Lian Li XB-01

Testing 2.0

Testing this time around is exactly the same as before, though this time I’m comparing the XB-01′s noise outputs with QuietPC additions, and without.

Results

State One – Idle

Almost, almost silent. Even after 30 minutes, it’s practically inaudible. A slight purr from the fans can be heard if you get close to the unit, but from a couple of feet away, without the light you wouldn’t know the Xbox was turned on.

State Two – Load, Local

Here the rear fan does spin up slightly generating a little noise, but far less than the XB-01 does as standard. I have to think cooling ability is far superior with two fans in there as well; most likely attributing to the lower rear fan speed.

State Three – Load, Media

I would love to say that the acoustic foam completely removed all noise from the ODD drive, even when playing at full speed. Unfortunately I can’t, but I can tell you that it makes a difference, possibly as much as dropping noise output from the DVD drive by 50%.

That said, for the lowest possible noise output, I would still recommend people install the game to their hard drive if they can, as this is still quieter than the QPC modded XB-01.

Cost

Unfortunately the cost does rise by a fair margin if you have your Xbox installed by someone else. However, the warranty, and piece of mind knowing a professional has handled the install for you, might make the £190 price tag seem worth it to some. For those with shallower pockets, I suspect not.

Cases