Introduction

I would like to thank Arctic for supplying the review sample.


Arctic has a long history in the cooling space, starting with their CPU air coolers and fans decades ago—(Editor's note: who remembers the legendary Freezer 7?)—and have also managed to establish market share in the AIO space by developing popular liquid cooling platforms. This has made the brand stand out in the vast sea of Asetek products, while also being able to perform with the best of them out there. Now, Arctic is pushing into the case market with the Arctic Xtender VG. This is actually not their first foray into enclosures, as there was also the Silentium T Pro line-up in 2007, for example. With the Xtender series, Arctic is not only aiming to provide a chassis that can handle its 420 mm AIO, but also give the user a modern and functional build platform that leverages its expertise in the fan space, by pre-installing retail-grade cooling units.

Specifications

Packaging

The Arctic Xtender VG ships in a brown cardboard box using blue ink to separate itself visually. The front has a fairly detailed image of the chassis and the rear lists all the general specifications. The sides only focus on legal details, but also sport QR codes to download a digital manual or learn more about the case. A white sticker will let you know which variant of the Xtender chassis is inside the box. In our instance, that is the Xtender VG in black with tinted glass.


Two thick Styrofoam spacers and a plastic bag protect the case during shipping and transport. While we did receive our chassis in one piece, the exterior box was not in the best of shapes and both Styrofoam spacers were cracked or broken apart. For a larger case like this of over 15 kg, it isn't too far-fetched to wonder if it is sufficiently protected to withstand the forces of shipping.