be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow vs Lian Li LANCOOL 217

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against PC cases at a similar price

The Lian Li LANCOOL 217 scores 7.4/10 overall, ahead of the be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow at 6.8/10.

The be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow leads on noise.

The Lian Li LANCOOL 217 leads on airflow and cooling, space and compatibility and value.

They score the same on build and ease of building.

be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow

6.8/10verdict: good, not the best

The Pure Base 501 Airflow is for builders who want a quiet, mesh-fronted ATX case with sound build quality. It suits mainstream desktops, workstations and homelab boxes that need a few drives and good front-to-back airflow. It is less suited to buyers who need long-GPU clearance confirmed or tall air coolers.

Typically about £118.49 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK

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Lian Li LANCOOL 217

7.4/10verdict: good, not the best

The Lian Li LANCOOL 217 is for builders who want a mesh-front mid-tower with plenty of fans already fitted. It suits people fitting a long graphics card, a large air cooler or a 360 mm radiator in the top. It also suits anyone planning a vertical GPU mount, since Lian Li lists the case as supported by its VG4 kit.

Typically about £109.99 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK

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Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow	Lian Li LANCOOL 217
Airflow and cooling	30%	7/10	8/10
Build and ease of building	20%	7/10	7/10
Space and compatibility	20%	6/10	8/10
Noise	15%	7/10	5/10
Value	15%	7/10	8/10
Overall		6.8/10	7.4/10

Specifications

Spec	be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow	Lian Li LANCOOL 217
Case type (mid tower, Micro-ATX, small form factor…)	ATX mid-tower-sized case, 450 x 231 x 449 mm excluding stands, 39.2 L volume, 6.8 kg net weight	Mid-tower
Motherboard sizes supported (E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX)	ATX / M-ATX / Mini-ITX	E-ATX, EEB (back-connect compatible)
Maximum graphics card length (mm)	not listed	380 mm (max)
Maximum CPU cooler height (mm)	178 mm maximum CPU cooler height	180 mm (max)
Power supply type supported (ATX or SFX) and maximum PSU length (mm)	ATX PS/2 form factor, maximum PSU dimension 180 mm (length not specified)	ATX; max length 220 mm in standard mode, 180 mm when rotated
Radiator support (e.g. 360mm top, 280mm front)	Front 120/140/240/280/360 mm; Top 120/240 mm; Rear 120/140 mm	Top: 360 / 280 / 240 mm
Fans included and fan mounts	Two Pure Wings 3 140 mm PWM fans included (front and rear); maximum six (top 2x140 or 2x120; front 2x140 or 3x120; rear 1x140 or 1x120)	5 pre-installed, including two 170 mm front fans
Drive bays (3.5 and 2.5 inch)	3.5-inch: 2; 2.5-inch: 5; no 5.25-inch bays	not listed

Strengths and weaknesses

be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow

+ Quiet operation praised by reviewers
+ Rigid chassis and solid build quality
+ Mesh front with 360 mm radiator support
− 178 mm CPU cooler height limit
− No 5.25-inch bays
− One review found CPU cooling unimpressive

Skip it if:

Buyers who need a confirmed maximum GPU length before purchasing.
Builders who want 5.25-inch bays for optical or bay-mounted devices.
Anyone planning a tall air cooler above 178 mm.

Read the full be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow review ›

Lian Li LANCOOL 217

+ Five fans pre-installed, including two 170 mm front fans
+ 380 mm GPU room with anti-sag bracket included
+ Takes E-ATX and EEB boards plus 360 mm top radiator
− PSU length limit drops to 180 mm when rotated
− CPU cooler height is capped at 180 mm

Skip it if:

Buyers with a CPU cooler taller than 180 mm
Buyers with a power supply longer than 220 mm
Anyone who wants a solid-panel case chosen for quiet running

Read the full Lian Li LANCOOL 217 review ›

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