Hands On: Hyte’s Y40 Is a Pretty, Affordable PC Show Case

Hait’s Glass Happy Y60 case It’s been a surprise hit with those who like to show off pretty PC components, even if we’ve beaten it to the fact that it’s clearly not good when it comes to temperature. it’s finished. Earlier this year, Hyte introduced his Y40 model, which is more affordable. It ditched one of the glass panels (still has one on the front and one on the side) for a smaller footprint and a more affordable $150 price tag.

Hyte sent me a flashy red model (also available in black or white) and after building a system with the Y40 I was very impressed. There’s a shocking amount of detail here, but some seem to care more about form than function. Airflow and temperature concerns remain, given that the sides are a single sheet of glass.

Despite its compact size compared to the Y60 (the Y40 is about 2 inches narrower than the Y60 and about 1 inch shorter), the RTX 4090 fits into the case just fine. Included PCIe 4.0 riser cable – Considering the price of the case, this is a nice feature to include. PCIe 4.0 riser cables typically retail for around $40 or more on their own. But if you’re adding serious high-end hardware, you’ll definitely need more than the two 120mm fans that ship with the case. It also does not include RGB lighting. This is somewhat strange considering that this case is all about showing off the component.

Hyte Y40 specs

Hyte Y50 motherboard and GPU support

Like the Y60, Hyte’s Y40 supports ATX and smaller motherboards, with room for even the largest large GPUs. The case supports 4-slot thick cards, and the cards must be at least 16 inches long before the edge of the card starts hitting the glass on the front of the case.

I mounted a colorful RTX 4090 Vulcan OC to the bottom of the case (via a pre-installed riser cable). It was easier to fit the card here than the exact angle required to put the same GPU into Fractal North. case.

Hyte Y40 panel, storage and expansion

The pop-off top and rear side panels are lined in black plastic, with dust filters built into the bold pattern and including some Hyte branding. It’s both charming and a bit weird, given what you’re seeing. You’ll also need to remove these panels to clean the dust filters. The dust filters on the bottom of the case (there are two) are removable, but they are made of flexible plastic and have to be pushed into metal channels that are part of the case, making them difficult to remove and reinstall. is not. bottom of the chassis. At least there are plenty of dust filters here.

Storage will be an issue for some. Indeed, M.2 slots are becoming more and more abundant. If you still want to use SATA drives, there is a removable mounting plate behind the motherboard that allows you to install two 2.5″ drives or one 3.5″ drive. Technically, that’s all the case supports. This seems a bit odd given there’s apparently space under the vented PSU shroud that runs along the bottom of the case. However, since this is the main intake area and also right under where the graphics card sits, we found that the drives here further impeded the airflow. This case isn’t built for a ton of storage – unless all that storage is attached directly to the motherboard via M.2 connectors. I would like at least two more.

Despite its complexity, other expansion options are less restrictive. Apart from four vertically mounted expansion slots for GPUs, there are seven horizontal slots on the back of the case. However, installing a PCIe 4.0 riser cable like a card takes up one. These are all half-height slots because the vertically mounted GPU is in front of the slot.

Admittedly, many (or especially many game-focused builders) only use expansion slots for graphics cards. And if you want to connect other things, like a Wi-Fi 6E card or something that adds a USB port, there are plenty of half-height options. Beyond GPUs, know that any expansion card you install must be low profile.

The front ports are pretty standard, at least. There’s a pair of USB 3.0 Type-A ports (with a power button with a clicky LED ring on the side), a headphone/mic combo jack, and a USB-C port.

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