A mid-tower chassis with an innovative Touch Panel enters the spotlight. How will it compare to other popular offerings in a competitive market?
Product on Review: Touch 787
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Xclio
Street Price: £83 (At time of review)
Xclio are known in the market for their extraordinary chassis designs and funky lighting configurations, their latest series named ‘Touch’ sees them venture into innovative realms as they integrate a Touch Panel into a range of cases to allow the user to tweak fan states and speeds.
Today we will be taking a look at what Xclio class their ‘mid-tower offering – the 767. Touch 767 targets the system-builder and gamer by offering support for ATX and M-ATX and enough space for the most demanding of today’s kit. The question is, can Xclio’s 767 compete in a challenging market or will they be pushed to the side by other offerings? Let’s find out.
About Xclio
The overwhelming popularity of the personal computer originated with IBM”s compatible design. Starting with the AT design then today’s popular ATX designs, a new form factor evolves almost every other 10 years. Intel launched its new BTX form factors to the market in 2003, so we see the evolution from AT to ATX continue.
With continued research and development companies keep providing new technology that enhances components used in computers and consumer electronics (i.e. CPU, Hard Drives, video card, etc). Intel and AMD continue to introduce new processors that exponentially increase computing capabilities. Manufacturers of hard drives are providing drives with larger capacity, increased cache speeds and even the revolutions per minute has increased to 15,000 for SATA drives. Both nVIDIA and ATI manufacturers of video cards have increased their graphic process performance while requiring faster and larger memory. But, with all of these electronic components performing more, a great amount of heat is generated.
With continued research and development companies keep providing new technology that enhances components used in computers and consumer electronics (i.e. CPU, Hard Drives, video card, etc). Intel and AMD continue to introduce new processors that exponentially increase computing capabilities. Manufacturers of hard drives are providing drives with larger capacity, increased cache speeds and even the revolutions per minute has increased to 15,000 for SATA drives. Both nVIDIA and ATI manufacturers of video cards have increased their graphic process performance while requiring faster and larger memory. But, with all of these electronic components performing more, a great amount of heat is generated.
Technical Specifications
Type
Super Tower
Color
Fully Black Finish
Case Material
Chassis: SECC Steel ; Frontpanel: ABS Plastic
Motherboard Compatibility
Mini ITX, Flex ATX, Mini ATX, Micro ATX & Standard ATX
External 5.25″ Drive Bays
4
Internal 3.5″ Drive Bays
6
Expansion Slots
8
Top Ports
USB3.0x1 + USB2.0x2 + AUDIO (AC97+HD AUDIO) + E-SATA
Cooling System
Front: 12cm * 1PC Fan Optional)
Top: 12cm * 2PCS (Optional) 1 Included (Transparent frame & blade Blue LED)(
Rear: 12cm * 1PC Included (Transparent frame & blade Blue LED)
Side: 12cm * 6PCS (Optional)
Dimensions
221x495x520MM (WxHxD)
Super Tower
Color
Fully Black Finish
Case Material
Chassis: SECC Steel ; Frontpanel: ABS Plastic
Motherboard Compatibility
Mini ITX, Flex ATX, Mini ATX, Micro ATX & Standard ATX
External 5.25″ Drive Bays
4
Internal 3.5″ Drive Bays
6
Expansion Slots
8
Top Ports
USB3.0x1 + USB2.0x2 + AUDIO (AC97+HD AUDIO) + E-SATA
Cooling System
Front: 12cm * 1PC Fan Optional)
Top: 12cm * 2PCS (Optional) 1 Included (Transparent frame & blade Blue LED)(
Rear: 12cm * 1PC Included (Transparent frame & blade Blue LED)
Side: 12cm * 6PCS (Optional)
Dimensions
221x495x520MM (WxHxD)
Packaging & First Look
Touch 767 arrives in an eco-friendly box – the packaging has a depiction of the case whilst emphasising the touch panel feature. The reverse of the box is exactly as the front and the sides have the technical specifications.
Inside, Touch 767 is covered in a clear plastic sheet and held in place via polystyrene pillars for protection during transit.
Touch 767 packaging
With Touch 767 out of its packaging we see that this chassis has quite a bulky yet professional outer styling. The prominent side panel has a large mesh section with the ability to hold up to six 120mm cooling fans.
The reverse has a solid panel with a perforated mesh region marked out for attaching a 90/120mm cooling fan – positioned directly behind the CPU socket.
Large mesh section on the side for attaching up to 6x 120mm cooling fans
A mixture of rugged and sleek for the styling
With our initial observation over let’s take a closer look at the external elements of Touch 767 over the page.
Exterior
The front of Xclio’s Touch 767 has a plastic fascia which resembles a venetian blind effect. Xclio logo is right in the centre. Each individual cover unclips from the front fascia but there are actually 4x 5.25” slots. The entire front panel fascia is removable with a firm pull.
Around the back of the chassis there is an opening at the bottom for mounting a PSU. Further up there are dual circular grommets for tubes/cabling with honeycomb ventilation above and a total of 8x PCI expansion slot covers with ventilation holes and thumbscrews. Sadly these PCI expansion slot covers are disposable and once removed from the chassis they are not reusable. Above this there is a 120mm rear exhaust fan and 3x circular grommets with the USB 3.0 cable running from the front panel.
The front and back of Touch 767
At the top of Touch 767 is the front panel connectivity along with Xclio’s ‘Touch Panel’. The ports include: E-SATA, 1x USB 3.0 (via USB cable), 2x USB 2.0 ports, headphone/microphone jack and power/reset buttons.
The Touch Panel which is positioned further back sits on a glossy plastic surface and has numerous options for altering fan speeds, turning the fans and LEDs on/off. With touch technology being so prevalent on mobile phones it’s great to see this kind of feature being implemented onto a computer chassis, to use any of the options available the user simply places their finger over the button to select – rather like touch screen technology. When activated, each button has an LED ring around it which will glow. This feature works very well and I really like it.
The front panel controls with ‘Touch Panel’ operation
Further back at the top we can see the entire top fascia, which again is plastic. In the middle towards the back is a honeycomb mesh section and the on the underside Xclio have included a 120mm cooling fan for pushing air, out and through the top of the system. There is also an additional 120mm cooling fan slot.
The top of Touch 767
On the underside of Touch 767 there are 4x padded feet to prevent slipping on smooth surfaces and 2 large dust filter sheets. These dust filters are very thin and need to be careful removed, unfortunately the case will need to be placed on its side to remove them and clean.
The underside of the chassis
We’ve taken a look at the outside of Touch 767; on the next page we will take a thorough look at the inside of the case.
Interior
Touch 767’s side panels are removed after taking out two thumbscrews on either side. Once removed we have a good overview of the inside of this chassis. Touch 767 can accommodated mATX and ATX motherboards and has a variety of tool-less design mechanisms throughout to make the installation process easier. Oddly though there are four cable management cut-outs only two of them have rubber grommets.
Behind the motherboard tray there is a large cut-out for the CPU socket backplate and a thick cable runs from the front panel – this is for the Touch Panel connectivity.
The quality of the steel used here is good but there is also a fair amount of plastic used too which does cheapen the outlook.
An overview of the inside of Touch 767
Behind the motherboard tray
The PSU area inside Touch 767 features 4x rubber pads to prevent scratching and vibration from the unit. There is also a Velcro strap for securing the unit and a dust filter sits underneath – the case must be put on its side to remove the filter.
There is a 120mm slot next to the PSU for mounting a cooling fan at the bottom of the chassis.
Rubber pads and Velcro stray for the PSU
Touch 767 has 8x PCI expansion slot covers, each have the ventilation slots and thumbscrews though the actual covers are disposable – once removed they cannot be attached to the chassis again. To remove a cover the metal must be twisted and pulled off – this is quite a disappointment (especially for a case with such a price-tag) as if you do remove the covers and decide to move a device to another slot there will be gaping holes left at the back of the chassis for dust to enter.
PCI expansion slot covers are disposable
On the next page we will continue our tour of the inside of Touch 767.
Interior (Continued)
In terms of cooling Touch 767 has two 120mm cooling fans at the top and rear of the chassis. These fans are exhausts and will carry heat/air out of the case. These fans also have honeycomb covers. Being the only cooling fans within the chassis there is no positive airflow within and as a result this could influence how efficient the thermal performance of Touch 767.
There is an additional spot next to the top fan for attaching another 120mm fan.
Dual 120mm exhaust cooling fans at the top and rear of Touch 767
Over on the other side of Touch 767 are 4x 5.25” drive bays each have a tool-less design slider for getting devices into the bays – except the bottom slot which requires screws.
4x 5.25” drive bays
Beneath the optical drive bays is the HDD storage. The panels on either side here unfold and 2.5”/3.5” drives can attach to these unfolding arms. There is also an additional bracket within the chassis for housing 3.5” drives. There are no cooling fans at the front of the chassis.
HDD storage is a little different to conventional methods
Due to the cooling fans working in conjunction with the Touch Panel at the top of Touch 767, Xclio have integrated a hub for the cooling fans to plug into. There are additional slots available should the user want to increase the amount of fans within the case. A Molex connector from the PSU is required to power this.
Fan controller hub
On the next page our ATX test system will be installed inside Touch 767.
Installation
Getting kit inside Touch 767 is pain-free and as you can see from the pictures, this case can accommodate high-end components with good cable management options to keep the system clean and tidy. Xclio have included a cut-out for the CPU/EPS power – something which is essential when on the topic of cable management, but a feature that is sometimes left out of case design, so a thumbs up to them for this.
Installation complete
Behind the motherboard tray cables are organised well
There are different methods of installing HDDs inside Touch 767. I installed a 3.5” drive into the cage at the bottom of the chassis. The drive simply slides into place and screws just need to be attached on either side.
3.5” drive installed within HDD cage
Clearance – CPU, GPU, WC, Cable Management
To the system builder clearance is of critical importance because this determines whether hardware will comfortably fit inside the chassis. So in this section we will be observing whether Touch 767 can accommodate high-end components.
First of all the CPU cooler – Touch 767 will house the big flagships like Noctua NH-D14, Thermalright Silver Arrow and Alpenfohn K2. These coolers are all 160mm in height, pictured is Noctua NH-U12P which is 158mm in height.
Enough space for big CPU coolers
Graphics card clearance is very good – there is nothing that obstructs this component as the cage is wide enough for the graphics card to enter. Pictured is XFX HD7970 which is over 11” in length. Touch 767 will accommodate any graphics card currently on the market.
Unlimited clearance for graphics cards
Water-cooling is not possible inside Touch 767 due to the size and clearance within the chassis.
Cable management is easy to maintain though there is only 1.5cm of clearance behind the motherboard tray.
Clearance behind the motherboard tray is approximately 1.5m
On the next page we will be testing the thermal performance of Touch 767.
Thermal Performance Testing
Our thermal performance testing has recently been revised and therefore the list of comparable results is for the moment limited. But as we progress through cases the results list will expand.
Inside Touch 767 are just two 120mm cooling fans positioned at the top and rear of the chassis, configured as exhausts. As a result there is no positive air pressure/flow within Touch 767 and this is a step away from traditional airflow methodologies of having an intake at the front and exhaust at the rear.
To discover the thermal performance of the Touch 767 I will record idle temperatures after 20 minutes from a cold boot. I will then stress the system and temperatures will again be monitored after 30 minutes have elapsed. Cooling fans will be set to ‘Mid Speed’ on the Touch Panel.
For the purpose of accurate analysis the idle and load temperatures for CPU and GPU will be recorded and the range between idle and load will be calculated to determine how efficient cooling is.
NOTE: Ambient temperature is 20C
System Components
CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 480 AMP (Different from card pictured)
Memory 4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU FSP AURUM GOLD 650M
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 480 AMP (Different from card pictured)
Memory 4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU FSP AURUM GOLD 650M
Noise
With the fans set to ‘Low Speed’ on the Touch panel they are noticeable but not necessarily disturbing, increasing to ‘Mid Speed’ the fans are disturbing and noisy and ‘High Speed’ is far beyond tolerable.
Conclusion
Xclio’s Touch 767 is a mid-tower chassis that delivers on styling. Though there is possibly an overuse of plastic, the external design can be appreciated by enthusiast and gamer alike.
Inside there are features to allow easy installation and accommodation of a wide range of components including enough space for big CPU coolers and long graphics cards. One aspect that I thought was a rather innovative inclusion was the ‘Touch Panel’ found at the top of the case, this panel allows for the adjustment of fan speeds, LEDs and more by the simply touching the surface – rather like a touch-screen mobile phone.
Unfortunately there are some areas that need to be improved with Touch 767. For a computer case that comes with the price-tag of £83 this pushes Touch 767 into territories that are out of its league. Compare this chassis to Fractal Design R3, Cooler Master 690 and others that are prominent and around a similar price-tag and there is some tough competition. The price does not warrant having PCI covers that have to be twisted from the case and are rendered useless once doing so. The fans are also noisy and instead of including an intake fan at the front and one at the rear as an exhaust Xclio have broken out of traditional airflow design and used both fans as exhausts at the top and rear meaning there is no positive airflow inside. This seriously limits thermal performance and means there is no drive of cool air across the system.
Xclio’s Touch 767 is a good case with enough room to house high-end kit. It has a funky Touch Panel fan controller and some other useful features but there are some weaknesses and the price should be reduced in order to be competitive.
Pros
+ Nice looking design
+ Touch panel is innovative and useful
+ Can accommodate high-end kit
+ Lots of spots for mounting fans
Cons
– Lots of plastic
– PCI covers redundant once removed
– USB 3.0 takes port at rear I/O
– No cooling fan at the front
– Fans are noisy at Mid/High settings
+ Nice looking design
+ Touch panel is innovative and useful
+ Can accommodate high-end kit
+ Lots of spots for mounting fans
Cons
– Lots of plastic
– PCI covers redundant once removed
– USB 3.0 takes port at rear I/O
– No cooling fan at the front
– Fans are noisy at Mid/High settings
