Xigmatek Gigas Case Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Xigmatek Gigas: Exterior4. Xigmatek Gigas: Interior and Installation5. Testing Methodology and Performance6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Xigmatek are well known in the enthusiast market for producing a range of high quality products which offer very good value for money.  One of their most impressive recent products was the gigantic Xigmatek Elysium case that we looked at a few months back which was good enough to earn our most prestigious ‘Must Have' award.

Today we are going to look at a product from the other end of the size spectrum, the Xigmatek Gigas small form factor case.  It boasts an impressive specification which includes a brushed aluminium chassis with plenty of cooling.  Let us see if it fulfills the high expectations!

Specification

• Motherboard support: Micro ATX, Mini ITX
• Power supply support: ATX / EPS (up to 300mm depth)
• Cooling (front): 2x 120mm fan (1000 RPM)
• Cooling (rear): 2x 120mm fan (1000 RPM)
• Expansion slots: 4 (up to 320mm GPU length)
• 5.25″ Drive bays: 2 (external)
• 3.5″ Drive bays: 6
• 2.5″ Drive bays: 2
• I/O Panel: Power, Reset, 1x USB3.0, 2x USB2.0, HD Audio
• Dimensions: 278 x 322 x 396mm (WxHxD)

Xigmatek supply the Gigas within a substantial cardboard box which is decorated in a black livery.  The front of the box features a large image of the case itself and turning to the sides reveals a plethora of information about the features and specifications of the case within.

Inside the box, Xigmatek sandwich the case between two cardboard and polystyrene blocks for transportation.  We expect that these will provide a good level of protection for the case so it is unlikely that it will arrive damaged.

There aren't a huge number of accessories included in the box aside from the required screws for installation but there is a concise user guide, a couple of cable ties and a variable fan speed adapter.

Xigmatek have chosen to finish the case exclusively in brushed aluminium.  We have the black version of the case for review today but it is also available in silver if that takes your fancy.  As a result of the entirely aluminium construction, the case is lightweight which makes it ideal for those who move their system around a lot.

As you can see from the pictures above, the design of the Gigas is very different to most cases on the market.  It's much shorter in height that your average mid-tower case but it is significantly wider.

The whole case is littered in air vents with large perforated sections in the front, left side and rear of the case.  Xigmatek populate both the front and rear fan vents with dual 120mm Xigmatek branded 1,000 RPM fans.  Rather than include a logo on the front of the case, Xigmatek have shaped the front fan vent as their trademark ‘X' which is a nice design touch.

All of the connections are located on the front of the case to the left of the two drive bays.  The large power and reset buttons are at the top alongside the activity LEDs with the HD audio connectors, dual USB2.0 ports and single USB3.0 port bel0w.  While it's clear that Xigmatek are targeting the higher end of the market with the quality aluminium chassis, we are rather disappointed with the quality of the power and reset buttons.

This may sound like a minor gripe but it shows a lack of attention to detail.

Moving round to the rear of the case we are given an ideal of the internal layout of the system.  The I/O cutout is orientated horizontally along the bottom edge of the case next to the four expansion slots.  Above this there are two 120mm exhaust fan vents which are both populated with 120mm Xigmatek branded models.  The power supply mountings are located above the four expansion slots.

Another unusual feature of the chassis is the lack of removable side panels.  To access the inside of the system we must remove the roof of the case using the six thumbscrews which are visible along the top edges.  Xigmatek have thoughtfully included washers to prevent these screws from damaging the finish of the case.

After removing the top panel, we are greeted with a sight of an optical drive cage on the left and a hard drive cage on the right.  These have to be removed to access the area underneath.  This is a very simple process, though, as we're only required to remove two screws in total.

There is an additional hard drive cage underneath the optical drive cage which can also be taken out without needing to remove any further screws.  Finally we can remove the support bar which crosses the case in the middle by taking out the screws at either end.

Due to the design of the case, the motherboard actually sits on the floor.  This means there is no motherboard tray to route cables behind.

There is also no CPU back plate cutout so you need to install your cooler before installing the motherboard into the case.  Many of the motherboard stand-offs are preinstalled into the case but there are a few extra supplied which may need to be added depending on your motherboard.  Once these have been put into place, the motherboard can be screwed down.

Installing expansion devices is quite simple as the case has conventional expansion slots.  The case supports large graphics cards up to 320 mm in length and has a large perforated area in the side panel directly feeding any graphics card fan, so ventilation isn't an issue.

We would recommend thinking about the installation process a little before you start installing the other components.  You need to make sure that you plug all the cables you need into the motherboard because it becomes much more difficult to access the various connections when you've installed some of the other components above.

We installed the power supply next which requires four screws through the back panel of the case.  There is basically no cable routing support which means you'll have to put a lot of work and planning in to achieve a tidy system with unrestricted airflow.

The hard drive cages all feature rubber grommets to prevent vibrations from being transferred to the case.  Each hard drive requires four screws to install.  There are also two sets of 2.5″ drive mounts, one in the bottom of each hard drive cage.  Replacing all of the drive cages into the case is a relatively simple process, requiring only two screws to secure them into place.  Finally we can resecure the roof of the case using the six thumbscrews.

There are a couple of issues which we noticed throughout the installation process. The provided installation guide isn't very clear and is difficult to follow. Not ideal for a proprietary case design such as this.

Also, we were surprised at the lack of tool-less installation provisions.  After removing the roof of the case we didn't find a single thumbscrew or tool-less mechanism for installation.  While this isn't a massive issue, it usually simplifies the installation process considerably.

For our tests we will be using a Noctua NH-L12 CPU cooler to cool a AMD Vision A8-3850 APU.  Our test system also features an AMD Radeon HD 6670 graphics card.

Test System:

Processor: AMD Vision A8-3850
Motherboard: Asus F1A75-M Pro
Cooler: Noctua NH-L12
Thermal Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-3
Memory: 4GB (2x 2GB) Crucial Ballistix 1600 MHz
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6670
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower 750W
System Drive: Crucial M4 256 GB
Monitor: Viewsonic VX2260WM
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Software:

CPUID Hardware Monitor
Prime95 64-bit
Furmark V1.9.2

To test the thermal performance of the Xigmatek Gigas we loaded our test system for 15 minutes using Prime95 and Furmark and recorded the maximum temperatures reached using CPUID Hardware Monitor.  We then restarted the system and left it for 15 minutes before recording idle temperatures.  Room temperature was maintained at 17 degrees C for the duration of our tests.  We are then going to try a stress test, when loading the A8-3850 with 1.46 volts.

As you can see the temperatures recorded are quite impressive, even when overclocked.  This is thanks to the great airflow through the chassis as a result of the four included fans.

To test the noise performance of the case we placed a digital dBA meter 1m from the front of the case and replaced the Radeon HD 6670 with a HD 5550 Silence.  We also momentarily detached our CPU cooler's fans so we were only taking the noise into account from the case fans.

The noise level generated by these fans was below the 30 dBA minimum sensitivity level of our noise level meter.

The noise from the case is barely noticeable under normal conditions except for a quiet low-pitched hum.  If you do find this annoying, Xigmatek include an variable fan speed adapter with the case which fits in an auxiliary expansion slot in the rear panel.

Unfortunately this only has three 3-pin outputs, though, so you will need extra adapters to connect all four fans.

Overall we are impressed with what the Xigmatek Gigas has to offer. It is clear the company are targeting the mid to high end of the market with this case as it offers a premium anodised aluminium finish and plenty of fans.

We feel the Gigas is perfect for those looking to build a compact gaming rig or a powerful HTPC as it has plenty of room for long graphics cards and delivers perfectly adequate cooling for them.

If you combine it with a high-end micro-ATX motherboard like the Asus ROG Maximus V Gene you could build a very powerful overclocked system.

There are a few negative points that we feel need mentioning.  Despite the exclusive use of brushed aluminium in the construction of the case, it's clear that Xigmatek have cut corners in a few areas to satisfy a budget.  For example, the power and reset buttons feel very poorly put together and have a horrible clicking action.

Additionally, there is absolutely no provision inside for tool-less installation. The installation process is a little complicated in places but this is to be expected considering the unusual form factor of the case.

The Xigmatek Gigas can be yours for £90 from Overclockers UK.  It is definitely worth buying if you are in the market for a compact gaming system or powerful HTPC.

Pros:

• Premium finish.
• Great cooling.
• Plenty of drive bays.
• Room for long graphics cards.

Cons:

• Build quality questionable in a few areas.
• No tool-less installation options.

KitGuru says: The Gigas is perfect for users who are building a powerful small form factor system.

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