Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX Mid Tower Chassis Review @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
Staff member
Joined
May 18, 1997
Messages
55,598
Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX Mid Tower Chassis Review - Today we review the new computer case from Phanteks, the Enthoo EVOLV Mid Tower Chassis. It brings with it full aluminum construction and promises features such as quick release side panels, top mount radiator brackets, a new data drive mounting system, and lots of pretty LEDs in four different colors.
 
This looks like it's going to be just right for my needs.

I've been looking for a decent case that isn't the size of a house with a bunch of drive bays I don't use for a long time but really want to get a dual radiator set-up in. FT05 was the right size but just wasted as I intended watercooling. Before I pull the trigger would a 360 on top and a 280 at the front fit do you think?
 
Wowy wow. I hated the look of the other Phanteks cases, but this is a thing of beauty. 10/10 would build.
 
Twisted Kidney said:
Are there any handles or hand-holds on that thing at all?
Click to expand...

No handles...BUT...as mentioned in the review, you can now lift the case from the top panel and it won't pop off. Just put your fingers under the lip of the top panel in the front and back and lift the case.
 
Super sexy, I like it! $179 though is kinda high. $89 is the most I have ever spent on a case (Antec Sonata). Nowadays $50 is my limit. My Antec 300 was $50 maybe 4 years ago and it's totally been my favorite bang for the buck case. But it's not sexy.
 
Burticus said:
Super sexy, I like it! $179 though is kinda high. $89 is the most I have ever spent on a case (Antec Sonata). Nowadays $50 is my limit. My Antec 300 was $50 maybe 4 years ago and it's totally been my favorite bang for the buck case. But it's not sexy.
Click to expand...
But this case will last several install while your 50$ are cheaply made, with bad fans (if you change them, you have to include the price of the new ones), bad wire management, etc
I don't regret at all the 180$ I've spent on my Enthoo Luxe. Never had such an awesome case to work with. It's solid, everything can be unscrewed (no rivets woohoo), great cooling (Phanteks fans are very quiet and have good air flow), unbeatable cable management and will last a long time.
 
MrPatate said:
But this case will last several install while your 50$ are cheaply made, with bad fans (if you change them, you have to include the price of the new ones), bad wire management, etc
I don't regret at all the 180$ I've spent on my Enthoo Luxe. Never had such an awesome case to work with. It's solid, everything can be unscrewed (no rivets woohoo), great cooling (Phanteks fans are very quiet and have good air flow), unbeatable cable management and will last a long time.
Click to expand...

I'm with you there, my case labs will last a long, long time.
 
I had no idea this was coming, I want it! I've been trying to find a new case for a while but unfortunately all the ones I'm interested are shown off at some trade show or another and never heard from again after that.
 
Looks like a great case!

Just to be clear, no bottom intake fan location?

I need a new case, and this one looks pretty good. Have been primarily considering the Fractal Design Define S.

Would love to see the [H]'S take on that case.
 
BlueSaber80 said:
Sorry I'm old school and I still require the use of 5.25" bays
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with that. We still love you :p

The only thing I currently use my 5.25" bays for is a single fan controller, which I don't even really need. The rest are empty, so I'd happily trade them away for a more spacious interior.

Heck, I don't even need 3.5" bays anymore. Just give me a couple of 2.5" SSD mounting locations and I'm all set. All my storage is on my NAS. No hard drives in any of my non-server builds for almost 5 years.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041707635 said:
Just to be clear, no bottom intake fan location?
Click to expand...

That is correct.


Zarathustra[H];1041707635 said:
I need a new case, and this one looks pretty good. Have been primarily considering the Fractal Design Define S.
Click to expand...

I'll work on that.
 
Iratus said:
This looks like it's going to be just right for my needs.

I've been looking for a decent case that isn't the size of a house with a bunch of drive bays I don't use for a long time but really want to get a dual radiator set-up in. FT05 was the right size but just wasted as I intended watercooling. Before I pull the trigger would a 360 on top and a 280 at the front fit do you think?
Click to expand...

This video should give you a pretty good idea of what you can do. I'm pretty sure you could do a 360 on top and a 280 in front, but you will have to be cognicant of the rad thickness and limiting 3.5in drives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfLJfP0XyaE
 
Looks pretty sweet. May have to buy 1 for my skylake build.
 
In the review, there are "GPU cooling" green boxes pictured at the front of the case.

Is this implying that these locations can be used with AIO liquid coolers for GPUs, that these locations are close enough that the AIO CPU coolers' hose length works?
 
Sludacris7 said:
This video should give you a pretty good idea of what you can do. I'm pretty sure you could do a 360 on top and a 280 in front, but you will have to be cognicant of the rad thickness and limiting 3.5in drives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfLJfP0XyaE
Click to expand...

I have no idea what that guy is talking about "you can't do them simultaneously" in that video. If you install a 240mm radiator / A-I-O cooler in the top (see this picture) there is a TON of room for a 360mm in the front of the case. The mounting holes for fans / radiators are slotted so there is no reason at all the jam a 240mm (in the top) that far forward in the first place.

Momo said:
In the review, there are "GPU cooling" green boxes pictured at the front of the case. Is this implying that these locations can be used with AIO liquid coolers for GPUs, that these locations are close enough that the AIO CPU coolers' hose length works?
Click to expand...

Yes, that is exactly what it means. If you have an A-I-O cooler with shorter hoses, mount the rad in a push/pull and that will move the unit closer to your GPU.
 
Great looking case, it moves to the top of my next new case list. Oh, and nice review.....
 
Dirty Butler said:
I'm with you there, my case labs will last a long, long time.
Click to expand...

My first Lian Li case lasted several of my builds, and is still being used by the friend that I gave it to. The case is about ten years old now, and despite a few scratches, the case could still be used as the base of a good build.

Eventually I'd like to get a case lab's case. I'm sure It would last me for generations of builds.
 
Burticus said:
Super sexy, I like it! $179 though is kinda high. $89 is the most I have ever spent on a case (Antec Sonata). Nowadays $50 is my limit. My Antec 300 was $50 maybe 4 years ago and it's totally been my favorite bang for the buck case. But it's not sexy.
Click to expand...

Enthoo Pro-M with the same interior and an Enthoo Pro style exterior will be around that price and will make you probably want to forget you ever owned that Sonata.
 
I like the case but I don't think I'd be a big fan of how those HDD's are hanging there. Certainly makes for an easy install.
 
10e said:
Enthoo Pro-M with the same interior and an Enthoo Pro style exterior will be around that price and will make you probably want to forget you ever owned that Sonata.
Click to expand...

I had the original Antec Sonata back in the day. That piano black finish fingerprinted like hell, the front door broke after not too long, and it was never particularly quiet as it claimed to be.

Not one of my favorite cases over the years :p
 
Steve said:
If you install a 240mm radiator / A-I-O cooler in the top (see this picture) there is a TON of room for a 360mm in the front of the case. The mounting holes for fans / radiators are slotted so there is no reason at all the jam a 240mm (in the top) that far forward in the first place.
Click to expand...

Cheers Steve. The 360 at the front will work for my needs. Bit messier for the loop as that'll be for the gpu's but it will still work.

Might motivate me to use rigid tubes to improve the look I guess (though I never know why I care as my case is down at me feet with the case window facing the wall)
 
I'm actually making a strong consideration for this case, after looking at Fractal (Define S/R5).
The open design of the S in particular was initially appealing, but SPCR reported vibration with the vertical HDD mounting (while TR did not), so I would be taking on some vibration risk it seems.

The cantilever design of the HDD cages in the Evolve ATX is a compromise to reduce cage footprint. I think if you need any more than say 3 HDDs (two bottom, one cantilever), you should probably consider a conventional case anyway.
 
BlueSaber80 said:
Sorry I'm old school and I still require the use of 5.25" bays
Click to expand...

Yeah, so this case doesn't alow you to install a DVD or Blu-ray drive? I guess you could just connect an external disk drive,
but I would prefer to have an internal one.
 
mentok1982 said:
Yeah, so this case doesn't alow you to install a DVD or Blu-ray drive? I guess you could just connect an external disk drive,
but I would prefer to have an internal one.
Click to expand...

I have an ODD on the server, use that to share .iso files on the network. No need for optical drives anymore for my machine. The HTPCs have ODDs for watching DVDs and Blurays, but even that is getting rare considering streaming, digital, etc.
 
I use odd drives at least weekly . To omit this option would make me use a usb port , one of the two offered .
 
So, I placed my order as soon as phanteks had a pre-order available at their store. They sent me an email saying anthracite gray is delayed even further than black version and asked if I wanted to switch to black. They did not give a timetable for when they would send the gray...:mad:
 
FYI I'm sad.

Phanteks Support
The case probably will not be available again until late September at the earliest
 
vperez said:
Do you think the top panel restricts airflow to a top mounted radiator?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is an improvement over the mATX version, but I have read on some of the UK forums that air gets trapped inside and they see about 6 degree difference in temps if they remove a side panel.

I cancelled my order with Phanteks because they basically said the gray may never be released here and they didn't really seem to care that I had already planned my build and sleeved my cables to match the gray. I'm not going to pay $195 for a black case that wasn't what I wanted. Especially when the Fractal Define S is basically the same case (except steel instead of aluminum).

I'm kind of going to boycott Phanteks because of this whole ordeal. They wasted my entire summer in which I have had a lot of time to work on my build and wc it. Now I don't have a case, and the only mid-sized case my rad 280+360 rads will work in is the S...which costs more now than it did 2 months ago when I ordered the ATX...
They should pay for the international shipping to fulfill their obligation.
 
Screw this case. I kept checking the where to buy every week and it listed newegg, tigerdirect ect so I would check them and it was never there. Now I found out they were only on their own store which is not linked from the main site and they are already sold out with more at the end of September.
 
I've been looking at alternates - and I'm probably rolling with the Lian Li PC-B16B - which employs a similar hard drive mechanism.

Doesn't have the behind mobo SSD mounting, but for SSDs - I honestly don't care how they are placed. I'll remove all but two of the HDD trays, remove the 5.25 bay, and stick my 2 hard drives at the very top. This will still give me clear 2x120mm fan flow to my GPU. It's not quite as slick as the Phanteks, but it's an alternative for me. Note - I'm running an air-cooling setup with no intention to water cool :p

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-b16/
You can see if it will work for you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top