A Closer Look - Outside

Out of the box, the XPG Invader X Mini looks like a tiny dual-chamber chassis. While it uses the same body frame as the Valor Mesh and Valor Air, the use of the two part front consisting of glass and those vented panels make it look quite different and thus also caters to a different target audience. That body is already pretty basic and can be justified for a $50 dollar chassis, but in the last few years, there has been quite the evolution in that $65-85 range, so it may not be the best choice to reuse this body again.


Looking from the front, the XPG Invader X Mini will allow you to see all your parts clearly thanks to the subtly tinted glass panel. It is framed in black perfectly, with a large XPG logo on the right edge. The metal portion uses a unique triangular shaped vent. In the rear, everything is laid out traditionally, with a sliding cover next to the expansion slots. The covers are now held in place by proper metal thumb screws - gone are the plastic variants we saw on the Valor series.


The main side sports that clear glass panel with black framing that aligns with the one on the front for a unified look. Once again, the metal panel is perforated with small triangles which taper out slowly towards the rear as an additional design element. That is perfectly fine, as the PSU will take up most of the space under the shroud anyway. On the opposite side, the steel cover is all solid.


Looking at the rear, the PSU bay comes with a single set of mounting holes, Above that are the seven horizontal expansion slots, which are protected by reusable metal covers and held down by classic screws. In the very top is a 120 mm exhaust fan that may be aligned with your internal cooling setup because of elongated mounting holes.


In the top of the Invader X mini there is a magnetic metal mesh dust filter that covers mounting holes for two 120 or 140 mm fans. You may also install a radiator of up to 240 mm here. That is pretty limiting these days, with many cases offering 360 mm support and the cost of those AIOs coming down in price quickly as well. All the I/O has been placed on the right edge of the chassis, consisting of an audio plug, one USB-A and one USB-C connector. The latter has clearly been installed there in place of a second USB-A port. It is not certain why XPG has opted to offer two versions of this case and then shoehorned a USB-C port into existing tooling like this. Still, there are other cases out there which manage beautiful integration at similar price points and still offer two USB-A 3.0 ports, so this is not an excuse to cut this corner.


Taking a look at the underside there is a white dust filter here as well, which is an odd place to consider that color detail vs. the glass panel framing. Unfortunately, this is rather basic in form of a mesh sheet, so removing it for cleaning means tipping the chassis over and popping it off. XPG could have easily updated this to justify this price segment.