Phanteks P500A Airflow Case Review: Thermals, Build Quality vs. TD500, O11 Dynamic, P400A
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Date: 2020-07-10
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Comments and reviews: 10
Rocky12345
Great review thank you. Going off of your review this most likely will be my next case as of right now unless you review something even better later on.
As for the front fans I wa sjust on their web site and if you look at their what version of the case you can just make out that the fans are installed behind the front panel as descrided her ein the review & on their black case you can not tell. They most likely really worked the lighting to try to hide this for the case beauty shots for the promo page. Either that or they used 120mm fans in the blacj case for the pictures because they do look slightly smaller than the ones in the case you reviewed here.
When I get this case and since I would never install a rad at the front of the case I would most likely very carefully cut the supports on the case to clear it up slightly so the fan sides are not blocked by a ugly front fan support bracket like they went with.
The proper thing they should have done is not have the RGB on the fans them selves but have RGB rings that attached in front of each fan. I am sure Thermotake would have been more than willing to sell some RGB Rings or they could have some china knockoff made up for the cases...lol
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Great review thank you. Going off of your review this most likely will be my next case as of right now unless you review something even better later on.
As for the front fans I wa sjust on their web site and if you look at their what version of the case you can just make out that the fans are installed behind the front panel as descrided her ein the review & on their black case you can not tell. They most likely really worked the lighting to try to hide this for the case beauty shots for the promo page. Either that or they used 120mm fans in the blacj case for the pictures because they do look slightly smaller than the ones in the case you reviewed here.
When I get this case and since I would never install a rad at the front of the case I would most likely very carefully cut the supports on the case to clear it up slightly so the fan sides are not blocked by a ugly front fan support bracket like they went with.
The proper thing they should have done is not have the RGB on the fans them selves but have RGB rings that attached in front of each fan. I am sure Thermotake would have been more than willing to sell some RGB Rings or they could have some china knockoff made up for the cases...lol
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Spartan0536
I built my Ryzen 3800X system back in March of 2020 using the Phanteks Evolve X and I would give it a 90/100, its a really nice case, but I got it for 179.99 and not the usual asking for 199.99, which still makes it the single most expensive case I have ever personally used in my own build (client builds have gone up to 400 cases before).
There are a few things with the Evolve X that I knocked points off for..
1. the SSD mounts, you had to buy them separately and I am glad I did, because the supplied ones on the wire covers in the back are not going to fit with the really tight clearances that the wires end up making.
2. Cable slider shrouds, like Steve said, they are really necessary and could be better thought out and cost saving, they actually kind of hinder certain things. They are not useless or bad per-say, they are functional, but there is likely a better and cheaper way to do it that allows for high build quality at the same time.
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I built my Ryzen 3800X system back in March of 2020 using the Phanteks Evolve X and I would give it a 90/100, its a really nice case, but I got it for 179.99 and not the usual asking for 199.99, which still makes it the single most expensive case I have ever personally used in my own build (client builds have gone up to 400 cases before).
There are a few things with the Evolve X that I knocked points off for..
1. the SSD mounts, you had to buy them separately and I am glad I did, because the supplied ones on the wire covers in the back are not going to fit with the really tight clearances that the wires end up making.
2. Cable slider shrouds, like Steve said, they are really necessary and could be better thought out and cost saving, they actually kind of hinder certain things. They are not useless or bad per-say, they are functional, but there is likely a better and cheaper way to do it that allows for high build quality at the same time.
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Xalyx
Hi Steve! I love your work and you make some the most inclusive reviews on the platform. I'm proud to be a patreon backer! Just a bit of constrictive criticism. Before I say this, I understand that, I get it, you literally say in your intro support our long form investigative reporting . You have such great content and want to be so exceptionally clear on things that you tend to repeat a lot of your previous statements. I would love to see more people viewing your content so perhaps a shorter video by keeping the information 1:1 might be helpful. New people might not want to watch a long video but that would still get all of the information you're trying to convey and still be a shorter video. It's more noticeable when delivering more data driven content. You're product reviews don't usually have this repetition.
Love you guys, keep it up!! Just offering my 2 cents :)
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Hi Steve! I love your work and you make some the most inclusive reviews on the platform. I'm proud to be a patreon backer! Just a bit of constrictive criticism. Before I say this, I understand that, I get it, you literally say in your intro support our long form investigative reporting . You have such great content and want to be so exceptionally clear on things that you tend to repeat a lot of your previous statements. I would love to see more people viewing your content so perhaps a shorter video by keeping the information 1:1 might be helpful. New people might not want to watch a long video but that would still get all of the information you're trying to convey and still be a shorter video. It's more noticeable when delivering more data driven content. You're product reviews don't usually have this repetition.
Love you guys, keep it up!! Just offering my 2 cents :)
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Chance
I personally just can't get behind the whole front of the case, It just looks so ugly (aesthetically)
DON'T get me wrong, I LOVE mesh fronts, but this weird shovel looking face front just bugs me.
I'd rather it be flat (maybe its for airflow reasons) but it's just the ugliest front imo, and I always steer my friends to other airflow focused cases over this.
Maybe I'm too picky, but Its just a no from me. If making it flat like say the H500 / Macube 310 (with a mesh front) I'd recommend it 100%
Forgo the other case stuff. The hinges / the drive cage stacking was cool too!
MANY EDITS LATER :p
I have the NR600, moved from the H500 (cause it was very similiar) but ugh the inside is abysmal compared to the H500. I just really dig the aesthetics of that case. Which is why I mentioned the Macube 310 which is what I might buy and sell the NR600.
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I personally just can't get behind the whole front of the case, It just looks so ugly (aesthetically)
DON'T get me wrong, I LOVE mesh fronts, but this weird shovel looking face front just bugs me.
I'd rather it be flat (maybe its for airflow reasons) but it's just the ugliest front imo, and I always steer my friends to other airflow focused cases over this.
Maybe I'm too picky, but Its just a no from me. If making it flat like say the H500 / Macube 310 (with a mesh front) I'd recommend it 100%
Forgo the other case stuff. The hinges / the drive cage stacking was cool too!
MANY EDITS LATER :p
I have the NR600, moved from the H500 (cause it was very similiar) but ugh the inside is abysmal compared to the H500. I just really dig the aesthetics of that case. Which is why I mentioned the Macube 310 which is what I might buy and sell the NR600.
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Joshua
Hmm, almost perfect came for my brother to move to, but the fans absolutely HAVE to be positioned in the front, so I wish Phanteks would fix that, as his GPU is extremely long (Zotac 2080 AMP! Extreme) and would conflict with the fans. Then again, he would have to swap fans to 120's to mount his radiator in the front, and I guess his Fractal Design S36 could be mounted to the top, but would limit him to only 1 system, which he intends to build a plex server ITX build as well. Also, only 2 drive bays is a killer for the same reason as the last issue, he needs at least 5 drive bays, plus a SSD mount to replace his current case. He was going to buy a 011 Dynamic XL, but overall lack of availability has made him give up on it
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Hmm, almost perfect came for my brother to move to, but the fans absolutely HAVE to be positioned in the front, so I wish Phanteks would fix that, as his GPU is extremely long (Zotac 2080 AMP! Extreme) and would conflict with the fans. Then again, he would have to swap fans to 120's to mount his radiator in the front, and I guess his Fractal Design S36 could be mounted to the top, but would limit him to only 1 system, which he intends to build a plex server ITX build as well. Also, only 2 drive bays is a killer for the same reason as the last issue, he needs at least 5 drive bays, plus a SSD mount to replace his current case. He was going to buy a 011 Dynamic XL, but overall lack of availability has made him give up on it
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stevin47
before updating amd drivers from amd 20.4.2 or earlier , look at your installed game compatibility tab in the driver . then install amd 20.7.1 my vega 64 went from compatible all my game to only compatible with pinball lol , and recommended cards even a rx5700 was not compatible recommended higher cards . same with fire strike i downloaded free verision yesterday and test results were not listed as game gpu if you look you have to now have a rtx2080 to be a gaming pc? did the games i have change lol looks like a scam to get upgrades to newer GPU'S lol . but amd driver 20.7.1 is beta but my vega gained 3 fps on a benchmark average so it was good on vega ..
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before updating amd drivers from amd 20.4.2 or earlier , look at your installed game compatibility tab in the driver . then install amd 20.7.1 my vega 64 went from compatible all my game to only compatible with pinball lol , and recommended cards even a rx5700 was not compatible recommended higher cards . same with fire strike i downloaded free verision yesterday and test results were not listed as game gpu if you look you have to now have a rtx2080 to be a gaming pc? did the games i have change lol looks like a scam to get upgrades to newer GPU'S lol . but amd driver 20.7.1 is beta but my vega gained 3 fps on a benchmark average so it was good on vega ..
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Bloodpact
I'm glad they're still doing dual system cases but I'm also glad I bought the MiniXL before it went out of production. The Evolv and P style of mounting the secondary motherboard to the roof of the case is just terrible for thermals. The Luxe 2 or whatever it's called would be cool, but it doesn't have 5.25 bays - which if there is ONE remaining use case for 5.25 bays it's PRECISELY dual system cases so you can put in hotswap HDD/ SSD cages and not rely on ethernet transfer speeds. Hotswap is so important to me I won't look at a dual system case without 5.25 bays.
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I'm glad they're still doing dual system cases but I'm also glad I bought the MiniXL before it went out of production. The Evolv and P style of mounting the secondary motherboard to the roof of the case is just terrible for thermals. The Luxe 2 or whatever it's called would be cool, but it doesn't have 5.25 bays - which if there is ONE remaining use case for 5.25 bays it's PRECISELY dual system cases so you can put in hotswap HDD/ SSD cages and not rely on ethernet transfer speeds. Hotswap is so important to me I won't look at a dual system case without 5.25 bays.
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omar
Idea for GN merch: why dont you make and sell these case screw trays on the GN store? Perhaps make them modular (or various sizes), supplied with blank stickers?
While yes, anybody can go to a hardware store and buy one of these trays (or 3D print them, as it seems everybody and their dog own a 3D printer of sorts), but how many of them will come in, say, a sick blue colour with a GN logo on the front? I bet this will go nicely with the GN toolbox kit!
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Idea for GN merch: why dont you make and sell these case screw trays on the GN store? Perhaps make them modular (or various sizes), supplied with blank stickers?
While yes, anybody can go to a hardware store and buy one of these trays (or 3D print them, as it seems everybody and their dog own a 3D printer of sorts), but how many of them will come in, say, a sick blue colour with a GN logo on the front? I bet this will go nicely with the GN toolbox kit!
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Blake
On a noise normalized test, would the Cooler Master H500 (blank) outperform the P500A digital?
I ask because the H500 was noticably absent from the Noise Normalized chart.
The H500 comes with two 200mm fans as you know, which I believe would push more air at a given RPM than the smaller P500A fans. I'm deciding between these two for my build, and noise is important since the PC is going in my bedroom. Would appreciate any input!
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On a noise normalized test, would the Cooler Master H500 (blank) outperform the P500A digital?
I ask because the H500 was noticably absent from the Noise Normalized chart.
The H500 comes with two 200mm fans as you know, which I believe would push more air at a given RPM than the smaller P500A fans. I'm deciding between these two for my build, and noise is important since the PC is going in my bedroom. Would appreciate any input!
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Sean
So far the best case I have owned is the Corsair Obsidian Series 900D, it's quiet, would be more so at high CPU load if I bought a different closed loop water cooler. Once I swapped some positions of the CPU radiator it really cooled off the components, having the radiator directly above the motherboard as opposed to more forward caused a significant difference in thermals. It is the easiest case to work in so far.
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So far the best case I have owned is the Corsair Obsidian Series 900D, it's quiet, would be more so at high CPU load if I bought a different closed loop water cooler. Once I swapped some positions of the CPU radiator it really cooled off the components, having the radiator directly above the motherboard as opposed to more forward caused a significant difference in thermals. It is the easiest case to work in so far.
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