Evolv/ITX vs Core V21 etc.

[Steve N. Mavronis]

 

This Phanteks EVOLV ITX chassis comes just with a 200mm front intake fan. The 200mm fan air flow is split between the GPU mid-plate and the rest of the case as you can see in this illustration.

 

The front frame accepts either dual 120mm or dual 140mm intake fans. What's best to promote better case cooling - fan brands and sizes. I'd also add a 140mm or 120mm case fan in the rear.  Not sure about up top but this will be a 100% air cooled build. Do you think 2x140mm or 2x120mm fans up front would be the best thing to do instead of using the stock 200mm fan?

 

My second choice is the Thermaltake V21 which also comes with a stock 200mm intake fan so same situation.

[MrAnonymous]

personally i would go for Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 or Thermaltake Core V1, if i'm going to build a mATx with awesome air flow.

 

[Steve N. Mavronis]

 

personally i would go for Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 or Thermaltake Core V1, if i'm going to build a mATx with awesome air flow.

 

 

 

My other case choice is the bigger Thermaltake Core V21 mATX cube style case. It's modular customizable and dust filtered. I'm torn between these two cases which to choose. The V1 you mentioned is very similar to the Corsair 250D cube case. The EVOLV ITX has a more refined look as far as mITX cases go.

[MrAnonymous]

My other case choice is the Thermaltake Core V21 mATX cube style case. It's larger and dust filtered. I'm torn between these two cases which to choose.

i like cube style and the Core V21 is great for the space and how much air space it has. also the fact that is almost fully open (with mesh and dust filters) is great for the airflow. i personally would go for that one, but this is your build and your money, im just here to suggest on voice out my opinions and personal preference.

[MrAnonymous]

My other case choice is the bigger Thermaltake Core V21 mATX cube style case. It's modular customizable and dust filtered. I'm torn between these two cases which to choose. The V1 you mentioned is very similar to the Corsair 250D cube case. The EVOLV ITX has a more refined look as far as mITX cases go.

well Core v1 can only fit mITX while the Evolv ITX can fit bigger mobo, so if you are going for mITX i would go for Evolv if you are worried about aesthetics. but for mATX i would go for Carbide or V21.

[Steve N. Mavronis]

Thanks, both the Core V1 and Evolv ITX only fit mini-ITX motherboards. The Air 240 only has 120mm CPU cooler clearance. The Core V21 has 180mm and the Evolv ITX has 200mm CPU clearance. Both are good for CPU air coolers. Also I wish the V21 had a shroud with grommets to help hide cable management. That bugs me so I would have to fabricate one.

[MrAnonymous]

Thanks, the Core V1 and Evolv ITX both fit mini-ITX motherboards. The Air 240 only has 120mm CPU cooler clearance. The Core V21 has 180mm and the Evolv ITX has 200mm. Both are good for CPU air coolers.

V21 actually has a 200mm front case fan, i personally like a side panel with a fan mount on it instead of window, since i dont really care about aesthetics and put an exhaust fan for the GPU, but i dont think mATX cube shape cases has those.

[Steve N. Mavronis]

Nah I was speaking about the CPU clearance there sorry. I had edited the sentence after you quoted.

[MrAnonymous]

Nah I was speaking about the CPU clearance there sorry. I had edited the sentence after you quoted.

ahh well yeah, for the clearance Evolv ITX got it bigger lmao, idk. i am pretty biased with the V21 since my brother has it and it looks awesome with magnetic filters, and lots of passive air flow. never really have a personal experience with the Evolv ITX

[Steve N. Mavronis]

I agree the V21 would be much easier to build in. I'd use the ASUS Maximus VII Gene in there. You have lots of configurations choices. I'm still considering it and keeping my options open.

[MrAnonymous]

on my build i have an n200 since as i said earlier i want an exhaust fan for my sapphire tri-x OC r9 290x, which gets pretty hot. so the side panel fan mount is a must for me. and the n200 is cheap, doesnt look really good tho. but i prefer performance rather than looks.

[MrAnonymous]

I agree the V21 would be much easier to build in. You have lots of configurations choices. I'm still considering it and keeping my options open.

good luck with your build, and just keep on doing more research so that you wont regret your final decision.

[Steve N. Mavronis]

I updated my topic name and first post to reflect both cases and fan configuration choices.

[Darkman]

 

personally i would go for Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 or Thermaltake Core V1, if i'm going to build a mATx with awesome air flow.

 

 

Air 240 is terrible imo.. My brother has one... It is a dust trap, and only supports normal width gpus. Even then his fucking 8pin on his 760 is bending the window on the side panel and melted part of it already.

[Steve N. Mavronis]

The next step up from the Evolv is the original mATX aluminum version. But at $130 is almost twice as expensive. But if they would have made it look more like the more pleasing aesthetics of the $70 Evolv ITX then I would bite at it. They did that with the new Evolv ATX aluminum version but a $180 case is nuts. That's getting into In Win premium territory pricing.

[MrAnonymous]

Air 240 is terrible imo.. My brother has one... It is a dust trap, and only supports normal width gpus. Even then his fucking 8pin on his 760 is bending the window on the side panel and melted part of it already.

I havent tried it personally, but if i am going to make a snall build i wont be putting big gpu in the first place. Also i prefer a case with a side panel fan mount for the gpu exhaust since i dont get the blower kind and an exhaust fan helps a lot. I dont really care for the looks either since its not a trophy.

[Darkman]

I havent tried it personally, but if i am going to make a snall build i wont be putting big gpu in the first place. Also i prefer a case with a side panel fan mount for the gpu exhaust since i dont get the blower kind and an exhaust fan helps a lot. I dont really care for the looks either since its not a trophy.

Yeah I know, but his 760 is standard width, and the 8pin is bulging the window... And melting it... That shouldn't be a thing...

[MrAnonymous]

The next step up from the Evolv is the original mATX aluminum version. But at $130 is almost twice as expensive. But if they would have made it look more like the more pleasing aesthetics of the $70 Evolv ITX then I would bite at it. They did that with the new Evolv ATX aluminum version but a $180 case is nuts. That's getting into In Win premium territory pricing.

That price is too much imo. My usual price range for cases is $80 max. Since i dobt really care about looks and care more about airflow and price, etc... N200 atm is the best for me. It's cheap and you can even put an H100 on it no problem with a push-pull config, since you can mount fans in front (outside, under the mesh panel). It's awesome, but be sure to get a fully modular PSU and a short cables so that you can manage it better, since the cable management ia pretty small for this case. Also it can fit some pretty tall cpu coolers. So its a plus.

[MrAnonymous]

Yeah I know, but his 760 is standard width, and the 8pin is bulging the window... And melting it... That shouldn't be a thing...

Im sorry for the wrong info that i have. I apparently havent researched it enough. Its good to know the flaws. But would it do the same thing if you are uaing a 970 (short version by gigabyte)?

[Darkman]

Im sorry for the wrong info that i have. I apparently havent researched it enough. Its good to know the flaws. But would it do the same thing if you are uaing a 970 (short version by gigabyte)?

It can fit an entire G1 Gaming with space left... The only issue is it doesn't support any cards wider than standard.

[MrAnonymous]

It can fit an entire G1 Gaming with space left... The only issue is it doesn't support any cards wider than standard.

i see, so width is the problem, pretty weird for a cube shaped case. Anyways, we are going off topic. We should answer, or at least try to,the thread lol. Thanks for all the new info tho. Appreciate it.

[MrAnonymous]

As for the case in question, i would personally go for the V21 since i've seen it in action and work great. Idk about the other one tho.

[Steve N. Mavronis]

It's inevitable whenever I start a topic about a specific case it "evolves" into discussion of other cases for comparison. That's alright, I enjoy the discussion and opinions. Plus I haven't committed and bought any case yet.

 

Another Thermaltake case that looks good with nice features is their Core X1. That mITX case is more rectangular and larger than their mATX Core V21 but compared to the Evolv ITX format instead of 2 PCI slot positions it gives you 3 PCI slots, which is good more for GPU air space around the card or for extra thick GPU cards that may be up to 3 slots wide. I like that it also has a cable grommet next to the mTIX motherboard above the drive cages (I would have preferred a couple in front of the motherboard) but for longer GPU cards the dual optical drive bay may be an issue and have to be removed. I don't know why they didn't place the optical bays higher or include them at all. The case could have been 100mm less in depth and not as tall without them.

[vembutech]

Case is looking cool.

[MrAnonymous]

It's inevitable whenever I start a topic about a specific case it "evolves" into discussion of other cases for comparison. That's alright, I enjoy the discussion and opinions. Plus I haven't committed and bought any case yet.

Another Thermaltake case that looks good with nice features is their Core X1. That mITX case is more rectangular and larger than their mATX Core V21 but compared to the Evolv ITX format instead of 2 PCI slot positions it gives you 3 PCI slots, which is good more for GPU air space around the card or for extra thick GPU cards that may be up to 3 slots wide. I like that it also has a cable grommet next to the mTIX motherboard above the drive cages (I would have preferred a couple in front of the motherboard) but for longer GPU cards the dual optical drive bay may be an issue and have to be removed. I don't know why they didn't place the optical bays higher or include them at all. The case could have been 100mm less in depth and not as tall without them.

post-49-0-28662400-1421825735.jpg

Are you getting an mITX OR mATX MoBo? Also seems like you are into the looks of your case, would you put it on top of your table or something? Thermaltake seems to make good cube shape cases for mATX and mITX with awesome airflow. Just be sure it would fit on your work/game station and if you are trying to show it off, be sure the parts actually fit and will look good at the side/top windows panel.