A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the interior, simply remove the two thumbscrews holding each case panel in place. Taking a closer look, there are no grommets on any of the holes of the motherboard tray, which is a shame as the clear side window won't allow you to hide much. On the upside, the opening for the CPU area of the motherboard is nice and large, so you should have no issues getting to a CPU cooler's backplate.


You get around 20 mm of space to route and hide cables behind the motherboard tray, which is certainly adequate. On top of that, X2 has made good use of this space within the i5 by providing you with a 2.5" hard-drive mounting spot as well.


You may install two 3.5" drives underneath the shroud - one on the floor and another on the inner ceiling of the shroud. The entire front is open so that you may install up to two 120 mm fans there, with a blue LED fan having been included right out of the box.


On the opposite end is the PSU bay underneath the shroud; it is quite basic, but will do the job just fine. You just have to slide the drive in through the side, so it would be prudent to place the power supply first, before installing any 3.5" drives. Above that are the aforementioned expansion bay slots with three breakouts and a reusable covers. You can clearly see the air vent for the optional 80/92 mm fan in the very top.


Taking a closer look at the shroud, you may install two 120 mm fans to it or even opt for a 240 mm radiator if the components of the motherboard permit it. However, both choices will block easy access to most audio, USB, and case headers on a board's bottom edge. It would have been better if X2 had chosen to use this space for 2.5" drives instead. Looking at the ceiling, you may also install the same fans or a radiator setup here, but given the compact dimensions, any radiator setup will end up clashing with board components with near certainty. This means you are essentially limited to installing 25 mm thick fans in the ceiling.


All the cables within the X2 are black, which expands on the contrast-centric black and white design. Every connector's lead is of the standard variety. You should, as such, have no issues connecting everything to a modern motherboard.