Anidees AI Crystal Cube Lite Dual-Chamber Chassis Review

Anidees' AI Crystal Cube Lite dual-chamber computer case gets investigated today as we learn all about it.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: Anidees
15 minutes & 20 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 93%
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The Bottom Line

Nearly perfect, the AI Crystal Cube Lite is stunning to look at, and will fit quite a bit of gear inside of it. We did run into very minor issues, but nothing that overwhelmed our advice to give this case a try for yourself.

Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

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When it comes to cases, there are a few ways to go when looking for a chassis, beyond the size of it. You can opt to go with an open-air chassis, which is more for testing and benching, but many do like their parts to be put on display out in the open. There are always the standard tower cases out there as a choice too, and no matter the styling or the features, they are by far the most used option. There are horizontal setups to pick through like those used for HTPC solutions and the like, but we do see that gamers and modders tend to like these cases too. Then, there are cube cases. Usually squat in nature, some with horizontal motherboard trays, some hung vertically, but mainly, the goal is to provide a ton of air, cleanliness, and in our opinion, a better way of maximizing the space.

Anidees, in particular, has already released a cube chassis in their lineup, and the AI7 must have brought them some success. We say this because they are revisiting the chassis for the second time, but this time rethinking much of what goes into the aesthetics and features. Following the trend, Anidees is bringing forward a tempered glass version, where things have been relocated, or added in to increase the bang for the buck of this latest case.

We are speaking of the Anidees AI Crystal Cube Lite Dual Chamber Chassis. The new look of the case is sleek, mysterious, and clean, as it sits there like a chunk of volcanic glass or Onyx. Anidees adds in things like a fan control switch, a five-fan hub connected to the switch, and an additional option for fan mounting. Competing for head to head against other similar cases we have loved in the past, let us see just how well Anidees and the AI Crystal Cube Lite Dual Chamber Chassis can hold their ground in a battle of specifications, features, and aesthetics.

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The Anidees AI Crystal Cube Lite is a chassis made mostly of steel, which is painted black inside and out. To accent this chassis, Anidees uses three large tempered glass panels, which are 5mm thick, and are tinted, to add a hint of mystery as to what is inside. Dimensionally, the case is 402mm from the front to the back, it is 311mm wide, and from the top to the bottom it is 404mm. The wider width is due to the dual chambered design, which keeps the motherboard, RAM, cooling, and the video cards on one side of the motherboard tray, while the other side is used for storage, power, and is deep enough to hide a pump and reservoir there too. All told, with the Crystal Cube fresh out of the box, it weighs in at nearly twenty pounds. Since we are discussing the outside of the Crystal Cube, we may as well cover the inclusion of two USB 3.0 ports, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, HD Audio, and fan controller switch in the front I/O panel.

Inside of the Crystal Cube, you will find that Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX and even E-ATX motherboards will fit inside of it, and even though there are two internal 5.25" bays, neither of them are accessible from the outside of the case. Between the two-bay cage hanging on the back of the motherboard tray, and another location on the floor of the chassis, one could install up to three 3.5" drives. As for 2.5" drives, you can use the HDD cage for two of them, and near the front of the Crystal Cube, on the motherboard tray, there are three additional locations there. There is also an option on the floor of the chassis, which brings the total to six. There are seven expansion slots in the back of the case, and on either side of the motherboard tray, near the front of the case, are locations with universal mounting for pumps and reservoirs.

The cooling system is controlled by the fan switch in the front I/O and the five fan controller board placed behind the motherboard tray. The switch has three positions. The first is "H," and it delivers 12V to all connected fans. The second stop on the switch is "S," and it delivers no voltage to the fans. The last option is the "L" where 5V of power is sent to the fan hub. Fan locations are as follows. The front of the case, by default, will house a pair of 140mm fans on one-half, and a trio of 80mm fans on the other. However, there is a fan mounting plate that will attach to the front of the Crystal Cube which offers four 120mm fan mounting locations. The rear of the case will hold a 120mm fan, one is installed there, and on the other half, there is room for another 80mm fan. The top of the case will hold four 140mm or 120mm fans, and the floor of it can house another 120mm fan if needed.

Maximum compatibility is something to consider as well. For video cards, there is 335mm of room for them, but if you use fans in the front of the case, that shortens it to 310mm, and if you planned on a radiator there, you can subtract its thickness for the 310mm of room left. CPU cooler height is not much of an issue at all with 168mm of room for tower coolers. As to where to place the radiators, the chart ends by showing us one can go in the front, there is room at the top too, and you can always use the rear if more radiators are needed.

From what can be gathered from emails and press releases, we do know what Anidees plans to charge for the Crystal Cube, and that is $149.99. Considering what this case packs inside, and the appeal and trendiness of the design outside, we can easily see that price being paid by anyone who falls in love with this chassis. However, on this side of the pond, it appears that this chassis is not yet listed for sale. That fact makes it tough on you the reader because if you feel this chassis is perfect for your next build, it appears you will have to sit and wait a while yet to get one.

Chad's Chassis Test System Specifications

Packaging

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The packaging is kept to the basics, with the use of plain cardboard on the outside of the box. Anidees uses blue and black ink to deliver the company name and logo at the top of the panel, while the Crystal Cube name and that it is a PC chassis are printed lower on it. We also see the fragile sticker on it, as there is much glass inside of this box.

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As far as the printed information found on the right-side panel, it is all the same as we saw on the front. On the many stickers, we see that this case is fragile, there are a couple on there from shipping, but at the bottom you see the chassis name, model, weight, and a smaller sticker repeating most of this.

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The back of the box is identical to the front, aside from the small puncture found on this panel.

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The last panel of the box is the simplest of them all. Not utilizing the space for something like a specifications chart, we see only the Anidees name, logo, and tagline.

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Inside of the box, we find that the chassis is centered in the box with caps made of high-density foam. In the top cap of foam, we also find the quad 120mm fan plate, but more on that later. As for the chassis protection, there is the clear plastic bag, but the individual glass panels do not have plastic sticking to them. Even so, the Anidees AI Crystal Cube Lite is found to be in superb condition.

Anidees AI Crystal Cube Lite Dual Chamber Chassis

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The fascia of the Anidees AI crustal Cube is comprised of a very thin plastic bezel, in which the tinted tempered glass panel sits. At this time, we can see right through to the back of the chassis, and also visible are the small feet at the bottom.

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On top of the chassis, to the right edge, but still in the plastic bezel, you will find the power button. A circular pattern on a square button is what we find, surrounded by a ring of white LED light once the case is powered.

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The top of the chassis is made of steel, and the edges surrounding the magnetically attached mesh cover are thick. The mesh is made up of tiny holes for air to pass through and is easily removed for access to fan mounting or cleaning.

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The left side of the Crystal Cube starts at the front with the thick bezel, which holds the front I/O panel as well as ventilation for the front of the case below it. The rest of the side is covered with a tinted tempered glass panel, which uses thumbscrews in the corners to attach it.

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The front I/O panel has a pair of USB 3.0 ports at the top, followed by a pair of USB 2.0 ports. There are the HD Audio jacks, a tiny reset button and HDD activity LED, and at the bottom is the fan speed switch.

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Looking at the back of the chassis is the first hint of the dual chambered design. On the left, we have an 80mm fan location and room for the PSU to be installed. On the right, we see the rear I/O and 120mm exhaust fan set low on the panel, followed by seven externally accessed expansion slots.

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The right side of the Crystal Cube is a mirror image of the left side of the case. Even though the front I/O is not contained on this side, Anidees still chose to not vent the top of the bezel on this side.

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Under the dual chamber case, we find the four small feet with rubber pads, and at the top half, we see a dust filter for the optional fan location, and a mounting location for a 3.5" or 2.5" drive, or it can be used for pump mounting. The lower half has bumps in the steel to support the PSU inside, and we have a second pump mounting location should you need the other for storage.

Inside the AI Crystal Cube Lite

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Removing the front bezel shows a couple of things, but they are found on the front of the chassis. The first thing is that the wires stay on the chassis for the front I/O panel and the power button. The second, and equally important thing is that the 140mm fans and the 80mm fans in the front are filtered with magnetically attached dust filters. There is also a bay at the top, which could be used for something backlit, so it is visible through the glass panel.

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The first look inside of the chassis is one of vast openness. The motherboard tray has a cooler access hole, and the standoffs are pre-installed for ATX motherboards. The tray runs the length of the chassis; it has ten wire tie points, and six oval holes, three of which have grommets in them. The top of the tray is wide open for wiring, tubing, or hanging fans and radiators from the top.

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Behind the breakaway 5.25" bay cover, is a pair of shortened mounting rails. This could be used for a reservoir, or maybe an LCD/OLED panel displaying temperatures, fan speeds, or voltages. It is strange to us, but there is a match to this found centered at the back of the chassis too.

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The front I/O wires are immediately shifted to the left to keep them out of the way of optional cooling. It leaves full access to the front of the case, where a pair of 120mm fans of a pair of 140mm fans could go, along with a radiator if desired.

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The top of the chassis offers many options for additional cooling. Both chambers have room for fans and radiators, and like the front allows for 140mm or 120mm fans.

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The floor of the main chamber is where you could install an optional 120mm fan, and we also see the dust filter pulls out from the side. In front of that, you could use this area of extra storage drives, or use I the universal pump mount for your water cooling needs.

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Inside of the back wall of the main chamber, we find a 120mm fan powered with a 3-pin connection. You cannot see the flat head screws used to mount the graphics cards, because they are blocked from view by the cover plate, and are on the outside of the chassis.

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Behind the motherboard tray, we find things like the removable two-bay drive cage near the top. With much room for wires and tubing on the left, we run into a five-fan hub in the center, and the PSU sits on the floor to the right. There is even an opening there for the PSU do draw air from behind the motherboard tray.

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If you happen to fill the front of the main chamber with fans and radiators, you will block access to the universal pump mounting location. Therefore, Anidees made sure to add a second location, which also hides it from view on the other side.

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All the wires are black, which we like, as they will blend in with the chassis. On the left we have the power, reset, power LED, and HDD LED leads, followed up with a 4-pin Molex connector to power the switch and fan hub. What is left are the USB 2.0, native USB 3.0, and HD Audio connections.

Hardware & Documentation

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The hardware ships inside of box found in the HDD cage. Inside of it, most the hardware is separated into individual bags, noting what they are used for. There are four HDD screws for the floor of the chassis, a handful of 2.5" drive screws for holes with grommets, and screws to mount the PSU. Anidees also sends motherboard mounting screws and another set of 2.5" drive and ODD screws.

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The box also contains a set of ten zip-ties to help with wire management inside of the case. There are also another five standoffs, but keep in mind, there are already nine of them mounted in the motherboard tray.

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What we have here is the mounting plate for the front of the chassis, should you want to use four 120mm fans. This plate shifts the fans from the front of the chassis, inside of the case, and puts them much closer to the tempered glass panel. We found a nondescript bag with the mounting screws for it, but we also found another bag with pan head M3 screws in it.

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In case you wondered how the plate works, we have installed it on the front of the case. You do now have the ability to cool the back chamber better, and with less noise, but getting to the dust filters means you have to remove this mounting plate to do so.

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The sheet of folded paper that comes with the AI Crystal Cube Lite is basic in its information, but it can drive the point across. Short text descriptions of the steps are provided, but the images that follow need to be paid attention to, to understand the procedures.

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Just in case anyone was having a hard time wrapping their mind around what water cooling capabilities this chassis offers; the guide draws it all out for you here. This diagram is even sure to account for both halves of the dual chambered design, and only restricts choices to overall size, not thickness.

Case Build & Finished Product

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The view of the front of the Anidees AI Crystal Cube Lite does not change for us at any stage of the build. With an option to use the 5.25" bay behind the glass, all sorts of LED mods come to mind though.

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Inside of the Cube, there is a palace for all our parts, and no conflicts to address with what we used. The AIO shows how radiators will affect GPU length, and speaking of the GPU; it sits fairly level. Wiring is simple to manage, and even with a larger motherboard, this chassis will still handle the wires cleanly.

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The back of the chassis has filled out some with the addition of the video card and PSU. The dust shield snapped into place, and we did not have to flex the chassis to screw the card in. When it comes to the PSU, you can pretty much drop it into place, just be sure to put the fan facing the motherboard.

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We took advantage of the fan hub for our AIO and the chassis fan, which allows us to use the switch on the side of the case to adjust them as needed. There is all sorts of room for wiring and had we tidied things up more; we could also fit in a pump and reservoir, and have it hidden from view.

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As we sit here with the AI Crustal Cube Lite awaiting its source of power, the tint in the glass panels gives only a hint at to what it contains. One thing we do wish was changed with this image, is that the power button should have been moved to the left side.

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Adding power to the system shows us the HDD LED lit white, and the ring around the power button matches, it is just hard to see from this angle. We see the ZOTAC name and a bit of the Corsair name, but the room has to be dark for the look of this chassis to be at its best. We would suggest adding some LEDs to the inside of the chassis, and while you are at it, maybe a strip around the inside of the front panel as well.

Final Thoughts

Glass on glass on glass. The AI Crystal Cube Lite offers dark, mysterious tempered glass panels on all viewable sides, and is still able to offer a chassis with good airflow. To get the most out of the case, we do suggest adding fans to the interior, if even just a pair at the front, but with the dual chambered design, air can easily flow from front to back. To alleviate the fact that the right side of the case is glass without ventilation, Anidees has you install the PSU, drawing air from the main chamber of the case. The wire management options are superb, and of squat cases with loads of room inside are what you are looking for, Anidees has a slick looking answer to that quest.

There are a few minor details that had us scratching our heads though. The power button located on the opposite side of the case than the front I/O panel is strange and will cause you to have to reach quite a bit to use it. We just feel if it were on the left side, it would make life so much easier. Having ODD bracketry at the back of the case, up at the top, that struck us as funny too, but there is a chance our mind will not expand enough to find a purpose for it. The last thing does not strike us as odd but does need to be mentioned. Many users will want to install an AIO or custom water cooling into the front of this chassis, as that location provides the coolest of airflow anywhere in the case. Depending on the parts chosen, you can seriously impinge on the room for the video cards, so keep that in mind.

That out of the way, there are many things to appreciate in this design as well. While 80mm fans are passé at this point, we are fond of the extra fan plate that comes in the box. If you are choosing fans to place in the front, LED, fans could look stunning behind the tinted glass panel. We love that there are multiple locations for mounting a pump on the floor, and we appreciate the amount of storage drive options too. We also like having a fan controller on a chassis. In this instance, you can turn the fans off, power them with 5V, or maximize cooling by sending 12V to the fans. All of them connected to the five-fan hub, that is. Even trying to pick the chassis apart for some reason to beat up on it, above, there is nothing glaringly wrong with this chassis. It all works, we had room for all of our parts, installation was a breeze, and with 27 dB of noise on the low-end and 45dB of noise at the top end, the AI Crystal Cube Lite comes out fairly unscathed.

There are a few cases like this on the market, and by like this, we mean dual chambered designs. Up to now, we have not seen one styled like what Anidees sent us to look at. Most of the interiors and similar in layout and offering, but Anidees was sure to raise the bar here. Offering tempered glass panels, dark tint to keep prying eyes out of your business, fan controls, easy to access front I/O panel, dust filters, removable bays; the list goes on and on. While all we know is that the MSRP is set to $149.99 for the Us market, you do seem to have to wait for it. Availability, currently, is the only hurdle to obtaining this sleek, clean, and roomy AI Crystal Cube Lit Dual Chamber Chassis from Anidees.

Chad's Chassis Test System Specifications

TweakTown award
Performance 90%
Quality 97%
Features 95%
Value 90%
Overall 93%

The Bottom Line: Nearly perfect, the AI Crystal Cube Lite is stunning to look at, and will fit quite a bit of gear inside of it. We did run into very minor issues, but nothing that overwhelmed our advice to give this case a try for yourself.

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Chad joined the TweakTown team in 2009 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. After a year of gaming, Chad caught the OC bug. With overclocking comes the need for better cooling, and Chad has had many air and water setups. With a few years of abusing computer parts, he decided to take his chances and try to get a review job. As an avid overclocker, Chad is always looking for the next leg up in RAM and coolers.

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