Ikonik RA X10 SIM

Results Analysis

Judging performance of the RA X10 SIM is a little difficult thanks to the enormous amount of flexibility granted by the SIM hardware and software included with the case, but our testing at full speed and using one of the case’s silent profiles is enough to get a general idea, and it’s for the most part a positive result.

Idle and CPU load temperatures were both excellent, especially looking at the CPU load temperature using the silent profile which hardly varied from that of the case at full speed. It’s clear that the battery of 80mm exhaust fans at the top of the case has played a part here, drawing hot air away from the CPU and helped by their close proximity to the core hardware.

However, GPU cooling is less impressive, especially for a case fitted with a whopping 13 cooling fans. We’d hoped that the supply of cool air into the bottom of the case from the battery of 80mm intake fans would supply plenty of cool air to the GPU to keep it extremely chilly, but unfortunately the RA X10 turns in a disappointing result in silent mode that’s equalled by cases with just two 120mm fans, and even at full speed is still a good 5°C off high airflow competition like the HAF 932.

While the thermal performance is a mixed bag, we were shocked by how noisy the RA X10 SIM is with all the fans set to full speed using the SIM software. It’s almost like having a rack mounted server in its death throws in the room and is by far the noisiest case we’ve reviewed in the last year, if not ever, noisier even than the Antec Nine Hundred Two running at full whack.


Needless to say you’d have to be mad to run the system with all the fans at full speed and thankfully switching the fans to one of the software’s Silent profiles where fans idle at 7V and then spin up at 40°C greatly improved things. However, even using the Silent profile the RA X10 still isn’t what we call ultra quiet and you’d certainly know it was still on, the combined airflow noise of 13 separate cooling fans proving a difficult thing to eliminate completely, especially when Ikonik has chosen to use 80mm fans instead of larger, quieter alternatives.

Value and Final Thoughts

Starting out as a new manufacturer is never easy, especially in the chassis market, which is dominated by the likes of Antec and Cooler Master. However, even though Ikonik is a new company, the RA X10 SIM represents a brave decision to aim high by targeting the very highest end of the case market and while it doesn’t achieve everything we’d have liked it to, it brings with it a lot of unique and admirable features.

Although the exterior build quality is flawed thanks to the tacky plastic trim and the aesthetic design questionable, the bizarre door a particularly baffling choice, internally things are much more solid with the aluminium frame work both gorgeous and hard wearing. But in saying that, it is a finger print magnet of the worst kind.

It’s the unique features that set this case apart from anything else on the market though, with the changeable window panelling and the SIM system the real highlights. While the cooling layout itself is bizarre and doesn’t deliver the advantage you’d expect from 13 cooling fans the SIM system driving it is fantastic and although there’s still room for improvement in the software we’d love to see a similar setup making its way into other cases. Imagine an Antec Nine Hundred Two fitted with a SIM like fan controller and you’ll understand our excitement, although it’s clear that its uses are limited to those cases where the default noise level is extremely high – there’d not be much point fitting a SIM system into an already very quiet case after all.

But for all its triumphs and flaws, the real let down for the RA X10 SIM is its ludicrously high price. With an MSRP of £285 it’s a full £75 more than the sublime Cooler Master ATCS 840, a chassis which delivers unrivalled build quality and similar thermal performance at a wonderfully low noise level as standard. As good as the SIM system is, we’ve seen superb cooling in the past from cases switching to larger and larger fans and the choice of many small fans as opposed to fewer larger ones just doesn’t seem to have paid off in comparison to what else is out there.

This leaves the RA X10 somewhat lost within its own feature set, toting all these great new ideas but failing to bring them together to form a quality product. While we might have been less critical of the flaws at a lower price point, this case is priced way above anything else on the market bar the Zalman Z-Machine and doesn’t make the grade on numerous fronts in comparison to the competition. While a commendable first attempt from a new start up which showcases some great innovations, we can’t help feel that Ikonik has been a little too ambitious with the RA X10 and the end result, while not without merit, isn't worth the outlandish £285 /$340 price tag.

• Features
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• -
• 9/10

• Build Quality
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• x
• x
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• -
• -
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• 7/10

• Ease of Use
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• -
• 9/10

• Performance
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• -
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• 7/10

• Value
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• -
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• 4/10

• Overall
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• -
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• 6/10

Score Guide