Xigmatek Elysium Case Review

[siopao1984]

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Xigmatek Elysium Case Review by VR-Zone.com

Introduction

Xigmatek is a European manufacturer of computer related products, mostly focused on cases, power supplies and cooling solutions. Most of their cases are designed for the mainstream market, offering good features and usability at a low price. Xigmatek also offers one single computer case at the time of this review which is nothing like that. Today we are going to examine and review the Elysium, a massive tower case of gigantic proportions and one of the very few cases ever able to support XL-ATX and HPTX motherboards.

Manufacturer’s features and specifications

• Support HPTX super big M/B and 10 PCI slots for four graphic cards.
• Hot-swappable 2.5/3.5” SATA HDD docking on top panel.
• Two USB3.0 super-speed ports on top panel with dust-proof cover.
• Both side screw-less ODD holders.
• Dual PSU possible on the top and bottom.
• 360/420mm water cooling radiator possible.
• Fully external twelve 5.25” bays with two “4 in 3 HDD cage”.
• 3.5” HDD anti-vibration rubbers inside of 4 in 3 cages.
• Anti-vibration rubbers and bottom dust filter for PSU.
• Aluminum on the front mesh panel with removable dust filters

[siopao1984]

Packaging and Bundle



The Elysium is supplied inside a very large, blue themed cardboard box. There are a lot of pictures of the case itself on the box but most of the artwork revolves around the graphic representation of the mythical city of Elysium, from which this case is named after. There are a lot of details concerning the Elysium’s features and specifications to be found all around the box. Inside the box we found the massive case protected by two large polystyrene foam slabs and wrapped in a tough nylon bag.



Most people will find the bundle of the Elysium relatively disappointing, considering the class of the case itself. Inside the package you will find only the necessary screws, all of which are black, a basic black and white manual, a few white cable ties and four optional wheels which we wholeheartedly recommend them to be installed. A few cable straps or at least black cable ties would have been very useful.

[siopao1984]

The case exterior



The Elysium is available in four versions; silver or black strips and with or without a windowed side panel. We received the silver version with the windowed side panel. Aesthetically, the design of the case is relatively simple, clean and straightforward but the most notable part of the Elysium is the massive size, with the case measuring over 61cm tall and 66cm deep. The Elysium is mostly made out of thick SECC steel which makes it very heavy, with the case weighting well over 15kg when still completely empty!



The front of the Elysium is entirely filled with meshed drive bays, 12 of them to be exact, with two aluminum strips running beside them and continuing towards the top and bottom of the case. One of the meshed drive bays carries Xigmatek’s logo glued to it. Not one of the meshed drive bays is cut to accommodate an external 3.5” device; there is no compatible bay either, you simply cannot use an external 3.5” device with the Elysium!



The LED lights can be seen in the form of small stripes on the right aluminum strip, towards the top of the case.



Xigmatek probably thought that given the size and weight of the case most people would place it on the floor and thus placed all of the buttons and I/O ports at the top of the case. The huge square button on the left aluminum stripe is the power on button and the I/O ports are being covered by a simple plastic sliding cover. Beneath the cover you will find an eSATA port, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, the standard headphone audio jacks and the reset button. Note that in order for the USB 3.0 ports to function, you need to route the blue cables found inside the case to the back of your motherboard and installed them on USB 3.0 headers. Installed right behind the I/O ports there is a unique feature of the Elysium, an integrated SATA disk dock on which you can plug any 2.5” or 3.5” SATA device as easily as if it was a diskette.



The rest of the Elysium’s top is covered by a large metallic mesh cover with a plastic frame and Xigmatek’s “X” logo on it. The mesh can be removed by simply pulling the plastic switch seen at the right of the picture.



Beneath the mesh lies the perforated top panel of the Elysium, cut in a honeycomb pattern and able to house up to three 120mm/140mm fans or two 200mm fans, or up to a triple watercooling radiator.



At the all black rear side of the Elysium we can see the two possible PSU compartments, a 140mm exhaust fan and no less than 7 rubber grommets covering the holes for watercooling hoses. We have no idea why Xigmatek installed so many rubber grommets but still one of them will be very useful for routing the USB 3.0 to the back panel of your motherboard. Xigmatek felt that the bottom PSU compartment would be more frequently used and installed a cover on the top compartment, which can be moved to the bottom compartment if the user wishes. You can also install an extra 80mm cooling fan on the cover.



Another 80mm or 120mm fan can be installed at the rear of the CPU area. We feel that this cooling fan might be relatively useless since the back of the motherboards rarely ever requires any kind of cooling but Xigmatek does offer the option.

[siopao1984]

The case interior



The left side panel of the Elysium is mostly covered by a window cut in a U shape. The window also has vents cut towards the rear side of the case, both at the top and bottom of the panel. Even though the window is relatively thin and has vents, it feels durable enough.



What’s left uncovered by the window is covered by a thin metallic mesh and a large 200mm cooling fan. The black cooling fan features white LED lighting, it has a sleeve bearing and a slow and quiet speed of only 500RPM.



The interior of the Xigmatek Elysium case is all black, down to the case cables and thumbscrews, with the exception of the I/O and fan cables. The motherboard tray is cut behind the CPU areas, allowing the installation of large CPU coolers without having to remove the motherboard from the case even if you are using a dual CPU motherboard. There are many holes covered by rubber grommets for routing cables from and to the back of the tray.



The rear of the motherboard’s tray is extremely roomy, giving the users ample room to route and manage the cables of their systems.



There is no automatic “tool-less” lock for the expansion cards but all expansion slot covers are held into place by black thumbscrews. Every one of the expansion slot covers is also perforated in order to aid the thermal performance of the Elysium.



At the back of the case we can see the factory installed semi-transparent black 140mm cooling fan with the white LED lighting.



Much like the top of the case, the bottom is entirely perforated, cut in a honeycomb pattern and able to house up to three 120mm/140mm fans or two 200mm fans. There are rubber anti-vibration grommets to softly hold the installed PSU and Xigmatek also installed a rubber anti-vibration stripe around the PSU’s exhaust hole, meaning that the PSU will not be touching any metallic part of the case directly.



Should you want to install the PSU at the top compartment of the case, Xigmatek installed a rubber anti-vibration stripe around the PSU’s exhaust hole there as well and placed supports for the power supply, plus a large hole covered by a rubber grommet to help you route the cables directly to the back of the motherboard’s tray.



All twelve drive bays have plastic locks with metallic pins at both of their sides, featuring Xigmatek’s “X” logo as their rotating lock. The two drive cages are also locked by black thumbscrews.





Xigmatek installed two small fan power supply PCBs inside the Elysium, one at the top right corner and one at the lower right corner of the motherboard tray. Each of the boards can supply power to five 3-pin powered fans by using a single Molex connector.



The Elysium comes with two HDD drive cages installed at the bottom drive bays, each of which takes three 5.25” slots and converts them to four 3.5” drive slots. There are also support braces installed behind the drive cages.



The cages are extremely well built and feel as if they are designed to withstand a plane crash. Each of the cages has a semi-transparent black 120mm cooling fan with white LED lighting installed.



In order to install the HDDs you need to use the included special screws alone. The reason for that is that the Elysium utilizes rubber grommets to stop the vibrations of HDDs from affecting the rest of the system and this requires special longer screws with larger heads.



Our ICTT system fits inside the Xigmatek Elysium case with ease; actually, it looks like nothing more than a small toy while installed inside this case. If you install a standard ATX motherboard, the board will hardly cover half of the motherboard tray and give you plenty of room for everything else. Even the longest PCIe cards will easily fit inside the Elysium, making it ideal for triple and quad SLI configurations and it should not be hard to install large watercooling systems entirely inside the chassis.

[siopao1984]

Test syste setup and results

In order to assess the thermal performance of the case we will be using our Integrated Casing Torture Test (ICTT) system to take readings over a period of one and a half hour. All of the case fans are operating at their maximum speed during the test and both side panels are closed. The exhaust temperature probe was placed above the rear fan of the case.



The thermal performance of the Elysium was nothing short of stunning, yet expected from a case of such proportions and with its thermal capabilities. Aside from the four large pre-installed fans, every panel of the Elysium is almost entirely perforated, allowing the air to freely circulate in and out of the case. The large 200mm fan is not too strong and appears to have been implemented mostly because of its large area of effect and its quiet operation.

When it comes to acoustics performance, the quiet fans Xigmatek chose did their job well; the Elysium generates 35.2dB(A), a good result for a steel case with four large fans running at their maximum speed and every single of its panels perforated. The case fans are audible while running at their maximum speed but not too much; we believe that these fans on their own are incapable of bothering most users, however remember that noise from several sound sources are being combined to each other and these figures will rise as you install more and more moving parts inside the Elysium.

[siopao1984]

Final Words and Conclusion

Quality (30% of the total score)

The manufacturing quality of the Elysium is exceptional, even for a case of its class. Despite the massive proportions and substantial weight, the steel body of the Elysium is sturdy like a rock. There are no sharp edges or parts which could be easily broken, which the possible exception of the front I/O plastic cover which does feel slightly flimsy for a part that might be pulled open and closed several times a day. Other than that, the Elysium is a very resilient product and designed to last for a long, long time.

Quality Score 10/10



Performance (30% of the total score)

We were expecting the Elysium to be able to deliver excellent thermal performance; it is a massive case with all of its panels perforated and four large cooling fans preinstalled. However the Elysium did even better than that. The thermal performance was extraordinary but its acoustics performance was above average as well, despite the lack of insulation and the perforated panels. It is a product that will certainly give the competition a very hard time.

Performance Score 10/10



Aesthetics (30% of the total score)

Aesthetics are a subjective matter but we believe that the classy, although cold lines of the Elysium are fairly attractive. Combined with the windowed side panel, the white LED fans and the “bolted” aluminum strips, the Elysium creates a theme both enhancing and majestic at the same time. The extremely roomy interior increases the aesthetics of the Elysium dramatically, allowing the user to easily keep the interior of the case tidy and route/hide all cables.

Aesthetics Score 10/10



Value (10% of the total score)

Believe it or not, value is probably the strongest point of the Elysium. It is a massive case, feature packed, HPTX compatible and it still is cheaper than many grand cases from other manufacturers. It actually is by far the cheapest case compatible with XL-ATX and HPTX motherboards. It may be a relatively simple, steel case but its size and features offer great expandability, tons of features and exceptional long-term value. What Xigmatek could improve is the inclusion of an external 3.5” adapter bay; we do agree that the floppy disk drive is long dead but there are many other 3.5” external devices, such as card readers and fan speed controllers.

Value Score 10/10

[eXpLoDe]

w0w 10/10 gyud. yes because i like the 2 PSU optional place(s). + easy for cable management.

also its has lots of fans to be placed for a smooth ventilation airflow.

wala lang ko ka uyon sa front. IMHO

[VonTech]

nice! pila sad kaha price ani..

[wendellmb]

gahi-ag nwong ani nga case oi ..

[thewicked46]

i think naka post napd ko ani...here it is,nalubong na gud xia

https://www.istorya.net/forums/comput...k-elysium.html