The Smol X1 prototype has reached and I have gotten my hands on a prototype unit, and have gotten around to build in it with a couple of configurations.
Thanks to the SmolSFF Team (@[USER=23759]Joonst[/USER]) who has nicely let me in on purchasing a prototype unit at the same time as them, but the review is my own opinions and I have paid for the case and shipping by myself.
Full album here.
Appearance and Finishing
I must say that the voronoi pattern looks good and is starting to grow on me, as it wasn’t my first choice at the start, but I still prefer the boring, industrial look of the prison bar style, straight vents.
Build/Fabrication Quality
Solid, steel panels, at 1.5mm thick, gives the X1 a solid feel. Slight flimsy-ness at the corners, but no such problems when the case is fully assembled. Although I have my reservations regarding the stand/foot that is used, it feels a little bit shaky with a strong enough touch.
Building in the case
It wasn't too hard, it was spacious enough for a 6.9L case, although previous experience with the Lazer3D LZX-8 made things familiar, and moving from the K39v2 meant that this was easier. Cable management is as good as it gets, not much places to route cables if a SFX PSU is used, as it is right in front of everything. Custom cables would be much better here.
Positives
- Looks. Voronoi patterning makes a rare appearance on pc cases and it looks great.
- Steel construction in a classic layout, no riser cables are needed
Build/Cooling Options that I tested
- Flex ATX with Rear Exhaust Tower Cooler (Jonsbo CR1400, 126mm tall) + Rear mounted Exhaust 8010 fan.
- Flex ATX with Top Down Cooler + Fan Bracket (AXP-90 x47 Full Black, 12025 fan on bracket)
- SFX PSU with Top Down cooler + Top mounted Intake 12025 fan (AXP-90 x47 Full Black)
No, I don’t have a NH-U9S for testing or a 120mm AIO, and in my testing, the best cooling options are with a Flex ATX PSU with a tower cooler. Well, bigger cooler is usually always better, so the NH-9US would most likely perform even better.
The Jonsbo CR1400 at 126mm tall is pretty much the limit of the CPU coolers, with it sitting right at the side panel, looks pretty good and is quiet enough too.
Thermals
It's alright, just alright. CPU temps are where you expect it to be as the 5600X at stock isn't particularly tough to cool, but GPU is average at best while in the classic vertical format.
Laying down the case horizontally helped the airflow in the case, and thus also having better CPU and GPU thermals.
Cinebench R23 and Heaven benchmark scores and thermals can be found in my spreadsheet here.
Improvements and recommendations
- Might be my SFX PSU issue, but I was unable to mount the PSU with the fan facing outwards to the vented panel, the switch was in the way. A larger opening for the PSU would have been better, and maybe moving it higher.
- In the original vertical layout, GPU temperatures are gerenally higher (I had hifi feet that I just placed on the table and laid the case down horizontally).
- Mounting of the rear 80mm fan only uses 2 mounting holes, strangely.
- Airflow can be improved, with additional vents in the back panel, where the motherboard is mounted.
- Support for 2.5inch drive(s).
- GPU power cables might hit against the side panel if your cables are thick, taller cards might face some issues.
Vents at the back are needed to help with GPU temperatures, as right now, the hot air exhausted by the top down cooler and GPU are trapped in the front of the case, without any exit. Top mounted intake fan with positive pressure will push air down, meaning some of the hot air will flow to the bottom of the case, where the GPU will intake it back. Higher temperatures indicate this, in my experience as I have faced the same thing in the Lazer3D LZX8, which is even more ventilated.
Conclusion
In summary, the Smol X1 is an interesting take in the SFF/ITX world, with multiple build options and configurations without the use of a PCIe riser cable, although it isn’t the smallest and can only take an ITX GPU, but can mount some tower cooling options, with a Flex ATX PSU, and it looks quite good.
While in the SFX PSU configuration, the closest non-sandwich cases that I can think off that are similar are Lazer3D’s LZ-7/LZX8, SGPC’s K69/K60/K70, Sirius T70, which are all slightly bigger.
The Smol X1 has a configuration option that are really a niche (Tower Coolers with Flex ATX) within a niche (<10L volume), but I personally like it, and would like to see more options for such, as I don’t really see many other options out there (yet).
Right now, in its current prototype stage, there are some areas where it can be improved on, and I am definitely looking forward to the finished product.
