By Meng Vang
Manufacturer: Phanteks Co.
Product Name: Enthoo Evolv Shift
Model Number: PH-ES217E_BK
UPC: 886523300984
Price As Tested: $109.99 (Newegg | Amazon)Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Phanteks.
The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Shift series bring performance, functionality, and innovative features to the table. At the time of this review, there are two variants: the Enthoo Evolv Shift X and the Enthoo Evolv Shift. They both come with anodized aluminum panels and two large tempered glass side panels. The case may stand vertically as a normal desktop PC, or horizontally as a living room PC. Phanteks has also designed the interior to house an ITX motherboard, dual 120mm AIO water cooled units, and a large graphics card. Benchmark Reviews will be taking a look at the Enthoo Evolv Shift for this article. Let’s go over an overview of what this case has to offer.
As of August 2017, the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Shift is expecting to hit the market at a price of $109.99 (Newegg | Amazon). Inside the box, the Shift comes with a well-documented user’s manual, warranty information, a few zip ties, a case badge, and four sets of foam feet for horizontal orientation. It also comes with a useful tool box for organizing the different mounting screws. This tool box was also seen with the Enthoo Evolv ATX and Enthoo Evolv mATX Tempered Glass chassis.
Without a doubt, the front of the Shift looks similar to the Evolv ATX. It stands roughly the same height as the Evolv ATX but is much thinner in comparison. There are two removable dust filtered ventilation areas on the side of the front and rear panels for airflow. The rear of the Shift has a single cable cutout near the top and a power plug at the bottom.
The main side panel includes a reflective tempered glass window to show off the main components of the system. Finger prints and dust will show on the surface of the window, but a microfiber cloth can easily clean them off. Towards the rear, there are two USB 3.0 ports with the absence of audio ports.
On the opposite side of the case, there is also a reflective glass window. This part of the case is used to show off the graphics card.
At the top of the Shift is a large ventilation area with a power and RGB control button. The RGB power button is very simple as it nearly hides itself between the ribs of the top cover.
The bottom looks similar to the top with the large ventilation area. Four rubberized feet are present at each corner to support the case in its vertical position. The two sets of feet are removable via a few screws, which is a must when using the Shift in its horizontal orientation.
Now that we have seen a quick overview of the Evolv Shift, let’s take a look at the features this case has to offer.
The interior frame of the Shift looks a bit weird at first as the internal components must mount differently compared to a standard computer case. There is room for an ITX motherboard, two 2.5″ SSDs, two 120mm radiators (one at the front and one on the bottom), and a SFX or SFX-L power supply unit. There is a cable management routing area in the center of the frame. The plastic flap with the company logo may flip open to allow for some cable work as well as hide messy cables.
Behind the motherboard tray is the graphics card mounting bracket with a pretty long PCI-E x16 riser cable. The riser cable needs to be long because the graphics card mounting bracket is reversible. Instead of looking at the PCB of the graphics card, it can be shown off just by reversing the mounting bracket. The Shift can also support graphics cards up to 350mm in length.
Taking off the front panel, we can see some cable straps and a 140mm fan (set to exhaust) pre-installed towards the top. The lower adjustable fan mount is empty for the choice of a 120mm fan, a 140mm fan, or a 120mm radiator with a fan. On the rear side, there is room to mount a 3.5″ HDD and a few cable straps are present for cable management.
The Shift is unique in a few different ways. To get the side windows off, the top ventilation lid can flip open by pressing down on it. Each side window requires the removal of two captive thumbscrews inside of the top motherboard I/O compartment. With the thumbscrews loosened, the side windows may lift up and off the case.
The Shift has a few more features to go over, so let’s take a look at them in the next section.
Here are the two 2.5″ drop-N-lock SSD mounting brackets. Each bracket will require four screws to properly mount an SSD. The SSD with the mounting bracket simply slides back onto the four rubberized mounts on the case with no additional tools.
At the bottom of the Shift, there is a dust filter over the bottom air ventilation surface. Having the dust filter slide out from the side of the case gives easy access for maintenance. Do note the filter can only slide out after removing the side panel window.
With the entire bottom ventilation area removed, we can see plenty of fan mounting options on the frame. There is also the cable to connect to the power supply unit.
Although not included, the Shift will support the Phanteks RGB LED strips out the box. The built-in RGB controller in the Shift has a female connector to attach to one of these strips. These RGB LED strips are magnetic for steel cases and come with adhesive tape for aluminum cases.
Let’s go ahead and build a system with the Shift in the next section.
It has been a while since I read through an entire user’s manual when building inside a computer case. The internal frame of the Shift was not a standard layout. I found myself reading the user’s manual many times to figure out how to work around the case. The build experience went smoothly for the most part, and I am happy with the end results.
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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 @ 4.4GHz
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Audio: Realtek ALC892
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Video: Gigabyte R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 Windforce Edition
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Disk Drive 1: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB SSD
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Enclosure: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Shift
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PSU: Corsair SF450 450W
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Monitor: HP 23bw 23″ IPS display
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Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit
During the build process, I noticed some smart design choices with the Shift that helped improve the building experience. ITX motherboards typically have a lot of headers closer to the RAM modules, so having the cable management flap to cover the cables leading to the motherboard was a smart design. I mounted the 120mm radiator at the bottom of the case with the fan pulling air through the bottom. The radiator fits well between the front frame and the power supply, and there was still enough room to add a second fan for a push-pull configuration.
The graphics card mounting bracket was reversible to show off the graphics card through the side window. It is best to install the graphics card into the graphics card mounting bracket prior to putting the entire unit into the case. After some adjustments and some swearing, I finally got the graphics card in place. With smaller graphics cards, you should not have too much trouble installing it.
Speaking about smaller graphics cards, I did run into problems trying to install a simple GT 720. The two expansion slots on the graphics card bracket were not long enough to install a single slot graphics card with a DVI, HDMI, and VGA port. I had to remove a single screw from the VGA port to fit it into the mounting bracket. If the expansion slots were just a few millimeters longer, the mounting bracket would fit the GT 720 like a glove.
The cable management flap in the middle of the case was very useful for hiding cables going to the motherboard. There are a few rubber cable cutouts and a strap to organize any cables here. The flap simply closed back into place via two magnets on both ends.
Here is the 120mm fan that cools the radiator. There is enough room here for a standard 140mm fan, but if you have large fan screws, like I do, you may have problems removing the bottom dust filter. The 120mm fan still had plenty of airflow when mounted, but it may pull warm air from the power supply exhaust.
Let’s continue this section in the next page.
The front 140mm exhaust fan sat very close to the motherboard and its cables. I had to readjust the CPU power cable a few times to get enough space between it and the fan blades. A fan grill would have been useful in this type of situation.
With the system fully assembled, there was not a lot of noise with the side panels on. The Shift was not the best when it comes to airflow, so having cold air coming through from the bottom and out the top was essential to keeping the system cool.
In its horizontal orientation, the Shift made a great candidate for a living room PC. Because the included fan was quiet, this system should not produce too much noise to distract anyone watching their favorite TV programs and movies. Included in the box were four foam feet to place on the side windows for horizontal orientation, but unfortunately these may not last the life of the case.
If you need access to the rear I/O of the motherboard, the top lid does pop open for easy accessibility to the rear I/O ports. I found this to be useful especially in its horizontal orientation. Shorter USB flash drives could fit in this compartment even with the lid closed. Because heat rises, some of that heat would exit through here when the Shift is in its vertical orientation.
Let’s go ahead and finish up with my final thoughts and conclusion.
The Shift is a very functional computer case with plenty of smart implementation designs. The build process is different from what you would see in a standard case. With that in mind, I went back to the user’s manual multiple times to help me complete the build. Mounting a larger graphics card was somewhat challenging and the graphics card mounting bracket did not like single slot graphics cards with a DVI, HDMI, and VGA port. The completed build turned out great after managing the cables and the internal temperature was reasonable considering the size of this case.
When it comes to performance, the Shift does well with its dual 120mm water cooling radiator support. You may also opt for air cooling as there is 82mm of clearance from the motherboard to the window. Do keep in mind if you want the best airflow for your graphics card, do not reverse the graphics card mounting bracket. Keep it so the PCB faces the window as there is a small amount of room between the graphics card and the window.
Appearance is subjective, but I have no problems with how the Shift looks. The tempered glass side panels and anodized aluminum panels give the case a very sleek look and feel, which makes it a perfect computer case to have in the living room. Adding RGB LED strips is optional, which can help illuminate the interior for a better look.
The powder coated steel and aluminum construction of the Shift promotes durability and longevity. As for mounting a large graphics card, this was somewhat challenging with the mounting bracket reversed. I also tested a single slot GT 720 with a DVI, HDMI, and VGA port at the back of the card. The mounting bracket would not accept the card as one of the screws for the VGA port was in the way. This oversight does not affect modern graphics cards with DVI, HDMI, and display ports.
With two orientation options, the Shift can be a regular desktop PC in its vertical orientation, and a media center PC in its horizontal orientation. In its vertical orientation, the slim form factor reduces its footprint to allow desktop space for other devices. Included in the box are four foam feet for horizontal orientation, but they may not last the life of the case.
As of September 2017, the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Shift is expecting to hit the market at a price of $109.99 (Newegg | Amazon). This is a good asking price for an ITX case that serves the purpose as a desktop PC and a media center PC. The dual tempered glass side panels are a plus along with support for dual 120mm radiators. It also has a five year warranty against manufacturer defects. The Enthoo Evolv Shift makes a great computer case for the office or a living room with its small footprint and elegant appearance.
+ Clever cabling system
+ Dual tempered glass side panels
+ Vertical and horizontal orientations
+ Simple to build in with users manual
– Graphics card mounting bracket can be improved
– Foam feet for horizontal orientation may not last long
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Performance: 8.25
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Appearance: 9.75
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Construction: 9.00
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Functionality: 9.00
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Value: 9.00
