Lian Li's new standing desk is also a PC enclosure

[Shawn Knight]

Lian Li has a penchant for building unique PC enclosures – many of which are often impractical. With its latest creation, however, the Chinese chassis maker illustrates that it’s in tune with a growing movement orchestrated by health-conscious computer users around the globe.

The Lian Li DK-04 is a desk-based PC, not unlike the DK-01X and DK-02X from a few years back. What’s different about this new chassis is that it’s of the standing desk variety.

The desk PC is height-adjustable from 67.5 centimeters to 116 centimeters, or roughly 26.6 inches to 45.7 inches. A control panel on the right side of the desk is used to adjust the electronically-controlled motor to the perfect height, complete with presets.

Elsewhere, the desk features HD audio ports, four USB 3.0 ports, three RGB controller knobs and power / reset buttons. There’s also a 5.25-inch drive bay in the event you still use an optical disc drive or want to show off a liquid cooling reservoir.

Magnetic mesh filters are used to cover the intake fan grills as well as the power supply grill. To access your hardware, simply lift the tempered glass table top. Inside, you’ll find room to mount an ATX or micro-ATX motherboard and up to eight 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives. It'll also accommodate graphics cards up to 320mm in length and CPU coolers as tall as 140mm.

Cooling is taken care of via four 120mm intake fans at the front and four 120mm exhaust fans at the rear. And yes, they’re compatible with radiators measuring up to 120mm x 480mm.

The desk is constructed primarily of aluminum although stronger iron is used for the legs. It measures 1,200mm (W) x 750mm(D), or roughly 47 inches wide by 29.5 inches deep.

The Lian Li DK-04 standing desk chassis will be available in Europe and the US next month priced at $1,499.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/64512-lian-li-new-standing-desk-also-pc-enclosure.html

 

[VitalyT]

Looks a bit dumb to me, and here's why...

The main point of such a product is to improve the ergonomics of your work place. Ergonomics denote compactness + efficiency + discreetness. So when they chose to expose the PC's innards for you to gaze through instead of focusing on your work, that's exactly against the principle of ergonomics. Such a table should absolutely have a non-transparent cover.

And it gets even worse when your board has flashy lights on it, may drive your crazy.

 

[Evernessince]

A top heavy desk? No thank you. Looks like they tried to balance it out with those ridiculously large feet. I don't need to bring the fans closer to my face if I can help it. Much better idea if the computer was in one of the legs instead.

 

[Uncle Al]

Not to mention that the most recent studies on ergonomics claim there is no real benefit to physical health of standing long periods of time. They do recommend those that sit all day take frequent breaks (1 per hour) to stand up and stretch, walk around a bit, etc.

 

[Adhmuz]

Looks a bit dumb to me, and here's why...

The main point of such a product is to improve the ergonomics of your work place. Ergonomics denote compactness + efficiency + discreetness. So when they chose to expose the PC's innards for you to gaze through instead of focusing on your work, that's exactly against the principle of ergonomics. Such a table should absolutely have a non-transparent cover.

And it gets even worse when your board has flashy lights on it, may drive your crazy.

Missed the point entirely, but that doesn't surprise me at all... Do you really think any business will spend $1500 on a high adjustable desk you can mount a PC inside of? Can you imagine the IT nightmares that would go with something like this? People would break it in no time because they have no respect for their work environments. This is for enthusiast who have nothing better to do with their time but stare at flashy lights inside their computers, not for business, not for the average Joe, not even for me to be honest. It looks cold and uninviting, not to mention I would never be able to bring that to a Lan party unless I rented a van to load it into. I could see some people making some truly stunning builds using this thing however.

 

[LeviathanRise]

Looks a bit dumb to me, and here's why...

The main point of such a product is to improve the ergonomics of your work place. Ergonomics denote compactness + efficiency + discreetness. So when they chose to expose the PC's innards for you to gaze through instead of focusing on your work, that's exactly against the principle of ergonomics. Such a table should absolutely have a non-transparent cover.

And it gets even worse when your board has flashy lights on it, may drive your crazy.

What sort of office would buy this? Clearly it's made for PC enthusiasts such as myself.

 

[bmw95]

I think Lian Li needs a new product designer . . . those legs are hideous.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

This is a very niche product. I'll just stick to sitting at my desk with my PC on one side. It's always worked for me so there's no need to change it.

 

[captaincranky]

I think clearly you would need to weld the legs solid at the seated level, and put one of these on top of it:

 

[TheBigT42]

Make one that can take two systems like the DK-02X and TAKE MY MONEY

 

[SirGCal]

I love a good sit/stand desk but I don't need my computer tied into one. Mine sits atop my ErgoDepot desk no problem for a 72" desk with no wobble and under $820 with a 7 year warranty. This is just too much money for a smaller desk with a computer case in it. While nice... It's not for me.

 

[SirGCal]

Not to mention that the most recent studies on ergonomics claim there is no real benefit to physical health of standing long periods of time. They do recommend those that sit all day take frequent breaks (1 per hour) to stand up and stretch, walk around a bit, etc.

THIS is not the point of the desk. I have been in a wheelchair and while I can stand, used that as an excuse not to. And did myself bad while doing so. I also work 120 hour weeks too often so I can literally sit there for hours and not move. Now with my ErgoDepot desk, I tap a button, stand up and work for 15 minutes, then sit back down. That's what I love about this desk and why it is far healthier then a regular 'desk'. I can not stand up and walk around. But I can stand. Many people can't stop working for 15 minutes every hour without extreme loss of productivity. With this, you do not have to. THAT is the point. Not to stand up for hours at a time. Although some people do use it in conjunction with an exercise bike or treadmill also. Kudos to them!

 

[SirGCal]

I think clearly you would need to weld the legs solid at the seated level, and put one of these on top of it:

I never liked that case when it was new and fresh.. always ugly to me. However a good desk wouldn't have an issue with the weight. I weigh over 250lbs and sat on my desk for a test ride up and down. It had 100 lbs to spare in it's weight 'limit'. The motor didn't even seem stressed on my ErgoDepot table. So FWIW, that wouldn't be necessary unless their motors were real garbage.

 

[captaincranky]

I never liked that case when it was new and fresh.. always ugly to me. However a good desk wouldn't have an issue with the weight. I weigh over 250lbs and sat on my desk for a test ride up and down. It had 100 lbs to spare in it's weight 'limit'. The motor didn't even seem stressed on my ErgoDepot table. So FWIW, that wouldn't be necessary unless their motors were real garbage.

So I see you didn't get I was being sarcastic?

Here, let's try again:

I think clearly you would need to weld the legs solid at the seated level, and put one of these on top of it:

OK. the point of the desk is the top moves up and down, no? So I suggest welding the legs to immobilize them. Sounds like I'm being sarcastic, no?

The Thermaltake "Level 10", is/was an overpriced fashion statement. So, I suggest buying one to go along with the "bold fashion statement", that is a glass topped desk with the provision to put a computer inside of it.

Now, I don't know when standing in one place became, "a healthful pastime", but if it were, I imagine "Lazy Boy" would go out of business. Then too, those people that stand in one place all day, such as supermarket cashiers, would be shouting out loud and proud how they, "knew it all along", instead of coming home and soaking their feet while parking themselves in a recliner.

Another benefit would be, we'd never have to equip another toll booth with seats. Every turnpike commission in the country would be able to say with confidence, "quit b****hing, just stand there in one place for the entirety of your shift, it's good for you"!

You say you're in a wheelchair? I would have never guessed that... But then, I can't read or write English. Thus, in order to post, I have a ghost writer who stands at a desk next to me all day, and takes dictation.

 

[cartera]

To add to most of the other negative comments, I give it a month before any frequently used ports on the front are busy because you have brushed against them by accident.

 

[Mark Anderson]

Looks a bit dumb to me, and here's why...

The main point of such a product is to improve the ergonomics of your work place. Ergonomics denote compactness + efficiency + discreetness. So when they chose to expose the PC's innards for you to gaze through instead of focusing on your work, that's exactly against the principle of ergonomics. Such a table should absolutely have a non-transparent cover.

And it gets even worse when your board has flashy lights on it, may drive your crazy.

Ergonomics relates to the functional design of a product and how it efficiently it fits a person to reduce muscle and skeleton fatigue, reduce injury, while helping to increase productivity. Words such as "compactness" or "discreetness" are rarely ever used to describe ergonomics. From an ergonomics standpoint that desk is no more or less ergonomic then any other desk. Flashy lights on the motherboard may be a visual distraction, but it has little to do with ergonomics. Check your facts.

 

[VitalyT]

Ergonomics relates to the functional design of a product and how it efficiently it fits a person to reduce muscle and skeleton fatigue, reduce injury, while helping to increase productivity. Words such as "compactness" or "discreetness" are rarely ever used to describe ergonomics. From an ergonomics standpoint that desk is no more or less ergonomic then any other desk. Flashy lights on the motherboard may be a visual distraction, but it has little to do with ergonomics. Check your facts.

You should check what you wrote there. First you say it is to reduce injury, fatigue and to increase productivity, and then you say that somehow flashing and distracting lights got nothing to do with it. Really? You contradict yourself.

 

[Lightspeed]

Price this at $500 and I'll buy it in a heartbeat

 

[captaincranky]

A lot of Lian Li cases used to be butt ugly, plain as mud, and vastly overpriced. Sort of the, "she has a nice personality", type of analogy. That hasn't changed too much. Although to be fair, they do have a few much more flamboyantly ugly, overpriced cases nowadays.

I'm wondering if this is just an attempt at a flagship product, and curious as to how many they expect to sell....

IIRC, Ford expected to sell a lot of Edsels, and we all know how well that panned out. Well, maybe some of the kidz here don't...