A Closer Look - Outside

Out of the box, the G.Skill Z5i looks quite unique with its bent glass panels converging at the front. Interestingly enough, the warning sticker for the glass has been placed underneath the plastic protective layer, which distracts from the unboxing experience—something other brands have already figured out by placing that sticker on top of the plastic layer for easy removal. Unfortunately, one of the hinges on our sample ended up creating a bit of a gap, but that is fixable by bending the hinges into place.


Looking at the front of the Z5i, we see the interior through the tinted panels. On the bottom is a plastic base with the brand name on it, and the I/O has been placed on the top of the front. The rear has nothing but the vents for two 120 or 140 mm fans or a radiator of up to 280 mm, which is quite nice as most ITX enclosures these days at most hold a 240 mm radiator.


As both sides are covered in glass, the Z5i will have a bit of a hard time with cooling, which we have seen numerous times with ITX cases in the past. That said, the panels look great—the left one is shaped so that the I/O panels are exposed as well.


The base of the Z5i is needed as the connector panels of both the motherboard and GPU point downward. While the use of plastic is just fine and sturdy enough, it does allow for a little flex. The G.Skill logo is ARGB illuminated, which will have it light up in the colors you set within your system. In the top, you will find two USB 3.0 ports and a fully-fledged USB-C plug. The round power button also holds a blue power LED. There is no reset button.


In the top, you will find a metal mesh cover for hot air to vent out of this part of the chassis. The mesh is held in place well by strong magnets, which is great, but the fact that it is just a mesh cutout without a support frame means you have to be careful not to bend it out of shape by mistake when handling it.


On the underside are two additional ARGB LED strips, which should make for quite the nice underside glow when turned on.