Case Exterior and Interior
Exterior
The exterior of the LIAN LI LANCOOL 217 is primarily powder-coated metal. The front is a framed metal mesh. The left side panel is tempered glass with a lower PSU compartment perforated metal panel. The right side is a solid metal panel with perforation on the lower 15%. The rear is fairly standard, with a 140mm fan, the rear I/O panel slot, and the rear PSU cutout. The rear expansion I/O may be rotated for vertical GPU mounting. The top of the case is a plastic-framed metal mesh. At the very front is a second power button.
Once the mesh panel has been removed, you can easily detach the entire top of the frame, which is a big help in accessing and mounting a radiator or extra fans. The top panel attaches via push-pins, and the front panel attaches magnetically. The two side panels have small tabs at the bottom and push-pins at the top. All the attachments are snug, confident, and fit perfectly.
Interior
The interior of the LIAN LI LANCOOL 217 has plenty of space. Working inside the case was no issue at all. Removal of the left glass panel and the lower PSU compartment panel gives all the access you need. The top of the frame, as we stated earlier, is removable. This gives you all kinds of room inside, plus makes radiator mounting quite easy. All you need to do is remove two small screws. (just don’t lose them) The top of the PSU compartment comes with two pre-installed 120mm LIAN LI fans. There is room here for a 360 radiator if one were so inclined. We believe a pump/reservoir could be placed in the far end of the PSU compartment.
Of course, also included are two 170mm LIAN LI fans in the front and a rear 140mm LIAN LI exhaust fan. It is possible to place 120mm or 140mm fans in front by simply installing some included fan brackets. Interior measured workable dimensions are: 19 x 7 3/8 x 16 1/4 inches (H,W,L). LIAN LI states that the interior of the case can support a 380mm GPU, but our measurements suggest there is more room.
Motherboard Tray
The motherboard tray reminds us quite a bit of the MSI Project Zero rear mount case we reviewed in December 2025. The LIAN LI LANCOOL 217 is both front and rear motherboard mount capable. There are, in fact, 17 cut-outs on the tray for cable routing. We had no issues with cable length. This case offers support for just about any-sized motherboard you can imagine. The 120mm fans you see are mounted directly under the GPU and obtain cool air from the PSU compartment below. Just below the upper left rubber grommet is a built-in adjustable GPU support.
PSU Compartment
The lower compartment is designed for the PSU as well as two HDD cradles. LIAN LI gives two options for PSU mounting: either the standard front-facing interface or you may rotate the interface 90 degrees to face the left side of the case. The caveat here is that the rotated position demands no more than 180mm length of the PSU. Our Silverstone DA850 measures only 140mm, thus it could be placed either way.
As you can see in the photos, we removed the HDD cradles and placed our PSU in the standard front-to-back orientation. We were able to place cables without issue and had an easy time due to all the space available. The compartment has mesh on both side panels for good airflow and is primarily open at the top as well. We could not place both 120mm fans below the deck due to interference from the PSU interface.
Placing the PSU in the opposite direction would solve that, it would seem. You can also see that the PSU is mounted on hard rubber to dampen vibration and allow airflow. Under this space, there is a dust screen. LIAN LI includes a power cord that will reach the rear of the PSU if you decide to mount it side-facing.
I/O Panel
Not much to say here that hasn’t already been said. The I/O panel is placed on the lower left, which indicates the designer felt that the case would be up on a desktop for easy access. In case you decide to put the case on the floor, at least there is a power button on top as well. On another note, there is plenty of pre-routed cable to reach the headers on the motherboard.