Hyte Y60

Some PC builders do what they do simply to show off the parts inside their systems. Like classic car owners taking their wheels to a show, gamers often bring their desktop systems to events where they can put their flashy cases and high-end components on display. Even if you keep your PC at home, it's pleasant to see the hardware you paid (often paid big) for on display for your viewing pleasure. If ogling your components is your thing, Hyte's new Y60 chassis is worth a long look when planning your next build. Considering its $199.99 price, the Y60's several flaws make it tough to recommend to all but hardcore aesthetes, but few cases do a better job of showing off the hardware inside them.

The Design: Maximum Glass

Most PC tower cases are more or less rectangular metal frames with panels fitted between the bars. The Hyte Y60 mostly follows this plan, but the supporting metal beam usually found in the case's front left corner is missing. Instead, the case retasks the motherboard mounting tray to double as a supporting structure to hold its shape.

By restructuring the case in this way, Hyte was able to create a corner-office case with nothing between the front and left panels, for a more open view of your internal components. The front panel itself is a sheet of tempered glass without any fans behind it, and the same is true of the left panel. A third glass panel (really more of a strip) occupies the corner between the two to accentuate the design and smooth out the transition. This makes the Y60 as much a display case for your gear as a conventional PC case.

The right-side, rear, bottom, and top panels are all similar, with large sections of perforated metal to let as much air pass through as possible. (The case is available in the more subdued black-on-black motif seen here or a more striking red-on-black or white-on-black for the same $199.99 price.) This is an important aspect of the design, as airflow inside the case is a bit more constrained than in most other chassis. Most cases pull air in through the front panel and out the back or top, creating a straight path for air to cool components.

As the Y60's glass front panel doesn't leave any room for air to flow around it, air instead must flow in through the bottom or the left panel and then out the back or top. This airflow path is suboptimal, as not as much air can be pulled in through the bottom of the case, set close to the floor. Air flowing in through the right panel can enter more freely, but this air can easily flow up and out of the top of the case without passing by many components. Still, the design allows as much room as possible for air to enter the case without the front panel helping.

The Build Experience

Building a system inside the Hyte Y60 is a mixed bag, with some notable annoyances. A few notable oversights make installing the motherboard more problematic than usual. In particular, we had to remove the preinstalled 120mm fan from the rear of the case before we could install a motherboard.

The issue is that the fan is set slightly too close to the rear I/O panel. Many motherboards today have preinstalled rear I/O shields and shrouds, which respectively help ease installation and improve the board's aesthetics. All of the motherboards we had on hand for testing employed this design, and none of them could be installed into the Hyte without first removing the fan. This likely wouldn't be a problem if you used a motherboard with a detached rear I/O shield and no rear shroud, but as essentially all high-end boards nowadays have a rear I/O shroud, it's a fairly significant design flaw.

Furthermore, while you can install the motherboard after removing the exhaust fan, if you want to continue using that fan you'll need to install it somewhere else in the case, as it can't be reinstalled if a rear I/O shroud is present.

The Y60 case also features a built-in PCI Express x16 riser card, which is both helpful and problematic. On the one hand, it makes installing a graphics card in a vertical orientation about as easy as it can be—you just plug it in and bolt it in place. That's no harder than installing the card horizontally in a traditional case. On the downside, the riser card is quite firm and snaps back into place whenever you try to move it out of the way. As a result, it's constantly in the way while you work to slide the motherboard into place. You can remove the riser card, but it requires taking out several screws. If you plan to use the riser card, it's not worth the time and effort to remove, then replace it, since you can just hold it out of the way with one hand while you slide the motherboard into place.

It's also important to note that the case has only three full-height add-on card slots, all of which are vertical. There are seven half-height slots that run horizontally, but there's no way to change the configuration, so it's impossible to add a second full-height card in this case. Adding half-height cards is also slightly challenging, as the riser card will once again be an obstruction.

You mount the power supply behind the motherboard mounting tray, and this aspect of the building process is smooth sailing. A platform is in place to hold the PSU, with nothing at all to get in the way of inserting it. Conveniently placed cut-outs in the motherboard mounting tray also help with running cables directly where they need to go. The cut-outs are positioned and angled to be out of view when looking through the tempered glass, for a tidier finished build.

The Y60 can hold either two 3.5-inch or four 2.5-inch drives, all of which are easy to add. In an unusual design, the drive mounts exit through the case's rear. Remove one, and you just need to attach the drive you're adding, slide the mount back into the case, and connect the usual SATA cables.

A Look at the Cooling Scheme

Cooling the Hyte Y60 could be somewhat problematic depending on your configuration. Not only does the lack of ventilation around the front of the case hamper airflow, but removing the case fan from the back won't help. The case has two preinstalled 120mm fans on the bottom to help pull some air into the system, but you'll want to take advantage of the other fan mounting brackets to improve the situation.

There's room at the top of the case to add up to three 120mm fans or up to a 360mm water cooler. An internal fan mounting location beside the motherboard tray can hold two 120mm or 140mm fans or up to a 280mm water cooler.

Hyte says it designed the Y60 with liquid cooling in mind, with the cooler radiator attached to the internal fan mount. This would help to improve airflow significantly, as the water cooler could pull air into the case through the right-side panel. If you opt to use an air cooler, however, Hyte indicates that you'll see higher CPU and GPU temperatures. For that reason, the company recommends that you buy two case fans and install them on the internal fan mount if using an air cooler.

The Verdict: A Cool-Looking Crystal Case With Some Flaws

The Hyte Y60 is an interesting PC case that can be the foundation of a stunning build if you play your parts right. If you're looking to show off your components, the Y60 is one of the best chassis you can buy to do just that. If aesthetics is your top priority, it's a no-brainer.

The case has some other things stacked against it, however. Building a system and installing a motherboard is needlessly troublesome due to the preinstalled case fan and riser card. It's also annoying that you can only have a single full-height add-on card, and that airflow is restricted by the lack of ventilation around the front of the case. Add the relatively steep price, and the Hyte Y60 becomes hard to recommend unless you're hooked on peak possible tempered-glass visibility and are willing to temper (pun intended) your expectations around cooling.

That's not to say the Y60 is a bad case. We enjoyed testing it and our sample build, even without much effort at styling, looked great. But the company simply gave up too much in the pursuit of pure aesthetics when designing the chassis. Plenty of other cases out there look nice and don't have these flaws. There's little reason you shouldn't buy a spiffy case with better airflow that's easier to build in, unless you're installing just one GPU that you want to mount vertically and don't plan on a high-heat configuration or overclocking.