more badass" or "more laptopy," the Lian Li XB01 merely aspires to make the 360 what it should've been out of the gate: cool and quiet(er). The folks at bit-tech.net put one through its paces, and have discerned that it "looks pretty pimp." They do note that the $150 case isn't built with quite as high of standards as Lian Li is known for, and there were a few minor quibbles, but once they tossed the Xbox 360 innards inside and booted her up, it became clear what the XB01 is all about: the 360 run silently without a disc, and only makes a bit of noise with a DVD in. Unfortunately, as soon as you toss a game in the drive noise is once again deafening. Oh well, maybe next year we'll get a 360 that doesn't require earplugs to play... and at least hard drive-based games are right around the corner.

[TheGeektoriousBIG @ Aug 26th 2008 3:17PM]

"They do note that the $150 case isn't built with quite as high of standards as Lian Li is known for."

Interesting...

*cancels order*

[Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Aug 26th 2008 4:42PM]

Yeah, that stuff about the USB ports being shady... that is a dealbreaker.

[aMac @ Aug 26th 2008 3:18PM]

I only notice how loud the 360 is when I'm through playing it. I notice the ABSENCE of sound. When the thing is running, I'm generally involved enough not to notice, especially with the sound of game on top of it.

Of course, years of brain training to ignore the hums of computers has helped a lot too.

[steven @ Aug 26th 2008 5:08PM]

Dam you! You just made me notice that the fans on my computer are like a jet!

[Tonicboy @ Aug 26th 2008 10:15PM]

Yeah I'd agree for playing games, although I think the major issue, at least for me, is when playing movies and media. In that usage the sound is deafening and is a really big drawback for use as a Media Center.

[Chris Evans @ Aug 27th 2008 6:15PM]

I have never had a problem with my xbox360 making too much noise, either while gaming, or while using it to watch DVD's.

Perhaps you need better speakers on your Media Center?

[ChaosEntity17 @ Aug 26th 2008 3:21PM]

LOL Water cooling

[Ninjageek @ Aug 26th 2008 5:05PM]

What? Excuse me Mr. Idiot, did I miss something? Or are you just.......mentally challenged?

[ShadowKain @ Aug 26th 2008 5:27PM]

Ninjageek, what was so wrong about that comment? what a fucktard you are. Watercooling an Xbox 360 is ridiculously unnecessary, hence the LOL. Wow dude, GTFO

[phinn @ Aug 26th 2008 3:21PM]

Why in the world would anyone wanna spend this just to change out a case? This makes no sense to me at all. Maybe because I have a PS3 and it already looks sleek, black, and runs very quiet.

"Unfortunately, as soon as you toss a game in the drive noise is once again deafening"
You gotta be kidding me. Why would anyone buy an Xbox, the PS3 is extremely quiet no matter what and plays all the same games and Blu-rays.

[Duke @ Aug 26th 2008 3:23PM]

FYI, it doesn't play all the same games. Some of us like to have more than the PS3 alone.

[fobunited @ Aug 26th 2008 3:29PM]

Because the PS3 doesn't have any good games!

[From My Cube @ Aug 26th 2008 3:30PM]

why buy a 360? Are you trying to be flammed?


Ill start. MS delieverd on everything it promised ath E3 05...Sony Lied

[CaramelZappa @ Aug 26th 2008 3:35PM]

Don't get me wrong, the PS3 is a great device, but, all the same games? No not at all. Yes, the PS3 has finally gotten some good exclusives. No, it does not have all the same games that xbox does. When it does have the same game, like call of duty 4 or Team Fortress 2, the online playing is better on the xbox because while xbox live is not free, it's a great service. The 360 has a much bigger library of games in terms of numbers but also has a lot more high profile titles. Personally, I buy my console for the games, not because it's quiet, not because it plays sonys new proprietary HD format.

[h0mi @ Aug 26th 2008 3:39PM]

Not buying the "ps3 is quiet" talk. Maybe the newer 65nm systems but my 60gb system gets loud when I'm watching blu-rays.

[chefgon_ign @ Aug 26th 2008 3:53PM]

PS3's fan doesn't kick into high gear anywhere near as often as the 360's, and during that time the system is very quiet. When that fan does kick on, though, it is significantly louder than my 360 ever gets.

So, yes, in general the PS3 is quieter, but its maximum noise output is a good level louder than the 360's, which is extremely annoying during quiter scenes of a Blu-ray movie.

[PrimeTime @ Aug 26th 2008 4:05PM]

MS delivers everything???? Are you kidding me CUBE? LOL I have all the systems plus the PSP and DS. And I have to say XBox 360 do have some pimp games. Also, PS3's got some pimp games too.....on the other hand.....the Wii is a big disappointment. I haven't touched the wii in....so long I don't remember.

[jb @ Aug 26th 2008 6:24PM]

"Why would anyone buy an xbox 360?"

One word... Halo.

[xValentine @ Aug 27th 2008 12:58AM]

@From My Cube

Yeah but Microsoft did not say anything about the red rings of death which became much popular than the 360 itself.

[Duke @ Aug 26th 2008 3:22PM]

Its looking a bit too much like a toaster oven to me. Yet, I am interested to read the full review and build.

[I smoke, and I will kill You @ Aug 26th 2008 3:26PM]

I really think the Xbox360 is rubbish.... Long live PS3

[Raheem @ Aug 26th 2008 3:38PM]

Long live the PS3? I had no idea it was even alive... still looks like a dead duck to me.

[xcrunk @ Aug 26th 2008 4:06PM]

If only Microsoft thought up this case before Lian-Li did...

Seriously Microsoft, time to ditch the 360 and start from scratch. It's all downhill from here.

Do what you did to original XBOX owners; shrug your shoulders, throw your hands up and start all over again.

[RockerAnimeFreak @ Aug 26th 2008 3:34PM]

I might get this because my old 360 is overheating... either that or trade it in for an elite because come Autumn/Winter the 360 needs all the the hard drive space it can get. That and well... I'm getting an hdtv in my bedroom! so woohoo! :)

[CaramelZappa @ Aug 26th 2008 3:45PM]

Why not wait for a price drop and grab an arcade for $50 more? You can use your old harddrive with the new arcade, have hdmi, the new motherboards that are more efficiently cooled and "don't red ring"

You would also still have your old 360 which you could put in another room, or sell, or give to a friend or something.


Most importantly, both 360's will still have their warranty in case something goes wrong.

[Snowman @ Aug 26th 2008 3:36PM]

I have both the PS3 and the 360 and love them both....I'm really tired of these fanboys jumping into every console related thread to hate on console or the other....its really pathetic. Enjoy whatever system you bought if you can only afford one, but give this fanboy BS a rest!

[CaramelZappa @ Aug 26th 2008 3:40PM]

A lot of people have this problem where they are fans of the game systems instead of being a fan of the games.

[octoberasian @ Aug 26th 2008 4:12PM]

Both Snowman and Caramel speak volumes of truth.

I wish there were Engadget posters like you.

[Dualboot @ Aug 26th 2008 4:23PM]

Same here, I have both systems and I have to confess, the 360 is on more than the PS3 (at least for games, not BD). I had to get used to the noise of the 360, but the surround sound takes care of that.

I wouldn't mind moving to a 3rd party case, but I'm still under the 3 year warranty window, so I'm not going to even try. MS has already replaced my Elite once, but you never know...

[lanejasper69 @ Aug 26th 2008 8:49PM]

I agree, it's personal preference, along with Pc/Mac/BB/iPhone/ etc. Can't stand all the arguments doing the "chicken or the egg" thing. I like every gadet I own for a specific reason, and so far there isn't an all-in one, X360, PSP, iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia N95, Wii, PC and Mac OS X all-in-one unit last I checked (Didn't really check though). Or Is there !?!?! ;-)

Faslane

[BigD145 @ Aug 26th 2008 3:37PM]

Lian Li could have padded the interior with noise buffering material, but I guess that would have been too much for a quiet case.

[batman @ Aug 26th 2008 3:45PM]

probably would have negated some of the cooling properties.

[BigD145 @ Aug 26th 2008 4:20PM]

Prove it.

[CubeGuy @ Aug 26th 2008 6:08PM]

Look it up yourself.

[XIYL @ Aug 26th 2008 6:15PM]

Buy me the case and the noise buffering material and I will do extensive testing, my 360 doesn't even have warranty right now anyways.

[abu @ Aug 27th 2008 6:40AM]

They have, at least in the cd cage, but I guess the way they did it is more in the spirit of featurism than effectiveness. http://lian-li.com/v2/tw/product/upload/image/XB01/xb01q20.jpg

Anayway, in general, I think most noise reduction panels out there are just that, cosmetics.
I think you'd need a quite thick layer of some high quality material to have results... plus if you don't put some good rubber on the drive mount points, vibrations are going to resonate through the case, especially in metal ones like this one.

[ThatWilsonGuy @ Aug 26th 2008 3:38PM]

With this type of set up would it be possible to swap a different more quiet drive?

[404 @ Aug 26th 2008 3:46PM]

FTA:

"Until Microsoft allow games to be played off the hard drive, there seems to be little cure for the inherent DVD issue. It's already known that you can't swap it for a new drive."

Unless the bit-tech crew have their wires crossed, no.

[edgore @ Aug 26th 2008 3:45PM]

If a quiet console is your primary goal, I would suggest a Wii - it has all the same games the the PS3 and 360 anyway (I kid)

I haven't really noticed too much difference in noise level between my 360 and my PS3, though the circumstances for teh noise are different. The 360 is load anytime that the DVD drive is in use, while the PS# is quite for the first hour it's on then turns into a jet engine until it's turned off long enough to cool back down.

I never really notice any of the noise during gameplay, only when watching movies (which is especaily annoying with the PS3 since that is mostly what I use it for so far)

[Decoy @ Aug 26th 2008 3:50PM]

"They do note that the $150 case isn't built with quite as high of standards as Lian Li is known for..."

But the elegant prose in this article has quite as high of standards as Engadget is known for.

[Decoy @ Aug 26th 2008 3:51PM]

I rip on you guys too much, but I do I out of love.

[Decoy @ Aug 26th 2008 3:51PM]

Uh oh

[cDub @ Aug 26th 2008 3:51PM]

Wow. A replacement case is causing a fanboy war. Tisk. Tisk.

[idl3mind @ Aug 26th 2008 3:56PM]

once the new Dashboard refresh hits in November, you won't have to hear that DVD noise anymore if you choose to install the games to the hard disk. LianLi+New Dashboard FTW

[ScooterDe @ Aug 26th 2008 4:43PM]

not so. my 360 is unbearable playing movies across the LAN, which should be a low-load job. There is barely any difference in volume when a disk starts spinning. And this is the second with the same acoustics (the first RROD'd).

[Ruben @ Aug 26th 2008 8:53PM]

There is something wrong with your 360 since mine makes an ever so slight fan hum. Unless you like to watch your movies on mute...

[Steve @ Aug 26th 2008 3:58PM]

A rackmount version would be cool.

[SugarDaddy @ Aug 26th 2008 3:59PM]

Jeez, Paul Miller. Exaggerating on the sound issue just a little don't you think? Turn the sound on your game up and quit your whining.

[ScooterDe @ Aug 26th 2008 4:43PM]

try playing a movie on the thing. Pointless, unless it is an action flick.

[phanbouy @ Aug 26th 2008 6:58PM]

did someone say whining?