The Lancool 217 ships with five fans already in place, including two huge 170 mm fans up front. Most owners only have two questions: which front fan mode to use, and whether to add more fans.
Short answers: stay in GPU Priority mode, and add fans under the graphics card before anywhere else. Here’s the layout and the test data behind it.
The layout to copy
This is how the 217 ships, plus the one upgrade worth making.
| Fan spot | Fans | Set it to |
|---|---|---|
| Front | 2 x 170 mm (included) | Intake, in GPU Priority mode |
| Above the PSU shroud | 2 x 120 mm (included), room for 3 | Intake, aimed at the GPU |
| Rear | 1 x 140 mm (included) | Exhaust |
| Top | Up to 3 x 120 or 2 x 140 mm | Exhaust, or leave empty with an air cooler |
Lian Li’s own advice is that with a tower air cooler, you don’t need to add fans on top. The shroud fans are there to direct cool air toward the GPU.
GPU Priority or CPU Priority?
The two 170 mm front fans clip onto a tool-less rail with spacers. Gamers Nexus describes it well: the case ships in GPU mode, with the fans lower down. CPU mode moves both fans to the top of the rail.
Gamers Nexus tested both, measuring how far each part ran above room temperature:
| Test | CPU Priority | GPU Priority |
|---|---|---|
| CPU, noise matched | 41°C | 41°C |
| GPU, noise matched | 44°C | 42°C |
| GPU, full speed | 43°C | 40°C |
CPU mode didn’t help the CPU at all, but GPU mode kept the graphics card 2 to 3°C cooler. Lian Li calls GPU Priority “balanced cooling between GPU and CPU”, and the numbers back it up. Leave it in GPU mode.
Adding fans under the GPU
The shroud takes three 120 mm fans and ships with two. KitGuru tested the 217 INF version (which ships without shroud fans) before and after adding bottom fans:
- Without bottom fans: CPU 53°C and GPU 49°C above room.
- With bottom fans: CPU 52°C and GPU 46°C above room.
KitGuru called adding bottom fans the only notable improvement it found. If you have the INF, add them first. Our bottom intake fans guide covers when they help and when they don’t.
Lancool 217 vs 217 INF
The standard 217 comes with all five fans. The 217 INF ships with three ARGB fans: the two 170 mm fronts and the 140 mm rear. Its shroud is empty, which is why the bottom fans make the biggest difference there.
The vertical GPU catch
The 217 can mount the graphics card vertically, but the riser cable is sold separately. In Gamers Nexus’ test, the length of their riser put the card one slot closer to the glass.
The result was the worst GPU number of the lot: 47°C above room, versus 40°C mounted normally in GPU mode. Unless the look matters most, mount the card normally.
Noise
With every fan at full speed, Gamers Nexus found the 217 one of the loudest cases on its chart, at about 44.8 dBA. The big 170 mm fans don’t need to spin fast to move a lot of air, so a gentle fan curve keeps it quiet.
Our sister site has a fan curve tool to set one up. To see how loud your full set of fans will be, try our fan noise calculator.
Lancool 217 size limits
From Lian Li’s spec sheet:
| Part | Limit |
|---|---|
| Graphics card | 380 mm long |
| CPU cooler | 180 mm tall |
| Power supply | ATX up to 220 mm, or 180 mm in the rotated mount |
| Radiator | Top only: 360, 280 or 240 mm |
That’s plenty for an RTX 5090 Founders Edition at 304 mm. Some partner 5090s run close to 360 mm, so measure first.
There’s no front radiator support, so an AIO has to go on top as exhaust.
Lian Li also says to leave the hard drive cage out for the best cooling.
Related guides
- Montech Air 903 setup, another mesh-front mid-tower with big front fans.
- Bottom intake fans, with test data from five cases.