Chassis Kakashi darkFlash Duffy DLX4000 Glass Edition Chassis Unboxing Review

This time, we are going to unveil darkFlash's new dual-view glass frame DLX4000 Glass Edition chassis, which is capable of installing up to 11 120mm fans, E-ATX, 360/280mm water cooler, 180mm air-cooled tower cooler, and 425mm graphics card, etc. The structural design of this chassis also brings a great experience during the installation process, and it also has a superb display. The chassis can be clearly viewed inside the hardware details, so let's take a look at how this chassis really looks like, right?

darkFlash DLX4000 Glass Edition Chassis Specifications.
Dimensions: 473 (L) x 248 (W) x 456 (H) mm
Color: Black, White
Material: 0.8mm SPCC, steel, tempered glass
Motherboard: E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX
CPU air cooling: up to 180mm
Display card: 425mm
Power Supply: ATX 265mm
Fan Mounting Positions (Side+Upper+Rear+Bottom+Back): 140mm 2+2+0+0+1pcs, 120mm 3+3+1+1+3pcs
Water-cooled drain support: top 360/280mm, side 360/280mm
Upper I/O Ports: USB 3.0 x2, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C x1, HD AUDIO
Hard drives and bays: three 2.5" or 3.5

DarkFlash Duffy DLX4000 Glass Edition Chassis Unboxing

DarkFlash launched the new DLX4000 at the end of last year, and it is available in black and white, as well as glass and mesh versions. The main difference between the glass and mesh versions is the front panel and the number of fans that can be mounted on the front panel, so if you want to get the best viewing experience, we recommend checking out the glass version, which can support up to eleven 12cm fans. The Mesh version uses a ventilated front panel and can be installed with up to fourteen 12cm fans.

This hands-on unboxing is oriented to the most superficial display of the best glass version, the use of two-way full-transparency display glass panels so that gamers can clearly see the parts you use, the chassis itself specification of 473 x 248 x 456 mm, compared to the mainstream upright mid-tower chassis is slightly wider than the width of the point, but the DLX4000 uses the lower power supply mounting setup, so the thickness will not be as wide as the dual-cabin structure of the chassis.

∆ DLX4000 Glass Edition_White, dimensions 473 x 248 x 456 mm.

The DLX4000 Glass Edition, with its fully translucent glass front panel, allows you to clearly see the side of the internal hardware configuration through the front, but if you really want to look at it, it's better to put it on a doll or a tower with memory for better viewing.

The sides of the chassis are also made of fully transparent tempered glass, and the use of a screwless latch to lift the cover prevents the possibility of breaking the glass as much as possible, while tool-less disassembly completes the entire operation more quickly, and the glass side panels are equipped with a latch groove to prevent the glass from falling directly to the ground, so opening the side panels can provide greater peace of mind without fear of accidents.

∆ Full transparency front panel.

∆ The glass side panels look bare.

The rear of the motherboard supports a 12cm fan and provides a 7_slot PCIe device mounting position in the factory default mode. However, if gamers choose to install a M-ATX motherboard, they can turn it into a 5_slot M-ATX mounting mode by modularizing the rear panel with a variable backplate, which is secured by a number of turnbuckle screws for easy disassembly and installation, and turn it into a 5_slot M-ATX. The 5_slot M-ATX mounting pattern allows more space for top-mounted water cooling.

∆The default ATX mounting mode has a 7_slot PCIe device mounting location behind which a 12cm fan can be installed.

∆ Painlessly transforms into 5_slot M-ATX installation mode.

∆The bottom part is equipped with a back-drawer dust filter, which can be washed separately to remove dust after a period of use.

∆ Bottom air intake space at a glance.

The steel side panels on the back of the motherboard are equipped with two ventilation grills to provide sufficient air intake for the two fan mounting areas on the back. In addition to the 3x120/2x140 fan mounting brackets next to the motherboard mounting location, three SSDs/HDDs/120mm fans can be mounted on the multifunctional bracket on the back of the motherboard, but the author recommends installing a hard disk.

The reason for this is twofold. First, although the DLX4000 has a 3.5cm deep cable space at the back, the fan still has to compete with the CPU cables for cable space, and installing a fan at the back of the motherboard doesn't have much of a substantial cooling effect on the core hardware, so it makes sense to go with a more practical HDD installation.

∆ Steel side plate.

∆ 3.5cm View of the space of the hidden line.

The ∆ Multi-Function Bracket can mount three SSD/HDD/120mm Fans.

∆ Side fan cable routing holes.

The DLX4000's under-mounted power supply mounting space supports ATX 265mm depth, which is plenty deep enough to hide and tuck cables. The rear drawer mounting plate secures the power supply and pushes it into the chassis from the rear, but it is recommended to remove the functional brackets on the back of the motherboard during the installation process for an optimal setup experience.

∆ 265mm power compartment space.

∆ Power supply cable routing space.

The chassis I/O Poart is located at the front top cover, which is more convenient for users who are used to placing the desktop machine under the desktop, but you need to pay attention to the dust and whether the master of the house will get these ports in the process of use, which provide two USB 3.0, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, headphones, microphone, etc. The chassis I/O Poart is located at the front top cover, which is more convenient for users who are used to placing the desktop machine under the desktop.

∆ 2x USB 3.0, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gb/s).

The fan mounting area on the top of the chassis has been shifted outward, and the locking holes on the glass side panel are as close as possible to prevent the water cooler from clashing with the motherboard and memory, while the top supports 360/280 mm fan and water cooler mounting.

∆ 360/280 mm fan and water cooling can be installed above the chassis.

 

Core Hardware Installation Space

The DLX4000, no matter which version is launched by darkFlash, does not include a fan, which means gamers can choose their favorite fan and install it on it. The glass version that I unboxed this time can be installed with a 3x 120/2x 140 mm fan or water cooling on the side and the top, while the back and the bottom can be installed with a 1x 120 and a 1x 120/140 mm fan.

In default mode, it supports Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, and E-ATX motherboards, and both mainstream consumer and high-end flagship motherboards can be installed, as well as up to 180mm air cooling tower height and 425mm graphics card mounting space for flagship graphics cards at this stage! However, if the total thickness of the side mounted water cooler is too thick, such as using the hamburger row mounting method, it will result in a limited graphics card mounting space.

∆ Supports E-ATX motherboards, 180mm towers, and 425mm graphics card mounts.

∆ Bottom fan mounting position with very much space for the model base.

∆ Power compartment alignment holes.

∆ Side fan alignment holes are shown.

∆ The upper fan alignment space is shown.

Considering the current trend of fat graphics card cooling modules, the DLX4000 comes with a graphics card support bracket inside the chassis, which provides a certain degree of auxiliary support when the graphics card is plugged in directly or mounted in an upright position. The bracket is secured by two large screws at the back to the side 14cm fan locking holes, and can be adjusted in height according to the size of the graphics card, but you can't use this bracket if you want to use a 14cm fan on the side fan mounting position. However, if you want to use a 14cm fan on the side fan mount, you can't use this bracket.

∆ Displays the card holder.

The ∆ is secured by two screws at the rear.

∆ Display the card support display.

The chassis comes with an additional accessory, the Matte Black Screw Box, which comes with a variety of different screws in a plastic bag. The contents include: bracket support pads, disposable straps, cleaning cloths, a variety of screws, and in the upper part of the photo is the baffle plate that is used in the 5_slot M-ATX mounting mode.

∆ Accessories at a glance.

∆ Support pad for the display card holder.

Actual Installation

This time, we also installed the darkFlash DLX4000 Glass Edition White chassis for gamers' reference. In addition to the E-ATX sized GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS MASTER motherboard and the darkFlash TWISTER DX 360 Ver2.6 topside water-cooling installation, we also installed five additional darkFlash InFinity 8 PWM A-RGB fans plus RC2 PWM & ARGB HUB HUB mounts.

∆ Additional five InFinity 8 PWM A-RGB fans plus RC2 PWM & ARGB HUB hub.

Rigging platforms
Processor: Intel Core i9 12900K
Cooler: darkFlash TWISTER DX 360 Ver2.6
Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS MASTER (rev. 1.0)
Memory: Kingston FURY Renegade RGB 6000 MT/s 16GBx2
Graphics: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GAMING Z TRIO
Power : MONTECH TITAN GOLD 1200W
System Drive: WD BLUE 3D NAND SATA M.2 2280 SSD 500GB
Operating System: Windows 11 Home Edition 21H2
Case: darkFlash DLX4000 Glass Edition
Chassis Fan: darkFlash InFinity 8 PWM A-RGB Fan
Additional Controllers: darkFlash RC2 PWM & ARGB HUB Hubs

This time the author will not do a special temperature test, the main reason in the chassis itself has a lot of fan installation location is not too much to worry about the thermal performance, another reason is that my side fan in order to look good so use the exhaust direction installation, rather than I would normally be accustomed to the direction of the installation of the cooling orientation, so here will not be a special test of the thermal performance.

∆ The chassis is energized for demonstration.

∆ Upper 360 AIO and memory spacing display.

The ∆ glass side view provides a clear view of the internal hardware configuration.

∆ The front panel also gives a clear view of my mother-in-law...ah~ no! It's the internal parts appearance.

 

Summary

The darkFlash DLX4000 Glass Edition in white is priced at 3,190. At this price point, the structural design of the DLX4000 itself is indeed worthy of praise, but I'm sure gamers aren't blind to the fact that the darkFlash DLX4000 does have a lot of design cues from its competitors, including double-sided glass with a downward-mounted power supply and variable mounting modes. This includes double-sided glass with a lower power supply mount and a changeable mounting pattern structure, similar concepts that can be found in various products.

To put it bluntly, darkFlash combines the advantages of other people worth learning together to form a complete structure and there is nothing to be critical of, and there is absolutely no problem with the cooling performance if you want to have the convenience of the structure, so at a price of 3190, the darkFlash DLX4000 is really worth recommending.

But! The chassis is not flawless, firstly, just like what I said earlier, many of the designs have been seen on competitors and are quite iconic, so I am looking forward to the future darkFlash can bring its own most iconic new design to gamers, secondly, the paint quality of the chassis can be better, darkFlash's main chassis products are concentrated in the $1,000~$2,500 range, and when the chassis pricing increases to $3,000, consumers will naturally expect the appearance quality to be improved. When the chassis pricing is raised to three thousand dollars, consumers naturally hope that the appearance of the quality has also been improved, but the author in this curry chassis baking paint as well as coloring details are still seen a little bit of defects or incomplete, although the vast majority of them are flawless, but obsessive-compulsive disorder will still be affected.

The darkFlash DLX4000 Glass Edition supports up to E-ATX motherboards, has 11 120 fans, is compatible with two 360/280 water coolers, and has a superb display and variable mounting structure, which makes it an eye-catching product with the above features.