The Phanteks Eclipse G500A is a very appealing chassis. At first sight some may comment that the P500A without RGB elements may be the better buy at an MSRP of $99, but that argument quickly gets blown out of the water if you look closer. At $149.99, there is a $50 difference, with the important aspect being: there is no G500A equivalent to that P500A variant. Phanteks skips the basic version and instead only provides a four-fan equipped non-RGB variant.

The four M25-140 fans are an excellent base for the chassis to perform really well while remaining nice and quiet during load. Both due to the hardware staying cool as well as the very quiet fans themselves. On top of that, the G500A Performance further differentiates itself from its sibling by offering better fan compatibility in the ceiling as well as two covers behind the motherboard tray for the ultimate, clean look that also adds a whooping six additional drive positions. The only downside here: you will have to find your own screws.

With all these upgrades to the P500A series in mind, it does share the same core body and tooling, and as such has the same excellent build experience, room, and feature set. As such, you still get lots of Velcro strips, unique sliding covers for a clean interior, and the option to increase the total storage capability to an insane 19 drives should you go and buy eight more 3.5" trays. And thanks to the 3-slot vertical GPU mounting position you can even show off those thick new GPUs easily.

Yes, the P500A launched in 2020, but considering how the tooling and body still manages to impress in 2022 is testament to that detail oriented, quality design. What's more, Phanteks even improved a few things, such as providing a reset button and tweaking the GPU support bracket a tad. All-in-all, the Phanteks Eclipse G500A Performance is an excellent chassis, even if Phanteks doesn't make your choice that easy by teasing you with ARGB elements for just $10 more.