Lian Li PC-T60B: A Benchtable on the Test Bench

In fact, it was quite difficult for me to put an introduction on paper with this “case”. On the one hand this is due to the fact that the tested product has existed for about 9 years and on the other hand that it is not a case in the actual sense. As the title already suggests, the Lian Li PC-T60B is a so-called benchtable. This term already contains the actual purpose of such a product: a benchtable should facilitate the creation of benchmarks with different graphics cards and processor platforms.

In my case, however, it will serve another purpose. Since I currently mainly review cases, I always need a test system. Since this test system is also my main system and I need a platform for troubleshooting purposes in my family and circle of friends that can be disassembled quickly, the typical housings are simply too impractical for me. That’s why two years ago I built my first own benchtable out of wood. Although this is small and quite pleasant to transport, it does not offer any stops for other components except for the mainboard. Power supply, graphics card and hard disk are not screwed or secured.

Since this is too insecure for me in the long run, I started looking for a Benchtable and found the Lian Li PC-T60B. For a price of Product it offers on paper a lot of space for hardware and features to replace the self-built benchtable.

Therefore I will take a closer look at the Lian Li PC-T60B in the following test and show the advantages and disadvantages of this benchtable.

Technical Details

Packaging and Scope of Delivery

The Lian Li PC-T60B comes well and safely packed in a colour printed carton with a practical carrying strap. On the packaging there is a picture of the product and a table with all technical data of the benchtable. Inside the box you will find all the individual parts needed to assemble the test stand. To protect the paintwork, all parts are packed separately and partially wrapped in cardboard or polystyrene. In addition, a bag with all screws, an M/B speaker, a spacer mounting tool and various rubber elements is hidden between all the individual parts.

Structure and Optics

The Lian Li PC-T60B comes as mentioned before completely in single parts and has to be assembled by yourself. After unpacking, you are confronted with a total of 17 individual parts. A look into the instructions brought the first small disillusionment. The manual is written in several languages and Lian Li has listed all screws and parts clearly, but the individual steps of the assembly were documented only with very small black and white photos and some text. This made the entrance a bit more difficult, because you couldn’t see exactly in which orientation a component had to be fastened. The assembly of the benchtable took about 45 minutes. After all, all components are well processed and deburred. Furthermore, all elements are painted black, the aluminium was brushed afterwards. This looks very appealing, but is somewhat sensitive to fingerprints.

Completely assembled, the Benchtable theoretically consists of two main elements. The first main element is the frame including Lian-Li lettering and a practical handle. The power supply unit and three hard disks can then be mounted in a hard disk cage at the bottom of the frame.

The second main element is placed between this frame. This is the mainboard tray. This mainboard carriage has an opening for the backplate of large CPU coolers, nine mounting points for the spacers and a mounting frame to which expansion cards can be screwed. Lian Li has attached the silver power and reset buttons to the front. Fortunately all cables are completely black. In the front right area of the mainboard tray there are also five openings for a separately purchasable front panel. But considering the price of Product, Lian Li could have included this I/O panel.

A total of two 5.25″ drives and two 2.5″ HDDs can be attached to the underside of the mainboard tray. In addition, the upper main element can be removed or moved forwards or backwards after removing four knurled screws. A total of three different positions are possible here.

All in all, the workmanship and painting of the individual parts is at a very high level. All components and screws are manufactured to an exact fit and of a very high quality.

System Construction in Lian Li PC-T60B

Now we come to system installation. As hardware I use a Intel Xeon 1230v3 on a Gigabyte H87M-D3H with 16 GB RAM. The Xeon is represented by a LC-Power Cosmo Cool LC-CC-120 cooled. An HD 7850 2GB from Asus is responsible for the image output. The power supply does the non-modular be quiet! pure power with 400W.

The assembly of the system was completed quickly and did not cause any problems. Only the wiring had to be a bit more difficult, at least if it should look a bit tidier. The main problem here is that the mainboard tray does not have any openings for cable management. Only two openings in the tray would have been sufficient to better wire the system. Due to the black body and the completely black cables the whole look is better than expected.

The spacers are painted black and could be turned in very easily because the threads were reworked after the painting. Should there be any problems, Lian Li has enclosed a small wrench to tighten the spacers completely.

In the lower area of the PC-T60B, the power supply unit and hard disks are mounted in 3.5″ format. For decoupling, both the power supply unit and the holding points for the large hard disks have rubber elements. Although these elements serve their purpose quite well, a complete decoupling of the hard disk does not take place.

Above the power supply there are two breakpoints for drives in 5.25″ format. If you want to screw them together on both sides, it is important that the holding frames are first screwed to the drive and only then to the mainboard tray. Otherwise, only a one-sided screw connection is possible.

Behind the left drive slot for the DVD burner is the holder frame for two SSDs or small hard disks in 2.5″ format. In order to keep the connections of all data carriers close together, the Crucial MX200 and the Toshiba HDD were mounted with the connections towards the front. This has made it more difficult to attach the cables, but improves the overall look as the cables can be laid more hidden.

If the PC-T60B is to be equipped with a USB 3.0 I/O panel or a frame for a 240 mm radiator, additional money must be invested. For the radiator frames approx. 15 € and for the I/O-Panel 18 € due.

Conclusion on the Lian Li PC-T60B

Now we come to the end of this review. The Lian Li PC-T60B is an excellent Benchtable with a good equipment and various features to make the handling and the conversion of a test system as easy as possible. The use of many knurled screws in particular makes it easier to change various hardware components.

However, the poor installation instructions and the complete absence of fan or radiator seats are somewhat disappointing. Also, the lack of openings for better cable management is a point that Lian Li could have revised in the last nine years. The PC-T70X shows that Lian Li has learned a lot in the meantime. This is not quite as compact as the PC-T60B, but costs similarly much and also supports radiators up to a length of 360 mm and also has an I/O panel with USB 3.0 ports.

Other competitor products from DimasTech, Streamcom or Raijintek may have better features in some cases, but in most cases they cost a whole lot more or are simply not available.