Xigmatek Elysium Review

1. Introduction2. Xigmatek Elysium (Packaging & Bundle)3. Xigmatek Elysium (External)4. Xigmatek Elysium (Internal)5. Xigmatek Elysium (Installation)6. Testing Methodology and Performance Results7. Acoustic Performance8. Closing Thoughts9. View All Pages

Xigmatek have been earning a solid reputation among the enthusiast community for their high quality range of products. Today we are looking at the gargantuan Elysium case, which on paper looks to be possibly one of the best value and most capable cases on the market.

The Xigmatek Elysium is no ordinary case, it can handle multiple watercooling radiators, can accommodate dual power supplies and has twelve 5.25 inch drive bays. It also supports HPTX, XL-ATX, E-ATX, ATX, Micro ATX, ITX form factors.

Features:

Product Name	ELYSIUM
Product Number	CCC-HSA0DS-U01~04
Dimension	(W)230 x (H)618 x (D)663 mm (9.06*24.33*26.10 inches)
Drive Bay	5.25″ External x 12 with tool-free holders. (Including two external 3.5″ device adapter and one 4 in 3 3.5″ HDD adapter.)
Expansion Slot	10 slots
Motherboard Support	HPTX, XL-ATX, E-ATX, ATX, Micro ATX, ITX (with backside hole for CPU cooler)
Power Supply	Standard P/S2 ATX/EPS power supply unit 1. Two PSU space on the top and bottom. 2. Intake airflow hole with dust filter. 3. Available for face upward and downward installation. 4. Within anti-vibration rubber.
Cooling System	Air-cooling Front Fan : Pre-installed 120mm white LED with black blades x 2 (On the 4 in 3 HDD cages.) Rear Fan : Pre-installed 140mm white LED with black blades x 1 (120mm fan is available) Side Fan : Pre-installed 200mm white LED with black blades x 1 CPU Fan : 80/120mm fan x 1 available Bottom Fan : *If PSU was installed on bottom space: 120/140mm fan x2 or 200mm fan x 1 **If PSU was installed on top space: 120/140mm fan x3 or 200mm fan x 2 Top Fan : *If PSU was installed on bottom space: 120/140mm fan x3 or 200mm fan x 2 **If PSU was installed on top space: 120/140mm fan x2 or 200mm fan x 1 The clearance of CPU cooler height is 185mm without side panel preinstalled 23cm fan interference. The clearance of CPU cooler height is 155mm with side panel preinstalled 23cm fan interference. Side panel 23cm fan is removable to top and bottom fan space If interference.
	Water-cooling Water pipe holes x 7 (with rubber cover) Available for 360/420mm radiator
I/O Panel	Top Panel: Power On/Off switch, USB3.0 x 2, USB2.0 x 2, e-SATA x 1, Audio in/out x 1 (HD Audio).

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The Elysium arrives in a bright box with a futuristic focus. Xigmatek love their fantasy settings and they claim on their website “ELYSIUM – Domicile of the blessed in the ROMAN EMPIRE, surrounded by own stars and a sun – your new high end gaming tower.” Corny, yes. But at least it is a bit of fun. Many companies just shove a case in a bland brown box without any effort on attracting the eye.

The case is protected inside a clear plastic wrap to help stop scuffing during rough transportation. There are two thick foam pieces on either end to act as shock absorption.

Xigmatek include four chassis wheels, a user manual, four cable ties and a bag of screws and bolts to aid with installation.

Xigmatek make several versions of this case, black and silver … with and without side windows. We received the silver model with window, which looks absolutely brilliant. It has a slight ‘industrial' look to it, but with the accenting and colour scheme it also looks very attractive. The case is made from steel and plastic and weighs 15.4kg. It measures 230mm x 618mm x 663 mm (W x D x H).

At the top of the case is the power and reset button and several plastic flaps, which cover the I/O panel and a drive bay for removable storage (both 2.5 inch and 3.5 drives).

The flap is pushed upward to expose the ports underneath – it does seem a little flimsy and requires a bit of force to move. There is a eSATA connector, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports and a microphone and headphone port.

At the front of the case, down the right side bevel are two strip lights which indicate the power and hard drive activity. They look really good when they are lit up.

The whole front of the case is graced with a metal mesh material, which again really helps improve the appearance. There are two 120mm fans fitted behind this, these are used to bring in cool air across the drives and components.

We received the windowed version of the case, which will appeal to modders and overclockers who want to show off their snazzy new system build.

The rear has a total of six rubber mounted grommets to help with watercooling and cabling (top two are meant to be used for the USB 3.0 cables). There is space at the bottom and top of the case for a dual power supply configuration, handy for hard core overclockers. There is a 140mm exhaust fan positioned close to the top of the chassis. The more observant among you will see that there are 10 slots for expansion.

We used a high intensity flash for this shot to highlight the very attractive engraved ‘X' logo in the top of the mesh panel.

Both side panels are easily removed with two thumbscrews. The insides are all painted black, which is important with a windowed case, to improve the appearance. The side panel has a huge 200mm fan mounted acting as an exhaust, which is also a white LED design with black blades.

First impressions are certainly positive, as there is acres of space inside to build a system. Xigmatek literature highlights that this case will also accommodate the whopping eVGA Classified SR2 motherboard.

There are well positioned cable routing holes staggered around the backplate to ensure the cleanest system build possible. As expected, the obligatory CPU cutout hole is included to help with cooler installation.

The 140mm exhaust fan is a white LED model with black blades, perfectly matching the rest of the design. The expansion slots use a traditional screw system to lock graphics cards and other components in place. It is well made, but not quite as nice as the Lian Li metal lever system.

The two front mounted fans are installed right at the bottom of the case. These are again white LED versions with black blades to keep the appearance totally uniform throughout. We also like how Xigmatek have included two small circuit boards to help with cable routing. All the 3 pin fan headers can be powered from single molex connectors.

We mounted a Cooler Master 700W PSU in the bottom of the case, and we were pleased to note that Xigmatek have included four rubber stops to help keep vibrations to a minimum.

Installing hard drives and optical drives is a straightforward process involving a catch locking system, with a rotating center piece. The manual isn't that clear about how to install drives however, but we worked it out.

The case can accommodate graphics cards up to 430mm in length, which means even the super long AMD HD6990 fits with plenty of room left over.

Installing the motherboard is a painless process as there is so much room inside the case to work with. Even the Noctua NH D14 pictured above, looks rather small !

Watercooling radiators and power supplies can be mounted along the bottom or top of the case, giving plenty of options for the enthusiast user. For those with additional demands, we noticed that the roof could accept a triple 140mm radiator system while the front drive bay area also has space for radiators, as well as the bottom of the case. The combinations are almost endless.

Xigmatek earn bonus points, because they bundle four wheels with the bundle, which can be screwed into the bottom of the case as shown above. This means moving the case around the house is much easier (and trust me it is heavy when the system is built).

For the test today we are using an Intel Core i7 990x processor which is connected into the stunning Asus Rampage III Black Edition motherboard, which we reviewed earlier this year. Using a hot running Intel system for the temperature testing section of the review is the best way to ascertain cooling performance.

Processor: Intel Core i7 990x
Motherboard: Asus Rampage III Black Edition X58
Cooler: Antec Kuhler Liquid Cooler
Memory: Kingston T1 12GB 1600mhz DDR3
Storage: Corsair F40 SSD
Graphics: eVGA GTX460 SC
Power Supply: ADATA 1200W

Windows 7 Enterprise Edition 64bit

Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2

Firstly let us have a look at the chassis design and airflow, as it comes ‘out of the box’. Fans are set to a mid way point for this testing.

The Xigmatek Elysium case forces in cool air from the front which passes over any hard drives before reaching the motherboard and other components. Warm air is forced out the rear and sides of the case with the 140mm and 200m exhaust fans. Rising heat will also pass through the top grill panel section. It is a very good system and based around a traditional airflow ethic.

We have placed thermal diodes in 5 case positions – 1; top optical drive bay position. 2; fan intake position. 3; hard drive area. 4; CPU area. 5; graphics card area. Ambient room temperatures were maintained at 23c throughout.

Very good results, close to the Lian Li PC Z70 Diamond Series case, we recently reviewed.

These are great results and highlight the airflow proficiency of the case. The massive 200mm side panel fan helps ensure graphics card and motherboard temperatures are kept very cool indeed.

These temperatures aren't quite the best we have seen in our testing but there will be no cooling concerns when using a high end, overclocked system in this case.

We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.

Today to test the chassis we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2 one meter away from the case. The room rates as 21dBa before powering on the system (air conditioning unit in the far corner of the room causes this).

As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

We have replaced the graphics card with a Sapphire HD5670 Ultimate edition.

The noise levels are respectable, although the case is clearly audible.

The Xigmatek Elysium is such a physically gargantuan chassis that it is hard not to immediately sit up and take notice. On a technical level it is a well designed case and easily one of the best looking plastic and steel chassis we have seen. Looks are subjective, but Xigmatek haven't opted for gaudy lights and silly side panels, instead focusing on an classic design with up to date industrial overtones and attractive accenting on the edges.

On a practical level, this case is certainly not going to fail to impress. It can cope with a wide variety of motherboard standards and offers plenty of room for the installation phase, one of the most important aspects when building a new system.

There are plenty of fans supplied as standard, with room for more, if the demand is there. The build quality is excellent throughout, and the full black interior will certainly improve the overall appearance of the final system build. The only negative point we can mention is the flimsy top flap cover on the I/O panel.

This immense internal space doesn't go to waste as the top and bottom sections can fit either watercooling radiators, or dual power supplies. The diversity and overall layout of this design is class leading and I can't think of another case quite as capable, especially in this price range.

Xigmatek haven't overlooked the aesthetics and functionality. They have included a handy external drive bay at the top of the case, with sliding doors to enhance the appearance when not in use. The mesh panels give it a futuristic appearance and the option of adding wheels to the finished build is an inspired extra.

You may think that the Elysium might set you back around £200, but Xigmatek are selling this in the UK for around £140 inc vat, which is a heck of a price point to achieve. We would love to see a high end deluxe aluminum version of this case with a couple of extra fans, because we think it could mount a serious challenge to our favourite case, the expensive Lian Li X2000F. Perhaps this is just a pipe dream.

Pros:

• Huge internal design to suit hardcore overclockers and modders.
• Looks are great.
• Can support dual power supplies and watercooling.
• Build quality is excellent.
• Is capable of cooling a high end system.
• One of the best value cases on the market.
• Wheels are a great extra.

Cons:

• It is heavy, due to steel construction.

Kitguru says: This is the best product from Xigmatek that we have reviewed. If you need a huge case and want something attractive and fully loaded, then this is the one to buy.

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