The march against PC cable clutter is continuing unabated, as Phanteks has just unleashed several new cases that support power connections on the rear of the motherboard PCB, as used on the latest Asus BTF and MSI Project Zero components. What’s more, these new case designs won’t break the bank, with prices starting at just $59.99.
Phanteks is hot on the heels of the new Corsair 6500 and 2500 dual-chamber case designs, which came out at the end of February 2024. We’re expecting this motherboard innovation to quickly become a standard feature on the best PC case designs, as PC builders look to banish the sight of chunky power plugs from view.
Three new Phanteks cases have been released, all under the umbrella of the new XT brand, catering for a wide spectrum of PC builders, whether you hate RGB lighting, love an aquarium-style view of your PC’s innards, or prefer to prioritize airflow with a mesh front panel. Phanteks is also keen to point out that these new cases will also house massive graphics cards up to 415mm long, meaning you’ll have no trouble fitting an RTX 4090 in them.
The range starts with the Phanteks XT Pro, which eschews RGB lighting, giving you a minimalist, black case with a mesh front panel, and a price of just $59.99. Next up is the Phanteks XT Pro Ultra for $79.99, which adds four RGB fans and a DRGB lighting controller to the mix, and has both black and white options available.
Then there’s the Phanteks XT View for $79.99 which, as its name suggests, replaces the meshed front panel with a glass panel that, when combined with the existing glass side panel, gives you a full view of your PC’s tidy interior. The XT View also comes in both black and white flavors.
There’s plenty of room for cooling gear inside the new cases as well, with space for a 360mm radiator in the roof. You can also put a 240mm radiator in the bottom of the XT and XT Pro, although you can only mount a second 240mm radiator in the side of the XT View if you use a vertical GPU mount. The large interior space in these cases also means they can all accommodate E-ATX motherboards with a width of up to 280mm.
The photos supplied by Phanteks still show some visible cabling going to the graphics card, but if you use an Asus BTF graphics card as well as an Asus BTF motherboard, your GPU would be able to get its extra power straight from an additional connector on the motherboard as well.
Even if you don’t have one of the latest motherboards with connectors on the back of the PCB, you can still assemble an uncluttered system. Follow our guide on how to build a gaming PC, and we’ll show you how to route your cables so they’re all neat and tidy.