Review: Hyte X50 PC Case

Many computer cases have crossed my desk over the years, but none have dressed as dapper as the Hyte X50. Even as rounded and custom-cut glass panels become more common in computer cases, the X50 manages to stand out, and not just because of the unique color offerings.

Hyte has taken the curved-glass aesthetic and carried it across the whole case, propping up the fully rounded body on squat little half-dome legs. It's a combination of cute and sturdy that you're unlikely to find in any other computer case. Friends who have seen the X50’s bubbly glass panel and trendy matcha paint job have compared it to the distinct design of evergreen kitchen gadgets like the KitchenAid stand mixer or, somewhat less generously, to that car that Homer Simpson designed.

Everything from the overall look to the little details has been accounted for, and apart from a small speed bump for AIO CPU cooler owners, it’s easy to build a quiet and well-cooled machine. The biggest problem I have with the X50 is my own desire for perfection. Like other Hyte cases I’ve reviewed before, the generously sized windows don’t give you much leeway for messy or mismatched cables. If visible cable ties, uneven fan placement, or mismatched colors bother you, you’ll have to do some extra legwork on your way to the beautiful system of your dreams.

Open Design, Quiet Operation

Photograph: Brad Bourque

Despite tons of open fan grates and mesh panels, the X50 is stunningly quiet. Even under load, with the fans kicked up, I struggled to hear any fan or system noise. At one point I was trying to troubleshoot an unrelated GPU issue and kept having to peek down underneath to see if the fans were spinning up at all. That’s largely thanks to the noticeably thick tempered glass panel, which Hyte says is specially laminated to reduce noise outside the case, and at least anecdotally, it works quite well.

My old setup was running a fairly massive 360-mm AIO CPU cooler, which might be overkill, but it did raise an interesting predicament when moving into the X50. Ideally, the radiator would be mounted at the top of the case, so the pump in the CPU block is always filled with liquid, but with the PSU at the top, that’s not an option.

Thankfully, both the front and motherboard sides of the case support up to three fans each, with room for massive radiators. There are enough options that I actually spent quite a bit of time agonizing over how I wanted to configure my fans. I ended up mounting my giant cooler on the side of the case and installed three fans in the bottom for intake, which isn’t my favorite setup as a dog owner, but the magnetic filter has been easy enough to keep clean. My GPU directly benefits from the cool air intake at the bottom, and my CPU radiator has been running around six degrees cooler than it was before.

When it comes to actually building in the system, there’s a surprising amount of space both in the front of the case and behind the motherboard. A hard drive bay takes up a large chunk of room, but like most folks, I’m only using M.2 drives at this point, so I went ahead and removed it to make room for my fan and pump controller. There are a few spots that get a little tight, like the cable attic next to the power supply, and the space down at the bottom where the IO cables pass under the motherboard, but they shouldn’t be an issue once you’re done building, and there are plenty of tie down points with hook and loop straps throughout to keep things organized.

The Quest for Perfection

Photograph: Brad Bourque

When a case looks this stylish, it can be hard to live up to that ideal, which is my main complaint about the X50. As I put the finishing touches on my build, I couldn’t help but notice all the little details I hadn’t been able to account for. The fan cables, for example, were bundled up nicely but were clearly visible in the gap underneath the motherboard. Meanwhile, my power supply fan met one end of the circular cutout but left a noticeable gap at the far end, with visible cables between. Neither has any effect on performance, but I notice them every time I inspect the system.

Similarly, you’re unlikely to find many components that match the X50’s more adventurous color options. Hyte sells color-matched fans, which I’d recommend picking up for no other reason than aesthetics, but other than that, you’re probably out of luck when it comes to finding a “lilac” or “matcha” GPU shroud.

Hyte also sells the X50 Air, a version of the case with a curved mesh panel instead of the rounded glass. Letting your cables run wild and free certainly sounds appealing, but it’s only available in black and white, and at least in my mind, the biggest selling points are the beautiful and quiet rounded glass and the trendy color offerings.

I'd hesitate to recommend this case if you're building your first system. It’s not the most straightforward to build optimally. Even the absolute wealth of fan positions could be overwhelming—I know it took me a bit to decide where to install them. It’s also not for perfectionists, so you should either be OK with a little mess or know how to make your own color-matched PSU cables.

For experienced builders looking for a stylish case that they can take to the next level, on the other hand, I highly recommend it. Most cases that look this nice have downsides like component size limitations or terrible cooling, but I’m more than happy ignore an errant cable to enjoy looking at the X50 on my desk every day.