INTRODUCTION

   When looking for a case to house one of my new test rigs i always put three things above all else, interior space, airflow levels and of course build quality. Needless to say, that if i can find a case which combines all of the above plus looks (RGB lighting in particular) all the better for the end result. Still not many PC cases do and aside my personal experience (which i have to admit is far from huge since i don't focus a lot on PC cases) this is something i hear from many people around me as well. Because of this just before the turn of the year i begun to gather some of the latest models to hit the market and i will start this "round" of PC case reviews with the Armis AR7X EVO TG ARGB (SPC251) midi tower by the people over at SilentiumPC.

   Since 2007 SilentiumPC brings well-made CPU coolers, cases and power supplies with main focus on exceptional value for money achieved through effective design and smart cost-cutting. No fancy trademark names, just well-thought-out products designed to work, chosen and praised by value-minded enthusiasts and system integrators.

   As the name clearly states the two strongest selling points of the Armis AR7X EVO TG ARGB (SPC251) by SilentiumPC are its tempered glass panels (front/left) and its ARGB lighting via its bundled fans. Still the Armis AR7X EVO TG ARGB is a well-equipped model and so it features support for up to ATX sized mainboards (although even E-ATX should be ok), removable air-filters (front/top/bottom), PSU shroud with vertical GPU mount, 3 Stella HP ARGB CF 120 fans (1200RPM), removable drive cage, vertical drive mounts and even a 6-fan ARGB controller. Interior space is also quite good with enough room for up to six 2.5" and/or three 3.5" drive, seven 120mm fans (7x120/140mm) and/or 2 radiators (240/280/360mm), 178mm tall CPU coolers, 420mm long graphics cards and 220mm long power supply units. So, interesting enough?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The case arrived inside a plain cardboard that has a product drawing on both sides along with the product name and the company logo.

On both the left and right we find a barcode and contact information for SilentiumPC.

Typically, the case is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two thick and 4 thin foam spacers.

Along with the case itself inside the box you will also find the mainboard speaker, 5 cable ties, user manual and two small plastic bags with all the necessary screws and spacers to install your system.

THE ARMIS AR7X EVO TG ARGB EXTERIOR

In terms of size the Armis AR7X EVO TG ARGB weighs 11.86kg and measures 518mm in height, 508mm in length and 243mm in width.

The left side panel is as expected made out of tempered glass which is held in place via 4 screws.

I was surprised to see that the fascia is also made out of tempered glass.

The I/O is located at the top of the fascia and has two USB 3.0 ports, microphone and headphone ports, on/off power button/LED, reset button/LED, HDD activity LED and a fan speed controller (according to SilentiumPC the I/O can be moved to the base of the fascia – didn’t test that).

You can access the three interior Stella HP ARGB CF 120 fans by removing the fascia.

The top features a magnetic air-filter.

Turning the case around we find yet another Stella HP ARGB CF 120 fan, 10 PCI expansion slots (2 are vertical) and the same fixed PSU area at the base.

Yet another removable air-filter is located at the base of the tower.

THE ARMIS AR7X EVO TG ARGB INTERIOR

Interior space looks quite impressive, for a mid-tower that is.

Here we see the front area which you can occupy with 240/280/360mm long radiators (next to it we see the three 2.5" vertical drive mounts).

The PSU shroud extends from the front and all the way to the rear of the tower (thus effectively keeping all cables out of sight) and has a 3.5" drive mount on the far right and a vertical GPU mount on the far left.

The motherboard tray has five large rubber grommets and a very large hole underneath the CPU area for swapping of backplates.

On the other side of the mainboard tray, we find a fan/ARGB controller (6 fans/8 LEDs - notice the holes on the far right? There you can mount 3 more 2.5” SSDs), two 3.5/2.5" drive trays and the PSU area which has 3 rubber pads for the PSU.

The rear drive tray can be removed if you'd like to mount a thicker radiator.

For good or bad the trays are made out of plastic.

You can also remove the right side of the PSU shroud to install a thicker radiator.

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

As always, the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

As with many recent towers the PSU area has plenty of room inside (220mm).

Mounting a full sized ATX motherboard is nothing for the Armis AR7X EVO TG ARGB.

Goes without saying but with room for up to 178mm tall CPU coolers you should be able to use any model.

If you remove the far right piece of the PSU shroud you can mount any radiator you'd like (just as long as it's not over 360mm in length).

For people with tall RAM modules like the ones used here using a very thick (60mm) radiator at the top will not happen.

Mounting even 420mm long graphics cards is not an issue unless you decide to put a radiator at the front (in that you should be able to mount graphics cards up to 360mm in length even if you use a thick radiator like the one here).

Surprisingly enough mounting an 420mm long radiator is also possible at the front as you can see from this picture (if you keep the stock 120mm fans you will not be able to use all mounting holes).

NOISE LEVEL TEST

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically on top of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one, we use our own).

CONCLUSION

   The Armis AR7X EVO TG ARGB mid-tower by SilentiumPC not only offers one of the most spacious interiors I’ve seen in a midi tower (to date anyways) capable of holding up to seven 120/140mm fans and/or two 240/280/360mm radiators (aside 178mm tall CPU coolers, 420mm long GPUs and 220mm long PSUs) and a total of 9 drives but it also looks great thanks to its 2 tempered glass panels and its 4 pre-installed Stella HP ARGB CF 120 fans (which also provide it with a good amount of airflow). The ability to use even the thickest radiator at the front is also a good feature and as you’ve seen from the last page you can also equip it with an 420mm radiator. Build quality is also set at very good levels so I expect that it too will matter to some people.

   As i type these lines the Armis AR7X EVO TG ARGB Midi Tower by SilentiumPC retails for around 110Euros inside the EU and so i consider it very balanced. Honestly aside its somewhat long product name I can’t find anything seriously wrong with the Armis AR7X EVO TG ARGB mid-tower by SilentiumPC. It’s a quality midi tower with plenty of interior space, rich range of features and a very fair price tag which is why it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Good Build Quality
- Looks (4 ARGB Fans / Tempered Glass Side & Front)
- Airflow Levels (4 Bundled Fans / Up To 7)
- 2 Radiator Mounts (240/280/360mm)
- Up To 9 Drives
- Space For 178mm Tall CPU Coolers, 420mm Long Graphics Cards & 220mm Long Power Supply Units
- Top, Front & Bottom Removable Air Filters
- Interchangeable I/O Panel
- Price

CONS

- Availability Outside The EU