INTRODUCTION

   Last week i was taking a look online at some complete gaming systems and i was very surprised to see that although there's a vast number of good looking PC cases in the market today some of those systems used very basic models both in terms of appearance and available features. Now i can't say that i understand the "logistics" behind such choices (i guess bulk cost has to do with that) but personally I’d never spend serious money to get a complete gaming system housed inside a dull/ordinary tower. With that out of the way as many of you already know the latest installment in the Mass Effect saga is due to be released any day now so when X2 asked us to review their rather old (2 years in the market already) yet good looking Isolatic 6020 ATX mid-tower PC case (which reminds us a lot of Mass Effect helmets) we couldn't say no.

   X2 is originated by a team of PC enthusiasts based in The Netherlands, the design heart of Europe. X2 redefines the true meaning of performance PC hardware. With our exceptional style coupled with genuine product quality X2 is irrefutably above and beyond the rest. X2 strives to surpass the needs of our peers with the satisfaction and our guarantee of reliability, compatibility and consistency in our products. Our mission is to provide the highest endeavor of performance while obtaining top-quality levels in all our products.

   Because of its ultra-modern (sci-fi is more like it) looks the Isolatic 6020 ATX mid-tower PC case (X2-6020O-CE/R-2U3) by X2 is primarily aimed towards gamers and is also currently available in 6 different color combinations (all black and black with white, red, green, blue and orange). The case also features a clear acrylic side panel, top fan controller (on/off and speed controls), two 5.25" drive bays and a single 1.44" floppy disk drive bay. In terms of interior space the Isolatic 6020 has enough room for up to three 3.5" (4 if you place one in the 1.44" FDD bay) and one 2.5" drives, five 120mm fans (comes with only the rear 120mm fan pre-installed) and or two 240mm radiators, 370mm long graphics cards and 170mm tall CPU coolers. So the Isolatic 6020 may not offer something exciting in terms of available features and specifications but let’s take a closer look and see if it's worth spending your money on it.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The product name and company logo are printed at the front of the box right next to a product drawing.

Both the features and specifications of the Isolatic 6020 are printed on the two sides of the box.

As expected the case is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two thick foam spacers.

Inside the box you will find a plastic fan mount, 3 PCI shields, mainboard speaker, small pad, plastic bag with spacers and screws and the user manual.

THE ISOLATIC 6020 EXTERIOR

The glossy top and front of the Isolatic 6020 reminds us of some older designs but regardless it looks good and young gamers should like it even more (the Isolatic measures 472mm in height, 211mm in width and 526mm in length).

Most of the left side panel is taken by a clear acrylic window.

Here you may see why we said that the Isolatic looks a lot like a helmet from the Mass Effect series.

Unlike most current PC cases the Isolatic features a plastic front door which is used to cover two 5.25” drive bays and the 1.44” floppy bay.

Behind the fascia there’s enough room for either two 120mm fans or a single 140mm fan (if you decide to forsake the 1.44” bay you can also install a 240mm radiator here).

Moving at the top we see the on/off power button with the power LED, fan controller buttons, two USB 3.0 ports, USB 2.0 port and the classic headphone and microphone ports.

At the rear top we see a small grill and beneath that we see the available space for either two 120mm fans or a 240mm radiator.

Turning the case around we see the 7 PCI expansion slots (these feature single use covers), 120mm exhaust fan (can be replaced with a 90/80mm fan) and the PSU area.

The Isolatic sits on 4 tall feet and features a removable metal air-filter (not very easy to remove).

THE ISOLATIC 6020 INTERIOR

The Isolatic is not a very spacious mid-tower and if his dimensions are not enough you can see that the moment you remove the side panel.

Both 5.25” drive bays feature tool-free lock mechanisms while the 1.44” drive bay can also be used with a 3.5” drive.

Further down we see the 3.5” drive cage which can hold up to three drives.

There’s also room at the top of the cage for a single 2.5” drive.

A total of 3 cable management holes are placed on the mainboard tray (minus the rather small CPU cutout).

We rarely see PCI shields that can’t be used again but the Isolatic comes with exactly that.

The PSU area has enough room for standard sized models, anything larger and you will probably have clearance issues.

Unfortunately there’s not enough room for cable management behind the mainboard tray but thanks to the right side panel which extends outwards that shouldn’t be a problem.

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.

Even our standard ATX sized mainboard seems to be too much for the Isolatic since it leaves almost no free space on either side.

We mounted an 240mm radiator at the top to showcase that it’s possible, still this is not an AIO model although those should fit nicely too.

With a clearance of up to 170mm in height for CPU coolers you can also use most available ones in the market today.

X2 claims you can mount PCIe cards up to 370mm in length but that applies only for the two top ones since the third and fourth (if applicable) are limited at roughly 265mm due to the drive cage.

As for the PSU are if you use a regular sized PSU like the Thermaltake Grand Gold 850W you will have no problems whatsoever.

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 ontop 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 very first thing you will either love or hate about the Isolatic 6020 mid-tower is its design since thanks to the glossy plastic top and front panels it does look quite a bit like a space helmet. Personally i do like it but at the same time i feel it's more oriented towards young gamers who are looking for an affordable PC case that stands out from the rest. The same plastic panels however don’t feel very sturdy and I suspect that this may turn some potential buyers away. We were glad to see that the Isolatic has room for two 5.25” bays and a 1.44” FDD since we don’t see those any more but perhaps more important is the room for two 370mm long graphics cards, five 120mm fans and/or two 240mm radiators (for its size that’s very good). We would like to see more than a single fan used (and easy removable air-filters) since it’s obviously not nearly enough to produce good airflow levels but that’s something we’ve seen numerous times in the past so it’s not something new.

   Currently the Isolatic 6020 ATX Mid-Tower by X2 is not widely available so we were unable to locate it on Amazon and many other online stores all over the world. Still X2 gives a MSRP of USD79.95 in the USA and 76.95Euros in the EU so it’s a safe bet that you will be able to find it for less especially since it’s been around for almost 2 years. That being said the Isolatic 6020 by X2 may not be award material but it looks nice and with its interior space it should easily cover young gamers so it’s definitely worth checking out and we even recommend doing so (coming across one might be the difficult part).

PROS

- Design (For Some)
- Fan Controller
- 5.25” / 1.44” Drive Bays
- Interior Space (370mm Long Graphics Cards / 170mm Tall CPU Coolers)
- Room For Up To 5 Fans And/or Two 240mm Radiators
- Available Color Combinations

CONS

- Current Availability
- Lack of Easy To Remove Air-Filters
- Overall Quality