A Closer Look - Outside

Out-of-the-box, the glass panel of the Arctic Xtender VG is lined with a protective film, and it becomes immediately apparent that the tint on this version of the chassis is quite dark. That means any ARGB elements within will be rather suppressed as a result, making this the case of choice for those who want a little bit of that glow, but not an all out discothèque.


The front is all glass without any markings or branding. The metal top panel extends beyond the glass elements. Looking at the rear, it becomes immediately clear that the Xtender VG is a taller-than-average enclosure, as there are two 120 mm exhaust fans at the top of the otherwise classic layout.


On the main side, the heavily tinted glass continues across the entire surface. Turning the chassis around, there is a metal cover on the opposite side, with the front half opened up with large square cutouts. A dust filter in this area does keep dirt out, but it is interesting to see that the opening is too large in general and doesn't line up with the three 140 mm intake fans well, for some reason. Both panels are held in place with push pins, but Arctic has ensured to add a small pull tab for easy release, while also embedding a single thumb screw there so that you can lock things down and not have to worry about a panel popping off on its own.


In the rear, the PSU bay is centered in the back, with plenty of room to either side. A frame with four captive thumb screws is included, as you are meant to slide the power supply in through the back of the chassis. Above that there is the vertical GPU mounting bracket. Instead of attempting to provide expansion slots that rotate on their own to use with a PCIE ribbon cable, the Xtender VG offers a fully-fledged bracket and PCIe 4.0 ribbon cable. That is the reason this variant of the chassis gets to carry the "VG" model name, as you can also buy a variant which only provides traditional horizontal GPU placement out of the box. At the very top, there are those two 120 mm exhaust fans in the form of retail P12 Pro A-RGB PWM units.


At the top, the design detail of large square vent continues, with another embedded and removable dust filter embedded in the metal top panel. Underneath of it, there is room for three 120 or 140 mm fans. Alternatively any radiator of up to 420 mm in size will also fit here, comfortably. The I/O is smartly integrated into the top cutout shape in the form of individual squares. The front is the power button, followed by one for audio, USB-C and two USB-A 3.0 ports. This design does look pretty nice and works really well to integrate seamlessly with the top panel.


Interestingly enough, the underside has no vents or screws. It is completely solid due to the fact that Arctic has opted to have the thinnest feet possible, so that it appears like the sizable case is sitting directly on your floor. While this is generally fine, it will make it pretty hard to have the Xtender VG sit on carpet securely.

That also means that the PSU bay has to be built in some shape or form to allow for airflow. There is some tape here, which is used to hold the interior glass panel in place during shipping.