How to Fix the Airflow Problem with the Phanteks Evolv ATX

The Phanteks Evolv ATX is a beautiful case that suffers from poor airflow, causing PC temps and noise output to rise, and possibly even reducing performance. Here I modify my Evolv ATX to improve the airflow WITHOUT really changing how it looks at all, so you can have you pretty case as well as your airflow.
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[@LunchBXcrue]

Someone should do a mod where a little motor pushes the front panel forward as the temps rise, kind of like cars do with spoilers when they hit a certain speed.

[@JeagarTech]

That is some genius level shit! I would pay good money for that front panel!

[@TheG60528XiJinPing]

Do it yourself, no one else will have one like it

[@benjihutch24]

That's a sick idea!

[@angelvenzor2781]

Theres already sum like that

[@ajrowe5845]

Thanks for the Video! No mattter how good or bad these mods end up being its really helpful to see what people have tried and what works and what doesn't, Thanks for sharing your experience with us! This came out pretty clean great originial look.

[@JeagarTech]

Thanks a lot! I'll always make videos of things like this for that exact reason, succes or not! I quite like how it looks too and I'm glad you do.

[@barfman7767]

The new "Evolv X" has addressed those issues and then some, it is suppose to come out this August or next month. Phanteks has claimed three times the airflow at the front panel, and five times airflow for the exhaust at the top. With clever cable management panels that doubles as mounts for nine SSDs, and also can hold up to ten traditional hard drives at once as well. Also with the nifty option of installing a secondary mini ITX system at the ceiling of the case itself which essentially houses two computer systems at once!. With all that capability of holding all of the above at once, that would be one heavy beast to lug around. Looking forward to getting it myself. :)

[@garbisrobert4848]

Congrats for this video. I keep looking on pc cases video, but MOST of them are presented for commercial only - does not care a bit for airflow. Thanks again dude. I almost buy this, but after i saw your video i changed my mind because i am looking for a good airflow. TY

[@JeagarTech]

Good to hear you appreciate it! I completely agree, there are far too many "reviews" that are basically just payed product placements...

[@1idd0kun]

I like that you showed how the air is sucked in when you have negative pressure. I shows that airflow has a huge impact on dust building up inside the case.

[@JeagarTech]

Thanks man, I had no idea how bad it was until I tested it!

[@DavitGames]

Great video, you deserve a mot more subs!

[@JeagarTech]

Thanks a lot mate!

[@1badtsi]

I just used some extra motherboard standoffs on those bracket screws, problem solved

[@JeagarTech]

Now that's some good shit! Just add as many on top of each other to have the distance that you want. That's pretty good, and it would work well for hte I/O as well!

[@llocash6443]

No you didnt, they dont fit.

[@noisychicken9334]

I just did this, you good Sir are genius !!

[@nanogeekpro2]

I remember when I got this case that I actually improved internal temps by tapinig up the rear with a black tape from 3M. I left the original fans in place pulling from the front and placed 3 fans on the top pulling into the case, creating positive pressure, the PSU which is the same as yours was pulling air away from the GPU in the same way as yours, this creates a negative pressure in that area which is then filled with the positive pressure air and then forced out the single rear fan next to the IO. I tested it when compared to the panels off and I was running cooler when the panels were closed.

[@RAMBOLOGY]

Good modification. I took the same idea and used nylon spacers and 6-32 thread thumb screws. I spaced it all the way up to where the front panel edges slightly ahead of the edge of the glass. So far its dropped a couple degree celsius and the aesthetics of my case aren't noticeably hindered plus I have complete access to the front I/O with the I/O door able to completely open all the way. Only problem is the front rgb LED is to far back to show through the front but that was expected. Ill figure a way to fix that next time.

[@JeagarTech]

Awesome! It's nice to hear that someone else had the same idea :D I extended the LED, unfortunately I didn't show it, but it was the same process as the I/O that I show at the end. Just use a screw and a bolt to hold it in place further away from the case :)

[@spooky1000]

Hey, nice video, really helpful. I plan to get that case also. I've noticed you got that vertical GPU mount, do you have a video showing how you did it ? If not, can you make a video showing how it is done? Thanks.

[@JeagarTech]

Hey man, thanks a lot! So I won't be making a video showing how I mounted my GPU vertically because I really wouldn't recommend the way I did it lol! Basically, mine is pulled into the centre of the case a bit so that my pipes line up, it makes it less sturdy and more difficult to plug in connectors. The best way to do it is to mount it to the top of your expansion slots. OC3D did it in a video a linked to someone else, here it is (the explanation starts at about 7:30): kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYS5hqx3mMqKbNk

[@clagadin71]

Im a bit late with this, but was thinking of this case for my new build in a few months, so wanted to see some reviews, which everyone should do. The vid has me thinking now. Been reading the comments, and seen you said all your fans are the same speed. wouldn't it be easier than modding to up the fan speeds a bit for the front fans by taking them off the fan controller and connecting them to the MoBo, or a separate hub? Or can the controller control different fan speeds at once? Other than that, great vid, gave me alot to think about.

[@markmayfield2228]

Instead of the indented front plate design, you could have a flat plate fabricated that has the side notches still there, perhaps accentuated. That way you still have the look and increase the amount of airflow along the sides. The case front is the whole reason I didn't go with the Evolv.

[@JeagarTech]

You definitely could, or (if you're skilled with an angle-grinder/know someone who is) you could accentuate them yourself. That would definitely help airflow. Yeah, the whole case market in general is providing pretty poor performance, GamersNexus has been doing some pretty interesting videos on the matter as well.

[@JeagarTech]

What case did you end up going with?

[@christoskaragiannis7973]

Oh my god that's ugly for me. Maybe if it was half that distance with stronger intake fans it would be fine but now it seems really weird...

[@reubenkerr2497]

Great video. Maybe you can help. I'm looking for the plastic block mount/surround (behind the aluminium flap) for the front I/0 card as my Phanteks Evolv case is second hand and didn't come with the part.

[@Biglenton]

i wondered why my system was always full of dust at the back

[@indestruct1bl3]

I just bought a 1x10 board that was 4 feet long from my local lumber yard, cut it to the exact shape as the case, and cut out the entire notch where the USB and Audio ports were and left it open. Stained it to match my desk. Also cut the side slots about 1/2" deeper than the original after I got the exact shape. then I used a router to give a 45 degree angle to the entire outside edge. Airflow problem disappeared. Currently trying to make a wood top panel, but it's a little more involved... :(

[@CRV3N]

I still think that it is the top panel that is more the villain than the front space

[@DuanDao]

This is a lot more elegant than what I do which is removing the entire panel when I game. Also you'll notice that propping the top panel also helps evacuate some of the hot air out the top

[@JeagarTech]

I haven't tried propping up the top panel yet. I'm not sure what is the best way to do it, and I don't have much cooling going to my top panel, so I've never been too bothered. How did you do it?

[@DuanDao]

Jeagar Tech I just removed the 4 screws from that top panel popped it off so there's a slightly bigger gap to allow for the hot air to exit. I have a 280 rad up there so when my fans ramp up it helps evacuate the got air

[@muckymcfly]

The plate is so cold the air going onto the system is lovely and cool no problems with the case so far.

[@kaussstorm]

This is funny because I have 2x inlet fans at the front, and 3x exhaust (2 up top with rad, and 1 rear switched to Riing fans). I do not have dust in my unit as I would usually. My unit is 2 years old now, and my cases usually look like the moon by this point. I can literally sell anything in my rig as mint and it would be near dustless. The dust pattern of my filter with 2x 140 fills pretty much the circle of each fan. I have the top portion left open. I run X62 Kraken AiO, and a 1080 FE. With a custom fan profile where 80 degree gets 95% fan, and 75 degree gets 75% fan, I don't usually go over 72 degree temp. I don't have the stuff overclocked. This thing does not flow like all the Lian Li cases I use to have, but all my Lian Li cases were filled with dust using air coolers. This case with AIO combo has survived the dust apocalypse for me so far. Kinda wish I wasn't too lazy to rebuild everything in the Evolv X.

[@adamyounes6244]

Hi, pls help, should i buy the evolv, i like the case alot, is the airflow rly a super problem or is it just something you could just improve and its not a crisis?

[@_fatalruin]

Great job on this mod. It does fix the airflow problems for sure, but hurts a aesthetics a bit too much for me (not a criticism on your mod at all). I'm with you; I wish we could have the best of both worlds with this case at stock. I'm looking at a building a new system with the evlolv mATX TG case instead; I hear that they spaced the front panel more appropriately for airflow and with high static pressure fans in front, the airflow should be fine.

[@JeagarTech]

Yeah I personally like it for my build, but that's just my opinion, everyone will prefer it differently :) I don't know about the mATX case having better spacing, but with good fans you should have decent airflow anyway. The airflow in my case wasn't ruined, it was just annoying me haha

[@_fatalruin]

Jeagar Tech Slightly higher temps, still within a manageable range, are fine in exchange for asthetics (for me at least), but extra noise and dust are not. Again, well done.

[@JeagarTech]

I get it, that makes perfect sense :) And the aesthetics of these cases are sooo good, I'm sure your new build is going to look great :D

[@PCGoblin]

I found that there was only an 8 degree variance with all the panels off and them on with everything running 100% and overclocked. So I dont think theres really much problem with airflow on this case.

[@JeagarTech]

PCGoblin that's not bad, but that entirely depends on your setup. There is definitely reduced airflow at the front from that panel, that's pretty clear from the test I did in the video.

[@josestechcorner]

I took my front and top panels from my Evolv ATX to a fabrication shop to get ventilation holes put in them. They did a good job, more than what I would have done, and airflow is optimal again.

[@JeagarTech]

That is a pretty good way of doing it if you can. I was really tempted to go down that route, but also really wanted to keep the clean panels :P

[@Exidose]

Can you show us some pictures?

[@jhawk870]

What I did was moved the radiator to the front of the case, 2 fans on the back of the radiator and 1 on the front,pulling air. 1 fan on top, pulling, with black cardboard covering up any exposed gaps around them. Then finally one fan on the back pushing. I have good airflow coming out of the back atm, I can feel it on my hand, under the fan that's pushing. I would doing only 2 fan on the radiator, but the airflow through there is too tight. I think I should switch the 2 to the front of the rad, and put the 1 on the back.

[@tazdog4528]

I have the same case and have seen where some have mentioned airflow issues in this case. For me so long as my cpu is not running hot or my other hardware im fine with it. My solution to the gap in the side of the panel if it becomes a issue for me is simply to get some thick felt and run a strip along the side to close to gap completely off so no air can come in. I live in a very dusty place so i havent yet seen a issues but if their is 1 it will soon show. Also i have thought about just getting a think piece of construction board and just making a gasket for the excess gap in the side where the glass meets the case. I havent put any fans in the top of my case and im using a Hyper Evo 212 for cooling. My sysemt is a Ryzen 5 1600 OC to 3.8 running at 1.2875 volts with temps 61c to 66c max which i consider pretty desent since these cpu are not the best over clockers. Just thought i mention the felt or construction board as a alternative method to the gap issue if dust is causing you a problem. I do love these cases i think their 1 of the best cases on the market only thing i dont like is the off side panel being class. Thats a really nice system you have their by the way,

[@JeagarTech]

I'm actually in the process of modding the rear of my case with some noise dampening foam covered in metal, mostly for looks, but also for a little coil whine dampening. The thing is though that it probably wouldn't help much with dust because the air would just get sucked up through my power supply lol. And blocking all of the expansion slots might make them annoying to use if you want to install new hardware at all. You could do it though and it will probably fine, but there is no need to do what I did if your temps are fine :)

[@tazdog4528]

Very true i just thought id throw that out if dust coming in from the side of your case was your main concern. I no theirs many ways you can mod a case to help with air flow dust ect. Im all for the easy fix if possible. Just thought id throw that out if ya hadnt thought about it. These are great cases and i love mine hope you get yours lined out the way ya want it and good luck.

[@luciang9547]

I was thinking exactly at the same thing, but not that huge of a gap, doesn't appeal for me that way

[@SEEUENTEE]

Modmymods has the front and the top panel that are modded with a pretty clean cut out if anyone's wondering

[@callum881]

Is this the sliver or grey?

[@brian_serafin]

Do you have a link to the mods you found?

[@1stfloorguy59]

I'm just going to try different fan configurations and if all else fails I'm going to dremal that front face so the gaps are wider

[@JeagarTech]

Yeah that's not a bad idea. If you can get airflow/temps/noise that you are happy with without having to hack the case up then that would be best :) A tip though, if you intend to use a dremel then start from the inside. I saw someone try to cut air vents with a dremel and ruined their case because they couldn't cut all the way through it so they just had cuts marks all over it!

[@TonyStark-vd6mu]

I would perhaps drill uniformly aligned holes on that front aluminum metal. Or cut up triangle like shapes forming a nice design up front kinda like Iron Man eyes or any other design look. Holes for the fan to pull air in. Hard without proper tools though. The smoke seems to havr been pulled in by the PSU Fan And speaking of PSU fan, you really should have made the fan facing down so it can pull ambient temp air from the under belly of the case. And not warmer air inside the case. Even worst when its a water cooling rig. Dont want the holes of that psu fan grill facing up waiting for that one single drop.

[@tulliobellia3104]

Nice...

[@ScrapTechTips]

1k sub's for the win

[@SirShizuka]

2 fans blowing out the roof, 1 fan blowing out the back and 3 partly obstructed fans sucking in the front. That logically translates to negative pressure, no surprise there. Before thinking of modding the case i would have worked with the fans speeds. Possibly removing the back fan completely, or adding a floor intake, i don't know if this case offers that option.

[@JeagarTech]

I did change the fan speeds because the dust build up was annoying me. I had the rear exhaust fan completely off at idle. The problem with that is that you are losing airflow performance or increasing noise. That is the problem. You can always just make your intakes spin faster or exhausts spin slower, but that doesn't solve the problem, it just changes the problem. I'm trying to solve it here, and the mod wasn't difficult/I was happy to do it, so it was a very logical choice :)

[@haydenjoy4904]

What is the length of the spacers? I dont want to space it out to much.

[@JeagarTech]

I used 2-2.5cm, but 2cm will give excellent results. Anywhere from 1-2cm will give a significant improvement, it just depends how far you are happy to space it out.

[@garbisrobert4848]

Hi. Is there a website where you can create and customize your own PC CASE and buy it ??

[@JeagarTech]

Not that I know of, if so it would probably cost a lot. You can get custom modded panels for certain cases though.

[@NIVO1972]

rubber grommets! push onto the shafts of those nubbins would space it perfectly

[@teemu3370]

How did you create the vertical GPU mount? Looking for doing one myself on this case

[@JeagarTech]

Teemu K So I actually wouldn't recommend the way I did it because I moved my GPU further into the case to line up my tubing runs :P A good way to do it, that I would actually recommend, is mounting it to the expansion slots. So the part of the GPU where you screw in can hook it onto the top of the expansion slots and if you drill a couple of holes you can screw your GPU in and it will be extremely stable. You might have to cut one of the bars across the expansion slots to access your ports though.

[@JeagarTech]

Teemu K Tom Logan from OC3D did it that way in one of their builds I think, I'll have a look for it!

[@JeagarTech]

Teemu K here it is, I think he talks about the GPU mount must after 7 minutes :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYS5hqx3mMqKbNk

[@teemu3370]

Jeagar Tech Thanks. I'll have a look

[@TTymek]

Didn't you thought that the air is being sucked back in just because your exhaust fans are spinnig too fast? I mean it may be caused by exhaust fans spinning faster than the intake fans, so the rear and top fans need to suck the air from the outside of the case cause front intake cannot supply enough air. Just my thoughts, it would be nice if you could verify that.

[@JeagarTech]

All of my fans have their speed controlled via a dedicated fan controller. Before I did the mod and when I was testing in this video, the speed of all the fans was identical all of the time because they were running on the same fan curve. So when I did the first smoke test without the panel on the front and the smoke was blown away, it showed that there was more intake than exhaust, and then I put the front panel on and air started to get sucked into the case, showing that with it on there is more exhaust than intake. All of the fans were spinning at identical speeds the entire time, so this shows that the front panel is reducing the intake airflow. Thanks for the question :)

[@TTymek]

Thanks for the answer. Also, have you been doing any temperature tests before/after the mod?

[@JeagarTech]

No I didn't. Biggest mistake, I really should have done, sorry about that... I didn't really think about it, because for me this was a dust problem. I can tell my temps have gone down in game, but I don't have exact figures, and because of my cooling setup I'd need to do a controlled test at a set fan speed to give an accurate number.

[@TTymek]

Ok I understand that, thanks for your time.

[@nimmr]

Have you tried less than those 2½cm spacers? I would think that maybe 1cm would be enough?

[@nimmr]

Grinding the front plate could also be a way, but damn that wouldn't look nice without some professional tools

[@JeagarTech]

1cm wasn't quite enough, I was still getting negative pressure (so the fans will have been very restricted still). 2cm gave me positive pressure, just. So I think 2cm gets rid of most of the choking, I'd still recommend about 2cm.

[@JeagarTech]

And yeah, you could cut some nice designs into the front that would improve airflow AND look badass, but if you don't have the tools or the skill then you'd just wreck your case lol. If you wanted to though, it might be worth looking for some form of professional who can do it for you.

[@johnbrocklebank7450]

why not drill holes

[@jordan3802]

Cant you just take the front off completely to get even more air?

[@JeagarTech]

Yeah you definitely could, but I really don't like the way that looks haha

[@DoctorZi]

Here is how i fixed mine, cut a giant rectangle shape hole on the front panel, weld a metal mesh, sandpaper + paint, looks good as new, + proper airflow :=)

[@JeagarTech]

I think that is literally the best way to do it if you have the tools. I was very close to choosing that option. but really wanted to keep the front panel solid. sop ended up choosing this. But cutting a hole and adding mesh is definitely the no.1 option for increasing airflow :P

[@aspyde]

what about the top panel? can you do the same with some spacers?

[@JeagarTech]

Not really, the top is held in differently and you can't really just raise it up at all... To get better airflow you might have to cuts holes/vents in the top panel.

[@aspyde]

bad news:( btw you could buy spacers on aliexpress of every mm you need). What do you think about the nzxt h700i ?

[@JeagarTech]

What sort of spacers? Err, the H700i looks pretty decent, I think it is classic NZXT (so as a whole a damn good case!),. and the airflow looks not bad, if not the best. It's so overpriced though!

[@aspyde]

Jeagar Tech Im trying to understand if airflow is better on h700i than the evolv atx. For the spacers I will search for the links

[@JeagarTech]

Ahh okay, the H700i will have better airflow without modding.

[@looly66]

Bad idea, I would jut deal with the dust and keep the gorgeous look

[@JeagarTech]

Wals J that's up to you :) I quite like the way it looks now.

[@elandseadel501]

a modmymods cover did the trick for me

[@hagridsbeardguy1399]

You should flip your PSU around mate.

[@CommonPotatos]

Can I put a rtx 2080ti in this case ?

[@yeoldgamer]

Yes I have one in my case. Might even do NVlink.

[@CommonPotatos]

@@yeoldgamer good to hear, thanks.

[@Techie4life]

Just ditch the rear exhaust fan and u get u'r self a positive air pressure system.

[@JeagarTech]

The problem with that is that you are losing airflow performance or increasing noise. That is the problem. You can always just make your intakes spin faster or exhausts spin slower, but that doesn't solve the problem, it just changes the problem. I'm trying to solve it here, and the mod wasn't difficult/I was happy to do it, so it was a very logical choice :)

[@Teletha]

u forgot to mod the top

[@Questchaun]

I used a water jet to cut parts of the case out. Looks bitching.

[@VoidlessOfSpace]

how to fix airflow: take off the full front panel. ya i think i could've figured that out before watching

[@KableTac]

why the hell would you ever use such larger spacers? 😂 all you needed was like a half inch spacer and it completely fixes it

[@hochhaul]

I just used small stacks of washers and some longer screws. No wood spacer. No pipes.

[@lDavidl]

Just throwing this here: www.caseking.de/search?sSearch=evolv+atx www.caseking.de/phanteks-enthoo-evolv-atx-flow-edition-midi-tower-tempered-glass-schwarz-geph-079.html

[@darrennandlal5876]

nice case, but i regret buying iy

[@techquad1151]

however never buy it if u own a gigabyte x570 series, a few works. the D led mess up the power creating a power loop. then the MB cant detect sata disks. If u have Phantex and problems with fans or sata unplug the rgb led caple from Phanteks. OMG mhy build is fucked. no fix no Tits. Chose sata or rgb.. after been in contact with Phanteks , they say they dont co operate good with gigabyte,

[@christopherjames9843]

Fix airflow but make the case look ridiculous.

[@jovangonzalez4841]

Smacking your mouth when recording is a narcissistic trait. Good video and dope rig btw.

[@runninggames771]

I haven't noticed him doing that, wtf u talking about

[@badlilstang]

Sorry that looks horrible.. did you not see the mods where guys are getting hte front panels cut?

[@MrMethadrine]

or just get rid of the front panel lol

[@thespanielinquisition7167]

Dude there is no need to ruin the look of your case - your standoffs are way too much for the amount of airflow the fans can produce - 3mm more would have done it, a couple of washers. We inflate our lungs every few seconds through our nostrils - its not an aircon inlet

[@JeagarTech]

We'd inflate our lungs with a lot less effort if our airways were 4 inches wide!