If you thought you’d stumbled across a standalone case of Corsair’s superb One Pro PC, you’d be close, as even Corsair has commented on how similar Phanteks’ new Evolv Shift mini-ITX case looks to its swish mini-tower case. However, the Shift, and indeed its more expensive, larger (yet still mini-ITX) Shift X, are slightly bigger.
We’re focusing on the Shift, which is the smaller of the two cases at 47cm tall. However, it’s all about minimal footprint with both of Phanteks’ new mini-tower cases, as the Shift is just 27cm wide and 17cm deep. It comes in anthracite grey or satin black colour options, and sports aluminium and tempered glass side panels, along with a sturdy black powder-coated chassis. It looks absolutely gorgeous.
The Shift is primarily designed to be used with all-in-one (AIO) liquid coolers, which might initially seem strange given its size, but it does make sense, as the pump and waterblock units found on these coolers have much lower profiles than tower heatsinks. There’s even space for two AIO coolers in the case – one making use of the bottom 120/140mm fan mount and another sitting in one of two 120/140mm fan mounts. However, only 120mm radiators are supported, and if you use two of them, they’ll both be limited to a depth of 27mm.
As standard, there’s one 140mm fan included, mounted in the side of the case as an exhaust. If you’re looking at water-cooling the case, there’s a lot more room in the larger Shift X, but using an expandable AIO liquid cooler, along with a single 60mm-thick or larger 120mm radiator in the base of the Shift, could work well. The length of the graphics card also dictates the amount of cooling hardware you’ll be able to fit in the base, with the maximum graphics card size being a dual-slot card with a length of 350mm.
It’s certainly a tight squeeze, but Phanteks has made the most of the internal space by limiting PSUs to SFX or SFX-L form factors – the latter being a slightly longer version of the dinky SFX form factor. But Phanteks told us that you’ll need to use modular PSUs with the Shift, due to the tight confines of the case. Besides, the ability to shed unwanted cables is a boon in a small case anyway.
Surprisingly for a vertical airflow arrangement, there’s no top fan. Instead, the Shift relies on your graphics card’s cooler to expel its hot air out of the top of the case, while the CPU can either be cooled by an AIO liquid cooler or a low-profile air cooler, which will need to be no taller than 82mm. Meanwhile, the motherboard and graphics card are connected by way of a PCI-E riser cable, which allows them to both sit vertically behind one another. The graphics card can also be rotated, so that either its rear or top sides face the large tempered glass window, while on the other side, you get a great view of your motherboard.
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Storage-wise, there’s space for two 2.5in SSDs and a single hard disk, but you can also purchase an additional 2.5in tray to house up to three SSDs, removing the option to house a hard disk. Cable routing is often forgotten in cases as small as the Shift, but Phanteks includes plenty of Velcro ties, as well as dedicated cable-routing holes, to keep clutter to a minimum.
Installing our test gear was straightforward, and made easier by the fact that both the tempered glass and the two aluminium side panels can be removed, leaving you with an empty frame with which to work. The case can also be placed on its side with the glass panel facing upwards, thanks to included rubber feet for the lower panel. There’s some RGB lighting included too, with a small LED in the roof as well as an additional connector for your own LED strip. This lighting can be controlled using a button on the roof, next to the power button, while two USB 3 ports lurk on the side of the chassis behind one the panels.
Phanteks Evolv Shift review: Performance
The included fan proved to be reasonably quiet and, given that we were using a small low-profile air cooler instead of a recommended all-in-one liquid cooler, we didn’t expect fantastic airflow results from the Shift. That’s just as well, as the CPU Delta T of 76°C was 14°C higher than the hottest mini-ITX result we’ve seen. The GPU Delta T was a little more reasonable and was actually lower than the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX, but still a long way off the better results we’ve seen. This case isn’t really built for low-profile CPU air cooling, though, and you’ll find the cooling will be fine with an AIO liquid cooler installed.
Phanteks Evolv Shift review: Verdict
In spite of the poor thermal results, for which we can’t really criticise Phanteks as it recommends a specific cooling setup using all-in-one liquid coolers, we absolutely love the Phanteks Shift. It’s solid, well-made and looks fantastic. It also actually offers space for a high-end mini-ITX system, despite its minuscule footprint.
Cable routing is well thought-out, and there’s even enough room for a hard disk and SSDs. Cooling isn’t great out of the box and isn’t likely to significantly improve unless you use an all-in-one liquid cooler to cool your CPU, as Phanteks suggests.
However, it’s also screaming for another fan in the base to aid GPU cooling, and we suggest occupying all fan mounts if possible. The Phanteks Evolv Shift basically gives you a clean slate of a case that needs some additions to perform well, and at £105 inc VAT, that’s perhaps a tall ask if you’re on a tight budget.
But, if you love its looks, and you’re prepared to buy the cooling gear, you can build a great-looking, high-end mini-ITX rig with it. The build quality and materials are certainly worth the price, and with the addition of some liquid-cooling components and fans, the Shift has great potential for a premium mini-ITX system that will turn plenty of heads, and possibly even give you some overclocking headroom.