A Closer Look - Outside

The chassis makes an excellent impression in terms of design. All plastic elements feature a "Leather-coating" as Xigmatek likes to call it. Essentially it is a soft plastic surface, which makes it scratch and fingerprint resistant. This type of surface has been used in cases from BitFenix and Cooler Master as well. Besides that, clean, straight lines and subtle design elements make for a cool and, more important, timeless look. This is something that made the original Midgard so successful and I think that Xigmatek has done an excellent job in keeping the spirit within the new Midgard 2.


In the front, you will not notice anything out of the ordinary at first, it is visually divided into two parts: the metal mesh for air intake and the drive bays. In the rear you will find a bottom mounted PSU bay and an all black interior. Xigmatek has kept both side panels flat, but has placed two spots to install 120 or 140 mm fans in the main one.


Taking a closer look at the front of the chassis, the bottom mesh is reinforced by a plastic honey comb web. A Xigmatek logo has been punched in here as well, which looks quite nice. Above that are the four 5.25 inch drive bays, but the top one is not actually intended to be used for such a drive as we will see later on.


In the rear, the bottom mounted PSU bay is multi-directional, which means that you may install the PSU with the fan facing up- or downward. Above that are the seven motherboard expansion slots, each protected by a separate cover. Next to these is a pair of openings to allow for water cooling tubing to be routed to the exterior of the case. Xigmatek also includes a 120 mm exhaust fan in the rear to push hot air out of the chassis.


All the I/O has been placed in the top of the case. To go with the times, you will find a single USB 3.0 connector, along with two USB 2.0 variants. Next to these is the pair of audio in- and output. Xigmatek has also placed a hot swap bay in the top of the chassis. As you can see in the image above, the retail version will come with the 2.5" area open, while the first samples shipped with the entire bay covered. You may pull off the top to reveal enough space to install a 240 or 280 mm radiator according to Xigmatek.


The openings for the PSU bay and fan come with a simple dust filter made of metal mesh - perfectly adequate for the price of the chassis.