Over the last couple of years, Phanteks has gotten itself into the case building business, and the company has been doing a respectably good job at it, too. One of the noteworthy cases that the company makes is the Enthoo Evolv ATX, which today takes a new form as the Galaxy Silver version.
Aside from the color, there isn't anything different about this case over its predecessors. The internal chassis design remains similar to that of most ATX cases, but externally it is a whole different beast. Rather than using thin panels that fit together with nice small seams, the external panels are manufactured from 3 mm thick aluminum and overlap to create rough seams. The end result is that you don't get a case that uses various materials to achieve a certain look, but achieves a certain look by showing off its materials, if that makes sense. It isn't a typical appearance.
Inside the case there is room for up to an E-ATX motherboard and three dual-slot graphics cards up to 420 mm long without the hard drive brackets installed. Install them, and you'll have room for five 3.5" drives and two 2.5" drives, sacrificing the maximum GPU length to 300 mm (which is still plenty for most modern-day graphics cards).
Another strength of the case is its support for cooling. The external panels may be manufactured from solid slabs of aluminum, but due to the large seams and the internal structure, the air still largely throws through a filter, through up to three 120 mm fans up front, three up top, and one at the rear-exhaust location. When using 140 mm fans (three are included), you'll be able to mount two at the front, two at the rear, and one up top. For water cooling, the case has dedicated mounting points for the pump, reservoirs (yes, plural), and radiators. Mounting points for radiators is quite common, but dedicated mounting places for a pump and reservoirs isn't something we see every day.
The front I/O resides behind a small door hidden below the top seam and consists of the usual pair of headphone ports and two USB 3.0 ports. There is also a reset switch hidden behind the same door. The power button is mounted right at the top.
To open the case, the doors each swivel on a hinge at the back of the case, and the left door even has a window. To keep things looking tidy inside, the power supply and messy cable work are tucked out of sight in a separate compartment.
So far the case has been available in black and anthracite gray. The new color, Galaxy Silver, gives you the most natural aluminum look – almost white. Regardless of your choice of color, the power LED can also light up in one of four different colors.
There is one slight catch, though: It costs $179. If you can afford it, the Enthoo Evolv ATX Galaxy Silver should be available at Phanteks' usual re- and e-tailers by the end of the month.
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Niels Broekhuijsen has been with Tom's Hardware since 2012, and works as a Contributing Editor on the news team. He covers mostly hardware, components, and anything else that strikes his fancy. Outside of work, he likes to travel, cook, and fix things that are broken.
You can follow him at @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.
