DodgyChris Phanteks Evolv ATX.

DodgyChris · December 6, 2015

Hi guys, recently downsized to a Phanteks Evolv Atx from my beloved 800D. Just thought I would share some info and a mod that I carried out.

Firstly the case is great to work with, there could be more cable tie loops built into the back of the motherboard tray and I do feel that the basement being closed off doesnt benefit much in terms of trying to install pumps etc. Secondly I had an issue installing the res, the mount that came with the res was just way too big to install anywhere especially with a 60mm rad in the front.

Secondly I have modded the top to mount my 240 rad as whilst the included radiator mount is a nice easy to use feature it was covering up half of the components I wish to show off! So I ended up drilling 4 holes in the top to mount a 120fan, the spacing was too wide to bolt the entire radiator but having half was more than strong enough to hold it in place.

I resorted to cable tying the res to the back of the case which keeps it secure and looks just fine as opposed to using the huge clamp included from EK.

I also used the top fans as an intake, although it is not filtered the mesh is quite fine and should catch a reasonable amount of dust, besides, the top panel can be easily removed with 4 screws for cleaning.

Another part of the case I wish I could change would be the option to mount the front radiator closer to the front panel and allow me to easily have my fans in a pull config as I usually prefer it to pull or push pull. Saying that, the airflow is ok but due to the size of the case the temperatures are a little bit hotter than with my previous loop in the 800D (all components are the same apart from a GTX 980 upgraded from a 680) although temperatures are very similar between the two cards.

I wanted to keep the loop as tidy as possible which did remain quite difficult with little space to work with, my loop setup is now reversed starting with the GPU > CPU > Rad > Rad > Pump/Res Combo. The flow rate is good with the D5 set to 5 and noise is minimal although I have noticed that the temps are slightly lower when the pump is slowed down as sometimes a high flowrate can actually reduce cooling in some circumstances.

I like the SSD mount on the case although a power extension could have been included instead of having to drag the entire sata power through the bottom of the case, I have had to use two sata power cables as opposed to one as one cannot reach my HDD and the Fan Hub.

I was also disappointed to find out that the lower 3.5 caddy is not included with the case, it is cheap which is great but I would have paid the premium to have it included as I do like to use a mechanical drive for storage.

Specs:

i7 4770k @ 4.5ghz 1.275v

EVGA GTX980

Sabretooth Z87

16GB Corsair Vengeance @ 1800

2TB Seagate Hybrid

240GB Intel 520 SSD (planning to obtain a second for raid 0)

Corsair AX860

XSPC D5

EK D5 Res/Pump Combo

XSPC RX360

XSPC 240 Crossflow