Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X Review

Manufacturer: Phanteks

UK price (as reviewed): £209.99 (inc. VAT)

US price (as reviewed): $199.99 (exc. tax)

In the overall scheme of things, Phanteks hasn't been around nearly as long as the likes of Antec or Cooler Master, yet it's nudged its way to the cutting edge of case design and stayed there. The Enthoo Evolv X, in the company's own words, 'represents the next evolution' of its Evolv case. Externally, it doesn't look much different to your typical Evolv ATX, but the Evolv X has a tweaked design with new features and some that have been borrowed from others in Phanteks' range. If you own an Evolv ATX, you'll definitely notice some big changes too.

Gone are the thumbscrews that hold the tempered glass side panels on, but the Evolv X isn't using ball-tipped pins to pop the new hinged panels in place either. Instead, behind the front door, which does pop-off, two plates are attached to the side panels at right angles and secured to the front of the case using thumb screws. There are positive and negative points to this. On the upside, apart from the hinges the panels are supremely clean with no screws or pins to spoil the view. The downside is that to open your side panels you'll need to remove the front panel to get at those thumbscrews, although we found the panels hold themselves in place fine without them if, like us, you tinker inside regularly.

The front panel, which is hidden by a flip-down cover, includes the usual USB 3.0 ports and audio mini-jacks, buttons to control the RGB lighting on the right, and a centrally placed USB 3.1 Type-C port that will need to be powered by a proper USB 3.1 Gen 2 header on your motherboard - no messing around with USB 3.0 adaptors here; it's the real thing. You'll also notice those top vents, which are beefier than those on previous Evolv cases where airflow has been hampered, especially on the mini-ITX model.

The case is still relatively compact compared to many ATX cases out there despite the feet adding a fair bit to the height. It's fairly even in terms of depth too, both measurements tipping the scales at 52cm. Underneath there's also a PSU dust cover along with rubber pads.

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 240 x 520 x 520 (W x D x H)
  
• Material Aluminium, steel, tempered glass
  
• Available colours Gunmetal grey,  black, silver
  
• Weight 11kg
  
• Front panel Power, 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, headphone, microphone, RGB control
  
• Drive bays 4 x 3.5"/2.5", 6 x 2.5" (6 x 3.5"/2.5" and 3 x 2.5" additional bays available using optional brackets)  
  
• Form factor(s) E-ATX, ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX (dual-system support)
  
• Cooling 3 x 140mm/120mm front fan mounts (2 x 140mm fans included), 1 x 140mm/120mm rear fan mount (1 x 140mm fan included), 3 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm roof fan mounts (fans not included)
  
• CPU cooler clearance 190mm
  
• Maximum graphics card length 435mm
  
• Extras Removable dust filters, RGB LED controller, seven-port PWM fan hub, mini-ITX dual system/vertical GPU mount