By Meng Vang
Manufacturer: Phanteks Co.
Product Name: Enthoo Evolv ITX Special Edition
Model Number: PH-ES215P_WT
UPC: 886523300564
Price As Tested: MSRP $79.99
Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Phanteks.
When we think of high-end computers, we normally think of computers with large fancy cases with a ton of LED fans and lighting. These high-end computers are most likely overpopulated with too many HDD and ODD bays, which are often left untouched by the average computer user. The same can be said about ATX motherboards as many computer users have no need to utilize all seven expansion slots simultaneously. As of today, high-end computers can be built in a small form factor using ITX motherboards along with an ITX computer case.
The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX, released earlier this year, became a very popular case for small water cooling builds thanks to its great features and water cooling flexibility. To make things better, Phanteks announced their new Enthoo Evolv ITX Special Edition case which comes in two colors; black with red interior or white with black interior. Benchmark Reviews will be taking a look at the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX SE in white and black, so let’s go ahead and see what this special edition case has to offer.
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Case Specifications
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Dimension
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230 mm x 375 mm x 395 mm (W x H x D)
9.1 in x 14.8 in x15.6 in |
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Form Factor
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Mini ITX Tower Chassis
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Material(s)
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Steel plates, Plastic, Steel chassis
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Motherboard Support
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Mini ITX
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Front I/O
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2x USB 3.0, Mic, Headphone, Reset
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Side Window
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Yes
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| Expansion & Drive Bays | |||
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Expansion slots
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2
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Internal 3.5″
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2 (1 slot for upgrade)
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Internal 2.5″
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1 (1 slot for upgrade)
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Cooling
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120mm fan
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140mm fan
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200mm fan
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Front
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2x
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2x | 1x (included) |
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Top
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2x
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2x | – |
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Rear
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1x
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1x | – |
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Liquid Cooling
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120mm radiator
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140mm radiator
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Front
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Up to 240
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– | |
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Top
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Up to 240
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Up to 280 | |
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Rear
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120
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140 | |
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Clearance
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Graphic card
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330 mm (13 in)
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CPU cooler
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200 mm (7.9 in)
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Cable management
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28 mm (1.1 in)
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Radiator (Top)
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120mm formfactor: 74 mm (2.9 in)
140mm formfactor: 54 mm (2.1 in) |
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Packaging Information
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PH-ES215P
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Package Dimension
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310 mm x 480 mm x 460 mm (WxHxD)
12.2 in x 18,9 in x 18.1 in |
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Net Weight
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5,4 kg (12 lbs)
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Gross Weight
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8 kg (17.7 lbs)
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Warranty
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Length
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5 Years Limited
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Taking a look at the included accessories, we have the installation guide, a few zip ties for cable management, and some screws for mounting storage devices and the motherboard into the case. A few extra thumbscrews are also included. It would have been nice to see a proper toolbox included with the Evolv ITX SE to store these accessories, just like some of Phanteks higher-end cases. Also note that a pump bracket is not included so it will have to be purchased separately.
On the front of the case is a nice glossy and reflective white finish. Front panel ports are located at the top of the case for easy access and a LED light strip is located near the bottom. The front panel can be easily removed, but we will take a look at this in the next section.
It is great to see a fully ventilated back as cooling is becoming such a big deal for today’s standards. Either a 120mm or 140mm fan can be installed at the rear without compromising space. Water cooling retention holes are not present on the Evolv ITX SE.
The dark tinted side panel really makes the Evolv ITX SE stand out from the crowd. It is large enough to showcase the internal components, such as a nice reservoir for example. Removing the side panel can be done by taking off the thumbscrews at the rear, but note that these are not captive thumbscrews.
The top of the case has a very slick and minimalistic design. The only ventilation we can see here are the ones near the side panels, which may seem restrictive to some users. The power button is located at the top for easy access.
The Evolv ITX SE stands on four tall rubberized feet. This prevents the power supply from suffocating while allowing it to intake a good amount of air. There is also a dust filter that can be easily removed for cleaning.
Let’s go into the next section and take a look at the interior of the case.
The interior of the Evolv ITX SE is very simple. A large motherboard cutout is available so there is no need to take out the motherboard just to replace the CPU cooler. Rubber grommets are included for cable management and the power supply can be seen through the cutout on the power supply housing chamber. Phanteks has also included their multifunctional mid-plate near the front of the case. This bracket is removable but can be useful for hiding power cables leading to the graphics card. It can also mount a water pump, reservoir, and an SSD or HDD with a separate mounting bracket.
Taking a look at the back, Velcro straps are available for cable management. The power supply housing also includes an HDD cage which is also removable. Two 3.5″ drive bays are included along with a single drop-N-lock bracket for 2.5″ drives closer to the top of the case.
Removing the front panel reveals the large dust filter and a 200mm pre-installed fan. The dust filter can be easily removed by popping it off, allowing access to the 200mm fan.
Once the dust filter and fan has been removed, two 120mm fans or a 240mm radiator can be mounted at the front. No 5.25″ drive bays are present with the Evolv ITX SE in order to give room for a 240mm radiator at the front. Keep in mind that when installing a front radiator with fans, the multifunctional mid-plate and the bottom HDD cage must be removed.
In the next section, we will dive deeper to see what other features the Evolv ITX SE has to offer.
The front panel ports include two USB 3.0 ports, standard headphone and microphone jacks, a reset button which doubles as the HDD activity LED, and a power button located at the top of the chassis. The power button does not illuminate when turned on because the LED is actually located on the front near the bottom of the Evolv ITX SE.
The front 5mm LED is interchangeable and is located just below the front 200mm front intake fan. It can be removed and swapped for a different color LED if needed. On the white Evolv ITX SE, the LED illuminates white.
Taking a closer look at the multifunctional mid-plate, we can clearly see there is a mount for an SSD/HDD bracket. It uses a drop-N-lock mechanism for easy removal and installation of the storage drive. Below the multifunctional bracket, there is a large cutout in the power supply housing to give room for a pump and reservoir if they are mounted on the bottom of the case. Of course, the HDD cage would have to be removed.
The HDD caddies can easily mount 3.5″ drives without any screws. Mounting 2.5″ drives will require four screws for installation. The HDD caddies can be easily inserted back into the HDD cage and the entire cage can be removed to make room for a 240mm radiator at the front of the case. Keep in mind there are only two 3.5″ drive caddies in the Evolv ITX SE.
SSD drives can be screwed into the SSD drop-N-lock bracket. There is just one drop-N-lock mount located behind the motherboard tray and another one on the multifunctional mid-plate. Unfortunately, only one drop-N-lock bracket is included with the Evolv ITX. Using right-angled power and SATA cables may not be suitable for storage devices mounted in these locations.
Let’s go ahead and build a system with the Evolv ITX SE after seeing all the great features it has to offer.
With its simple and minimalistic looks, the Evolv ITX SE looks great as a media center PC or just a small computer for LAN events. In this build, I will be focusing on building a basic media center computer with the Corsair H55 water cooling unit and a Z97 based motherboard. I will also be taking a look at the cable management system to see how conveniently the cables can be wired in the case. Let’s take a look at the finished build.
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Motherboard: Gigabyte Z97N-WIFI
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System Memory: 2x4GB 1600MHz DDR3
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Processor: Intel Pentium G3258 @ 4.8GHz
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Audio: Realtek ALC892
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Video: PNY GeForce GTX 650
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Disk Drive 1: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB SSD
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Enclosure: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX SE White
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PSU: Corsair CX430M
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Monitor: HP 23bw 23″ IPS display
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Operating System: Windows 8.1 Professional 64-Bit
I was very satisfied at how clean the interior looked after getting all the cables tied up and hidden. The Corsair H55 water cooling unit fits perfectly without a problem, but a large air cooler like the Noctua NH-D15 would have been perfectly fine as well since the Evolv ITX SE has 200mm of space for a CPU cooler. 330mm of space was available for long graphics cards and the power cables leading to the graphics card could be hidden behind the multifunctional mid-plate. Using the drop-N-lock bracket, the SSD was mounted onto the mid-plate without a problem and everything looked great through the tinted side panel window.
The included Velcro straps cleaned up most of the cables behind the motherboard tray. Cables could be hidden from view under the power supply housing without having to zip tie them together. Because I was not using the HDD cage, those could be later removed to allow more room for a larger power supply or just to give the power supply cables more room to bend and flex. With the large CPU cutout on the motherboard tray, swapping out any CPU cooling unit should not be a problem in the future.
The top radiator bracket, also included in the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX and Enthoo Pro M, makes installing a top 240mm or a 280mm radiator much easier. Removing this bracket can be done by unscrewing four silver screws. Once the radiator is installed onto the bracket, simply slide the bracket back into the case with the motherboard already installed. Two 120mm or 140mm fans would also fit here. Phanteks has designed this bracket so the radiator and fans do not interfere with the motherboard components.
The overall build was very straight forward and allowed adequate airflow to the internal components. The large 200mm fan at the front was positioned to cool not only the upper portion of the case, but also the power supply housing where hard drives could be installed.
This may not be the smallest ITX case since it is just as large as a standard micro-ATX case. However, the potential to add a custom water cooling unit, a tall CPU cooler, and a beefy graphics card all in this compact ITX case does make up for its larger size. Let’s go ahead and finish up with my final thoughts and conclusion in the next section.
The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX SE is a great case for what it has to offer in this price category. Because of this, it is now possible to have a custom water cooling build in a small form factor without having to sacrifice desk space due to a large case. The Evolv ITX SE is really geared towards water cooling setups and towards the consumers who do not want all the clunky HDD and ODD cages. Today, a single high capacity HDD can store large amounts of data and software can be downloaded online without having to depend on CD/DVD’s. Computer users looking for a small computer case with water cooling potential or just a good looking computer to put in the living room would be very happy with the Evolv ITX SE.
Being able to fit a 240mm or a 280mm at the top, a 240mm radiator or a 200mm fan at the front, and a 120mm or 140mm fan in the rear of the case allows the internal components to stay nice and cool. Ventilation holes are also on the power supply housing to allow cool air from the front intake fan to cool the graphics card. The top ventilation does seem a little restrictive for exhaust, but air can still escape through the small ventilation at the top and through the rear of the case.
The top of the case does not have a lot of ventilation in order to maintain a clean look throughout the unit. The white exterior really makes a nice complement to the dark tinted side panel window and the single white LED fan I installed on the H55 looks really nice behind the tinted window. With its simple exterior design, the overall looks of the case may seem too basic for some computer users but at the same time gives it a modern and stealthy look.
Build quality of the Evolv ITX SE is better than what I expected. The entire structure is rather sturdy even without the side panels installed. Cable management cutouts on the motherboard are in the correct places making it easier to route cables to the motherboard and SSD. The radiator bracket is a great feature to add into an ITX case, but I would have liked to see an easier way to remove it without having to take off both side panels in order to remove the screws holding the bracket in place.
The Evolv ITX SE does exactly what it was advertised to do. There is a lot of flexibility for water and air cooling, but utilizing the front of the case for a radiator with fans or a pump and a reservoir will give access to installing only one storage device. This is because the multifunctional mid-plate and the HDD cage in the power supply housing must be removed allowing only one storage device to be installed; just something to keep note. Aside from that, the HDD cages are removable to allow more room for the power supply cables and some users will be very thankful for not having any 5.25″ ODD bays.
As of September 2015, the Evolv ITX SE is expected to hit the market at a price of $79.99. Comparing it to something like the BitFenix Prodigy or the Corsair Obsidian Series 250D, the Evolv ITX SE may not provide much storage potential but does offer greater flexibility in terms of water cooling at a reasonable price.
+ Removable HDD cage
+ Slick and simple exterior design
+ Excellent water cooling capabilities
+ Excellent cable management system
+ Removable dust filters for easy cleaning
+ Supports large 240mm or 280mm radiators
+ Multifunctional mid-plate for mounting HDD/SSD, pump, and reservoir
– No captive thumbscrews
– Limited work space with large power supply
– Limited storage potential with 240mm radiator at the front
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Performance: 9.50
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Appearance: 9.00
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Construction: 9.00
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Functionality: 8.50
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Value: 9.25
