My old setup was running a fairly massive 360-mm AIO CPU cooler, which might be overkill, but it did raise an interesting predicament when moving into the X50. Ideally, the radiator would be mounted at the top of the case, so the pump in the CPU block is always filled with liquid, but with the PSU at the top, that’s not an option.
Thankfully, both the front and motherboard sides of the case support up to three fans each, with room for massive radiators. There are enough options that I actually spent quite a bit of time agonizing over how I wanted to configure my fans. I ended up mounting my giant cooler on the side of the case and installed three fans in the bottom for intake, which isn’t my favorite setup as a dog owner, but the magnetic filter has been easy enough to keep clean. My GPU directly benefits from the cool air intake at the bottom, and my CPU radiator has been running around six degrees cooler than it was before.
When it comes to actually building in the system, there’s a surprising amount of space both in the front of the case and behind the motherboard. A hard drive bay takes up a large chunk of room, but like most folks, I’m only using M.2 drives at this point, so I went ahead and removed it to make room for my fan and pump controller. There are a few spots that get a little tight, like the cable attic next to the power supply, and the space down at the bottom where the IO cables pass under the motherboard, but they shouldn’t be an issue once you’re done building, and there are plenty of tie down points with hook and loop straps throughout to keep things organized.
The Quest for Perfection
Photograph: Brad Bourque
When a case looks this stylish, it can be hard to live up to that ideal, which is my main complaint about the X50. As I put the finishing touches on my build, I couldn’t help but notice all the little details I hadn’t been able to account for. The fan cables, for example, were bundled up nicely but were clearly visible in the gap underneath the motherboard. Meanwhile, my power supply fan met one end of the circular cutout but left a noticeable gap at the far end, with visible cables between. Neither has any effect on performance, but I notice them every time I inspect the system.
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