Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX Review
Phanteks has very quickly cemented their place as one of the preferred chassis manufactures among the PC enthusiast community. In last year’s Mod24, Lee Harrington of “PCjunkie Mods” and Ron Lee Christianson of “Blue Horse Studios” used the Enthoo Luxe to create a Call of Duty Zombie themed work of art. Late last year to follow up on the Enthoo series chassis, Phanteks announced their Evolv line. The first to be released in this line was the the Evolv mATX chassis, one of my personal favorites and priced at sub $150 USD it provided very stiff competition for similar chassis. Phanteks was kind enough to provide us with a review sample of the Evolv ITX, the successor to the mATX model.
Unlike its predecessor, the ITX version of the Evolv does not come with fancy high gloss hallmark style box. Instead to save money, the ITX version simply comes in a standard cardboard box with black lettering, which gives an outlined drawing of the chassis and its specs.
On the right and left sides of the packaging we have the dimensions as well as descriptions in several different languages.
Moving to the back we can see an isometric break down of the components that make up the chassis. Above the isometric Phanteks highlights four aspects of the case, which include appearance, functionalists, air cooling and water cooling.
Upon opening the packaging, the first thing that can be noticed is the standard heavy duty foam, that secures the case in position and a large plastic bag to protect the chassis paint job from abrasions
Inside the chassis the included accessory kit as well as a few other extras that were included for this review can be found.
Along with the accessory box, Phanteks included a pump mount and extra 3.5″ drive caddy. The accessory box which is different than the usual technician grade plastic container with dividers, contains the screws, instruction manual and zip ties. The change in the accessory box was more than likely due to Phanteks decision to offer the case at a much cheaper price, compared to the mATX variant. Additional accessories can be purchased from Phanteks, such as this 3.5″ harddrive caddy. The pump bracket does include a very nice thick piece of anti vibration rubber and is pre drilled to fit most if not all pumps, such as all variants of the D5 and DDC pumps. One thing I have noticed with even the original Evolv is Phanteks is spots in the paint where bare metal can be seen. Although a quick few shots with some dollar spray paint will correct this, I hope that Phanteks will correct this blemish with future chassis.
| Case Specifications | |
| Dimensions | 230mm x 375mm x 395mm / 9.1″ x 14.8″ x 15.6″ |
| Form Factor | ITX |
| Materials | Steel, Plastic |
| Motherboard Support | ITX |
| Front I/O | 2x USB 3.0, Mic, Headphone |
| Side Window | Yes |
| Expansion & Drive Bays | 0 |
| Expansion Slots | 2 |
| External 5.25″ | 0 |
| Internal 3.5″ | 2 |
| Internal 2.5″ | 1-Expandable with Phanteks SSD sleds |
| Cooling | 120mm Fan | 140mm Fan | 200mm Fan |
| Front | 2 | 2 | 1 (included) |
| Top | 2 | 2 | – |
| Rear | 1 | 1 | – |
| Bottom | – | – | – |
| Liquid Cooling | 120mm Radiator | 140mm Radiator |
| Front | Up to 240mm | – |
| Top | Up to 240mm | – |
| Rear | 1 | 1 |
| Clearance | |
| PSU | 200mm/ 7.09″* |
| CPU Cooler | 200mm/ 7.9″ |
| Cable Management | 28mm /1.1″ |
| Radiator Top | 120mm- 74mm/ 2.9″
140mm- 54mm/ 2.1″ |
| Graphics Card | 330mm/ 13″ |
*Some PSUs will require the removal of the lower 3.5″ HDD cage to make clearance.
| Packaging Information | |
| Package Dimension | 310mm x 480mm x 460mm
12.2″ x 18.9″ x 18.1″ |
| Net Weight | 5.4 kg/ 12lbs |
| Gross Weight | 8 kg/ 17.7lbs |
| Warranty | |
| Length | 5 Years Limited |
