Phanteks Evolv X Case Review: Dual-System, Thermals, & Quality
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- The Phanteks Evolv X review is finally here, alongside a dual-system streaming build with thermals fully tested.
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The Phanteks Evolv X case has been tough to get. It's popular, it's expensive, and it's still catching up with demand. The Evolv X (with upgrade kit) can support two simultaneous systems, both of which are powered by the Phanteks Revolt X dual-system power supply. In today's review, we look at build quality, cable management, thermals, and value of the Evolv X.
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Evolv X on Newegg: geni.us/MTvivf
ALTERNATIVES TO EVOLV X
Cooler Master H500M on Amazon: geni.us/qxXBp
NZXT H700 on Amazon: geni.us/9AY23
Dark Base Pro 900 on Amazon: geni.us/yvXpv
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Host, Test Lead: Steve Burke
Testing, Editorial: Patrick Lathan
Video: Keegan Gallick, Andrew Coleman, Josh Svoboda
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Article: www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3379-phanteks-evolv-x-case-review-dual-system-thermals
Check our 9900K delid and solder vs. paste test here: th-cam.com/video/6RDL7h7Vczo/w-d-xo.html
Gamers Nexus appreciate the review but you didn’t really talk about all the watercooling options and how many radiators can be mounted etc. I think this was kind of geared towards liquid cooling with the upper and lower ports for draining a loop
ok, the review I know Phanteks has been dreading, let's see if they managed to make a case with better cooling then what was required by the original 1998 ATX 1.0 spec, lol. To be fair Inwin and Bitfenix have also had difficulties in the past with cooling. (watches vid)
They advertised ten 3.5inch drive bays, did they not include them as well?
9 SSDs, 3 sleds not included, hmmmm.
OK, not bad overall, lacks the drive bays I would need, and still very tempting thermals with a good look. Well done Phanteks, well done. I guess some BeQuiet drive-bay mods for the PM01 will be needed shortly. Last I checked they do not make a 40TB SSD in my budget range, lol.
Great vid Steve and crew. B)
Gamers Nexus put a 9900k and 2080Ti and you’ll have a furnace
UnknownUser, or Jayz2cent's Ryzen editing rig, lol. This may actually do much better for that build if Jay can get the excluded drive bays for it.
While I love this case, I do have to say it really seems like they didn't put much thought into the dual-system capability - at all.
Aside from the ITX motherboard rendering the top radiator bracket unusable, there is also a gap where the I/O shield meets the case as you can see slightly at 2:08.
When customer service was questioned about this gap, they confirmed that it was an issue. Not really sure how something like that could make it to the release unless they legitimately just never assembled a dual-system build - which would be pretty weird.
Talk about timing, I just literally spent the last hour looking for reviews for this case and saw this video by gamers nexus get uploaded 5 minutes ago
Edit: thank you for being so honest about the flaws of this case. It seems so many other reviewers have demonstrated a biased or flattering opinion towards this case. Got some vital intel about this product which I wanted before I bought it.
We could sense that you needed more reviews!
Gamers Nexus gotta love telepathy
Makes me sad knowing I can't trust 90% of techtubers out there because they feel if they don't fellate a product they won't get free shit to review.
Been burned too many times by the more "entertainer," oriented techtubers hiding products' flaws, and now stick with GN and the other technical/performance-oriented channels before I make a purchase.
@@Butthurt_Beluga I love hardwarecanucks channel for his excellent footage and pictures of the cases but every single thing he reviews just ends up with the title best case ever and never actually honestly reviews the flaws of it
@bloozism If I wanted marketing material I'd just go to the company website honestly
I've had this case for 4 years and i love it! i haven't touched it since i built it, using an x570 with a 3700x i used the wraith prism cooler, added a couple 140mm Noctua fans to the top, 3x140mm at the front and a 120mm at the rear and it's all worked perfectly to this day! I've just upgraded my cpu to a 5900x, and an AIO to cool it, along with a 32gb ram kit and a 3090 gpu (which is why i decided to beef up the proc+took advantage of all the last gen sales atm!) i haven't started work on it yet because idk if i want the radiator top mounted or front mounted lol. but this case will take anything from a single 120mm rad to a 420mm rad so there's plenty of room for AIO and or Air coolers.
Steve and the GN Crew are LITERALLY the deciding vote in whether or not I purchase a case. Keep up the great work fellas!
And the verdict was? I'm on the fence lol.
@@Reeceezy did you buy it lol
@@trent4439 nah I went with an ITX build instead
I wouldn't go that far. The Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 topped their charts in thermal performance and acoustics yet they spent the whole view thirsty for a reason to dislike the fabric mesh front panel. They didn't find one but you wouldn't know it.
Thanks for calling out the other reviewer(s) that have hyped this case to the moon and back. A "This is fine" review from Gamers Nexus means a whole lot more than a glowing review from just about any other tech tuber these days. No case is "Perfect" and to claim as such without giving any real weight to flaws that can make or break systems for certain customers does everyone a disservice. Its all about finding those compromises and seeing if you can live with them or not depending on your build. I can finally make a purchase decision with confidence now after this review. Especially with that key note on the static pressure performance on the stock fans!
Keep doing the work that needs be done!
Also will be enjoying building on my new Mod Mat! Cheers
Thanks for the kind words, penguin! Enjoy your build!
I always get the feeling some reviewers want to stay on good terms with the people who send them the samples. It also feels like some of them have a template they stick to and every review ends up being the same. I much prefer the adhoc ramblings of tech jesus.
Some other channel that reviews 'perfect' cases *Cough, cough* seem to give every case a good review. If you're a reviewer and you're afraid to bad mouth a product then your job is effectively pointless.
Agreed. I think many people see such things and get upset cause not calling out problems where they are or at least being as candid as possible about it (down playing flaws with flashy thumbnails or just mumbling your way through them) only make manufactures lazy and complicit in a potentially endless cycle of bad product releases. I appreciate the work Gamers Nexus does cause they are the TH-cam equivalent of your most brutally honest friend. They wont sugar coat it, and that's the kind of honest opinion I value most.
Thats cause other channels are just an infomercial and not an actual review.
Man, Steve is brutal on cases lol. I've been doing research on cases for 3 weeks and this is by far one of the best value cases out there in terms of features, build quality, and design. Appreciate the honesty though. A 'not bad' from Steve is like a huge compliment hahaha
I dig the presentation of the Dark rock 4. The way the camera zoomed in and the light came on behind the coolers and plant. Andrew is getting good 🎥
The reason why Gamers Nexus has less subscribers than the average tech youtuber is partially because of the sponsors. Most of them won't take the risk to send it to Gamers Nexus because of his honest reviews; there are no marketing tricks, flattering opinions ... but a 100% honest review that describes the pros and cons of a tech product.
I'm still using my beautiful beige P90 case from 1996!
Woo! Thank you, I've been waiting to buy till your review.
Addison Martin so will you buy or not
its sold out?
Luckily its easy to get in Denmark atm :D
@@tor2131 Will buy. Good mix of looks and performance, and has tons of space.
I got it on Friday but it's still sitting in the box while I'm watching this review :) I was only worried about the thermals but they seem very much OK.
Man I was hyped for this case, this is why I subbed to you guys, to bring me back to reality when I let the marketing get to me! Love you guys thanks for what you do!!
TBH its not a bad case at all but it damn sure aint the savior of pc cases. I wouldn't tell anyone not to get it if u have the money and want a mid tower case.
Tremble Dust that’s what I got from the review, too. The case seems to do good if you don’t intend to do heavy OC. I ended up getting the case bc it’s still good, and aesthetically my favorite case.
I have this case and I love it. The thermals are fine, and I do some pretty have gaming (not streaming/video editing).
@@kingalias I think its one of the best looking with the all metal and glass. RGB done right. High quality too.
kingalias even with heavy OC the case would be fine.
I have this case and I love it. I wish the top would clamp a bit harder and had some kind of grab point. The case is a beast to move around. Cable management made super easy with plenty of room to spare. I have mine air cooled on an FX 8370 using a Le Grand Macho RT. It idles at 21C and maxes at 49C. I have no other cooling fans than that, the GPU and stock case fans. The magnetic air block cover works. Taking it off, my temps rose a little. It's surprisingly cool and quiet, more so than my DB 600 case. There are so many fan and RGB pins in the built-in controller that doing more customization should be a breeze (see what I did there?). This thing is big and it's very heavy without anything in it. Removing the glass doors really helps with the build until you're finished. I had no problems with the drives installed on the back bay doors, but I was careful about it the cables. I guess my biggest gripe is the fact that it has no carrying handle.
I was waiting for this review for so long but decided to pull the trigger in the end. Great case. I absolutely love it. No big complaints. About to run 700mm of radiator in it
let us know how it goes when you do it would love some feed back!
The sliding thing on top of the power supply is so that you an route your GPU power cables straight down instead of awkwardly sticking them out to the right. Previous versions of this case had that as a rubberized hole with flaps to stick it down through, which was arguably more elegant.
I can't be the only one who thinks the MSI cooler you use in every PC is SO ugly.
I wanna imagine he does it to spite the more "Cinematic Reviews" on TH-cam.
I like that cooler
does it matter?
ye, it's like a north star of ugliness shining in the center of the build.
lmao
There it is.
A nice case. Use it for over a month now and I am very satisfied with the temperatures, the features and especially the look. I´m using a H150i Pro (front mounted), a air cooled Aourus 1080 ti and 3x 140mm Noctuas (top and back).
what are your temps with that setup?
Another great video. Your time and work that is put into these is very much appreciated. Also, thanks to Chris on this one for helping make the review possible. The Evolve X is a fantastic looking case with some really nice features. It does stand out in some ways at the $200 USD price point, but nothing really makes me say, "I've gotta have it!" It's pretty cool to see the CM HAF series still sitting on top of one of the temperature charts with the X. Although the noise level isn't as impressive. I had my system in a 932 not even a year ago. All the new case designs and especially the trend of tempered glass has changed things so much for air cooling and almost make at least a 120mm AIO necessary instead of an option.
Two years later, I still endorse this case. I think I might keep it forever.
The limited edition black glass panels are both dark, so if you value RGB, don't get the LE.
Facts bro I ordered this case to house my new build 3 years ago, and I still tell myself when this system is getting too weak for my liking, I will more than likely sell the parts that still have value and put my next system in here as well. I do like that newer one that has a full mesh front for better airflow, but i don't really push the boundaries of my system to begin with and hardly play games that are truly graphic demanding. For me its all about performance and hitting a certain threshold and not going below that since I primarily play multiplayer games.
Great to finally see at least one Phanteks case on GN's charts and rankings! No matter where it ends up, and same for any future model (maybe the $100 or under category) Finally having Phanteks cases evaluated and ranked under the eyes and scrutiny of GN speaks tons about GN's commitment to full coverage of market options on behalf of consumers. Well done!
3:24 that sliding plate is to actually help with cable management. instead of going through the back, the gpu cables just come up from there. giving it a cleaner look. just so you know @GamersNexus
This review is gonna drive the sales of this case even further. The case performs well thermally despite initial perceptions of it's case design. Gamers Nexus put this through the ringer and the case came out fine. Could it be Phanteks has struck a great balance between aesthetics and performance????
Why does Gamers Nexus not have more subs?
Top 10 questions science still can't answer.
Dan Bodine he’s been growing very fast/ agreed. Love his content!!
Why do meteors always land in creators?
People nowadays are overstimulated and can only watch presentation-focused shows like LTT.
because most of our species are drooling morons who get off on garbage like Logan Paul
Because people rather watch a boy dropping expensive hardware
I remember deciding on my case after looking at reviews. They all were positive. My case is (design wise) pretty good, except that the gap behind the tray doesn't allow thickly sleeved cables (as they often come with modular power supplies) to be hidden there, meaning I have a mess just sitting around in the middle of my case. Apart from that I really like the design. However, the quality is just not up there, the side panels are bent ever so slightly that it becomes a bit difficult to screw them in, the bit sign the front I/O is made out of plastic and doesn't support the weight of the PC (while it is in a convenient position to be used as a handle when lifting), the LED strips behind the front panel are so bright that when the panel comes off the room is illuminated (I am not being hyperbolic. Before getting an illuminated keyboard I used that for indirect illumination to see the keys late at night) but when the panel is on then they're barely visible. I could go on, but the bottom line is that the design is good but the manufacturing subpar.
I bought this case before knowing of GN. Guess I could've avoided that.
So happy your review is up! Been waiting for your word on the case! Problem is, as the case is acceptable with thermals, and everyone else has seen this video, stock is gone be even harder to find now!
Whatever your verdict i love mine in black with vertical gpu and who cares if its 3c warmer when it looks so good with a strix
Exactly. So much work in this review about how it works, forgetting how it feels. This is a consumer product, a human being will have it on his/her desk for years. How it looks is more important than a couple of degrees. An so is the metal finish, the available colors, the nice but not in your face leds, the ease to open up, and how easy it is to clean the dust filters. Just the fact the front panel is magnetic is more important than 2 degrees.
You’re damn right, although temps are very important, but here we are talking about few degrees that won’t impact the performance significantly.
The build experience, the additional features, the overall look and style of the case and the build quality are far more important than few degrees.
What GN often forget to note is that it's 2-3 degrees under max load. Like, both CPU and GPU max load. Most games don't push that hard and only use 2-4 cores.
A normal user will never see thermals that high in a normal daily use.
So a "It's fine" is plenty enough for 99.9% of gamers.
I’ve always loved this design, unfortunately I couldn’t afford at the time of building my PC. I bought the Eclipse P400TG instead... That was a mistake. Aesthetics wise Phanteks for me has some of the best looking designs out of all case companies. Love the Shift ones as well.
If Phanteks release a mesh version of the front cover, the case might get the blessing of our Lord and saviour, Tech Jesus himself.
End of hype
Dymatrix Media I think the new Iteration’s thermal performance is good enough as it is. Evolvs have never been really marketed as a performance case. Using mesh as a front panel I think would change it’s look too much for me and would have been a deal breaker. The P400 could have used mesh though, it doesn’t look good to start with so it would’ve definitely benefited from the mesh.
If you want airflow and rugged good looks, it's hard not to love the Cougar Panzer-S.
Why do you think it was a mistake to buy the p400tg?
And on this day Tech Jesus rose up and gave us real thermals on this case with an in depth review. Thanks viewer Chris, you're the best.
thanks for the review, you're honestly my favorite case reviewer because you go over pretty much every single detail
Thanks for the kind words!
As always a very satisfying review. You just can't beat Gamer Nexus when it comes to case reviews, teardowns, and news coverage. Sorry HardwareCanucks.
They are both good for very different reasons. Gamers Nexus for thermals and generally unbias. Hardware Canucks for aesthetics (b role is the best) and he delves more into the case functionality. Like issues that come up during builds or clearance issues or build issues. Gamers Nexus does some of this, but Hardware Canucks gets more detailed.
I finally ordered this case in silver some minutes ago as a little upgrade from my silver non-X Evolv.
More hidden space for my 3rd HDD, slightly optimized airflow, optimized cable routing and better lighting design choices were convincing enough to shell out 200 € again. And it has a GPU bracket, which is very very welcome.
FINALLY!
Bought this case for my new PC project. First thing I did was replace the front fans with three Noctua NF-A14 iPPC-3000 140mm. The HDD removable cages (sold separately) fit well with the fan upgrade. That case holds 10 regular size mechanical drives, 4 at the bottom and 6 on the side. White Phanteks fan at the back I'm keeping due to the extra long cable it has to reach the main fan hub on top. That thing is one of the heaviest cases I've seen.
Absolutely love this review. I for one am still on the hype train despite flaws. This case is designed 100% for enthusiast. I already have two computers on my desk so it'll be nice to throw them both into one case and save some work space. The only things I want to see now is a test with liquid cooling and a test with better fans. This case is designed for liquid cooling with its built in fill/drain ports. I actually picked up this case off new egg and am waiting for it to get here. I plan on water cooling the main system and air cooling the mini. None the less awesome review. I have looked at many for this case and only gotten positives. Thank you for bringing flaws to the light. Until companies know our gripes with will keep getting the same issues with new products. +1 sub from me.
I was actually looking for your review today and you actually posted it. Other reviews were really bias, thank you so much.
Mine comes in next week. There's so many options at this price point. I thought this one did everything decent, like you said. Most cases have a major issue with them, and no one has pointed out any dealbreakers with this case. I am looking forward to it.
When I graduate and get a job this is the case I’m going to get. 2 years late but its an aesthetic case
Ya got it yet? lmao
@@griind actually just waiting on a reason to get a new cpu. current ones are better than my 8700k, but not lots better. I do have an rtx 3080 and a predator x35 to go with it
I don't really want to do a full system rebuild without replacing the cpu and mobo. I could, but I'm lazy
Sliding plate ontop of psu shroud is perfect, I put the GPU wires through there and slide it all the way closed so the wires prop up the GPU and is not being held down by the weight.
Who thumbs down a gamers nexus video? the most well spoken, accurate and thorough reporting in all of news media. With the most polite host in history. Do you just hate good information?lol
Why has it taken every youtuber so long to get a review up of a dual system build with this case?! Subscribing to you because you're the first! Thanks brother!
Based on this review I'm planning to get the Phanteks Eclipse P600S; sounds like with fan upgrades these cases would match the ones closer to the top on these comparison charts. Stop me now Gamer Nexus or hold your peace forever!
For the most part I totally agree with the review. I have the case and for the most part its a good mid tower case. The build quality I would praise a little higher then the video but not shout on the mountain top the savior has returned. I was bummed the case didn't come w/ a pump bracket when my older Enthro pro did at around I believe $130 vs. $200 plus for the Evolv X. That made zero sense to me. The brackets holding the cable panels on the right side do take a lil extra to push in especially when the areas are populated w/ cables. Two of my clips damn near broke off. They are hanging on a semi thread and wont hold onto the panel. Im currently awaiting word from Phanteks to see if i can get replacement ones. The addressable rgbs on the case..if u like rgbs are freaking great. Really nice and I appreciate the ease of removing the front panel. I agree the stock fans could be better but to me that almost always the case. Get it? ha!
Overall the case is good. I personally like bigger cases but that's just me. The price though... Its a tough one to rationalize. U do get a good mid tower case with cool features and its so pretty but $200 US? Hmm. If it were $150 it would be damn steal imo.
I'm not gonna lie, I've been wanting this case for two years now, and I literally just bought it. It'll be here Tuesday. For ventilation, I'm CNCing the front panel using what's called tessellations. It'll have an almost gradient look to it from top to bottom, and from what I've calculated, it should allow for a 25%~ increase in airflow. I'm also modifying the cable passthrough "sliders" to sit farther away from the panel so that they can all be slid "closed" even with cables passing through them. The way they made those doors is almost pointless, because you lose the impressive looks of them the moment you pass a cable through them.. hence the purpose of the passthroughs in the first place.
If you wanted to do a dual system build with a gpu in both systems, then you can potentially run in to GPU height issues. My understanding is that the dual system combo comes with a long riser cable for the second itx system, and you would be able to mount it vertically. So you have one gpu in the standard configuration on the ATX motherboard and the second vertically mounted in the two slots near the case.
This means that the first gpu, in standard configuration, has a maximum height up to the second vertical gpu slot (which is not documented in their technical specifications), not to mention the difficulties of planning a water cooling setup without this information. Information on the maximum height of the gpu, from the pcie slot to the second vertical gpu slot, would be greatly appreciated.
There is also no documentation on the support for the radiator/fan size with the ITX system installed (which should be single 140mm rad/fan and not a 120mmx2 rad/fan ).
GW GN and a BIG THANKS to Chris for loaning the case, (to a team whom people can trust when they need to lean on advice from others).
So the case temps can improve by changing the 3 140mm fans?
Thank you always for the straightforward no-nonsense reviews GN! Been waiting on your review to get the skinny before making up my mind on this one and the Cooler Master H500M. So excited to be doing my first new build since 2013!!!
I have this case, and love everything about it. It was very easy to build in.
Have this OVERPRICED case since March'23 running EVGA Z690, i9-13900K, overhead EVGA liquid cooler , vertical mounted (close to glass panel) EVGA RTX3070, 64GB RAM... runs 12+hors a day @ 34-44C ..looks great, BUT Phantek never responded to any of my inquires on defective components! Had to do my own modifications to fix issues.
I think I'm most excited about this review because it means the comments on every other review won't be asking for a review of this anymore. 😋
Okay, I was more impressed with this case than I was expecting.
I just found out about this case a few hours ago and now i found a new TH-cam channel to be subscribed too! Thanks for the great review man!
I have this case. Yeah, change the fans on it and it improves. Noctua A-15 is a perfect fit in the rear of the case, then use the stock rear fan in the front with the two others.
The sliding plastic on the psu shroud is for routing the gpu calbles!
I Used the Phanteks "Enthoo Mini XL DS" to build a dual system this past spring. 8700k and 1080 ti. I liked the concept but it was a frustrating system to build in and learned a lot while building it. My Previous case was a Cooler master Cosmos 2.. I've been toying with the idea of moving my dual build to this case so that i can get back to one of the pc's using a full ATX board.. I was totally going to make a video about building it.. But by the time i was done i was so relieved of my frustration i had very little interest in opening up the case again.
I actually love that case, used it for my last build. I used the little sliding plate above the PSU for the power going to the graphics card and it looks pretty legit with some nice custom cables.
Man I'd love to see you review the Phanteks Enthoo Mini XL DS. I think it's the cheapest dual system case. Something like a Ryzen 7 matx build in the bottom with an 8700k or 9900k depending on budget in the mitx build up top.
Nintendo released another revision of the DS?!
mjc0961 lol no DS= Dual System.
See, I had the same thought about the Enthoo and how it just felt like a better economic version of this case. However, I remember reading somewhere that there were no maxt MBs that could deliver enough power to fully power the 2700x...Unless you mean the gen 1 17/18/1900 line up?
Retguard well for a streaming/editing pc gen 1 Ryzen would be fine. There's even matx x299 and x399. I haven't looked at gen 2 Ryzen matx boards as I don't see a reason to get them as gen 1 is perfect for my needs at a much cheaper price.
You should switch it. The Intel chip should be the main matx system. It can actually get a decent OC vs Ryzen, and therefore the large space in the main chamber should be used for cooling and better airflow vs the itx chamber.
So much nicer build quality than the CM cases with huge plastic bits...
Yea thats what made me wait for the Evolv X vs the 500p. Although the P is sexy all that plastic...hmmm. Not so appealing.
At last a balanced review on this case. Too many outlets have been over selling this as the perfect case!!
I'm really liking this case a lot, this just might be the case for my new build. Very informative video my friend, keep up the great work.
Glad I went with the Fractal design Meshify c (totally different cases and price points I know). But that extra money went to other components, and now I have extra for some be quiet 140mm fans. Also, Steve I wish you did an ad with the dark rock pro 4 before I did my build so you could have got some kickback. I did use your link for the thermal grizzly and I can vouch for it. If anyone is on the fence about it do it. I idle high 20s low 30s degrees Celsius on 2600x and never go above 40 even under high load.
The top airflow cover is basically Phanteks just doing what owners of the previous generation Evolv did unofficially. The problem was if exhaust fans were placed in the top locations, there wasn’t enough holes to let the air out, so the warm air would go back into the case via any unoccupied fan locations. Apparently Phanteks decided to offer an OEM solution for the problem...
Finally! Awesome work again. Why is it only Gamers Nexus who can do case reviews that are worth a damn?
Still torned about getting this or the lian li dynamic for my next watercool build though :/
Thank you for proving the majority of viewers were not crazy, and did not buy into the hype from a lot of other reviewers.
Love my evolve x, managed to squeeze an Alphacool 420mm and 280mm rad in. Only let down by ridiculous front fan/rad bracket. If buying this case buy some m3 10mm washers to use with front bracket or screws will just pop straight through. Top fan bracket is fine which makes the front ones flimsyness even more annoying. Other let down is psu mounting. Psu just sits on the metal floor of the case. Previous mastercase 5 had a couple of lovely thick rubber strips that the psu sat on. Other than those two gripes, build quality and watercooling support are excellent.
You are serious THE best TH-camr when it comes to all things PC. Thank you
Worth noting, ssd can be mounted the other way so there is no risk of the cable damage, you just need to route the slack cable above and below when closing to prevent tugging when opening the cable cover
I'm pretty sure that sliding bit on the top of the psu shroud is for the GPU power cables if you mount vertically.
They are but guess he didn't try that out.
Still thinking between this and the Define R6, nice to see that i am able to compare both cases with steve's advice now!
People rag on you for only caring about heat management, but you're just looking out for us, at the end of the day; heat is the number one killer of electronics and even reasonable heat kills after many cycles. The cooler, the better, end.
Thank you so much! I have one of these and I will be using the dual system configuration. I am using the ITX system for a FreeBSD NAS.
I am wathcing the Phanteks EvolveX, BQuiet! Dark 700, and Fractal Meshify. Will be using Air cooled, have 1 GPU (RX6900) *and* if I can get a Dark Hero VIII MOBO or similar. Cooling and low Noise are a top priority
Need Help, what would be the optimal fan config for Air cooling in that case? how many fans? will use Noctua NH-D15 for cpu cooler.
bump
The thing is, I'm going to buy this case this fall, the only irritating fact is that I have to buy the 600 mm riser cable and the ITX accessory separate from the case ... just include them for a bit higher price to make it easier for the buyer! geez!
Just remove the dust filter and we have a very nice looking case with fantastic thermals, noice! FYI the stock fan F140MP has very good perf/noise ratio and received very good reviews, that saves you about 60usd for buying aftermarket fans already.
I'd still go with aftermarket fans. The fans are decent but I swapped mine for Phantels own SP fans. Better imo.
good review, been eyeballing a new case since i found out gpu's got even longer then my current and my current is kinda the max for my case :(
so far only this one and the lian li 011/011 dynamic have cought my eye and this dropkicked it to the 011/011 dynamic
Purchased the Evolv X recently sans the dual power supply for $200.00 USD, added the 3 drive sleds $21.00, replaced fans which top out @1200 rpm, with 5 units of black 1500rpm max NF-A14 Noctua chromax fans $125.00, picked up 5 units RGB Halo Lux fan hubs (completely frivolous I know) and have a PCI riser cable coming for $35.00. Battle plan is to power with the EVGA 1200 Supernova P2 ;$159.00 on an anniversary fire sale. Which brings one to $540.00, which is still good value than the $426.00 unit with dual power supply sans all the goodies. Also added the Cable Mod premium cable package which I almost stole for $75.00. Further, will kit this out with the Threadripper 2950x and mobo, dual Samsung 970 Pro M.2 1TB SSDs, dual hard drives 10TB each, hence the extra fans to dump heat. Haven't worked out the water cooling loop yet though...We'll see how it goes but with the 5 Noctuas should be able to lower the temps, to dump some excess heat and make it further up the top of the cooling curve. Nice review, Steve. Cheers
Thanks for the review! There aren't many cases offering vertical GPU mounts that can accommodate 2x 2-slots GPU cards (one them vertical on a riser, the other on the mobo): in most cases the vertical GPU will block the 1st GPU that's on the board, especially when the power connectors are on the top, obliging to mount the vertical GPU closest to the side panel thus creating a heat problem for that GC (must make a move to water cooled GPUs I guess).
I fell in love with the SHIFT X, but reading forum threads online, it seems it's only for custom loop builds. I wished GN would have reviewed that case.
Nah I disagree @ custom loops. U can easily do an air cooled build or a build with an AIO cooler in it.
You really do deserve more subs man! Thanks for the honest review of this case!
Steve, I know this comment is late af an all but can you try this setup again in a P600s? We still haven't seen a review of that case from you guys. P600s seems to solve the air flow issues of the Evolv X while being cheaper. Would be cool to see your verdict with your new thermal methodology.
Very fair sounding review. Definitely a lot of hype for this case, so I'm happy to see a grounded review
You did not understand why the opening at 3:26 is good ...
This is for the one the graphics card cables laid directly down and not as ugly as in the video to the side!
How important are these thermal ratings if you plan on cooling with an AOI and not a Fan/Heatsink? Does airflow become less important?
i have the older version, had to mill out the slots on top of the case because the top would heat up resulting a unhappy 360rad below it. looks like they improved airflow in this edition
This is why I have an Enthoo. Choice over and over. Options, options, options. Included is bays 8 drives, separate from ssd spots, and front drive bays.... lots and lots of room to boot. . . $100. All day long.
airflow?
Awesome review per usual. Only one I found reviewing it with the itx system installed at the same time as the ATX 👌👍
you guys keep criticizing the frontpanel approach for cpu temps with air coolers, but most people with aios will have no problems with those setups. It will also be less dusty, so what's a minus for some people is a plus for others.
We actually didn't really criticize the front panel in this one, first of all, so best to actually write an applicable comment. Secondly, it does still matter -- relative to a good design, a bad design is still going to be worse for *any* cooling solution.
I watched a couple of your case reviews, most cases have a similar design nowadays, you always show the air cooler to make the difference more dramatic.
While you have a point there, there's simply also another side to it. AIO impact will be alot more negligible. Why not mention that?
You try too hard to find something to be "critical". You also show it with your answer to me.
They always show the Air Cooler because it's their standardized Test Bench. Reviewing one case with an AIO and an i7-6700k, and then testing another with an Air Cooler and an FX 8370 or something then saying the second case is shit because they suffered from higher temps would be retarded. Whereas testing every case with the exact same hardware just makes more sense. Something a certain recently interviewed company did not seem to comprehend. That and Air Coolers are still what most people use, simply because they're often cheaper, and a lot of consumers are still leery about the concept of watercooling.
Yes the more enthusiast crowd will lean towards custom loops/AIO's and that'll bypass most issues you would run into with lower airflow cases, but testing with air cooling will do a better job of bringing those types of flaws to light, testing in a way that provides info only applicable to ~50% of viewers is still better than testing in a way that would completely omit that info. If someone buys a case, then builds a custom loop with like 3 rads and says temps never climb over 50°, that doesn't mean that some Average Joe buying the same case and slapping a Hyper 212 Evo on the CPU will get the same results.
Not to mention if they changed their test bench now, any results moving forward would be completely incomparable to previous results, which defeats the purpose of having this much data as a reference for end users to begin with.
still this data is biased against air coolers and might confuse people and lead them to buy a different case, even though they would use aio anyway. Could have mentioned it, but they didn't. Their answer was also a bit too defensive. It's something I don't like and pointed out, don't want to start a fight over it. Still disapointing answer from them. Test method is not convincing to me to make suggestions of a suitable case.....
@@Geryboy666 I'm not denying that their test methodogy is biased against air coolers, but like I said, tesing with air coolers at least provides additional info useable by people who air cool, whereas people who watercool don't have to worry about that info anywhere near as much.
If they tested with watercooling, then people who air cool would be missing crucial information necessary to make an informed decision.
As for not mentioning it, if people are already using an aio - or better yet - a custom loop, chances are they're already aware that they don't have to worry about airflow as much. Watercooling isn't exactly something people jump into without doing some level of research beforehand.
I have the original Evolv ATX, it was decent once you modded the front panel. So basically, the X is a decent case but plan to upgrade the front fans to something with better static pressure capabilities (Corsair MLs or similar) to get the best performance out of it...nice to hear that Phanteks at least partially listened to the community feedback about thermal issues. Also expect to pay extra for basic parts like SSD sleds. Well, at least somebody was willing to point that out, unlike basically any other review on this case....too bad they didn't include them like they did with the original.
What is more suitable for a build with a lot of hard drives; this or the define r6? Both have lots of storage options and possibly looking into liquid cooling down the line. Evolv x seems cooler but louder. Both around the same price.
Awesome review. Pleasantly surprised at the thermals of the case. I honestly thought other reviewers just neglected over it like in the past but waited till your review.
Thanks. I probably will get this case still because I love it's aesthetics
It's a really great case and so easy to build in.
Totally, and the biggest flaw of the previous design (airflow) has mostly been fixed on this one.
I'm planning on doing my first watercooled build (with enough radiator surface area for 1 CPU and 2 GPUs) and right now I'm trying do decide between this case and the Thermaltake View 71. What do you guys think?
I'd say go for the evolv
I am in the same boat as you bro about to go buy all of my stuff in black Friday. Never knew i would be building a 2500$ pc but i am! So i far i have decided to go with the Evolv X let me know what you decide.
@@MrAmerica69420 I decided to go for the Evolv too, it fits my needs better and I think it's gonna look great!
Just got this case! I really like it! Thanks for the review! :D
Nice to see the Phanteks performing right where I thought it would. Ie better than the Fractal cases, around the same as similar priced and of course not as good as cases that use a more open structure.
Been waiting for this! Thanks Steve & GN :)
I am from the future. I came back here seeking data to help myself, and others from my time period, make a decision between the Phanteks Evolv X Case and the Cooler Master H500 (blank). The Steve from my timeline has also reviewed the latter case. In my time period, Steve's opinion is the gospel. So when he says 2 items, that fill the same purpose are OK, it creates a dilemma for system builders throughout the time-space continuum.
i always trusted steve's review and use his guid for buying any product especially cases and coolers. can u do a review on the new noctua's latest fans against its competitors?
My main issue building with this case was you can't put a D5 pump in the bottom of the case if you intend to put a standard fitting 420mm rad 😣
The Corsair Carbide Air 540 is GODLIKE! it's still the best case ever made.
Neat case, wrong size.
That small hole in the psu shroud is excellent for GPU power cables.
amazing case overall!
about to buy this one for my new rig!!
Decent airflow with a beautiful design!
High end setup coming soon with this beauty! I'm highly pumped up!
I'm not buying this case with its PSU though, for now I don't need another rid inside the new rig that I'm buying!