Xilence X1 gaming case

Conclusions

It'd be fair to say that the X1 didn't exactly bowl us over when we first opened the box and feasted our eyes on it. Yet, despite this, the X1 still has a lot going for it.

For starters, the case is practically begging to be modded and the hydraulic door is a feature that could easily be turned into a nice creative facet (how about cutting and painting it so it looks like some teeth? - Ed).

The lack of a reset button is an annoying omission from the X1 case though and is something we hoped never to see in this day and age.

The interior of the case is a bit more problematic, mainly because the heat-shroud is both incredibly ugly and incredibly useless, serving only to funnel noise outwards and achieving no real benefit. Thankfully, the shroud is fully and easily removable, which means a new heatsink can be installed with no restriction other than the size of the case.

Removing the heat-shroud is something we'd definitely recommend to anyone tempted to use the X1 though as it really has no positive effects for the system.


In testing, the case failed to the point of nearing combustion when using a stock Intel cooler and the included heat-shroud, but performed sufficiently when using a decent heatsink and bit of cable management, so while it may not be of interest to PC amateurs, the average bit-tech reader will be able to turn decent performance out of the X1 with only a little fiddling.

Noise-wise the case held up admirably; though it wasn't entirely silent (... or, should that be Xilent? - Ed) it was certainly quiet enough to ignore.


At £45 including VAT in the UK (or $80.62 in the USA from the same site), the Xilence X1 is hard to argue with and is definitely cheap enough for a budding modder to pick up and fiddle with – though serious gamers may be left wanting something else at the end of the day.

All-in-all, the X1 gaming case is an interesting little beastie from Xilence. Its exterior look is a love-it-or-hate-it affair, akin only to Marmite in the way it inspires both anger and adoration, while its interior is an odd mixture of roominess and useless features. Ultimately, it won't be the chassis of choice for everyone, but buyers who do pick one up will be able to turn out some modest performance with a minimum of fuss, meaning the X1 is a decent all-rounder though it excels in nothing at all.

• Build Quality
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

• Ease of Use
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

• Features
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 5/10

• Performance
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

What do these scores mean?