• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

XPG Invader X Mini

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer
Staff member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
3,109 (0.43/day)
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
System Name Corsair 2000D Silent Gaming Rig
Processor Intel Core i5-14600K
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix Z790-i Gaming Wifi
Cooling Corsair iCUE H150i Black
Memory Corsair 64 GB 6000 MHz DDR5
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phoenix GS
Storage TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s) Gigabyte 32" M32U
Case Corsair 2000D
Power Supply Corsair 850 W SFX
Mouse Logitech MX
Keyboard Sharkoon PureWriter TKL
XPG is expanding their Invader line with the Invader X Mini, a compact case that still offers ATX support, ships with five fans in total and features USB-C. It has a pretty interesting price point that could attract first-time and budget builders - especially those planning to air cool their CPU.

Show full review
 
Okay, so this case has plenty of flaws and is a little flimsy/basic for the asking price - but it sure is nice to see a compact ATX box for a change.

Shorter depth because nobody needs a 5.25" optical drive any more is a welcome reduction in footprint. 49 out of 50 people aren't buying graphics cards longer than 330mm, and those that are sure aren't buying compact, low-budget cases to put their $1000+ GPUs into.

I am also particularly fond of the vertical cooling with side intakes at the bottom immediately blowing fresh air into the GPU, with exhaust out of the top. It means that you don't have to worry about how much clearance there is between the bottom of the case and the surface it's sitting on.

I think a flimsy chassis is the last thing I want to see in something that uses not one but two panels of tempered glass that actually contact each other on the corner. I'm sure it'll be fine if the PC is never moved, but at the same time, this thing has to survive initial shipping (empty) and any subsequent transport with the added weight of a PC build in it. It's kind of annoying that flimsy metalwork that belongs in the sub-$50 case market has infected the stuff closer to $100 these days, but that is the punishment we, as a demographic, fully deserve for voting (with our wallets) for bling-tastic RGBLED and tempered glass panels into everything at all price points, even price points where that leaves no budget for quality construction, and even when it's detrimental to the functionality.
 
I was lucky to get the XPG BATTLECRUISER for $66.5 :)
 
Can TPU start requesting the white versions of cases to review? Just in terms of the details of the case showing up in the pictures, a white case is so much better for it.....it really shouldn't be an issue anyway as the "build" the reviewer does and the parts they put in the case don't aesthetically match anyway.
 
Back
Top