Phanteks Eclipse P500A

[Darksaber]

The Phanteks Eclipse P500A draws from the P600S and Evolv X, but offers high airflow and fits squarely into the P-Series. With three 140 mm fans in the front, pulling air through the ultra-fine metal mesh, it aims to keep all your components cool, especially if you pack two separate systems into it at the same time.

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[FreedomEclipse]

Good effort from Phanteks. Taking on feedback from GN and not double and triple filtering everything.

 

[$ReaPeR$]

this looks pretty nice, in black.

 

[dirtyferret]

May have to trade in the P400A

 

[cucker tarlson]

looks nice,but not surprised by noise levels.Had to replace the stock 140mm intakes on my p600s cause they were that loud.

 

[dirtyferret]

looks nice,but not surprised by noise levels.Had to replace the stock 140mm intakes on my p600s cause they were that loud.

I've used phanteks 120mm and 140mm (sp and mp) and they are all loud. Well made, perform well but loud even at low rpm.

 

[cucker tarlson]

I've used phanteks 120mm and 140mm (sp and mp) and they are all loud. Well made, perform well but loud even at low rpm.

yup.performance is very good.but the sound - not so much.

 

[MAXLD]

Looking at the Phanteks website and naming of the case versions, the review title should more correctly be "Eclipse P500A DRGB", since the other one is the "P500A (non-RGB)" version... and that one does indeed have a reset button, making it just slightly different.

On the case itself, I really dig it. No bulky plastic front panel, simple mesh making it great with airflow, and also super easy to clean. Also has plenty of fan size options. Really cool overall, I would opt for the non-RGB and fill it with proper premium fans, it would definitely turn it into a top stellar performer.

 

[iuliug]

Are the included fans PWM?

 

[dirtyferret]

@Darksaber
According to the Phanteks spec sheet, all your dimensions are off from case size to gpu, cpu, psu clearance. It also doesn't match the info from the tweaktown or tom's review as both have the specs below.

Phanteks Innovative Computer Hardware Design

www.phanteks.com

 

[milewski1015]

Been thinking about throwing an ITX build together for shits and giggles, although depending on what GN has to say about this (good things I would imagine based on the TPU review), I may have to trade my Meshify C out for this and just go for a dual system build.

 

[John Naylor]

The fan thing is surprising ... Phankeks 140 SP/HP/TSs have held the performance / noise ratio crown for 7+ years.

At the same rpm, you could take the Noctua fans of a Noctua cooler and gain 6C

Phanteks PH-F140(XP, SP, SP_LED) Fans: Testing - Phanteks PH-F140 (XP, SP, SP_LED) Case Fan Review - Page 3

The only fans that gave them a run for their money were the Silent Wing 3's

First 140 mm Fan Roundup: Noctua, Phanteks, Xigmatek

140 mm fans from Noctua, Phanteks, and Xigmatek battle in our latest fan roundup with one emerging as a clear winner in both thermal performance and acoustics. May 21, 2013 by Lawrence Lee Last month we staged an epic shoot-out among some popular 120 mm fans. Some great sounding fans emerged but...

silentpcreview.com

"The Phanteks PH-F140HP/TS is the clear winner in every respect. It edged out the new Noctuas every step of the way, delivering the best overall results of any fan we’ve tested thus far. To top it off, it had cleanest, smoothest sound of all the new fans in this roundup. "

Yes, the extra 300 rpm no doubt contributes .... I guess thy wanted to be able to get cooler but it's certainly a non advantageous trade off with that much noise. And least it on;y has 1 included fan that'd id have to not use. I don't see myself using it, but it's a good case to recommend for those w/ budget restrictions

 

[Despoder]

P400A still better value, comes with 3 RGB fans stock for the price of the standard P500A, I do expect this to be a case more optimized for water cooling compared to the P400A, had some trouble with that...

 

[Gmr_Chick]

Nicely done, Phanteks! My rig is housed inside a modified version of their Evolv X m-ATX TG case and I absolutely love it! And their customer service is top-notch as well!

 

[dirtyferret]

The fan thing is surprising ... Phankeks 140 SP/HP/TSs have held the performance / noise ratio crown for 7+ years.

At the same rpm, you could take the Noctua fans of a Noctua cooler and gain 6C

Phanteks PH-F140(XP, SP, SP_LED) Fans: Testing - Phanteks PH-F140 (XP, SP, SP_LED) Case Fan Review - Page 3

The only fans that gave them a run for their money were the Silent Wing 3's

First 140 mm Fan Roundup: Noctua, Phanteks, Xigmatek

140 mm fans from Noctua, Phanteks, and Xigmatek battle in our latest fan roundup with one emerging as a clear winner in both thermal performance and acoustics. May 21, 2013 by Lawrence Lee Last month we staged an epic shoot-out among some popular 120 mm fans. Some great sounding fans emerged but...

silentpcreview.com

"The Phanteks PH-F140HP/TS is the clear winner in every respect. It edged out the new Noctuas every step of the way, delivering the best overall results of any fan we’ve tested thus far. To top it off, it had cleanest, smoothest sound of all the new fans in this roundup. "

Yes, the extra 300 rpm no doubt contributes .... I guess thy wanted to be able to get cooler but it's certainly a non advantageous trade off with that much noise. And least it on;y has 1 included fan that'd id have to not use. I don't see myself using it, but it's a good case to recommend for those w/ budget restrictions

I think their audio testing equipment is broken, having played with half a dozen various phanteks fans I can tell you noctua wipes the floor with them when it comes to noise performance. Even at 800rpm I found phanteks fans to be noisy.

Are the included fans PWM?

According to the kit guru review, they are not PWM. Kit guru also complained of the noise.

 

[milewski1015]

According to the kit guru review, they are not PWM. Kit guru also complained of the noise.

The product page lists them as "3x140mm D-RGB fans (SK 3-pin case edition fans)" for the DRGB model, and "2x140mm fan (SK 3-pin case edition fans) for the non-RGB. So I would agree, non-PWM.

 

[Mayclore]

The black version of this without the ARGB is h a w t and I kinda want to replace my Enthoo Pro M with it.

 

[AddSub]

8kg WITH the tempered glass?! Wow, must be paper thin substructure, but then most of these cases use tempered glass as part of their support substructure. Remember how compression testing (putting certain amount of weight on top of the case to see if there would be bending or buckling in the support structure) went away in late 2000s as more and more cases switched from steel to aluminum. In fact, most case makers (Antec being the most notable) used crazy marketing spin saying that the new generation of aluminum cases were lighter and better, ya know, for carrying around for LAN parties! Even though most of the new gen (new back then at least) aluminum cases not only vibrated like crazy but would buckle under 25kg/50lb compression tests like cheap soda cans they were.

Now, how much shattered tempered glass would you have to clean up with say after a 50lb-10minute compression test on a tempered glass case like this?

Also, all these "features" yet no holes or access points for external routing of WC components or externally mounted radiators? At that price point? Sigh...

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[Gmr_Chick]

8kg WITH the tempered glass?! Wow, must be paper thin substructure, but then most of these cases use tempered glass as part of their support substructure. Remember how compression testing (putting certain amount of weight on top of the case to see if there would be bending or buckling in the support structure) went away in late 2000s as more and more cases switched from steel to aluminum. In fact, most case makers (Antec being the most notable) used crazy marketing spin saying that the new generation of aluminum cases were lighter and better, ya know, for carrying around for LAN parties! Even though most of the new gen (new back then at least) aluminum cases not only vibrated like crazy but would buckle under 25kg/50lb compression tests like cheap soda cans they were.

Now, how much shattered tempered glass would you have to clean up with say after a 50lb-10minute compression test on a tempered glass case like this?

Also, all these "features" yet no holes or access points for external routing of WC components or externally mounted radiators? At that price point? Sigh...

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Then just buy the P600or one of the Evolv X models if interested in water cooling. Simple.

 

[AddSub]

Then just buy the P600or one of the Evolv X models if interested in water cooling. Simple.

None of those have external WC features. Now, I can mod any of these cases inside of 30 minutes, a hole saw and some rubber grommets and I can have hose access points galore, good looking ones too. But that's not the point is it? What they are selling is $40 case at three different price points, none of which is actually $40. What about externally mounted rad, or two? Or routing houses externally for... about trillion WC reasons. Again, $40 case.

It's just a cheap tempered glass box like any in the past 4-5 years. At least they are "meshifying" more and more since people finally caught up (grew-up?) and noticed that your internal ambient temps only 3 inches off the front intake shouldn't be +15C vs outside ambient. Before you know it, fans mounted on side panels will be a "new" discovery, again.

Summary? (And this is something no reviewer will ever dare say, if they don't want to get blacklisted or stop the free gear train): if your $200 case (the Evolv X you mentioned for example) has less features and lower QC than a $100 case from decade ago, you are doing it wrong. Poorly and wrong.

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[Phanteks]

Are the included fans PWM?

Unfortunately, the fans included with the case are not PWM.

 

[iuliug]

Unfortunately, the fans included with the case are not PWM.

What are their rated RPM's? Was the case tested with included fans or PWM's ones?

 

[Deleted member 24505]

8kg WITH the tempered glass?! Wow, must be paper thin substructure, but then most of these cases use tempered glass as part of their support substructure. Remember how compression testing (putting certain amount of weight on top of the case to see if there would be bending or buckling in the support structure) went away in late 2000s as more and more cases switched from steel to aluminum. In fact, most case makers (Antec being the most notable) used crazy marketing spin saying that the new generation of aluminum cases were lighter and better, ya know, for carrying around for LAN parties! Even though most of the new gen (new back then at least) aluminum cases not only vibrated like crazy but would buckle under 25kg/50lb compression tests like cheap soda cans they were.

Now, how much shattered tempered glass would you have to clean up with say after a 50lb-10minute compression test on a tempered glass case like this?

Also, all these "features" yet no holes or access points for external routing of WC components or externally mounted radiators? At that price point? Sigh...

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..
.

Why in the hell would you want external radiators? just buy a case that supports multiple large internal ones. External radiators are just ugly and noisy(depending on fans) I have a evolv X and love it, it is pretty heavy too 15kg, and is steel,alloy. I'm not even sure why you even commented tbh.

lower QC

Have you actually looked at a evolv x yourself? you are talking crap.

 

[iuliug]

I am interested in buying this case. However i do not understand how the RGB on this case works. The case does not seem to come with a proper RGB controller which is unfortunate for this price range.
how can you attach other RGB components? Until what wattage?

 

[milewski1015]

I am interested in buying this case. However i do not understand how the RGB on this case works. The case does not seem to come with a proper RGB controller which is unfortunate for this price range.
how can you attach other RGB components? Until what wattage?

Quoting the GamersNexus review article: "The lighting is compatible with the 3-pin 5V headers used by ASUS, MSI, ASRock, etc. Other than the fans, thin strips at the top of the front panel and along the edge of the PSU shroud are lit. The base model has a reset button, the D-RGB model replaces this with color and mode buttons. The built-in controller has baked-in lighting profiles for those that can’t or don’t want to use control software."