Armari decided to provide us with something a little different for its £4,500 workstation entry this year. Instead of the classic black box like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Magnetar PrMM16R9 is small – very small. Yet it packs in the same workstation-grade components found in more conventional systems.
The Magnetar uses a Phanteks Evolv Shift XT chassis, which is a quarter to a third smaller in every dimension than other cases this month. The physical appearance with angled corners is stylish, but the infinity mirror on the front is mesmeric, looking like a lit passageway extending unfeasibly into the front of the case. This is a chassis you’ll want to display on your desk as a statement rather than hiding it below. Yet it still sports a 240mm liquid-cooling system for the CPU and an 850W PSU. Although there’s not much room for extra storage in a case this small, the only avoidable downside is that there are no USB or audio ports on the front.
