Index
Review: Red for the win
Lancool is a relatively new name on the computer case market, but if you think they can’t deliver – you’re in for a big surprise. Lancool is actually a subsidiary of the company that needs no introduction – Lian Li. However, unlike Lian-Li, who make their cases of aluminum, Lancool makes their cases from steel, which at the same time pushes the weight up and pricing down.
Today, we’ll look at PC-K62R Red Dragon, which is somewhat of a new and improved version of Dragonlord case, this time with red interior.
As you can already see, PC-K62R Red Dragon resembles some much more expensive high-end cases.
Packaging
Red Dragon comes in a nice black box that features many pictures and details detailing the case. It’s not too large and you can easily carry it. The case weighs in at 9.55kg and our model is PC-K62R.
Below the large picture on the front of the box is the series of smaller ones, which detail some more specific points that make this case worth your while.
The side shows two smaller pictures which show the two available versions of this case – the one with a side-window and the one without.
Lancool secured the case with Styrofoam and wrapped the case in nylon, meaning the package can take a beating and your case will still be delivered in mint condition.
With the case you’ll get a fan controller, PSU fastening mechanism, 3 types of screws, an MB-warning speaker (buzzer), two plastic cable brackets, one 3-pin Molex adapter, self-adhesive rubber for mounting HDDs and an installation manual.
First look at Red Dragon
PC K62R Red Dragon’s looks isn’t the only selling point for Lancool’s case – there are many more surprises within the case.
There’s plenty of room in the red-colored interior. Lancool left a lot of holes in the panel that should make cable management and swaping CPU coolers a breeze, and there’s plenty of space for the HDD and optical devices as well.
The case is as tough as it gets – stainless steel does that. In this case, the steel isn’t brushed but a bit rough like a fine sandpaper.
Red Dragon is 49.6cm high, 21.4cm wide and 49.8cm long. The case comes with rubber feet that help with lessening vibration noise.
The front panel is closed with a two-layer wire mesh, which allows for air-intake without inviting dust in. Two-layer mesh is placed on most openings in the case and the inside layer, which is a finer mesh, can easily be removed and cleaned.
On the top of the case you’ll find ON/OFF keys, 2xUSB ports, microphone and headphone jacks and Lancool’s logo. The rear part of the top panel is reserved for air-outlets. The case comes with two preinstalled 140mm fans.
The top panel can be taken off, but not before the front panel is removed. This “process” however, shouldn’t take more than 20 seconds.
Side panels are removed by a tug backwards, which isn’t easy and it takes some force, but once in place - side panels are stable and won’t vibrate. The screws that hold the side-panels in place don’t need tools to operate – you can unscrew them by hand.
The standard version of PC-G62R case comes with two metal side-panels, but you can order the windowed version and mount it with no trouble. We must admit that Red Dragon looks much better with the window on the side as the red interior really makes for a nice view.
As you can see from the following picture, there are one vertical and 8 standard expansion slots. You’ll find a 120mm (1500rpm) fan with a red LED lamp, so no lack of redness here.
Lancool seems to have thought about everything and there are two holes for external water cooling.
PSU is mounted on the bottom. Thanks to the rubber feet, the case is about 1cm from the floor, which helps the power supply get air.
The wire mesh is in action here as well, preventing dust from entering the case. Like the rest of them, it can be taken off and cleaned.
The insides
Lancool PC K62R Red Dragon case’s insides are painted red, which makes this a treat for your eyes when the side panel has a window on it. Good thing about this case is that HDD trays are slid outwards, so there’s no need for removing the graphics card every time you switch disks. The case supports microATX and ATX motherboards.
If you’ve no experience in mounting motherboards, don’t worry as Lancool marked the appropriate holes for ATX and microATX motherboards.
If you look at the motherboard tray, you’ll notice that it has a couple of larger holes. The largest one is behind the CPU, intended for large coolers which require back-panels. This means that you won’t have to take the motherboard out of the case in case you need to switch CPU coolers. The rest of the holes are for easier cable management, behind the motherboard where they’ll keep out of sight and out of the airflow.
HDD trays won’t get in the way of motherboard components, but you’ll have to take the right side panel off if you want to connect or disconnect your HDD. If you have one or two HDD, you can pull the trays outwards and then disconnect the cables, but if there are more HDDs, you won’t be able to. The reason is that the cable is not long enough and will tug on the rest of the trays. Red dragon will take up to 3.5’’ HDDs.
HDD brackets come with rubber pucks that attenuate vibration and lessen operation noise.
The optical drive locking system comes with relatively short “nails” that enter holes meant for screws, meaning that a slighter tug or push of an optical drive results in the drive moving. Only the first two out of five 5.25’’ slots come with a toolless system that speeds up the installation, whereas the rest is old fashioned – screws and some more screws.
Four 140mm (1000RPM) and one 120mm fan (1500RPM) are in charge of the airflow. If you haven’t been paying attention, one 140mm is on the front panel and another two are on the upper panel. The smaller 120mm fan (1500RPM) is on the back panel and it, just like the front fan, comes with a red LED lamp.
Expansion slots on this case use a special mechanism that makes our job much easier, and we’ve already seen it on some of Lian-Li’s cases.
Installation and testing
We mounted the PSU and fastened it with Lian-Li’s strange L-shaped bracket. We must admit that this mechanism is pretty simple and practical, but so are four screws.
The fans are quiet but Lian-Li’s Fan Speed Controller is there in case you need to control them manually.
Mounting HDDs is not time-consuming, but it does require you to take the side panel off in order to connect the cables.
Test bed:
Motherboard: MSI P35 Platinum (MSI)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme x6800, 2x 2.93GHz (Intel)
Memory: A-Data Extreme DDR2 800 (2x1GB)
Graphic Card: EVGA Geforce 260 GTX (EVGA)
PSU: OCZ GXS 700, 700 W (OCZ)
CPU-Cooler: Gelid Tranquillo (Gelid Solution Ltd.)
Case: Lancool PC K62R Red Dragon (CaseKing)
Our test CPU cooler was Gelid Tranquillo, which we’ve so far used in Cooler Master’s HAF 922. The nice in-case airflow allowed for stable operation of our processor, which was overclocked to 3.3GHz.
After half an hour of Prime 95 torture, the temperature within the case was at 55°C, which is almost identical to HAF 922’s results. The fans ran at maximum RPM throughout our tests yet they were never too loud.
Lancool PC K62R Red Dragon didn’t fail us and our test only confirmed why this case already has a good reputation.
Conclusion
Although at a glance it might seem as just another standard case, Lancool’s PC K62R Red Dragon case hides much of what graces it. Naturally, knowing Lian-Li’s designs this is not a surprise. Within you’ll find all the space you need, openings for CPU coolers and cable management, rubber pucks to prevent HDD vibration and 4 silent fans.
Windowed Plexiglas panels, which can be purchased for this case, make a relatively uninspiring black box really come to life and the red interior coupled with red LED lamps really makes for a nice view. You can get Lancool K62 Midi-Tower - Red Dragon Window Edition for about 90 euro, here.
Since we’re talking about cost-down versions of Lian-Li cases, some things had to suffer, so you might find some details that seem as if they lack finishing touches. We’re mostly talking about the inside of the case, where upon closer look you’ll find that HDD brackets seem a little cheapish or that the rubber feet leave marks on the floor.
Red Dragon is a pretty functional case which deserves all plaudits, but things aren’t as bright price-wise. The case goes for €102, which in this times isn’t really what we’d call affordable nor nice bang-per-buck deal.
If however you don’t have monetary issues, like red color and ultimately choose to purchase it, we assure you that you won’t have any sleepless nights over what the case offers.
Special thanks to CaseKing, the company that kindly provided our today’s test sample.
