New month, new case. Ok, I may have an issue with buying too many cases. What may? Totally recognizing that I have an issue.
XTIA, known for their beautiful open air/frame cases, has a new case, the X Slim, that finally got off pre-order status and have shipped to early adopters. Despite encountering some early flaws with the PSU mounting, XTIA and their team were wonderful in communicating it to users and did a revision quick enough. Being an overseas customer, they informed me that it would be better for me to wait for the revisied version. Customer service and communications were top notch.
Console style case, that can be expended with the inclusion of different plates. With the increase in size, users are able to fit in a bigger CPU cooler, single slot GPU, or a dual slot GPU.
Detailed specifications can be found in their post in the forums here. On to the pictures.
For myself, I built in the L mode. 5.7L, not the smallest, and also not able to fit the biggest components either, but damn, does the case look good.
Didn't really test thermals, the RX 6500 XT and 5600G isn't particullar toasty either, and with all the mesh, it shouldn't be any issue. The Thermalright AXP120-x67 is a great cooler.
Points I noted while building in it:
Well designed & machined.
Expendable design that can be built to fit your needs.
Way too much mashing of the components to get the case to close. (Might be due to my component choices and user error first time around.)
I/O shield mounting is a little tricky, if your board doesn't have an integrated baffle.
GPU and riser cable doesn't have their dedicated mounting points.
PSU, being behind the GPU might be eating the heat output.
Overall, I like the case! It's idea is good, and the quality is just top notch. In my opinion, as an APU case in it's S form, will be the perfect use case. Don't get me wrong though, there are only some minor concerns.
Specifications
- Case: XTIA XSlim
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
- Motherboard: Sapphire Nitro+ B550I
- Ram: 16(2x8)GB Crucial Ballistix 3600 CL16
- PSU: Myihaja Flex 700W
- GPU: Powercolor RX 6500 XT ITX
- Cooler: Thermalright AXP120-x67/77 (with TL-B12S fan swap)
- Case Fan (Top Exhaust): 2x Scythe Hachi 8015mm
- Storage: 1x Silicon Power 1TB
