Hyte Y40 review

Hyte kind of exploded in early 2021; its Y60 case was a crazy game changer in the world of PC cases. With the blink of an eye, every media, influencer and PC enthusiast had one of these shiny aquariums pinned to their Instagram page, complete with the latest gear. And for good reason.

The thing is, some of the more popular companies tend to be cautious when it comes to making radical changes to chassis designs. Certainly over the years. Predictability in sales is much more significant than radical features and ideas that may fail or cause solemn losses. Designing and producing these things takes time and money, so return on investment is key. Hyte, the sister company of system maker iBuypower (one of the top gaming PC makers today), took this idea and went “to hell with it” by releasing the Y60.

It revolutionized the scene at the time with angled glass panels, default vertical GPUs, and a whole host of groundbreaking fresh technology and cooling solutions that really took things to the next level. This effectively created an entirely fresh case segment and form factor known as the “fishbowl case”, which, although technically pioneered by Lian Li and the now legendary O11 Dynamic PC, was actually established by little venerable Hyte. In fact, even today, manufacturers are still trying to catch up on this idea.

Here’s the thing: The Hyte Y60 is a seriously massive case, and while it was a huge success and eventually led to the equally crazy Y70 Touch with a built-in 2.5K vertical IPS monitor, it didn’t quite conquer the market for this classic model. the entry-level mid-tower case that PC gamers know and love. That’s right there Hyte Y40 comes in.

A much more budget-friendly option, the Y40 takes much of the aesthetic of the Y60 and Hyte as a whole and combines them in a more classic form and design, without compromising airflow or functionality.

You still get powder-coated finishes in black, white or red; you still get half-height PCIe slots and a vertical graphics card solution as standard; and you still have some amazing cooling options at your disposal. But the real kicker is the price. This product starts at $100 in the US and because of this and the sheer number of features it offers, it has dramatically reduced the price of some entry-level mid-tower cases that held most of the market share for many years as a result.

So what makes the Y40 such an engaging chassis? Apart from the price, of course. Without a doubt, the first thing that catches your attention is the overall design. The Y40 has two attractive tempered glass windows on the front and side that extend from top to bottom, even covering the entire black plastic vented PSU shroud that fills the bottom of the case. It almost borders the overall look and the cover itself adds a unique element to the overall look and feel. It also has a attractive powder coated finish. The white sample I have for review is a more classic satin-matte styling, but Cherry Red is a shimmery option for those looking for something with a little more punch.

Then there is the internal design. The intake airflow is managed by three fans. Two that you can side-mount yourself, as 120 or 140mm options, and one 120 or 140mm hidden under the PSU shroud, drawing air from the floor (Hyte includes 120mm as standard here, pre-routed and cable management). As for the exhaust, you have three 120mm ones on the roof (again you’ll have to buy and fit them) where your AIO would fit perfectly (although you could run it in that side-mounted spot), and finally, there’s the possibility of theoretically fitting a 120 or 140 mm also at the rear (with 120 mm supplied as standard with the case).

The highlight of the event, however, is the vertical GPU configuration. By default, Hyte includes a PCIe 4.0 riser from the Y40. Without it, there is no way to purchase the case, and depending on what color you choose, you will also receive a premium PCIe carrier module in a similar color. The reason for this is the actual design of the PCIe slots. By default, the Y40 has seven half-height horizontal slots (one of which is occupied by a vertical slot) and four vertical slots for the GPU. Without a Riser solution, unless you’re using a half-height card, you can’t employ this case with a horizontal GPU.

This means that many of the versions you will see on the Hyte Y40 are somewhat homogeneous to each other, with the only significant difference between them being the graphics card installed. But this means that there is a phenomenal amount of free space available for your chosen GPU; even the thickest RTX 4090 card will fit in this device without any problems. Although keep in mind that Hyte recommends keeping the card height (depth?) at 80mm for optimal airflow, so it doesn’t get too close to the tempered glass panel.

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When it comes to building the Y40, it’s crazy effortless. I’ve built this twice now, with both air-cooled and AIO solutions, and both times the build went incredibly smoothly, taking me typically 45 minutes to an hour from start to finish.

This uniform single build style, while forcing the builder into a specific path with setup, actually means that Hyte has a lot of control over how you should build in this case. Since there is only one “way” you can build it, it can make the way you build your ATX kit as flawless as possible. Cable cutouts are perfectly aligned; There is a cutout in the power supply cover that is ideal for 12VHPWR cables or PCIe power in older systems; the fans are pre-routed and tidy, and the clearances are perfect for any mid-range or premium ATX case. Although remember that unfortunately it does not support E-ATX or larger motherboards, as you would block the cable cutouts for the 24-pin connector and the side ones.

That vertical GPU in particular does a huge job here as well, hiding any front I/O cables, internal USB 2.0 cables, or HD Audio pass-throughs located on the bottom of the motherboard, as well as blocking out those pesky GPU power cables I mentioned earlier, too.

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Flip to the back and while the cable management options here are quite minimal (there are really only a few points for attaching cables and that’s it), it doesn’t really matter as everything is well hidden with quite minimal effort.

In fact, the cable management is the only weakness of this case. It would be nice to have some plastic channels and velcro strips here and there to better route some of the thicker cables like the 24-pin ATX and EPS power, and perhaps some rubber grommets or a cable management strip to keep everything else looking from the front more tactful. Also, if you’re not careful and just hide the entire spare cable under the PSU cover, you could accidentally block the 120mm intake fan underneath.

You could also make the argument that it would probably benefit from a removable radiator support on top and potentially integrated lighting as standard (something that Phantek’s latest XT View does exceptionally well at even lower costs), but really, given the quality of the panels, the design interior, sound deadening embossed on the back, and much more – it’s effortless to get rid of these flaws and simply enjoy the sub-$100 price point.

The thing is, it’s incredibly effortless to build a system – even a budget or entry-level one – that looks radically good with very little outlay, and these additions have the potential to drive up the cost in an already phenomenally affordable form factor.

The Y40 is one of the best cases available on the market today, especially if you’re looking for something that delivers top quality on a budget. It’s almost impossible to build a system on this thing NO look good and that says it. With a few minor tweaks and improvements here and there, the Y40 can be out of this world.