LanCool PC-K9 Case Review

• High Thermal Performance – Two 140 mm fans (front) and one 120 mm fan (Rear) keep hot air from damaging your hardware.
• Supports up to six 3.5-inch HDDs and four 2.5-inch HDDs – HDD cage, using thumb screws with rubber suspension, supports six 3.5-inch HDDs and four 2.5-inch HDDs.
• Adjustable HDD Rack – Users can choose for their HDDs to face forward or backward.
• USB 3.0 Multimedia I/O Ports – Users can easily access USB 3.0 and HD Audio ports.
• Tool-less PCI Card Holder – Holds up to seven PCI add-on cards. To install simply lock the arm into position.
• Tool-less Optical Drive Mounting – Supports standard 5.25” optical drives.
• Tool-less PSU holder – Insert the PSU into position, then close the aluminum PSU holder.
• Maximum Video Card Size – 415 mm
• Cable Clamp – Cable-Management Kit for cables to pass through, allow uesr convenient manage the cables.

Packaging and Accessories

Exterior

Interior

The interior of the PC-K9 is entirely steel construction, and this model is completely black inside. Inside we have three case fans, two filtered 140 mm fans behind the front panel and a single 120 mm exhaust fan. All of the fans feature rubber grommets on the mounting screws to isolate vibrations. The fans can either be connected directly to the motherboard or to the PSU via included Molex adapter.

Below the exhaust fan is the tool-less PCI locks as well as ventilated PCI brackets. There are eight PCI slots, but only seven have the tool-less locks. The locks simply flip open or closed and feature rubber pads on the ends that push against the PCI device.

Moving towards the front of the case are the two removable hard drive cages, which can accommodate up to eight hard drives total. Users can choose to use both cages, a single cage or none of the cages. The cages are easy to remove, being held by a few thumbscrews. Drive cooling should be excellent with this case as there are two 140mm intake fans directly in front of the drive cages.

Above the hard drive cages are three 5.25″ drive bays, two of which are tool-less.  These simply snap into place and use pins to keep the optical drives securely in their bays.  Although these are plastic they felt very sturdy during my review.

Component Installation

For this build we will be using the following hardware:

• Phenom X2 545
• Gigabyte GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H
• 2x2GB G.Skill Ripjaws 1333 MHz CL9
• 3 Western Digital HDD’s
• ATI Dual TV Tuner
• Wireless NIC
• PNY GTX470 XLR8
• Corsair VX550

Filling the PC-K9 with hardware was fairly straight forward as nearly everything is tool-less. Mounting the motherboard with thumbscrews was a first for me, but they worked quite well and the large socket cutout is a nice feature. I did notice there was no standoff position for the lower right corner of my mATX board. Hard drive installation was very simple requiring no tools at all, and since the cages are removable you can sit on the couch while installing your drives.

Optical drive installation took seconds thanks to more tool-less mounts. The PCI lock system in this case definitely helped speed up installing all three PCI cards. There was plenty of room for my GTX470, and I’m sure a GTX590 or HD6990 would fit if the top HDD cage was removed. Mounting the PSU was quite pleasant thanks to the PSU clamp keeping a firm hold. Cable management was fairly good with this case, although I did remove the top panel for better access. The “Cable Clamp” really helped management behind the motherboard fitting all of my SATA data and power as well as USB cables though the clamp. Finally, let’s see how this case looks with some hardware inside.

Conclusion

After going over this case it’s clear LanCool has made this a great mid tower case. Offering room for ten hard drives and eight expansion slots, this case has no shortage of storage space. Cooling in this case is very good with the dual 140mm intake and single 120mm exhaust.  The fans a fairly quiet at 12v and seem to move a fair amount of air. The PCI lock system, cable clamp, and PSU clamp make component installation simple and enjoyable. The only time I had to use any tools was to remove the top panel’s Phillips screws. The PC-K9 is simple, solid, and elegant and should appeal to a wide range of customers. I could see this case being used for anything from a media server to a multi GPU gaming build.

I do have a few minor issues with the case. First, I feel the motherboard sits a bit high in the case, as routing the 8 pin CPU connector took some time. The motherboard tray also lacked one standoff for mATX boards, though ATX boards were fine in this case. Last, I would like to see a bit more room behind the motherboard tray, as fitting the back panel over the 24 pin cable took some finesse.

Overall the LanCool PC-K9 is a good case. The tool-less features and storage capability of this case really help this case stand out. Currently listed at $119.99 at Newegg for the windowed version and $109.99 without window. Personally, I feel the price is right on point given the features and quality of this case.

I’d like to thank LanCool for the opportunity to review this case.

-Ken Noel (onefstsnake)