If you want your computer case to really stand out, there is now a real alternative to the extravagant small series creations from In Win. The E1 from EVGA is designed to be extreme in many respects: the design with analog instruments, the weight, the material and last but not least the price.
One might almost think that E1 is not that special. After all, there are several open cases with a benchtop look on the market, even if not in the stretched “X” shape of the E1. What didn't exist yet are the three analogue displays. The round instruments that EVGA places above the lateral I/O panel provide information about the ambient temperature and the temperatures of the processor and graphics card.
The tubular frame of the chassis is also unusual. It would be usual to use steel here, EVGA uses carbon instead; the empty housing therefore only weighs 1.25 kilograms. In addition, the mainboard tray is hung floating on wire ropes. Only the fans are bolted to the frame. Three copies each or correspondingly large radiators fit on the front and lid. In any case, the graphics card is installed rotated by 90 degrees via a riser module. Since there is no side panel, the fresh air supply is guaranteed in any case.
The price is hot
The special once again costs a lot of money. EVGA charges around 1,600 US dollars in its own web shop for the pure housing with GPU riser. In addition, the E1 is offered in two bundles. Kit 1 combines the case for around $3,700 with a GeForce RTX 3090 Ti in the Kingpin Edition and a 1,600-watt power supply. The power supply is always bundled with commercial versions, since EVGA does not sell the graphics card separately.
The highest equipment line called “Bare Bones”, whose name sounds unintentionally ironic, costs a whopping 5,000 US dollars and supplements Kit 1 with the Z690 Dark Kingpin mainboard for Intel's Alder Lake CPUs and a PowerLink 52u adapter, which connects the power connections of the graphics card on the back and is intended to improve cable management. A shipping case, which according to the manufacturer has a value of 800 US dollars, is “free” for this course. In any case, the housing is only manufactured on customer request, so a delivery time of three to four weeks must be taken into account.
EVGA E1 Mainboard format: E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX Chassis (L × W × H): 590 × 320 × 610 mm (115.17 liters) Material: – Net weight: 1.25 kg I /O-Ports/Miscellaneous: 1 × USB 3.1 (USB 3.2 Gen 2) Type C, 2 × USB 3.0 (USB 3.2 Gen 1) Bays: – Expansion slots: 2 fans: Front: 3 × 120 mm (optional)
Lid: 3 × 120 mm (optional) Dust filter: – Compatibility: CPU cooler: not specified
GPU: not specified
PSU: Unlimited Price: $1,500