Arctic Xtender PC Case Review – Stylish Mid-Tower with Strong Cooling and Smart Design

The Arctic Xtender is Arctic’s first-ever PC case — a mid-tower with heavily tinted glass, five high-performance pre-installed fans, and radiator support up to 420 mm. It’s aimed at builders who want clean aesthetics without sacrificing airflow, and it enters a competitive price segment dominated by brands like NZXT, Hyte, and Phanteks.

This review goes beyond first impressions from Jacob Ridley, PC Gamer, covering the build process in detail, noise and thermal testing, and how the Xtender stacks up against rivals in real-world use.

First Impressions – Clean but Not Flashy

When you first unbox the Xtender, it doesn’t scream “RGB gaming rig” at you. The tempered glass is so dark it almost looks like black acrylic, and with the protective film still on, it’s a glossy but opaque slab. There’s a small tinted glass window on the PSU shroud, too, though initially it looks like an odd design choice.

Once powered on, the look transforms. The tinted glass hides the tangle of internal cabling while letting through just enough ARGB glow from the fans and components to create a soft, diffused lighting effect. Unlike clear panels that can make a build look cluttered if cable management isn’t perfect, the Xtender’s darker glass works in your favor. It gives almost any setup a more professional, showroom-like finish.

The metal frame feels sturdy, with no panel flex or alignment issues. The glass side panels attach with four corner screws — not the quickest to remove, but they stay secure and rattle-free.

Specifications and Layout

Motherboard Support: ATX, E-ATX (up to 280 mm wide), mATX, Mini-ITX

Radiator Support:

• Side: up to 420 mm
• Top: up to 420 mm
• Rear: 120 mm

Fan Support:

• Side: 3 × 140 mm (3 × 140 mm included, reverse airflow, ARGB)
• Top: 3 × 140 mm
• Rear: 2 × 120 mm (2 × 120 mm included, ARGB)

Pre-installed Fans:

• 3 × P14 Pro Reverse ARGB (2500 RPM max)
• 2 × P12 Pro ARGB (3000 RPM max)

Drive Bays:

• 2 × 3.5-inch (HDD) in cage (removable)
• 3 × 2.5-inch (SSD) behind motherboard tray

Front I/O:

• 2 × USB 3.0 Type-A
• 1 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C
• Audio combo jack
• Power & reset buttons

PSU: ATX, bottom-mounted (no bottom vent; airflow from rear mesh)

Building in the Arctic Xtender – A Step-by-Step Look

I built a high-end gaming PC inside the Xtender to evaluate how friendly it is for builders.

Test Build Specs:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
• Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 mm
• GPU: Nvidia RTX 4080 Founders Edition
• Motherboard: ASRock B850 LiveMixer WiFi
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 (32 GB)
• Storage: Solidigm P44 Pro NVMe SSD
• PSU: Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M (850 W)

Step 1 – Motherboard and Radiator Prep

With the removable top panel, radiator installation is painless. I mounted the 420 mm Liquid Freezer III Pro on the side intake — the reverse P14 Pro fans keep the look clean by hiding fan struts. Side mounting also avoids RAM clearance issues.

Step 2 – PSU Installation (Plan Ahead Here)

The PSU shroud is roomy in height but tight in length once the HDD cage is in place. If you have a non-modular PSU or thick cables, connect them before sliding the unit in. If you need more space, the drive cage can be removed, but then you lose 3.5-inch storage support.

Step 3 – Cable Management

This is where Arctic shines. Behind the motherboard tray are two main Velcro strap channels (vertical and horizontal) plus smaller straps for fan cables. The ARGB fans are not pre-chained, so you’ll be doing that yourself — a bit of extra work, but it means you can route them exactly how you want.

Step 4 – GPU Installation (Avoid Vertical Mounting)

In horizontal orientation, the RTX 4080 FE dropped in without issue, with about 35 mm of clearance to the radiator fans. In vertical mode, however, the GPU backplate hit the cooler tubing, making the setup unworkable. Even with spacers, clearance was too tight. Worse, the vertical mount’s PCIe clip broke during adjustments. I recommend avoiding the vertical GPU version entirely.

Airflow Design and Dust Filtration

Instead of the popular “mesh front” design, the Xtender pulls air in from the side through a full-height dust filter. Testing with an anemometer showed minimal airflow loss from the filter — 1.8 m/s reduced to 1.7 m/s — which is a very good result for a filtered intake.

The rear exhaust section is unusual. Instead of a single rear 120 mm fan, Arctic uses two vertically stacked 120 mm mounts, which helps expel heat more evenly from behind the motherboard area. This worked well in keeping VRM and rear RAM temperatures low.

The PSU ventilation approach is also unique: no bottom intake, just an open rear mesh area. This simplifies cleaning (no floor filter to maintain) but does rely on the case’s internal airflow to feed the PSU.

Noise Levels – Raw Power Comes with Volume

Those pre-installed fans are serious performers. The P12 Pro models have 6.9 mm H₂O static pressure, which is almost radiator-fan territory, and at full 3000 RPM they’re loud.

Measured Noise (50 cm distance):

• Idle (BIOS fan curve, ~900–1100 RPM): 33 dBA (audible hum)
• Gaming load (fan curve ramped): 42 dBA
• Max RPM: 54 dBA (loud enough to be distracting)

For most users, setting a custom fan curve in BIOS will keep noise manageable while still delivering excellent thermals.

Thermal Performance – Cool Under Load

Tested with Cyberpunk 2077 (RT Overdrive) and Metro: Exodus at 1440p Ultra for 45 minutes:

Component Temps (Average/ Peak):

• GPU: 64°C/ 68°C
• CPU: 63°C/ 67°C
• VRM: 54°C/ 57°C
• SSD: 41°C/ 44°C

These are excellent numbers for a case with glass front and side panels, showing that Arctic’s airflow approach works in practice.

Price and Competitor Comparison

At €145 (about $160) for the standard model with five fans, the Xtender offers better included cooling hardware than most rivals.

Key Comparisons:

• NZXT H9 Flow RGB – Similar dual-glass design, but costs $200+ and includes only three fans.
• Hyte Y70 Touch Infinite – Showpiece case with screen, but airflow isn’t as efficient, and price is much higher.
• Phanteks Evolv X2 – Excellent build quality but fewer fans included, and vertical GPU bracket is extra.

If you don’t care about a vertical GPU mount, the Xtender undercuts most of these while matching or beating them in cooling potential.

Verdict – Arctic’s Strong First Step

The Arctic Xtender isn’t trying to reinvent the PC case, but it combines premium cooling hardware, thoughtful cable management, and refined aesthetics at a very fair price. It does have quirks — noisy fans at high RPM, a flawed vertical GPU mount, and no bottom PSU intake — but for the majority of builds, these aren’t deal-breakers.

Buy it if:

• You want excellent thermals without a mesh-front look.
• You appreciate dark glass for hiding cable mess.
• You value included high-quality fans over empty fan mounts.

Skip it if:

• You need a vertical GPU setup with thick cards and side radiators.
• Silence is your top priority.

For Arctic’s first case, the Xtender is an impressive debut — proof that a cooling-focused company can design a chassis that’s not only functional but also a pleasure to build in.