Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Shift X Review

Manufacturer: Phanteks
UK price (as reviewed): £104.99 (inc. VAT)
US price (equally reviewed): Currently unavailable

Despite being a relative newcomer to the chassis market, Phanteks has definitely made a adept name for itself. It has branched out into niche designs before – the dual-system Enthoo Mini Forty being a good example – but the Enthoo Evolv Shift and Enthoo Evolv Shfit X, both of which were shown off for the first time at Computex before this year, mark a shift move away from standard tower designs into the much less explored realm of vertical chassis.

There is, of grade, a comparing here that Phanteks will be unable to escape – the Corsair 1. The skyscraper-esque design, aluminium panelling, and even the shape of the top grille are all shared between the Evolv Shift and the chassis used for Corsair's system, but the Evolv Shift is different both in its use of tempered glass and, more crucially, the ability to actually build your own system inside information technology. The Corsair One is designed very much as a closed system and the chassis is not sold separately, and making modifications to the I's hardware is rather tricky as a result. With that out of the way, let'south look more than closely at the Evolv Shift.

For over £100, you'd await quality, and thankfully Phanteks delivers. The front end and back of the Shift are thick aluminium panels while the two sides are made from chunky tempered glass that have blacked-out bits to hide the messier parts of your build while still allowing you to see plenty of hardware.

Plastic is used for the top and bottom grilles, but there's no flimsiness. A button-to-release machinery locks and unlocks the roof, which opens upwards via a strong hinge at the back for easy admission to your motherboard and graphics I/O areas. Information technology also automatically pops upwardly to an bending of about 30° whenever y'all unlock it. Opening information technology all the way gives you complete admission to the inner roof bit where all four panels tin can be released from. It also allows you to easily clean the not-removable grit filter that'due south fitted beneath the grille. The arrangement power button and some other used for RGB lighting control are subtly integrated into this hinged roof department equally well, with a satisfying activity to both. The RGB button controls a tiny strip of light in the centre of this roof flake, but an extension cable within can be used to power additional Phanteks RGB strips and keep them synchronised with the colour command (10 options).

Designed to stand vertically by default, the lower grille has four rubber feet on its underside. That said, with a scrap of endeavour, these can exist removed, and extra rubber feet are supplied for you to stick onto one of the tempered glass side panels if you'd adopt a horizontal orientation. You lot tin also merely move the default feet further inwards in example you lot need the Shift to take an fifty-fifty smaller footprint.

Something nosotros're non particularly keen on is the location of the USB 3.0 ports downwardly the back- left side – it'due south but not a convenient place to have them. You should also note that there are no audio jacks and no reset push button.

Running downwards either side of the front and back panels are ventilated strips (it's into ane of these that the USB ports are integrated, in fact), and these are all backed with pocket-size, removable dust filters. A concluding dust filter at the bottom ensures full coverage, but these all require panel removal for access.

You may well be wondering how on globe Phanteks has designed the Shift in terms of airflow, every bit it's certainly non very clear from the exterior. Information technology volition be more than obvious over the page, but essentially you can have ii 140mm or 120mm fans backside the front panel cartoon air in or exhausting information technology through the aforementioned side strips – a single 140mm fan is included equally an exhaust in the upper mount here, just any fans fitted to the lower front end mountain should ideally exist intakes according to Phanteks. At that place'south also a 140mm/120mm intake fan mount at the bottom, and the instance is designed also to naturally exhaust heat through the roof grille – heat does rise, after all.

Specifications

Dimensions (mm) 170 x 274 x 470 (W x D x H)
Textile Steel, plastic, tempered drinking glass
Available colours Black, gunmetal greyness
Weight 6.6kg
Forepart panel Power, 2 ten USB 3.0, LED control
Bulldoze bays ane x three.5"/ii.5", ii ten 2.5"
Form gene(s) Mini-ITX
Cooling 2 x 140mm/120mm front fan mounts (1 x 140mm fan included), 1 x 140mm/120mm bottom fan mount (fans non included)
CPU cooler clearance 82mm
Maximum graphics carte du jour length 350mm
Extras Removable dust filters, RGB LED controller, PCIe riser cable