Final Thoughts
It's clear the D8000 is a few things, not least of which being overkill for the average user. Despite falling a little short on features, Lian Li's latest HPTX chassis is larger than any case we've seen before, supporting well over a dozen hard drives, which should make it a hit among case modders, folks with liquid cooling and other extreme setups as well as professional users such as photographers, video editors and animators.
Such users often deal with massive amounts of highly valuable data on a day-to-day basis. Complicating matters further, all that data needs to be backed up around the clock, which is generally achieved through some form of RAID mirroring. Therefore, while having 20 hard drives in a desktop PC may seem extreme, in actuality, professionals would likely only be using 10 drives with the other 10 as mirrored backups.
As something of a playground for liquid cooling, the D8000 can be outfitted like an aquarium, offering enough space to plumb miles of hose while packing a reservoir big enough to challenge the structural integrity of any desk. As a reminder, while it's possible to mount a radiator (possibly even two) elsewhere, the optional top panel is definitely one of the better spots and this comes as an added expense.
That could be a problem for some folks as the D8000 isn't exactly cheap at $330, though it's honestly more affordable than we expected. Given its immense size and aluminum construction, the price seems a little too good to be true, especially with the Lian Li V2120B's $400 price tag and the Corsair Obsidian 900D at $360. Remember, we're talking about a 145L enclosure – nearly twice the capacity of other HPTX cases.
However, Lian Li managed to keep costs in check by forgoing many features, including hot-swap bays, fan speed controllers and even fans themselves. While the aforementioned top radiator panel may be an optional item, fans really aren't. So while the D8000 seems like a pretty good buy at $330, consider how much more it might be once you install at least some of the optional hot-swap modules and half a dozen fans.
A more realistic price would be around $400 for what we'd consider an essential configuration. Even so, the D8000 is still pretty good value and when you consider the fact that no other case supports 20 drives right out of the box, it really has no equal. Although pricing puts it alongside the V2120B and 900D, it's in a completely different league than those cases. Personally, I've been seeking something like this for years and I couldn't be happier that the D8000 finally exists, even if it isn't perfect.
score
Pros: Massive 145L capacity dwarfs the competition, supports up to 20 hard drives out of the box and it's relatively affordable considering its size and high-end aluminum construction.
Cons: While affordable, the D8000 comes with less features than you might expect for $330 and adding fans/hot-swap modules/other "extras" will likely push the cost to $400+.