The Best Choice for Firepower Display LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL Case Unboxing Full Review

LIAN LI and der8auer have collaborated on the latest O11 Dynamic EVO XL full tower chassis, commonly known to gamers as the O11D EVO XL, which supports both forward and inverted mounting modes, modular changeable design, and detachable A-pillar, etc., bringing gamers the most complete dual-cabin chassis option of the new generation, and supporting up to three 420 mm water-cooling disks and 11 fans. It supports up to three 420 mm water coolers and 11 fans, and the core hardware supports E-ATX motherboards, 460 mm graphics cards, and 167 mm air-cooled towers, and what's even cooler is that this chassis supports two graphics cards at the same time!

LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL Case Specifications.
Dimensions: 522 (L) x 304 (W) x 531.9 (H) mm
Color: Black, White
Material: Steel, 4.0 mm tempered glass, aluminum
Motherboard: E-ATX (up to 280 mm wide), ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX
CPU air cooling: up to 167 mm
Display card: 460 mm
Power supply: ATX 220 mm
Fan Mounting Positions (Top + Side + Bottom + Rear): 140 mm 3+3+3+0 pcs, 120 mm 3+3+3+2 pcs
Water cooler support: top 420 / 360 mm, side 420 / 360 mm, bottom 420 / 360 mm
Chassis I/O Ports: 4x USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C, HD AUDIO, LED Color, LED Mode
Hard drives and bays: three 2.5", four 2.5 / 3.5" composite

LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL Unboxing

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL case, which debuted at the “LIAN LI 2022 Digital Expo 2.0” on June 30th, 2022, has finally made its debut nearly 14 months after gamers waited for it for a long time. I was actually looking forward to it when the video came out at that time, and I was naive enough to think that it would be available in 2022 Q3, but I didn't realize that I had to wait until now. In fact, I was looking forward to it when the video came out, and naively thought that it would be released in 2022 Q3, but I didn't realize that I've waited for it until now.

As the successor to the O11 Dynamic EVO (commonly known as the O11D EVO), the O11 Dynamic EVO XL continues the same features, such as inverted mode, detachable fan mounting bracket, variable I/O ports, and graphics card mounting, etc., and upgraded to a full-tower chassis with room for expansion, providing more options for expanding the device than the EVO. More options than the EVO in terms of equipment expansion and installation.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL chassis itself measures 522 x 304 x 531.9 mm in length, width, and height, which is slightly larger than the O11 Dynamic EVO's 465 x 285 x 459 mm. The length and width, in particular, have increased by about 6 cm, since the chassis has to occupy more space to install the three 420 mm water-cooling vents.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL is available in black and white for the first time, priced at NT$7,200 and NT$7,500 respectively. Gamers who want to choose the white color will need to pay an additional NT$300 for white tax, compared to the O11 Dynamic EVO's priced at NT$4,700 and NT$5,000. Compared to the previous generation of O11 Dynamic XL ROG Certified, there is a difference of 12% and 17%.

The ∆ white model O11 Dynamic EVO XL measures: 522 x 304 x 531.9 mm and is priced at $7,500.

Regarding LIAN LI's chassis, I have used O11 Dynamic and O11 AIR MINI, and tested LANCOOL III, LANCOOL 216, V3000 PLUS, etc. O11 Dynamic and O11 AIR MINI have the same dual-cabin mounting structure as O11 Dynamic EVO XL.

The most unique feature of this structure is the relocation of the power supply to the rear cable space behind the motherboard, leaving the bottom of the chassis completely free for fan installation, and the front and side panels have been changed to glass for optimal display of the hardware. The O11 Dynamic EVO XL also utilizes 4.0 mm thick, fully-transparent, tempered glass on both the front and the sides of the case.

However, before removing the two pieces of tempered glass, LIAN LI has locked screws on the top of each of the two glass side panels in order to stabilize the safety of the transportation process, so that the glass will not fall off and be locked during the transportation process. Therefore, before removing the glass, you have to lift up the top cover and remove the two fixing screws in order to remove the tempered glass panels.

∆ The two fixing screws have to be removed first, do not make a miracle when you cannot remove the glass panel.

The front glass of the ∆ shows off the interior clearly, and there is an RGB light bar next to it that I find relatively understated.

The ∆ side glass is also fixed using catches.

∆ There is a side drawer dust filter on the bottom of the case.

The factory default I/O ports are located on the front of the chassis, providing a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C, 4x USB 3.0, HD AUDIO composite audio holes, and the power on button, reset button, LED Color, LED Mode, etc. are located on the right side of the cable space.

∆ USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C, 4x USB 3.0, HD AUDIO.

∆ LED Color and LED Mode You can set the color and mode of the light bar of the chassis.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL continues the design of the I/O ports that can be changed to meet the needs of different usage scenarios. Simply press the snap at the bottom and push it to the left or down to remove it, and then adjust the cable clips and the direction of the cables according to the direction of installation, although it is easy to disassemble, the author feels that the direction of the launch is not too intuitive.

∆ Mounted facing sideways.

∆ Rear chassis mounting.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL's rear mounting space is factory configured with one tab on top and one tab on the bottom. In this mode, there is 82 mm of upper water cooling mounting space on the top of the motherboard and 90 mm of mounting space on the bottom, with 12 cm fan mounting and eight PCIe baffles on the rear. The PCIe mounting space is a non-crossbar design that is compatible with most graphics card upright mounting brackets.

The left half of the chassis shows the cable space and the power supply mounting position, but when I saw this chassis at the LIAN LI 2022 Digital Expo 2.0, there was one design point that I was interested in, and that was the three variations of the power supply mounting position. On the O11 Dynamic EVO chassis, it is possible to swap the hard drive cages with the power supply, or install a dual power supply. The O11 Dynamic EVO XL samples shown in EXPO 2.0 and Gamers Nexus videos did have the ability to swap the power supply cages, but the actual launch of the O11 Dynamic EVO XL left out this feature, which I find quite unfortunate.

∆ Factory Configured Rear Space at a Glance.

∆ Power supply and hard disk ventilation space.

The ∆ concept demonstration said that the three power supply mounting positions could be changed, but unfortunately this was not done in practice.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL uses the same variable height mounting configuration as the O11 AIR MINI, which allows you to adjust the height of the rear of the chassis and the motherboard mounting space according to your actual needs. Moreover, it directly combines the two core blocks into a one-piece architecture, which makes the adjustment process much more convenient than that of the O11 AIR MINI.

During the disassembly process, you only need to move the four hand screws on the side, and the rest of the fixing method is using dowels, as mentioned earlier, the motherboard mounting block and the rear of the chassis are directly integrated, so you can install the motherboard during the process of adjusting the installation configuration.

The ∆ gray color is the screen cable outlet, while the rear mounting area and the mask are fixed by the right hand screw with a latch.

∆ The disassembly and assembly process is more efficient with one-piece molding.

The lower configuration can be used if you want to install a hamburger drain cooler above the chassis, giving you 118 mm of ceiling height above the chassis and motherboard, leaving 54 mm of space between the motherboard and the bottom of the chassis, and two 12 cm fans at the rear of the chassis in the lower configuration.

∆ The lower configuration shows that two 12 cm fans can be installed behind this model.

The upper configuration is the opposite of the lower configuration, the entire installation space is raised upwards to allow 126 mm of space between the motherboard and the bottom of the chassis, while the space between the motherboard and the chassis ceiling is left at 46 mm, there is no change in the compatibility of the three modes of installation of water-cooling or fans at the top and bottom of the chassis, and only the rear fan can be installed in the lower configuration, so it depends on the needs of each gamer to adjust, especially the hamburger row installation needs. So it's up to the gamers to adjust their needs, especially for the hamburger row installation.

∆ Upper Configuration.

The steel side panels on the back of the chassis still have the same dual-zone ventilation mesh, which hasn't changed much since the O11 Dynamic (but there's really not much to change), and in order to avoid dust ingress when the fan is in operation, the steel side panels are covered with two magnetic dust filters to minimize the ingress of dust.

The ∆ steel side panels have two air intake zones.

∆ Dust filter display.

∆ The magnetized filter is recommended to be cleaned with a dry cloth.

The back of the chassis is always the centerpiece of a dual-cabin chassis, and the O11 Dynamic EVO XL can be divided into three sections. On the left side is the fan mounting bracket that supports up to a 420 / 360 mm water cooler and fan, in the middle is the 2.5-inch HDD mounting plate and cable routing channel, and on the right side is the composite HDD cage and the power supply mounting location.

There is a depth of about 8 cm to use for the cable hiding space channel, and with the help of some wire fasteners and devil's felt cable ties, if unfortunately your cable finishing skills still need to be honed, you can also use the cable masking baffle to decorate directly by the "invisible cable method", using the cable masking baffle with a twisted spindle and magnetic fixing at the same time can be mounted on the three 2.5-inch hard drive, to fix a fan Hub or RGB controller, etc. It is also very suitable. It can also be used to attach fan hubs or RGB controllers.

∆ The space used on the back is roughly divided into three zones.

The ∆ center is a cable pathway with a magnetic cable shield that can hold up to three 2.5" hard drives.

The ∆ thread finishing buckle is used to finish the thread with the Devil's Felt Tie-down Strap, and there are several adjustable holes underneath.

The spatial depth of the ∆ hidden line is 8 cm.

Chassis related I / O cable has to do all white processing to install all white host more thematic, chassis on the keys and other connectors to do a unified design directly into the motherboard without classification, these small details must give LIAN LI good comments.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL has an RGB light bar on the front panel, which can be connected to the motherboard's 5V 3-Pin ARGB slot to synchronize the lighting effect, or LIAN LI's own SM Type connector can be used to synchronize the lighting effect by connecting to the SM Type Port on the controller HUB of the UNI FAN and other products, in addition, the RGB light bar as well as the controller requires a SATA for additional power supply. In addition, the RGB light bar and its controller need a SATA to provide extra power, so if you want to use it, you have to connect it (but I think it's fine, so I didn't connect it).

∆ Chassis I/O cables are whitened.

∆ Chassis RGB light bar synchronization cable from SM Type to 5V 3-Pin ARGB connection console.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL supports ATX power supply, and the official labeling supports up to 22 cm of power supply installation. Although the author measured that there is about 30 cm of cable space, the actual installation of 19 cm of power supply will encounter the problem of not having enough cables to plug in, mainly because the middle section of the cable routing channel is the necessary path for cables to pass through, and therefore the power supply cables will easily plug in with the other cables. The main reason is that the middle section of the cable path is where the cables have to pass through, so the cables will easily get jammed with other cables. Therefore, the author suggests to install the power supply with at least 16 cm.

∆ supports 22 cm ATX power supply installation, but I would recommend a 16 cm power supply for the best experience.

The ∆ is equipped with a number of cable ties and rubber rings.

There are two composite drive cages at the rear, each supporting two 2.5" / 3.5" drives, which means the O11 Dynamic EVO XL has up to three 2.5" and four 2.5 / 3.5" composite mounting positions, including the side cable shield mounting positions.

The cage itself uses a chain side exit to make it easier for gamers to disassemble their hard drives, and the hard drive mounting tray is accessed by a slide rail, which is secured by hand screws with OPEN and CLOSE turn indicators to avoid accidental sliding out of the rails during transportation.

∆ Side-rotating hard disk cage.

∆The rails are secured with hand-turned screws that are tightened and loosened, and remember to lock them after installing the hard disk.

∆ Slide rail display.

∆ Each cage supports a 120 mm thin fan (15 mm thick) to dissipate heat, solving the much-criticized hard drive cooling problem of dual-cabin chassis.

The cage's four drive mounting locations are hot-swappable and the chassis is pre-wired for hot-swappable cables, requiring one SATA power supply and two SATA ports per cage.

∆ Hard disk hot-swap interface.

The back of the ∆ Hot Plug demonstrated, source: Gamers Nexus video screenshot.

∆ Hot Swap Cable Display (Black)

The fan bracket on the side of the chassis can be disassembled independently by removing the hand screws, pressing the flat screws on the top, and then pulling the entire fan bracket upward at an angle to adjust the four modes according to the actual installation needs. The default mode divides the side installation space into the wire storage space and the main subdivided compartment, and the wire storage space has an installation depth of 40 mm in the default case; the main subdivided compartment on the other side has a usable installation depth of 81 mm. The main compartment on the other side has 81 mm available for use.

With the side fan bracket turned on its side, the main subdivider has a depth of 117.2 mm, and there is no space for a hidden cable, so you can use this side for thicker graphics card mounting, and there are four modes of operation including up and down flipping.

The fan bracket supports up to 420 mm / 360 mm water cooler mounts, as well as 3x 140 mm and 3x 120 mm fan mounts, which is 420 mm more than the O11 Dynamic EVO.

The ∆ side fan bracket is held in place by hand screws and the upper flat head screw is a quick release button.

In the ∆ default mode, 40 mm of space is available for the entire line, and it is possible to install a thicker fan.

The ∆ Removable Side Bracket supports the installation of water-cooled rows and fans in 420 / 360 mm sizes.

The top cover of the chassis is equipped with a large ventilation mesh that allows for adequate heat dissipation. The top cover is secured by a single hand screw at the rear and can be removed by pulling it out of the chassis. The fan bracket on the top of the chassis supports the installation of 3x 120 / 140 mm fans and a 360 / 420 mm water cooler exhaust, and the entire bracket is secured by two screws at the side.

∆ Large-area cooling mesh setup.

∆ Above chassis support for 420 / 360 mm fan and water cooler installation.

∆ Upper fan bracket fixing screws.

∆ Can be disassembled separately for easy installation of fan or water cooling.

The bottom of the chassis, like the top and side fan mounts, supports 3x 120 / 140 mm fans and up to 360 / 420 mm water cooler exhausts, and is secured by the same two screws as the top mount, so the design is basically the same as the top mount.

The bottom of the ∆ also supports 420 / 360 mm fans and water coolers.

LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL chassis installation space display

After removing the double-sided glass of the chassis, I would like to show you a little bit of the O11 Dynamic EVO XL chassis installation space. LIAN LI has followed the new trend of making one of the chassis beams detachable, commonly known as the A-pillar is fixed by two screws on the top and bottom of the structural column, so that you can get a better display of hardware after removing it, and the 270-degree viewing angle of the interior is really quite beautiful.

∆ LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL chassis mounting space.

∆ Preassembled A-pillar display.

The ∆ detachable A-pillar is secured by a total of four screws at the top and bottom.

∆ It does have quite a nice display when removed.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL supports E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX motherboards up to 280 mm wide, air-cooled towers up to 167 mm, and VGA cards up to 460 mm. In fact, in terms of the installation space for motherboards, VGA cards, air-cooling, and other core hardware, only VGA cards have a longer 460 mm installation space (O11 Dynamic EVO: 426 mm). In fact, in terms of motherboard, graphics card, air cooler and other core hardware mounting space, only the graphics card has a longer mounting space of 460 mm (O11 Dynamic EVO: 426 mm), and the other two parts are the same as the O11 Dynamic EVO.

The O11 Dynamic EVO's 426 mm graphics card mounting space is, in the author's opinion, enough for the current generation's flagship graphics card, so "core hardware mounting space" is not a reason to upgrade from the O11 Dynamic EVO to the O11 Dynamic EVO XL, and if you're still thinking of switching to the O11 Dynamic EVO XL. If you still want to switch to the O11 Dynamic EVO XL, congratulations on your diagnosis.

The motherboard mounting position has multiple rubber bands above, below, and to the right of the motherboard. The default side fan bracket has a depth of about 5 cm from the motherboard mounting level, but the official label has a distance of 11.7 cm from the lower fan mounting bracket, the author's depth of 5 cm is for reference in extreme cases, and the actual installation of an E-ATX motherboard will not cross this 90° corner, so the only thing that may fight with the super long graphics card is the side water cooling. Therefore, the only possibility for side water cooling is to fight with a super long graphics card.

∆ E-ATX (up to 280 mm wide), 167 mm air cooling, 460 mm graphics card mounting space.

∆The side cable routing holes are set at 90° and will not be covered when installing an E-ATX motherboard.

The ∆ side fan bracket is mounted by default and has a minimum usable depth of 5 cm.

With the ∆ rear mounting in the field configuration, there is 82 mm of space in the chassis ceiling to install the top-mounted water cooling.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL uses a tool-less PCIe mounting method, where all 8 PCIe baffles are held in place by magnetic clamps and latches, which makes it easier to replace PCIe devices such as graphics cards and reduces the hassle of locking the screws. However, the PCIe baffles on the O11 Dynamic EVO XL are relatively specific, so if you lose them, you can't use other PCIe baffles to install the O11 Dynamic EVO XL. However, the O11 Dynamic EVO XL is also equipped with a special PCIe plate, so if you lose it, you can't use another PCIe plate to install.

∆Tool-less magnetic PCIe mounting makes it easy to disassemble PCIe devices.

The bottom of the ∆ default mode is 9 cm away from the bottom of the motherboard.

The chassis itself comes with a wide range of accessories, including: screw box, graphics card holder, disposable strap, cable clips, fan bracket cover, HD AUDIO extension cable, etc. The chassis also comes with a large number of accessories, such as a screw box, graphics card holder, disposable strap, cable clips, fan bracket cover, and HD AUDIO extension cable.

It's a pity that the ∆ screws are still not categorized in a bag, but there are motherboard stud sockets and 15 mm thin fan fixing screws on the side.

The ∆ Graphics Card Support Bracket can be used with a graphics card mounted directly into the card, and the badge can be self-adhesive in cooperation with DER8AUER.

∆ Fan shades can be used with side fan brackets to minimize unwanted airflow.

LIAN LI O11DEXL-1W Vertical Graphics Card Holder, PW-PCIV-90W Graphics Card Extension Cable Unboxing

If you have read about the O11 Dynamic EVO, you will know that the O11 Dynamic EVO can be mounted with an accessory, and the O11 Dynamic EVO XL can also be mounted with an additional accessory kit for display and display of firepower.

∆ PW-PCIV-90W Graphics Card Extension Cable with O11DEXL-1W Vertical Graphics Card Holder.

The ∆90 cm long PW-PCIV-90W graphics card extension cable may need to be used with a longer extension cable due to the chassis configuration.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL also sells the vertical graphics card holder and the extension cable separately if you want to go fishing. The O11DEXL-1W vertical graphics card holder is priced at $220, and the PW-PCIV-90W graphics card extension cable is priced at $3,050, and there is a reminder for all of you. Used in the O11 Dynamic EVOVertical display card holders are not universally available on the O11 Dynamic EVO XL on the。

In addition to the O11DEXL-1W Vertical Graphics Card Holder itself, accessories include graphics card holders, disposable harnesses, display cable exit flaps, and more.

∆ O11DEXL-1W Overview of the contents of the vertical display card holder.

The O11DEXL-1W vertical graphics card bracket locks onto the side fan bracket, so the fan mounting space on the side of the card is not sacrificed. This means that the card and the three 120/140 mm fans can be installed at the same time, allowing the fans to help dissipate heat from the back panel of the card, which is very helpful for cards such as the RTX 3090, which has a VRAM die on the back side. VRAM particles on the back of RTX 3090 cards.

The O11DEXL-1W vertical graphics card holder has three adjustable mounting heights, the longest supporting 358 mm and the shortest supporting 328 mm, which can be adjusted according to the actual needs of the user, for example, the inward fixing can be used to obtain more space for screen cable adjustment or to avoid overlapping with the upper water-cooling mounting space, but in reality, even if the author uses the outer most fixing holes (MAX:358 mm), it will not be stuck with the upper water-cooling, and the screen cable alignment space is quite sufficient. However, in reality, even if I use the outermost locking holes (MAX:358 mm), it will not get stuck with the upper water-cooler, and there is enough space for the cables to be aligned with the upper water-cooler.

∆ First remove the detachable side fan bracket and install the fan on it.

∆ Again, attach the pendant bracket to the locking holes, which are available in three heights for locking.

∆ Connect the PW-PCIV-90W graphics card extension cable by locking the card in place.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL's graphics card can be mounted in both up and down orientations (as determined by the orientation of the monitor output connector). When the graphics card is mounted upwards, the PCIe extension cables are routed to the left and pass directly through the cable storage area and related channels; when the graphics card is mounted downwards, the extension cables are routed to the right and bypass the rear fan, which means that the extension cables may need to be adjusted a little bit for routing.

Underneath the side fan bracket, there is a part of the cable routing hole for the graphic card cables to pass through. Assuming that the side fan is mounted three full and touchdown like the author, the graphic card cables will have to pass through this small hole.

∆ With MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Quick Silver 8G OC graphics card installed.

∆ Display card extension cable installation display.

∆ Display card power supply cable alignment display.

∆ Rear display.

LIAN LI VG4-4-V2W Graphics Vertical Kit Unboxing

With this update to the O11 Dynamic EVO XL, LIAN LI has updated the Universal 4-Slots Vertical GPU Kit (VG4-4-VG2W) for use in Full Tower and ATX Mid-Tower chassis. The VG4-4-VG2W Vertical GPU Kit for the ATX Tower and ATX Mid-Tower is priced at NT$1999.

∆ LIAN LI VG4-4-V2W Display Card Vertical Kit (Universal 4-Slots Vertical GPU Kit) Contents.

∆ Comes standard with one PCIe 4.0 x16 graphics card extension cable with three PCIe extension cable mounting holes.

∆ and supports the use of 4-Slot thick graphics cards.

The Vertical Kit can be partially disassembled and used in conjunction with the O11 Dynamic EVO Removable Block to allow the Vertical Kit to be mounted a little higher, but the O11 Dynamic EVO XL doesn't have the same removable block, so you don't really need to utilize this feature if you want to install it with the O11 Dynamic EVO XL. function.

The ∆ Removable Block can be used with the O11 Dynamic EVO.

∆ On the O11 Dynamic EVO XL the screen output connector is blocked due to a design issue.

 

The actual installation with the MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Quick Silver 8G OC graphics card was similar to the vertical mounts that LIAN LI has been offering for the past two years.

∆ Graphics card installation display.

∆ There are still 2-Slot PCIe baffles available when installed at the top, which means it will take up 6-Slots.

LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL chassis actual installation and thermal performance test

The author then installed the main machine hardware on the LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL chassis to share the installation experience with gamers, and conducted a thermal performance test to provide results for gamers' reference.

Testing Platform
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (PBO Enable)
Cooler: MSI MEG CORELIQUID S360
Motherboard: MSI MEG X670E ACE (BIOS version: 7D69v193[Beta version])
Memory: Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 RGB 7200 MT/s 16GBx2
Graphics: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GAMING Z TRIO
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition 11G
Operating System: Windows 11 Professional 22H2
System disk: MSI SPATIUM M371 NVMe M.2 1TB
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5-inch hard drive
Storage: Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD 2TB
Gaming Disk: CS2140 M.2 2280 NVMe Gen4x4 SSD 1TB
Power Supply: FSP Hydro PTM PRO ATX3.0 (PCIe5.0) 1200W
Case: LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL
Water-cooled fan: 3x ARCTIC BIONIX P120 ARGB
Rear Fan: 1x ARCTIC BIONIX P120 ARGB
Bottom Fan: 3x MSI MEG SILENT GALE P12
Side Fans: 3x XPG VENTO PRO 120 PWM
Graphics driver: GeForce Game Ready 536.67

There are several reasons why I am interested in the LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL. The first chassis I got was the O11 Dynamic, and the reason I chose to replace it was because the graphics card holder was too difficult to install.

Then I switched to the O11 AIR MINI. Although the graphics card stand was better because of the O11 AIR MINI's modular design, the card would block the AIO water cooler when it was upright, and it was more conservative in terms of hardware expansion installation, so I replaced the O11 AIR MINI with the O11 AIR MINI later.

O11 Dynamic EVO XL not only has plenty of expandability, but according to the author's observation, the graphics card is compatible with vertical and vertical mounting at the same time, and also features detachable A-pillar, which is quite suitable for displaying the graphics card and the model's firepower.

∆ Actual installation demonstration.

∆ Remove the A-pillar.

∆ Full-transparency glass side-by-side display.

∆ Because the power supply is really long (like me), it makes it hard to organize the cables... so cover it and forget about it.

The most important aspect of this special replacement for the O11 Dynamic EVO XL is the dual graphics card installation. Currently, there are very few cases on the market that can accommodate two graphics cards at the same time with a "non-inline" mounting method, and most cases are only able to choose between an inline or an inline mount. The chassis that want to display two graphics cards in full power has been the main goal of the chassis junkie I've been looking for this year.

Although the O11 Dynamic EVO XL is able to accommodate two graphics cards in "upright" and "dangling" installations, there are still some adjustments to be made. Originally, I expected to install the 3060 Ti in a dangling installation, and the 1080 Ti in an upright installation, but I found out that the dangling graphics card's cable extension is so much more attractive that it can only be used in the PCIe slot other than the first slot. Therefore, I finally chose to install the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition as a pendant with two secondary monitors, while the main graphics card, the 3060 Ti, was installed with a graphics card stand-up kit and a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot on the motherboard.

∆ Graphics card hanging installation, the upper water cooling in the conventional form of installation do not have to worry about the card to be stuck.

The ∆NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition Turbo Graphics Card is unexpectedly suitable for hanging display, and the airflow planning is quite logical.

∆ The two cards do not interfere with each other.

∆ Side fan to graphics card backplane distance.

If you want to use both "upright" and "hanging" mounting methods at the same time, there is another part to be adjusted, that is, the planning of the two graphics card extension cables. The graphics card extension cables will need a horizontal distance to be used after being mounted in the PCIe slot of the motherboard, and by default the graphics card upright kit fixes the extension cables on the innermost side of the motherboard. The locking holes closest to the motherboard will cause the two extension cables to be pinched together, so the cables of the VGA Vertical Kit should be secured one locking hole away from the motherboard, so that the two extension cables can be kept a little bit away from each other.

In addition, although there are three PCIe locking holes in the VGA card stand-up kit, the outer one is not recommended to be used because the author found that the output ports of the card are blocked by the chassis structure, so unless you want to stand up your PCIe device without external cables, the author only recommends to use the two locking holes in the center and the inner one.

∆ The distance between the graphics card and the motherboard after installing it in the outermost locking hole upright, and then the cable is fixed by shrinking it inward by one step.

"Although the O11 Dynamic EVO XL has a detachable A-pillar, and the simplicity of the display is really good, I still feel that it's a pity that after removing the A-pillar, the physical structure of the chassis itself will be changed, so "most" chassis with this design will have a little bit of deformation problem due to the weight of the upper part of the chassis itself.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL also suffers from this problem, and the deformation problem after installing the top-mounted water-cooling will indirectly cause the latch grooves to shift, and the two glass panels will be mounted with the latch grooves clearly far apart, and it will take a little bit more time to fix the side panels of the Joggle Glass at the end of the final installation.

∆ There will be a gap after removing the A-pillar.

∆ model demonstration.

∆ Desktop Arrangement.

LIAN LI O11 Dynamic EVO XL chassis thermal performance test

The chassis cooling performance test section manually opens the PBO for the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 processor, and opens the Game Boots and A-XMP Profile, with all fans, including the all-in-one water-cooling PUMP, adjusted to full speed in the BIOS.

The software uses AIDA64 CPU+Furmark to simulate temperature data under high load stress conditions, Fire strike in 3DMark to simulate 1080P quality gaming environment, and HWiFO64 to collect and record the maximum temperature and power consumption.

In the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 test, in the AIDA CPU program and Furmark double-bake test, the temperature of the 7900 with a power consumption of up to 125.5 W was 76.1 °C, while the temperature of the graphics card, MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GAMING Z TRIO, was 68.7 °C, and the temperature of the Fire strike, which is a simulation of a gaming environment, was 69 °C. The maximum temperature of Ryzen 9 7900 was 77.9 °C, and the temperature of the graphics card was 69 °C. The Ryzen 9 7900 peaked at 77.9°C in the simulated gaming environment and 69°C for the graphics card.

∆ Thermal performance test chart.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition 11G card, which serves as the secondary display output, was subjected to the OCCT AVX2 stress test as I couldn't find a setting that would allow the two cards to burn-in at the same time, so I tested the GTX 1080 Ti FE separately.

In the OCCT AVX2 test, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 reached a maximum temperature of around 95 °C because I manually turned on the PBO setting. PBO itself is a special mechanism that under high load computing processing, as long as the heat dissipation performance is sufficient, I'm just a sucker, so in the OCCT AVX2, I will definitely hit 95 °C, which is why I didn't use AIDA64 FPU to conduct the test. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition 11G card was tested at a maximum temperature of 84.38°C, which is the same as the barebones platform.

∆ OCCT AVX2 thermal test.

Summary & Insights

In conclusion, LIAN LI's new full tower chassis, O11 Dynamic EVO XL, supports up to three 420 mm water coolers and fans, as well as E-ATX motherboards, 460 mm graphics cards, 167 mm air-cooled towers and other high-specification expansions, which is absolutely sufficient for PC DIY gamers with high demands for hardware expansion, and the dual-compartment structure of the O11 Dynamic series is characterized by a large space for the main compartment. The Dynamic series is characterized by a large main compartment, so it's easy to install a split water cooling system in the main compartment.

The O11 Dynamic EVO XL really lives up to its name in terms of hardware expandability and installation ingenuity, and the modular installation design is a great experience during the hardware installation process, with plenty of space for cables, cable clips, and cable shielding, making it another chassis to choose from in the out-of-sight-out-of-mind school.

Cooling performance is also no match for the O11 Dynamic EVO XL. After all, the O11 Dynamic EVO XL supports up to 11 fans, and when tested with the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, RTX 3060 Ti, and GTX 1080 Ti, the temperature performance was similar to that of the barebones platforms, and the hard drive cooling that has been criticized by the dual-compartment chassis was also solved by the use of a 15 mm thin fan. This time, the hard disk cooling issue, which is a problem for dual-cabin chassis, is also solved by the 15 mm thin fan installation.

However, the O11 Dynamic EVO XL still has some improvements to make, the most important being the deformation of the chassis after removing the A-pillar, and the failure of the glass panel's latches and grooves to line up, which the author believes must be improved according to LIAN LI's own capabilities.

The two hard drive cages at the back are secured by a chain to form a convenient side opening, but it would be better if there were additional clips to secure the cages, the author found it annoying that the cages kept swinging around when I lifted them up during the installation process, and the design of the power supply's variable mounting position has been removed, which the author personally found quite a pity.