Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X ATX Case Review

By Meng Vang

Manufacturer: Phanteks Co.
Product Name: Evolv X Tempered Glass
Model Number: PH-ES518XTG_DBK (Satin Black)
UPC: 886523301424
Price As Tested: $199.99 (Newegg | Amazon)

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

The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X was one of the most anticipated computer cases in 2018. It builds off of the Evolv ATX with a similar exterior design and an entirely redesigned interior layout. The case comes in three colors, Satin Black, Anthracite Grey, and Galaxy Silver. Airflow has improved thanks to the larger ventilation at the front and top of the case. Aside from the more standard features, like dual tempered glass side panels, vertical GPU mounts, and water-cooling capabilities, the Evolv X has built-in LED strips, a fan hub, massive data storage potential, and the support for a secondary ITX system with the purchase of a separate bracket. Benchmark Reviews will be taking a look at the Evolv X, so let’s take a quick look at an overview in the next section.

• Strongly enhanced airflow design
• Front I/O support (USB 3.1 Type-C, 2x USB 3.0, Mic, Headphone, DRGB LED control
• Clean interior design
• Cable management 2.0 (cable door covers)
• Smart Space Utilization for Ultimate Flexibility
• Massive Storage Capacity (up to 10x HDD and 9x SSD simultaneously)
• High-end liquid cooling support (Up to 420 radiator)
• Convenient Radiator bracket + integrated Fill & Drain Port
• Integrated Digital RGB illumination
• 3mm Sandblasted Aluminum Exterior
• Vertical GPU Mount support (3x PCI)
• Dual-system upgradable (E-ATX + ITX)

The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X has launched with the market price of $199.99 (Newegg | Amazon). Its accessories are nicely packaged inside a rather large but well-thought-out cardboard box.

Opening up the accessories box reveals a user manual on top of a few components each inside of their own foam bags.

When we take the contents out of the box, we find a nice plastic toolbox we normally see with the higher-end Phanteks cases. It includes plenty of mounting screws for the motherboard, storage devices, and the power supply unit. There is also a case badge, a GPU anti-sag bracket, a mount for the optional PCI-E x16 riser cable, top radiator airflow cover, a few zip ties, and four 3.5″ stackable HDD brackets.

Looking at the front of the case, we can see the Evolv X still maintains a very similar design compared to its predecessors. A few differences are the larger vents towards both sides and the absence of the power LED towards the bottom of the front panel.

On the rear, everything looks pretty similar with its 120/140 mm adjustable fan mount, seven expansion slots, and a power supply mount at the bottom. With the Evolv X, there are three additional vertical expansion mounts along with the capability to house a secondary ITX motherboard towards the top of the case for a secondary system.

On the main side of the case, the tempered glass side panel covers the entire surface. It is held on with two thumbscrews located behind the front panel along with two hinges towards the rear of the case. The tempered glass side panel swings out like a door, which is the same design as seen on its predecessors.

The opposite tempered glass side panel is slightly tinted and also swings out like the main panel. But the tint does not have to be too dark because the Evolv X has a nice trick to hide away the nasty cables.

One problem with the previous Evolv ATX case was the lack of airflow through the top of the case. With the Evolv X, Phanteks has improved the airflow by increasing the size of the top ventilation. Towards the front, there is only a single button for the power switch.

The bottom of the case does have some similarities to standard gaming cases, like a dust filter for the power supply. Towards the center of the case are the slots to mount the removable 3.5″ HDD cages.

Now that we have seen a quick look, let’s go ahead to show more about the features the Evolv X has to offer.

The interior of the Evolv X looks completely different from its predecessors. Of course, the large CPU cutout is still there along with the power supply chamber. The cable management routing holes are missing, but they are replaced with four adjustable slots.

Removing the opposite glass side panel reveals the rear of the motherboard tray along with the tool-less panels. The two tool-less panels conceal the cables as well as add more storage potential to the case. Each panel can mount three 2.5″ SSD drives.

With the tool-less panels open, we can see there are two vertical lanes with plenty of Velcro straps. This is a great design to reduce the usage of standard cable ties while keeping the cables organized. There is also a fan controller towards the top of the case that allows up to eight fans to be controlled through the motherboard.

On the power supply chamber, there are a few cable routing holes for various cables, including audio, USB, and graphics card cables. There is an adjustable one built for the PCI-E power cable for the graphics card.

From left to right, the front I/O ports include two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C ports, standard microphone/headphone jacks, a D-RGB Mode button, and a D-RGB Color button.

In the next section, we will look at a few more features the Evolv X has to offer.

Removing the front panel reveals the large dust filter in front of the fans.

The large dust filter covers the two pre-installed Phanteks Premium 140 mm fans. There is enough room at the front to mount three 140 mm fans or a single 420 mm radiator.

Behind the front panel are two LED strips. These strips are placed in a way the light beams can reflect off of the fans. This allows for a nice distribution of the lights without seeing the LED strips.

We also do not have to worry about snapping the cables to the front LED strips. Instead, the LED strips are powered through these three gold contacts that provide power to them. It is safe to remove the front panel from the case even when the computer is powered on.

Taking a closer look at these adjustable cable slots, these are able to hide the cables coming from behind the motherboard tray. They are also removable to accommodate up to six optional 3.5″ stackable HDD brackets for massive storage potential.

We should not expect anything to happen to our cables because of design of the cable cutout holes on the Evolv X. This prevents any sharp edges from damaging the cables.

Both of the tool-less panels can mount three 2.5″ HDD or SSD drives. This can significantly increase the storage space for a dual system build.

Let’s take a look at the system build in the next section.

• Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4
• System Memory: 4x8GB 2666MHz DDR4
• Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K @ 4.5GHz
• Audio: Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D
• Video: MSI GeForce 780 Ti
• Disk Drive 1: Crucial MX100 256GB SSD
• Disk Drive 2: WD Blue 3TB HDD
• Enclosure: NZXT H500i
• PSU: EVGA 850P2 850W Modular
• Monitor: HP 23bw 23″ IPS display
• Operating System: Windows 10 Professional 64-Bit

Because of its roomy interior, building with the Evolv X was not challenging at all. The cable management system worked well with hiding and organizing cables, and overall system performance and temperatures looked normal. The larger ventilation at the front and top of the case was a nice improvement over the previous models. As for the built-in fans, they were noticeable at their highest speed, but they were not loud enough to cause concern. Larger fans are typically quieter than smaller ones because they can provide a good amount of airflow while spinning at slower speeds.

With the tool-less panels removed, we can see there was a lot of room for cable management despite the many cables from the factory. Routing cables behind the motherboard tray was a breeze thanks to the dual-lane cable design and the many Velcro straps. Although there were not too many cable tie-down points, I was able to work around this by tying the cables down using parts of the motherboard tray that had holes drilled into it.

Putting the tool-less panels back onto the case really cleans up the motherboard tray. This gives the case a very clean look when looking through the tempered glass side panel.

Unlike its predecessor, which used a sliding top radiator bracket, the top radiator bracket for the Evolv X bolts off of the case via two thumbscrews. This allowed me to install the radiator outside of the case. There was also a circular cutout on the bracket for water cooling purposes, as this case is very water cooling friendly.

Airflow was not the greatest strength for the previous versions as many users noticed an increase in overall system temperature. Phanteks corrected this problem by widening the front and top ventilation gaps to allow a greater flow of air into the case without suffocating the fans. This allowed for better cooling performance throughout the different interior components.

Although many computer users are switching to smaller cases, there are still a few of us who would much rather prefer a standard ATX case like the Evolv X. The Evolv X does have plenty of room for water cooling components, storage, and a secondary ITX system. With that in mind, it is very practical for many purposes, so I do not see only people in the gaming market picking these up. Professionals who need a computer case with plenty of storage potential for a database may also pick up the Evolv X as it serves this purpose well. Add in a few of the optional expansion drive brackets and there can be enough storage to keep a server going for a long time.

Let’s go into my final thoughts and end this review with my conclusion in the next section.

Phanteks noticed there were a few areas to improve on the Evolv ATX models. Limited airflow was one of the main issues, and they seemed to have addressed it nicely with this new revision. But even after correcting these issues, Phanteks decided to add more features to the Evolv X to allow it to stay competitive with other high-end computer cases. They added LED strips at the front and on the power supply chamber, which gives the case some extra character. The Evolv X is much more than just a case for gaming. With dual system support and great water cooling/storage potential, the Evolv X makes a great case not only for gaming, but also for professional purposes.

Starting with performance, I am very happy to see the larger ventilation on the front and top of the case. The previous versions had problems with airflow, which resulted in higher system temperatures. With the Evolv X, this is no longer the case (pun intended). The three 140 mm fans are also more than adequate to pull air into the case without any problems without the front panel suffocating them, like on the Evolv ATX.

Ever since the first Evolv ATX, I always admired the minimalistic look and clean appearance of the case. The dual tempered glass side panels do give the Evolv X a premium look along with the included LED features. This case does come in three different colors to add some flexibility to your setup.

In terms of construction, the Evolv X feels very sturdy for its steel and aluminum design. The frame feels solid even without the tempered glass side panels. Just be careful not to open the side panel without having the interior of the case populated with components. This will tip the case over, but once everything is installed, this should not be a problem.

Functionality wise, the Evolv X is useful for several different purposes. It can serve as a high-end water cooling PC, a professional storage device, and a single tower with two separate systems. It is difficult to name a case from a different company that offers this type of functionality within this price range. Most computer cases and other products I reviewed have always lacked functionality due to poor implementation of its features and/or the software that comes with the product. This is why the Evolv X will be the first computer case that will receive a good functionality rating from me.

As of January 2019, the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X is currently available online for $199.99 (Newegg | Amazon). Although some consumers may think this is a steep price to pay, I believe it is pretty good considering all of its features when it comes to functionality. There is so much someone can do with a case like this down the road. Perhaps several years later if someone decides to upgrade from this case, it can still make an affordable data storage PC for some other user. But as of right now, the Evolv X is very competitive with plenty of flexibility for some interesting builds.

+ Easy to build
+ Very functional
+ Customizable RGB lighting
+ Dual tempered glass side panels
+ Excellent cable management system

– Pricey, but offers more than its competitors

• Performance: 9.25
• Appearance: 9.75
• Construction: 9.75
• Functionality: 9.50
• Value: 8.75

Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award.