Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Full-Tower Case Review

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Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Full-Tower Case Review
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By Julian Duque

Manufacturer: Phanteks Co.
Product Name: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Full Tower Chassis
Model Number: PH-ES614L_BK
UPC: 886523300236
Price As Tested: $149.99 ( Amazon l Newegg )

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Phanteks.

A few months ago Phanteks released the Enthoo Pro, a case that Benchmark Reviews concluded as being a game changer in the case market. Prior to the Enthoo Pro, Phanteks had already released a case that was praised by many enthusiasts as the most water cooler friendly case released in 2013, the Enthoo Primo.. With the release of the Enthoo Pro, Phanteks had a price gap to fill in it’s Enthoo line-up, leading to the release of the Enthoo Luxe, the case which I will be reviewing today.

Like many European companies, Phanteks is more concerned with the build quality of it’s products than with anything else. Starting from their fans all the way to their cases, I can almost guarantee that any of their products will last you a long time, but if my advice is not enough to convince you then the 5 year warranty they include in all of their products probably will.

Surprisingly the Enthoo Luxe is Phantek’s third case. What is no surprise is that it is packed with features as seen below. If are looking for a more detailed set of specifications for water-cooling we recommend that you jump ahead to the dedicated water-cooling section of this review.

Features:

As found on Phanteks.com

– Dual removable hard drive cages
– 2x removable Drop-N-Lock SSD brackets
– Fully equipped with dust filters (1x top, 1x front, 2x bottom)
– Removable top mesh panel for easy fan installation and dust filter cleaning
– Compartment for fan installation in top panel
– Clean cable management using Phanteks’ pre-installed Hoop-N-Loop cable ties
– Removable PSU cover
– Mod friendly structure uses screws NOT rivets
– 10 color ambient lighting controller
– 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, microphone, 3.5mm audio jack

Specifications:

Courtesy Phanteks.com

Dimension	235 mm x 560 mm x 550 mm (W x H x D)
Form Factor	Full Tower Chassis
Material(s)	Aluminum faceplates, Steel Chassis
Motherboard Support	ATX, EATX, uATX, SSI EEB
Front I/O	2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, Mic, Headphone
Side Window	Yes, split-window design
PSU Cover	Yes
Expansion & Drive Bays
Expansion slots	8
External 5.25″	3
Internal 3.5″	6 (2x 3 HDD cages)
Internal 2.5″	7 (2x 3 HDD cages + 2x SSD brackets )
Cooling	120mm fan	140mm fan	200mm fan
Front	2x	2x	1x (included)
Top	3x	3x (1x included)	1x
Rear	1x	1x (included)
Bottom	2x	1x
In front of HDD Cages	2x
Clearance
Graphic card	347 mm
	338 mm minus reservoir diameter (with reservoir bracket installed)
	472 mm (without HDD Cages)
CPU cooler	193 mm
Cable management	27 mm (39 mm at PSU area)
Power Supply	215.9 mm (with bottom fan or radiator installed)
Packaging Information	PH-ES614L
Package Dimension	325mm x 635mm x 632mm (WxHxD)
Net Weight	13.9 Kg
Gross Weight	16 Kg
Warranty
Length	5 Years Limited

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Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Case Exterior Features
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Let’s begin our tour of the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe by looking at the exterior of the case. The first thing I noticed about the Enthoo Luxe is how it encompasses both the designs from the Enthoo Primo and the Enthoo Pro to form a very appealing mixture of it’s predecessors. Like the Pro we find four 5.25″ optical drive bays from which one of them is really a stealth cover for your front I/O panel. Like the Primo we also find an LED strip that follows the top and front vessels, however, on the Luxe, this LED strip is multicolored and can be found on both sides of the case.

The Phanteks Enthoo Luxe really showcases how a case can be both elegant and still get a lot of attention from enthusiasts. The front is simply adorned by a metallic figure which covers some of the mesh that feeds the front intake fans. This metallic piece can be removed by unscrewing it from the back of the front panel. To access the back of the front panel you have to remove the bottom dust filter and pull from the access hole. The side panel is plain and simple, however it does have a bit of a gloss finish, really elegant in my opinion.

Like the front, the back also has a filter at the bottom but this time it’s for your power supply. We also find 8 expansion slots, a reservoir mount, and a 140 mm fan which you can replace with a 120 mm fan. We also find screws that hold in place the top part of the body meaning that it can be easily removed for your needs. You may also notice that there is a reasonable amount of color shifting between the back panel and the top panel.

The bottom is covered completely by two large fine mesh dust filters that can be easily accessible as the longer part can be removed from the front, and not the back. We also see mounting holes for two 120 mm fans or one 140 mm fan. The rubber feet will guarantee you don’t scratch your table, as the Enthoo Luxe weights 16 kg without a system installed in it. Pretty heavy, specially for a case of it’s size, but usually with cases I can relate heavy to quality

At the top there is a plastic meshed cover that also acts as a top filter to prevent dust from settling inside the Enthoo Luxe. The cover simply pops out by pressing on one side and the overall quality of this cover is great as it is very sturdy and it can be easily cleaned. The entire top panel itself can also be removed but first you will have to remove the front panel. Both of these panels are made of a very sturdy plastic that is covered by a 1 mm aluminum sheet.

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Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Case Exterior Details
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A first look at the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe reveals that without the top and front panels, this is the same chassis as the Enthoo Pro, at least on the exterior. But let’s take a closer look at what really sets both of them apart.

The front Input / Output panel can be found behind a stealth cover right on top of the 5.25″ bays. It features two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a headphone and a microphone jack, a reset switch, and a button that allows you to select from 10 different colors of the included LEDs. All of these are clearly labeled for your convenience.

Unlike the Enthoo Pro, the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe is adorned by a sand blasted finish which screams quality. This makes the Enthoo Luxe a bit more shiny, and unlike the aluminum texture found on the Pro, it isn’t a fingerprint magnet making it easier to clean. This sand blasted finish can only be found on the front and top panel; the side panels as well as the back all have a more glossy finish.

Adorned by an LED, the power switch is far away from the reset switch, which is great as I always find myself screaming after I accidentally press the reset switch when I am in a hurry to turn off my system. The LED changes color along with the rest of the included lights, this small details really show why Phanteks is quickly becoming a leading case manufacturer.

Removing the top filter the mounting holes for three 120 mm, three 140 mm, and one 200 mm fans are revealed. All the mounting holes are elongated for better radiator compatibility. If you really wanted to you could make yourself more mounting holes for one 200 mm fan as there is enough width clearance. We also find cable routing holes along both sides of the fan mounts.

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Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Case Interior Features
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On paper, the specifications of the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe are more than compelling for a case, even at this price point. This is not surprise as just the size of the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe hints at what it can hold inside. The body of the Enthoo Luxe is the same as the Pro; I do not really mind this at all, as the Pro is a case that is featured pack, but this may lead to competition within Phanteks lines of products.

When removing the front panel be careful with the LED cables as you will have to unplug the power cable that runs along the panel. Behind there is support for two 120 mm fans, two 140 mm fans, and one 200 mm fan which is already included. The only elongated holes are for the two 120 mm fans, so radiator support is limited to 240 mm unless you are willing to drill.

Although the Enthoo Luxe only has 8 expansion slots, it supports motherboards with form factors from mini-ITX up to SSI-CEB (although you would cover all the rubber grommets and will not be able to use the bottom PCI slot). For E-ATX and larger motherboards you will have to install motherboard standoffs (which are included), as well as for slim-ATX form factors. For regular ATX, micro-ATX, and mini-ITX all standoffs are already installed. The interior is all black with the exception of the fans and the Phanteks logo found on the bottom right.

Cable management is horrible in this case. There is silicon rubber grommets everywhere, velcro straps to organize your cables, and more tie down points than with any other case I have reviewed below the $200 mark. There is also enough space in the back to fit cables from two power supplies, but sadly, the Enthoo Luxe only supports one. The CPU cutout hole is big and there is enough spacing between the motherboard and the motherboard tray to route a lot of cables. If you are a first time builder you will clearly have a good time building within the Enthoo Luxe.

Just like Batman, Phanteks likes to keep it stealthy. Starting with the front I/O that is hidden as a 5.25″ bay, this concept is kept inside with the power supply and the storage drives that are both hidden. The power supply cover can be easily removed from the back with three thumb screws and has a cable grommet on the front to route PCI cables. On top you have a blank canvas to velcro some SSDs or to simply get creative.

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Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Case Interior Details
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When I first opened the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe I thought it would be an easy task to review the inside because I had already taken a look at the Enthoo Pro. However, after looking at the design for a second time, I noticed that this case has a lot of features that needed to be mentioned. Let’s see what else I can find within the Enthoo Luxe.

The first thing I noticed when I was opening the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe is these screws that hold in place both side panels. They have these rubber washers that prevent the screws from scratching the lid of the side panels You probably are thinking that it is not a great deal, but this really shows how much thought puts into their products. They can also be found holding in place the power supply cover, but not in the drive cages.

If you are wondering how the Enthoo Luxe handles SSD storage, on the back of the motherboard tray there are two 2.5″ drive mounts, unlike the Pro which only had one. They can be removed by simply sliding them from the rubber mounts. The bottom bracket can also be replaced with a two in one 2.5″ drive mount that is optional, which allows you to have a total of 3 SSDs mounted on the back of the motherboard tray.You can get the two in one drive bracket for $8.99 (Newegg).

The back also features a fan hub that is powered by a SATA connector. You may have noticed that they are all 3-pin headers but there is enough spacing for 4-pin fans. You can still control fan speed by using a PWM header that plugs into the motherboard. The fan hub can also be lowered for your convenience.

Below the power supply cover we find enough clearance to fit power supplies up to 355 mm in length, which I have yet to observe a power supply that big. If you decide to populate the bottom fan mounts you will be left with clearance for power supplies of 215 mm in length, which is still plenty for most power supplies with a few exceptions. There are also 6 rubber feet that prevent your power supply from being scratched and provide some vibration dampening.

In the back towards the front there is 6 more storage bays which are held in place by two removable cages. The plastic trays can be easily removable from the back and are able to hold both 2.5″ and 3.5″ drives. The cages can be removed by simply unscrewing the six thumb screws at the top, middle, and bottom of the cages. Removing the cages allows for radiator support at the front, unfortunately that means that if you decide to install a radiator at the front you are left with no 3.5″ drive bays.

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Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Water Cooling Specifications
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Because the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe carries on so many water cooling features I have decided to make one section dedicated solemnly to explain compatibility. You can check the water cooling table at the end of this section for a quick glance, however we suggest you read this page entirely if you are planning on modding or working on a complex water cooling loop within the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe.

The place were you want to get your biggest radiator is at the top. There is support for a 360 mm and a 420 mm radiator with height clearance of up to 38 mm until it meets the top plastic cover. If you are planning on doing a push/pull set up I would suggest you use the top portion only for fans and the bottom to mount your radiator and the rest of the fans. There is also mounting holes for a 200 mm fan and you could probably drill yourself holes for another one,

My biggest gripe with the Enthoo Luxe is that at the front there is only support for a 240 mm radiator. now you could easily remove the optical drive cages which are secured with screws and make yourself support for up to a 360 mm radiator at the front. The front mounting holes for a 280 mm fans are not elongated and this really limits compatibility with radiators if you are not willing to use a drill. With a 240 mm radiator installed at the bottom you still have 63.5 mm of clearance, without it you can get up to 152.4 mm of clearance for a very thick radiator, or simply install your pump here. This does mean that you will be left without 3.5″ drive cages if you are mounting a radiator on the front or the bottom.

Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Water Cooling Specifications

 

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Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Case Accessories
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Phanteks was kind enough to send some of their optional accessories for the Enthoo Line of cases and I will be doing a small overview of each one of them in this section. I also included the accessories that originally come with the case which as you will see are really nice at this price point.

Included with the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe we find some zip ties, two extra velcro straps for the back, a pump and a cylindrical reservoir brackets, and a multi-language manual that will probably tell you more about this case than I will. The manual even goes as far as to tell you how to disassemble the case completely, if that is what you desire. The toolbox is were thing start to get ridiculous. When was the last time your case brought along a toolbox?

The reservoir bracket can be installed right next to the drive cages. When not installed you can also use this place to mount two 120 mm fans next to the drive cages. Very considerate from Phanteks to include so much support for fans, as this allow for variation within owners of this case. You can also mount a reservoir towards the back next to the expansion bays.

Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Optional Accessories

The following accessories can be found online and are compatible with the Enthoo series of cases from Phanteks with the exception of the LEDs which are only compatible with the Enthoo Luxe as of this moment. If you want a full list of all of Phanteks products follow this link; they are not that many as Phanteks is relatively new to the market but expect that list to get pretty long.

Probably my favorite of these accessories are the waterproof multicolor LED strips that come as 1 meter or 2 meter strips, these will change colors accordingly with the rest of the LEDs of your case. Unfortunately they are only available for the Enthoo Luxe at this moment, but we do expect Phanteks to release more products that will be compatible with this unique LED setup. Currently they are priced at $19.99 (Newegg) for the 1 meter version and $24.99 (Newegg) for the 2 meter version.

So you are probably already thinking of doing a push/pull system with so many fans that you are worried about not having enough fan headers . Fortunately Phanteks also sells a PWM fan hub that is very similar to the one included with the Enthoo Luxe. The hub can be easily screwed into any of the Enthoo line of cases, but it can also be installed in any case for your convenience. The fan hub is powered by a Sata connector and is controlled by a PWM plug that leads to your motherboard, allowing you to control 6 extra fans from a single Sata connector. This very cool addition is priced at $19.99 (Newegg).

Just when you thought the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe couldn’t get more water-cooling friendly they sent me another pump bracket. The Phanteks Enthoo Luxe does have support for both pumps at the bottom, but you will probably want to remove or cut down the size of the PSU cover as it will interfere with the tubing coming off from here. To install the brackets you will also have to remove both hard drive cages. One of the brackets is already included, but if you want the extra one it retails for $7.99 (Newegg).

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Building a System With Phanteks Enthoo Luxe
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The trend usually goes that the bigger the case, the easier it is to build a system within it. Unfortunately I do not have a complex water cooling set up to cram into the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe, butI am pretty confident that building such system should be a breeze within the Enthoo Luxe. I should note that building the following system took me less than 20 minutes, including cable management.

Hard drive installation is completely tool-less. Just simply take one of the trays out, insert the hard drive and close the tray. This unique wing like design is probably my favorite among the many I have seen. Plain simply because there is no having to flex the plastic or pieces that magically fall off when you are trying to install a hard drive. There is also support for 2.5″ storage devices.

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With support for graphics cards of 340 mm of length I decided to install my old HD 5770 with the supporting bracket that makes it longer than it needs to be. The only problem was routing a PCI cable through the power supply cover rubber grommet, it didn’t look as aesthetically pleasing, but with individually sleeved cables, your mileage may vary.

Something curious is that the rear CPU back plate access hole is so big that our slim-ATX motherboard didn’t cover it entirely. Cable management was a breeze, even as a quick job we still managed to get every cable looking neat. Honestly, there is nothing bad I can say about building within the Enthoo Luxe. Maybe I should mention that later as a con, building in this case is too easy!

Our finished system was quite simply remarkable. I did run into a little bit of trouble trying to install the included LEDs as they were too heavy and would fall off, however using some extra tape I managed to keep them from falling. I really enjoy looking at the case and not seeing any unsettling power supply cables or hard drives, as they are hidden. Right on top of the Phanteks Logo shown in the smaller window there is some blank space that you could probably use to mount an SSD and still manage to show it off.

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Full-Tower Case Final Thoughts
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Just like the rest of the Enthoo line, the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe is a success. It has plenty of features, focused mainly on water-cooling and mod friendly ventures that will most likely attract many enthusiasts. If water-cooling is not your thing, the Enthoo Luxe offers support for air coolers of up to 193 mm of height. But like all cases, there are a few details to be corrected; there is a noticeable color change between the side panels and the sand blasted aluminum cover of the top and front panels. Also, the power supply cover should have rubber grommets on the top and not on the front to allow for tubing to run from the pump mount location to the rest of the case. The included accessories are great, with a top of the line toolbox to hold all your screws, however the optional LEDs didn’t really stick very well, this was easily fix with some clear tape. We are aware that Phanteks is releasing more cases later on this year, so stick around for our reviews on the upcoming Phanteks mini XL and Evolv cases, as well as for any upcoming Phanteks products.

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Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Conclusion
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With support for many different water-cooling configurations, there is no limit to what you can do with the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe. With 330 mm of clearance for graphics card, 8 expansion slots, and motherboard compatibility with up to SSI-CEB you will probably find the Enthoo Luxe more than enough to handle almost any system you throw at it. For a case of so many features, it would have been ideal to allow for two power supplies to be installed, however at this price point I do not think it is possible, and it is fair that they only include one, specially with bigger power supplies entering the market everyday.

Phanteks just found a way to make a very professional and elegant looking case look like it’s holding a gaming system. The multi-colored LEDs are exceptional, and with the optional internal LEDs color matching will be a breeze. Due to the power supply cover the double window design of the side panel doesn’t show any unnecessary cables and really gives the Enthoo Luxe a very stealthy theme to it. Overall, the Enthoo Luxe is eye candy once you turn it on.

Probably the strongest point in this case is the build quality. It was the first thing we noticed when we received it, and weighting 14 Kg this thing packs a lot of hard steel. Aside from the body, the fans, drive cages and hard drive trays are all very sturdy, but even the screws that hold in place the side panels have rubber washers. The only problem I see with the Enthoo Luxe is that the included LEDs are non-removable, and these can fail over time. But with a 5 year warranty, I am pretty sure Phanteks has taken this into consideration.

Building within the Enthoo Luxe was a total joy. There is plenty of space, and rubber grommets that should make even your first time build a complete breeze. If you are a first time builder and are not sure how to install a component, I recommend you take a look at the manual as it guides you throughout your build in a very detailed manner. The velcro straps and ample space in the back really make building a lot easier, and faster.

My main concern with the Enthoo Luxe is it’s similarity with the Enthoo Pro. Priced for $149.99 ( Amazon l Newegg ), the Enthoo Luxe does offer a lot of features, a lot more than the competition. But with just a few differences including the extra space at the top, the sand blasted finish, and the included LEDs, the Enthoo Pro is still a better deal. However, if you just want the best of the best, and you find the included multi-colored LEDs fascinating like I did, then you will find that the Enthoo Luxe is the case for you.

Pros:

+ Sand Blasted Finish
+ Tool-less drive installation
+ Very rigid structure
+ Support for SSI-CEB form factors
+ Included multi-colored LEs
+ Ample water-cooling compatibility

Cons:

– Shares the same chassis as the Enthoo Pro
– Power Supply cover does not have rubber grommets for tubing

Ratings:

• Performance: 9.5
• Appearance: 9.5
• Construction: 9.75
• Functionality: 9.75
• Value: 9.00

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Final Score: 9.5 out of 10.
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