Phanteks P500a Overview - LBC#61

As someone who generally likes compact towers, I liked this one a lot. Big without the Too Big.
Phanteks P500a RGB is available through amazon via the Associate Links below, although prices may vary elsewhere!
US/Global: amzn.to/2XRAFg4
UK: amzn.to/38VVSM3 (Likely cheaper at Overclockers.co.uk or Scan.co.uk)
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[@wbretherton]

' That's My Jam ' definitely needs to go on a t shirt

[@AdamKeyz]

Drinking game: Take a shot every time Graham says "however".

[@jasonmay1978]

Im in! lol

[@garybroadhurst3548]

I always feel sorry for him because he's "A little bit sad" so often. hehe

[@ackman3981]

What about "it's fine"?

[@metrotechguru5863]

Excellent, comprehensive review Graham. I have seen this case reviewed by others, but you have covered the bases much more thoroughly. Thanks.

[@Madrok7]

Best thorough review of the P500A! Thank you for describing the finer details!

[@christopherfarrell-artist3557]

Why on earth would anyone dislike this. Graham has always come across as true and honest.

[@fynkozari9271]

I think because he kept repeating, "you know, you know, you know". Its just too much.

[@kdawg3484]

FYI, as of writing, on Newegg, the RGB version of this case is $130,and the non-RGB version is $100. However, the non-RGB version only includes 2 fans while the RGB version contains 3 fans. Say you want to have three front fans and one exhaust fan. Phanteks SK140 fans are about $10 each for non-RGB and $18 for one SK140 RGB. Total cost with 4 RGB fans: $148. Total cost with 4 non - RGB fans: $120. Just FYI. Also, the non-RGB case does have a reset button.

[@wynard]

I like this. Not in need of a case for a while but it looks well built with good features. The boxed screws are a nice touch too!

[@Spitfire727]

Awesome video!

[@jaytee8188]

Great video Graham, thanks.

[@happyfeet4506]

This is a brilliant video. I've bought the white version of this case and it's a beauty. The front panel provides brilliant air flow and I'm suprised at how good it is at stopping dust. This is like a fridge at keeping everything cool. This is the best case I've ever owned phanteks have struck gold here

[@DJSammy69.]

Really good looking and roomy case!

[@jonathane9403]

I use my audio jack on the top panel for headphones to answer your question Graham. I have 4 usb's (2.0 and3.0) plus a usb c on the top panel of my Define 7 case housing a gigabyte master x570 mother board. I keep the Define 7 on top and to the left side of very long industrial type of desk. I can boot to windows 10, arch linux and linux mint, each OS has it's own separate physical drive. My linux 'grub' menu loads first and from there I can choose which OS to load. So far so good. I built the system last Spring from the instruction and encouragement that you and other Tech people gave on the internet. Thanks so much.

[@BeezyKing99]

sweet! good morning Graham... i actually enjoy watching your videos... having a cup of coffee with this upload.

[@deminybs]

nice, at work taking a shit while watching 😂

[@BeezyKing99]

@@deminybs haha! bomb that can! lol

[@TLM-Nathan]

I recently purchased the P500A from Newegg and on the day of delivery I came out to see I had actually been sent an Evolv X. I thank Newegg for the free upgrade every day.

[@dren8346]

really nice build on this one

[@superduder]

I am also a huge Fan of the Phanteks Fans.....fans. Great Review. Thanks. Cheers.

[@DIYwithBatteries]

Cool stuff 👍

[@andrewdicker8877]

I was very impressed with the P400A when i bought one for my nephew this christmas, I also bought my niece the Coolermaster TD500, both cases I was quite impressed with for the price and having RGB already integrated. I would defintely check out the TD500 if you want a case that has a smaller profile with lots of room for everything including decent cable management. Also keep up the great videos!

[@HATCHETHAS]

Just bought an AeroCool Atomic to house a spare system, very well put together. Power + HDD led, 2 USB, front audio, lighting and power buttons. RGB fans tempered glass side with magnetic catch. Worth a look if your on a budget.

[@philcrockford5534]

Just bought the P360 Air for upgrading my wife's tower. That's a compact case you would like. Lovely case.

[@cptwhite]

Yep I still use front audio jack, cable length on my headphones isn't so long. I use a small extender so the port on the case takes less wear and tear.

[@jasonmay1978]

with my razer headset i got a thx adapter that hooks up to usb so i dont even need the headphone jacks on my pc

[@analogidc1394]

The box of screws is a nice touch, as is all the Velcro ties.

[@rustyrob]

I purchased this case from Overclockers and arrives 20th January had it on pre order for 10 days.

[@MrBook123456]

good video

[@deminybs]

I was able to cram an EK 360mm PE radiator and the 360mm SE radiator + the uni 140 D5 distro plate/pump and vertical mounted 2080 ti in the cooler master 500m. I definitely had to get creative with the plumbing. sorry I missed the previous livestream!! edit: no graham I don't use front audio ports or my case , run my headphones to the rear I/O jack on MOBO itself. Only use the front USB ports for charging my wireless jetpack /update the BIOS, anything else I just use rear ports, and type c cable is always plugged into GPU for charging my phone 😂

[@Wellibob68]

I like Graham. Stay safe.

[@petechiarizio1766]

The top rear blank plate is for a dual system mini itx on top. Of course, the bracket needs modifying to actually fit the itx rear flush to the rear plate.

[@RobinGrays]

Kool gotta love included Corsair (Thermal Padded ) water block.

[@Gassit]

I like Phantek cases. My current system is in an Enthoo Evolv X and my last one was in the previous Enthoo. Very well built and pretty cases IMO. One trick you missed is that those slidey cable covers can be removed and more of their hard drive cages can be fitted in there place if you like the old school look.

[@ravneiv]

I love them too. Have had P400 for a while. As shown in the recent vid however they are showing their age compared to new cases.

[@lesabre1972]

you da man I like the same in my computers too and I like looking at it.

[@coolumar335]

RGB sells systems! Cheers dude.

[@oynamalan]

I'm using the same case but white. Only problem is the front fans mounted on the inside. I moved them to outside but had to cut some plastic pieces of the front panel to fit. Looks awesome now.

[@TheGameBench]

I'm kinda' feeling the same lately. My main system is in the 011 Dynamic, and more and more and I want to move back to a standard layout case, and maybe go with a more compact mid tower. Still not sure if I would put it on my desk. If it were small enough, I might.

[@josearrasola7236]

I’m also looking athe same one but have three others ones on Amazon?

[@zMeul]

I have the P600s, it's a monster, love it! the one thing I do not love is the thin sheet of steel in front where you mount the fans

[@cmcmanus1974]

i have the p600s too and that's the exact same issue i have, it's very flimsy feeling that plate at the front but it is an awesome case.

[@Aleph-Noll]

how does the thin metal handle fan vibrations? thats what im worried about

[@cmcmanus1974]

@@Aleph-Noll it's fine for that, it just bends very easily when you screw the fans in.

[@Aleph-Noll]

@@cmcmanus1974 oh that seems really cheap especially for a case you pay a premium for

[@ottodachat]

yes I use my front audio jack and usb ports. The audio jack is connected to a Sound Blaster card, the 5550, I bought it over 10 years ago. . . the Intel provided sound is lame and turned it off in the bios. Old motherboard X58 Supermicro, but don't knock it, Xeon 6 core cost $12.00 us work station running Mint 19.03 (Tricia)

[@davehill9951]

I don't see many reply's from you on all your video's, guess your a busy man. I watch your video's consistently when they come up. A suggestion for a new video. Taking a m.2 nvme boot drive including the operating system from an old computer to a new build. Ive seen a couple on you tube but still a bit confusing for most people including me. Your comments on procedures are to the point and concise. TC, Dave from Canada

[@Adamant_IT]

The comment volume is a lot to keep up with these days, but I try to take a look through the feed when I can! Theoretically for windows 10 you don't really need to do anything. I move Win 10 drives between systems all the time, usually just needs a Windows Update pass and one or two reboots to settle in. Some people talk about removing all the old drivers and stuff like that, but I've never found that to be necessary.

[@davehill9951]

@@Adamant_IT Thanks for the reply sir. Just building probably my last computer before retiring, 64 now. I have upgraded from an 1800x to a 3700x and new motherboard and new Video card. I was just worried the m.2 boot drive with windows would create a problem. On that drive as well i have 3 music recording/ software programs on it as well, maybe should have put them on a different drive. And again, thanks for the reply! Dave from Canada

[@retrogamer33]

I love RGB - the more, the better.

[@lotsoflife8236]

Yes, do use front audio jacks, but in most cases use either Bluetooth or USB. Depending on situation.

[@PeterPan90]

Sry my bad english, have a Boton Reset in front panel?

[@MikeTimbers]

rear roof slot is to permit mounting an ITX secondary system inside the single case.

[@loganparker4184]

I do actually use my front audio ports! Albeit I own a Dell 3020 sff (you may remember me from the stream) and I have a mic + headphones = a single plug adapter which I use for games however normally just use the audio port.

[@Kentish9494]

I have an Enthoo Luxe with tempered glass side panel and this is very similar. Masses of room for everything

[@onedeis8011]

Yup I'm using my front audio. My mobo has this software equalizer it's okay however it's not that good. And it's a separated headphones and mic.

[@danagibbs3265]

I use my front panel audio because I just use a casual set of headphones and the cable isn't long enough to reach the back of the motherboard. It's a combined port, and the headphone jack is just the single combined jack, but I do have a splitter jack if I need to use the back panel instead.

[@starlite3597]

how did you get this case when its out of stock everywhere?

[@kam_mil]

I use my front audio port just temporarily for my headphones because I changed desks and my cable is too short. I modded my headphones so that they have a combo jack port for easy cable replacement. I've used the ports on my case a few times, mainly for testing headphones (my friends always bring me broken stuff to fix).

[@repadron]

Yup, I still use the front panel audio jack

[@cmcmanus1974]

my p500a is arriving 10-Feb to get my sons PC built.

[@PAUL-1961.]

I just bought the XPG BATTLECRUISER Mid-Tower RGB Tempered Glass Panel PC Case, Black

[@josearrasola7236]

With the home schooling yes it’s being use more then normally!! Other that then I don’t use it !

[@bellshooter]

Front panel audio - yes, speakers and headphones generally from SPDF interface, but conferencing/gaming headset from front audio...

[@shamsports1644]

I use both my front and rear audio jacks setup for 2 different outputs.

[@lm_dccxl4078]

most of my clients seek speacially for those audiojack combos since most of the decent priced headphones avaible on stores are the ones for cellphones and usb headphones are at double the price.

[@mateuszwodarski4073]

Top removable plate at back is for dual system / second motherboard backplate

[@ravneiv]

Not only do I not use it, I cutoff the front panel audio cable - but also use a USB sound card so that made the front ports useless. I would have left it, but was cutting off the front USB as the port was shorting out, and thought while at it just cut the front panel audio I have never nor will ever use.

[@xinam]

Cracking video, however, too many howevers!

[@douglasjacobs3803]

pretty nice case i wouldnnt complain.

[@fredwooding6662]

I do use the front panel audio port for a headset when playing WOW at night.

[@TheOneTonHammer]

I do NOT use the front panel jacks. USB headphone (Hyperx Cloud II), but I use the rear jacks for speakers.

[@Spudics]

How did u get a 3070 or are u using ur friends 3070

[@Jaz_3001]

I still use the 3.5mm headphone jack on my Rosewill Tyrfing case!

[@ArtisaneSC2]

An adorable sized case compared to my Enthoo Primo

[@VOLTRONDEFENDER4440]

since i bullt my pc i had used a usb dac (Digital to Analog Adapter) so i never used the front panel audio port of my nzxt case

[@cHaMp630]

Flip the gpu cables around so the bulky excess wires aren't showing in the front? Because afaik the connectors are the same at both ends for the gpu and psu.

[@Adamant_IT]

I think the pinning is correct, but PCI-E power cables have a slot between the top left two pins, which prevents it being plugged in to the EPS (CPU) 8-pin. This would block you from reversing the cable. Braided extensions needed really, but I was over-budget on this build to fit in the 5600x (not in video, was swapped in later) and RTX 3070.

[@catriona_drummond]

I do still use my front audio ports. a LOT. Sitting the the same room for work and leasure as my spouse and so we are both constantly swapping from headphones to speakers. Especially me, during my spouses video conferences. and I got kinda tired of USB headsets a few years ago because they get recognised as a new device every bloody time you plug them in, even to the same port and 3 out of 10 times you have to do all the settings again for the volumes and the microphone thresholds, it's just a pain. with audio jack speakers it's perfectly fine and perfectly the same every time because it doesn't reinstall the drivers constantly.

[@benjaminjones1505]

I sometimes use the audio jacks, but I mostly run my speaker through the monitor because it isn't that good and is literally falling apart.

[@nticompass]

Front panel audio jacks? Yes! I use them all the time. How else am I supposed to plug in my headphones into my computer?

[@rhyzon]

"I don't buy a computer for a 4 figure sum with a tempered glass side table and RGB lighting in it to put it under a table". So, we could say that Graham is looking for... A DESK-TOP? *surprised pikachu face*

[@qT_p13]

I do use front audio jacks. In fact i wish my meshify c case had the combined jack at the front because my "better" headset uses that, but i do have a lower quality headset with the seperate jacks that i end up using.

[@ackman3981]

He talks about this case being in stock around Christmas. But the video is not posted until almost a month later.

[@achillesandhispal4196]

10:23 "Do you still use your front audio jacks?" I use the one on my monitor, not my PC. (PC is in a cupboard never to be seen except for maintenance.)

[@cloudstrife3767]

I have a Lian li Lancool II Mesh RGB case picked one up for £79.99 on Black Friday, would love to see a review by you on that one. I found it quite easy to work in, though had to swap out the front rgb fans for compatible motherboard connection for jrgb as opposed to argb. That was also easy enough.

[@Adamant_IT]

I'm thinking of picking up one of these because I keep getting requests for it, and it does seem pretty well priced. I wasn't a big fan of the original design, but I like the Mesh version.

[@Dutch-linux]

i still use my front adio ports 1 for mic and one for headphones when i do music creation .. the rest i have over usb

[@brokenshoe1775]

I've just moved my pc into the budget of budget cases the avp quasar tempered glass mesh front panel and RGB fans (unfortunately molex tho) all for £32 I mean apart from the molex can't complain it's a tight fit and cable management in it is a nightmare but possible

[@petersprague397]

I do use my front audio jack for my headphones. Nothing for the microphone jack

[@jasonmay1978]

with my razer headset i got a thx adapter that hooks up to usb so i dont even need the headphone jacks on my pc

[@jasonmay1978]

is it just me or does 130$ u.s seem a bit high for this case?

[@Dennn90]

Yes, I'm still using front panel connector (only headphones part) that is connected to a pci-e sound card, with my DT-990 Pro, and I've yet to see a proper usb DAC in a USB Headset, so I'll pass on usb craze.

[@andyrewstirzak1322]

hello just to let you know as from today january 19th 2021 that the case your on about phantek p500a is accually for sale now on amazon uk £154.00 in white and is pritty nice looking , just wanted to let you no so you can check it out thanks

[@Andy-sf3wq]

Yep I do use front audio jack

[@neilgosling1132]

yes i do all the time

[@miguelgarciajr4329]

i like this build you doing i have a msi edge gaming with a ryzen 3700x with cooler master 212 air cool 64 gb of g skill ripjaws 32 mhz a four ssd 2 500 gb and 2 1tb power by a seasonic 550 watts and mustex 907 case and six rgb fans !

[@Deanisok]

ive been looking at cases for the passed several Months.... the Fractal Design Refine C 6 usb-c, but is now discontinued..... so this is my choice due to the usb-c 10gb transfer speed

[@Turok2]

No I don't use the front panel audio jacks nor the front usb ports either. I actually removed the cabling for those in my case, so it's one less thing for me to cable manage.

[@cerberrrus2315]

I like it a lot but I think I'll stick with my P400S with a P400A mesh front panel mod. (yes, phanteks sells the P400A front panel separately if any P400S owners want to upgrade their thermals a bit!)

[@SMCrifshad]

I use front panel Microphone jack because the mobo io microphone jack has too much interference. I don't know, people complain when it isn't hooked up to the front jack. Upgrading to USB audio interface now, so ... meh.

[@davidbigwood8450]

How is the new shop coming?

[@Adamant_IT]

It got delayed, but now very soon!

[@WelshLad.]

Hi Adamant IT. I'm looking to build a pc for doing 2.7K video's. My budget is £300-£400, all i need is a motherboard, processor and memory what would you sudgest. Thanx

[@Adamant_IT]

Prices are terrible right now, but if you can find a Ryzen 3600 for about £200ish, then a B550 or X470 mobo for around £100, and some DDR4 3000MHz or 3200MHz, should just squeeze into that budget. That's if you can find stuff in stock though.

[@ahmed-0775]

Can you review Lian Li Lancool II mesh?

[@Adamant_IT]

Yea probably going to pick on up when I see a good price. Had lots of requests for the Lancool II, but honestly I didn't like the design. I like the Mesh version though 👌

[@jimo2983]

I use the front panel audio for my headphones. It is much easier to reach than the rear jack.

[@lucianalliancestargate6475]

You could use a good quality extension cable. The rear audio sounds better than the front.

[@Vonklieve]

Its plugged in. But no, no volume control! I use my Soundblaster Z card for headphones, it boosts the sound.

[@anthonyc417]

Get a Sliger Cerberus X if you want the smallest ATX case possible.

[@michaelthompson9798]

I still use my front audio / mic ports on my cases

[@bunnylove273]

hi bud you could have a Lian Li Lan Cool II Case they are £99 on amazon

[@TheLateral18]

Why do you think the manufacturers make the cables so long when they know the measurements from point a to b?

[@VanderJamesHum]

Cheap ebay things idea: Bluetooth Speakers. I bought a 20 dollar one its just aight. I reckon theres both better and worse on Ebay . BTW find a good time for Aussies for the Saturday podcast, Its Early Sunday for us as is :( :( :( :)

[@deelkar]

Using frontpanel audio for headset and mic, with my trusty Sennheiser PC3 headset

[@matthewbryant3531]

Iv got nothing that uses type c also never had anything that uses it, I use my front panel audio jacks because it's easier with my headphone that I use for pc and ps4

[@williamjones4483]

Cell phones, with the exception of Apple, are going to USB Type C for everything. It's a matter of time before it see major adoption for multiple uses.

[@whitebeartigtig]

how did you know I was just looking at phanteks cases? I guess that's just the internet.

[@jasonmay1978]

their algorithms are always watching us lmao

[@nellox8178]

Yes i'm stil using the 3.5 jack because OSU! (latency)