Phanteks Evolv atx vs Fractal Design R5

Shingyboy said:
Take some pictures of your process if you can, I would love to see that.

The one thing is that I really like the Fractal Case in white and the Define S isn't in white is it?
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Only got a few phone pics of the inside since I was doing it at 2 am this morning and wanted to play Stellaris lol.

This is only a rushed air build for the moment, pulled my 980ti, Corsair 520HX & Megahalems heatsink from my very old Akasa Eclipse 62 and plonked it all with the new 6700k, Z170X-UD3 and HyperX Fury ram. Ran some standard benches with everything at stock, will play at pushing things when I have more time.

I've made no real attempt to neaten the inside up, it's just where it all ended up naturally. As you can see, tons of space inside for a couple of rads (thinking a 360 and either a 240 or a 280) and stuff.

Side panels feel solid, I'll be spraying the window with some laquer so that it doesn't get scratch up as easily. Feels like there is enough room in the vents on the side of the front panel to let plenty of air in too.

Build feels solid, nice black finish on the metal, no sharp bits encountered, grommets are nice quality and in the right places. Also plenty of room around the back for the 5 drives (I just have 2 SSDs in there right now) and excess cabling.

Water build will be done after honeymoon in September. Probably!

And no, the S only comes in black.

Pics in the spoiler
n0HsqWn.jpg

WDxsHw0.jpg

cz2s9P9.jpg
 
Cenedd said:
Ah, now that's an interesting idea. Would be interested to see before and after pics and how well it works. Not that I expect you'll be keying the window to test its resilience! :D
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Should do pretty well, and if it does scratch its easy enough to polish it out :)

I actually only have the clearcoat because I need to do the headlights on my S2000 once I've demisted them lol.
 
DBT85 said:
Only got a few phone pics of the inside since I was doing it at 2 am this morning and wanted to play Stellaris lol.

This is only a rushed air build for the moment, pulled my 980ti, Corsair 520HX & Megahalems heatsink from my very old Akasa Eclipse 62 and plonked it all with the new 6700k, Z170X-UD3 and HyperX Fury ram. Ran some standard benches with everything at stock, will play at pushing things when I have more time.

I've made no real attempt to neaten the inside up, it's just where it all ended up naturally. As you can see, tons of space inside for a couple of rads (thinking a 360 and either a 240 or a 280) and stuff.

Side panels feel solid, I'll be spraying the window with some laquer so that it doesn't get scratch up as easily. Feels like there is enough room in the vents on the side of the front panel to let plenty of air in too.

Build feels solid, nice black finish on the metal, no sharp bits encountered, grommets are nice quality and in the right places. Also plenty of room around the back for the 5 drives (I just have 2 SSDs in there right now) and excess cabling.

Water build will be done after honeymoon in September. Probably!

And no, the S only comes in black.

Pics in the spoiler
n0HsqWn.jpg

WDxsHw0.jpg

cz2s9P9.jpg
Click to expand...

Damn your build looks so clean and nice, going to take any pictures of the back too?
 
Shingyboy said:
Damn your build looks so clean and nice, going to take any pictures of the back too?
Click to expand...

I can do, though as I said I spent absolutely no time making any of it neat, that's just how it all ended up anyway! Such a joy to have no HDD cages in the way.

I want to see if a 90 degree usb3 header adapter and 24pin mobo adapter exists. For cases like this it would deffo make things look even better. I doubt either do though!

Down in London for a few days, will get some other pics by Tuesday.
 
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You sort of can, that's exactly what I searched for recently. I found a USB 3 header extension. Doesn't sound like it fits the bill but it's 4-6" - enough to go from the motherboard through the grommet - the plug is low profile and the wiring is individual black wires so much more flexible. They do a sleeved version but it looked to me like it would make it more obtrusive. Can't post a link but search for
usb3 internal header extension
and you'll find it.
 
Ahh ok cheers.

Actually kind of surprised one of the manufacturers hasn't made 90 degree atx and usb3 header adapter tbh. Can't be that hard.
 
They might but I didn't find any and if you want to disappear through grommets in the mid-plate, I suspect you'll need more than 90 degrees to do it cleanly. Hence I went for the flexible option.
 
KraniX said:
I have the R5 in white, quite disappointed with it to be honest.

The metal and plastic are quite different shades of white, the plastic is more yellowy than anything. If you go for the black then might be fine but if this is their quality control then I'd question their eyesight.

Is much louder than I expected given the soundproofing, my Antec 300 was quieter with the same HSF, graphics card and two case fans.

Also emits an annoying hum, I've tried resitting the motherboard, tightening/loosening everything and even the surface/desk it sits on but still persists. Isn't the PSU, I've tried taking out the filters too and only goes away if I physically hold the PC.

Just my own personal experience obviously, heard great things about the R5 so had really high expectations.
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I had the same feeling about a R4. My R4 is black, so no issue with shake mismatch. But interns of quietness and build quality, I really don't know why it got so much praise, or maybe my expectation was too high based on my previous case, Antec P182.

The pro of R4 over P182:
Very nice able management. USB3 front port. Of course P182 is an old case. USB3 was not the thing when it came out. It is the main reason I am moving away from it. R4 is also more open, without the PSU divider, so built was much easiler. These are about the only pros.

Cons of R4 vs P182
R4 is nowhere as quiet or solid. With same PSU (Enermax Maxevo1350, graphic(R9 200 series) and CPU cooler(shadow rock2) on 3770k, P182 is almost silent with a hint of air flow sound, no vibration of any kind because it is plastic/metal sandwich panels. No metal to metal anywhere. With R4, I have metal to metal vibration buss. When I put my hand on the to panel, the buss goes away. Although it is small, but very annoying. R4 also flex a lot more than P182.

I think R4 is good, but not as "great" as the internet suggest. I kind don't think R5 will be any better in those aspect.
 
eelnoraa said:
I had the same feeling about a R4. My R4 is black, so no issue with shake mismatch. But interns of quietness and build quality, I really don't know why it got so much praise, or maybe my expectation was too high based on my previous case, Antec P182.

The pro of R4 over P182:
Very nice able management. USB3 front port. Of course P182 is an old case. USB3 was not the thing when it came out. It is the main reason I am moving away from it. R4 is also more open, without the PSU divider, so built was much easiler. These are about the only pros.

Cons of R4 vs P182
R4 is nowhere as quiet or solid. With same PSU (Enermax Maxevo1350, graphic(R9 200 series) and CPU cooler(shadow rock2) on 3770k, P182 is almost silent with a hint of air flow sound, no vibration of any kind because it is plastic/metal sandwich panels. No metal to metal anywhere. With R4, I have metal to metal vibration buss. When I put my hand on the to panel, the buss goes away. Although it is small, but very annoying. R4 also flex a lot more than P182.

I think R4 is good, but not as "great" as the internet suggest. I kind don't think R5 will be any better in those aspect.
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I'm planning on replacing it soon, I'm probably going to go for a micro-ATX or mini-ITX size box rather than a big old beast like this.
 
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I have had my Evolv for several months now and it is still the best case I have ever owned and I have probably bought about 10 in the last few years.
 
I had the Evolv I did like it but the chassis is the same as their cheap cases with alu exterior. I got a Define C and not only is it much smaller its quite a bit cooler as well. But If I was picking I'd just go for what you like the look of. I like Fractal as they are very clean without a hint of gamer about them.
 
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