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Dutch manufacturer Phanteks adds a new model to its high-end Enthoo range of PC cases. Now there is an Enthoo case to suit multiple requirements and price points.
As with every case we review, thermal performance is important, therefore, we shall measure this by running a series of tests to record CPU and GPU temperatures under load. How so?Mainly due to the side fans, the typical designed video cooler breaths from were the 3 fans will be pushing air against. You have the fans of your GPU blowing air or trying to blow air at your card and you have these 3 fans blowing at the output of the card. All temperature measurements are presented as Deltas – the ambient temperature has been deducted from the CPU/GPU temperature giving us a Delta. Thermals are up next, but since our thermal test bench uses air cooling and the Enthoo Pro 2 is clearly competing with the O11 XL for the large liquid-focused case market, let’s take a moment and compare them on those terms. Lian Li O11 XL vs. Enthoo Pro 2 Radiator Show-Down Handling the cable management of both systems also went better than initially expected, the large cable cutout in the PSU shroud was perfect for threading all the cables through and looked quite neat.
From the Manufacturer
Finally, at the bottom of the case are four feet fitted with anti-vibration rubber pads that provide approximately 25mm of ground clearance for bottom airflow. The base of the case is also equipped with a full-length woven plastic mesh filter that can be removed from the front. x 140mm/120mm roof fan mounts, 1 x 140mm or 3 x 120mm bottom fan mounts, 4 x 120mm side fan mounts (fans not included) The following configurations will be used to test the effect they have on thermal and acoustic performance: With no optical drives, Phanteks has focussed on making the Enthoo Pro 2’s interior friendly to a wide range of high-end builds. As with most full towers, users can choose to focus on airflow, water-cooling, or storage, but the Enthoo Pro 2 can also be used for dual-system or dual-PSU builds. Some choices will require upgrades (which Phanteks is happy to accommodate, naturally), but as you’ll see there’s plenty you can do from the outset.
The GPU temperature with 100% case fan speed averaged 44 degrees Celsius over ambient, and lowering fan speed to 45% only raised that delta to 47 degrees. Removing just the filter lowered it to 46 degrees, and removing both the filter and the front panel lowered it further to 45 degrees. We rarely have numbers that line up so neatly. A difference of only two degrees between having the front panel and filter on versus taking them off completely is an achievement, and it appears that the front panel really might be as breathable as advertised. Keep in mind that this is dependent on static pressure performance, and so we tested with the lower speeds to create a bigger challenge for the fans. If anything, this indicates that Phanteks doesn’t need to include the line about taking the filter out, since its impact on thermals is minimal. Inside the top section of the case is enough space for the installation of E-ATX motherboard which is the form factor chosen for our primary system build. Manoeuvring the motherboard into position is easy since there is plenty of space to the right-hand side, at the top of the case and a healthy gap to the PSU shroud. While on the subject of cable cut-outs, another feature that Phanteks has implemented well in the Enthoo Pro II, there are additional cut-outs with grommets along the side of the top motherboard tray, towards the front of the case for managing fan/SSD cables, as well as above and below the top motherboard tray. A view from the rear gives away the non-traditional layout, and the vertical PSU is key to enabling dual-system and dual-PSU support. The high-end aspirations are reaffirmed by the eight PCIe slots and the three neighbouring vertical ones. At 240mm across, the Enthoo Pro 2 is wider than most but not bloated, and keeping both height and depth comfortably below 600mm is impressive given what can be housed inside, though it’s by no means small. For bottom-mounted intake fans, there’s just under 3.5cm distance from the surface the case stands on to the floor of the case, with a few extra millimeters of clearance added by the removable fan/radiator tray. It’s a good tray, held in by a single captive thumbscrew which was torqued down so hard it warped the bottom of the case. The O11 XL has a similar amount of clearance, although the plastic trim along the bottom of the Enthoo Pro 2 makes it appear to be much less. Interference from the PSU shroud means that the tray can only fit a single 140mm fan, and there’s no room to spare on either side of 120mm fans. The section of the tray adjacent to the PSU shroud will not fit anything wider than 125mm at the very most. GN Case Testing Bench
Cable cut-outs for the top system are also positioned just right to hide PCIe, 24-pin and EPS cables. Also, the two cut-outs on top of the power supply came in handy for routing front panel USB and Audio cables, However, rubber grommets on these cut-outs would be beneficial. To the left of the front panel are four removable SSD covers that allow 2.5-inch drives to be mounted on either side. With all the SSD covers removed it opens up another mounting point for radiators and fans at the front of the case, with support here for up to 480mm radiators or four 120mm fans. Apart from that the price looks good for what you get, no kiddie RGB and the solid side panel is cheaper than the tempered glass rubbish. Would've been nice to get another USB-C port instead of two USB-A ones. The dimensions are going to be terrifying, I do hope that they offer a version in white. Building a dual system inside the Phanteks Enthoo Pro II was an absolute breeze and went much better than I was expecting. Phanteks has thought of everything with the Enthoo Pro II. Users have so many options and the case can be utilised for different scenarios with the support for dual systems, dual power supplies or a storage configuration that offers huge capacity for SSDs and HDDs. The major negative consequence of rotating the PSU is that vertical space is bizarrely limited given the size of the case. The O11 Dynamic cases deal with this problem by moving the PSU behind the motherboard, but the Enthoo Pro II must fit the full height of an ATX motherboard and the full width of an ATX PSU and shroud into a body approximately 55cm tall (minus legs), leaving whatever’s left over for fans, radiators, and cables. There’s only 3cm between the top edge of the motherboard and the roof of the case, and about 1.5cm from the bottom edge of the motherboard to the PSU shroud. Fan mounts at the top of the case are offset away from the motherboard to mitigate the problem, but it’s a jarring limitation to hit in one of the largest cases we’ve ever reviewed. Routing CPU power cables and fan connections to the top edge of the board isn’t any harder than it would be in a mid tower, but it’s a far cry from the huge wide-open space above the motherboard in the O11 Dynamic cases and even the Anidees AI Crystal. Conversely, space at the front of the case is wide open from top to bottom. For once, the full advertised length of the front radiator mount can be used easily, up to 480mm.
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