The back provides for an 80mm outlet fan, seven full-size PCI/PCI Express/AGP slots and a standard ATX motherboard header. Internally, there are three 3.5in drive bays and one 5.25in bay, complete with a metal fascia for your optical drive. At the bottom right, a small panel hides two USB ports, a full-sized FireWire port and 3.5mm audio connections, as well as a 3.5in bay for a media card reader or, should you need it, a floppy drive.
There’s plenty of room inside the case to get cooling under control, with the potential to use the largest of CPU heatsinks and an extravagantly cooled graphics card. Although there’s only a single fan outlet, the metal chassis itself acts as an effective heatsink, and we had no problems with overheating during testing. The heavily built sides and top also dampen a surprising amount of noise, and there are even rubber grommets fitted in each of the drive bays to reduce mechanical vibrations from optical and hard drives.
The downside is that it all adds up to a chassis of monstrous proportions. It’s the same standard 17in fascia as many hi-fi components and looks fantastic sat under a similarly styled amplifier, but with a depth of 420mm (more like 470mm including room for cables and ventilation) we advise you to double-check that any potential location is capable of accommodating the X15e.
So it’s not without its problems: aside from the issues of attaching an external display, the size and cost are both substantial. Nonetheless, for an enthusiast willing to work around the limitations, the X15e is an innovative and attractive option.
Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.
