Inter-Tech Elektronik Handels GmbH is a company based in Germany and was founded in 1996. Since then, the main focus has been on the Europe-wide distribution of OEM and retail hardware for PC systems. Originally, the portfolio mainly comprised PC cases and power supply units. However, this has since been expanded to include numerous divisions such as fans, peripherals, hard disk enclosures and adapters. In January 2024, Inter-Tech added numerous new products to its portfolio. This includes a new mini tower called the Inter-Tech X2 Duplex, which costs € 54.20 * and which we are testing today.
Technical details
| Model: | Inter-Tech X2 Duplex |
| Case type: | mATX |
| Dimensions: | 205 mm (W) x 335 mm (H) x 400 mm (D) |
| Weight: | 4.51 kg |
| Material: | Steel, plastic |
| Color: | Black |
| Front connections: | 1x USB 3.1 Type-C (10Gb/s), 1x USB 3.1 Type-A (10Gb/s), 1x 3.5mm jack (line-in/out) |
| Drive bays: | 1x 3,5″/ 2,5″ 3x 2,5″ |
| Expansion slots: | 4x horizontal |
| Form factors: | mATX, ITX |
| Ventilation: | Rear: 1x 120 mm Top: 2x 120 / 2x 140 mm Bottom: 3x 120 / 2x 140 mm |
| Radiators: | Top: 1x 240 mm Bottom: 1x 240 mm (only with low-profile fans and 1-slot GPU) |
| Max. CPU cooler height: | 168 mm |
| Max. Graphics card length: | 355 mm (if PSU shorter than 150 mm) |
| Max. Power supply length: | 240 mm (if GPU shorter than 290 mm) |
| Space for cable management: | 6 to 31 mm (main chamber has 19 mm) |
| Price: | € 54.20 * |
| Special features: | Dust filter, cable management |
Inter-Tech X2 Duplex: The scope of delivery
Inter-Tech packs the X2 Duplex in an extremely plain brown cardboard box. Apart from a schematic drawing and the product name, there is hardly any information about the case on the box. Only the available USB ports, the maximum CPU cooler height or graphics card length and the weight are given on the packaging.
Inside, Inter-Tech wraps the X2 Duplex with two blocks of soft and durable foam. In addition, a thin plastic film prevents scratches on the painted steel. The manufacturer places the accessories inside the X2 Duplex. Included are a mainboard speaker, all necessary mounting screws, a nut for screwing in the spacers, five cable ties and some rubber rings for mounting data carriers. Unfortunately, assembly instructions are not included with the X2 Duplex and cannot be found on the homepage.
External impression
Visually, the Inter-Tech X2 Duplex remains very inconspicuous and timeless. For example, the front is made of black painted steel and has neither a mesh grille nor side ventilation openings. Instead, the sides are rounded, giving the mini tower a slightly more elegant and less bulky appearance. Inter-Tech has also placed the I/O panel in the front. This consists of two USB ports (1x USB-C 3.1 (10Gb/s), 1x USB-A 3.1 (10Gb/s)), an HD audio combo port and a white illuminated power button with an integrated HDD activity LED in red.
Unlike the rest of the X2 Duplex, the lid element is made of plastic and has a generous ventilation grille made up of long slots into which a fine, non-modular dust filter has been incorporated. Two knurled screws must be removed for disassembly and the top panel then pulled off to the rear. Underneath, mounting rails for two 120 or 140 mm fans and the mounting space for the power supply unit can be seen.
The sides also remain simple. Both side panels are made of steel and are very stable considering their size. They are attached to the body from above using a rail system at the bottom and two hooks or screws at the top. It is a little annoying that the lid always has to be removed to remove the side panels. Although it is not absolutely necessary to screw the side panels together, this could lead to rattling during transportation.
At first glance, there are no major differences to a normal mini tower at the rear. A total of four perforated and reusable slot covers can be seen in the lower area. Above this, we find an unpopulated mounting space for a 120 mm fan and the opening for the I/O shield of the mainboard. The power supply unit, on the other hand, is not located at the rear but inside the mini-tower. Inter-Tech only installs a socket for the power cable in the upper left area.
Unlike in the lid, the dust filter in the base is removable, but has a coarser mesh structure. Steel lugs and a few magnets are used to hold the filter in place. Generously dimensioned ventilation openings and mounting rails for three 120 mm or two 140 mm fans can be seen underneath the dust filter. Inter-Tech has also implemented rubberized mounting points for data carriers here. Finally, four rubberized plastic feet in silver HI-FI look give the X2 Duplex a secure stand.
Interior impression
The interior of the X2 Duplex basically consists of a large main chamber and the cable management area behind the mainboard tray. The main chamber offers space for a µATX mainboard, a long graphics card and a normal ATX power supply unit. Fans can be mounted both above and below and the space above the mainboard tray should be sufficient even for thicker radiators or AiO water cooling systems. The tray also has numerous cable management openings in the typical places.
The X2 Duplex comes from the factory without a fan. Only the inward-facing fan of the power supply unit provides heat dissipation in the standard configuration. Unusually, the power supply unit is placed in the front of the mini-tower and blows the warm air towards the lid. Inter-Tech has kindly provided the necessary extension for the power cable. The modular SSD mounting frame on the right-hand side also serves as a power supply cover.
There are no big surprises on the back of the motherboard tray. There is sufficient space on the left-hand side and above the tray for routing and stowing the power supply cables. The depth here is between 19 and 31 millimeters. There is hardly any storage space for cables directly behind the mainboard. However, the mainboard tray has a cut-out for retrofitting CPU coolers with a backplate.
Despite the rather compact dimensions of the X2 Duplex, you don’t have to do without 2.5″ and 3.5″ data carriers completely. The mini tower has mounting points in the base for a 3.5″ or 2.5″ hard disk with decoupling via small rubber rings. The fan space is then eliminated accordingly. Alternatively, a total of three additional 2.5″ SSDs can be mounted on the power supply cover and on the rear of the mainboard tray.
Processing
The workmanship of the Inter-Tech X2 Duplex is okay considering the price range. As steel is predominantly used, the mini tower is quite heavy and appears solid despite its compact dimensions. Even without side panels, the body is torsionally rigid. The struts of the ventilation openings hardly bend when force is applied and the plastic lid also looks solid for a case in this price range. We didn’t find any sharp edges and the quality of the paintwork was mostly good. Only on the rear of the body, concealed by the side panel, could we detect a paint defect in the form of a handful of paint spots. As these are not visible when installed, this is not quite so bad, but these paint defects should have been noticed during quality control.
Inter-Tech X2 Duplex test: Installation of the components
Now we come to the system installation in the Inter-Tech X2 Duplex test. As hardware we use an AMD Ryzen 5 1400* on an ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus* with 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT gray DDR4-2666*. The Ryzen is cooled by an Alpenföhn Brocken 4* and is overclocked to 3.8 GHz (1.175 V). A Gigabyte AORUS GTX 1060 6GB is responsible for the image output. The power supply is provided by the fully modular LC-Power LC550 V2.31 Platinum*.
The installation of all components was done quickly. After the only partially pre-installed spacers were supplemented with the correct amount, the assembled mainboard could be installed. The power supply unit was then installed and the necessary cabling carried out. Overall, the X2 Duplex offers sufficient space for working. The space above the motherboard in particular makes the cabling step much easier. However, the space behind the mainboard tray is a little tighter. A power supply unit with cable management and possibly ribbon cables would be highly recommended here. Nevertheless, the overall result looks quite neat and presentable.
Despite its compact dimensions, the Inter-Tech X2 Duplex fits a lot of hardware. The CPU cooler can be up to 168 millimeters high and the graphics card up to 355 millimeters long. However, the latter only applies if the power supply unit including cable is no longer than 150 millimeters. If the graphics card is shorter than 290 millimetres, the power supply unit may be up to 240 millimetres long.
Finally, the X2 Duplex also offers space for water cooling. A 240 mm radiator can be installed in the lid, which can be up to 65 millimeters thick due to the offset mounting and including the fan. Considering that this mini tower comes from the factory without a fan, a setup with three blow-in fans in the base and rear and a blow-out AiO water cooling system in the lid could probably achieve the best cooling results. Under certain conditions (1-slot GPU) and equipped with slim fans, an additional 240 mm radiator could be placed in the base if necessary.
Load test
Finally, we come to the temperatures achieved in the Inter-Tech X2 Duplex test. Prime95 and FurMark were run for 30 minutes at a room temperature of 20 °C during the stress test. In addition, the stress test was carried out with factory settings (without fan) and with a single rear fan (50% and 100% PWM).
Scenario |
Temperature |
| CPU: 50% PWM (900 rpm) GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm) without fan (factory setting) |
CPU: 88.2 °C GPU: 82.3 °C |
| CPU: 50% PWM (900 rpm) GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm) Rear: 1x 120 mm 50% PWM (950 rpm) |
CPU: 76.6 °C GPU: 71.8 °C |
| CPU: 50% PWM (900 rpm) GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm) Rear: 1x 120 mm 100% PWM (1800 rpm) |
CPU: 66.1 °C GPU: 68.5 °C |
The measured values of the stress test show that you should definitely not add the Inter-Tech X2 Duplex to your shopping cart without additional fans. Even a single rear fan with reduced speed provides significantly better cooling. If this single fan then rotates a little faster, this has a positive effect on the CPU temperature in particular. As already mentioned, you would probably achieve the best cooling with three blow-in fans in the rear and base and an AiO water cooling system in the lid.
Inter-Tech X2 Duplex: Conclusion
The Inter-Tech X2 Duplex is definitely one of the very inconspicuous cases from a visual point of view. No glass, no RGB and almost only steel is the motto of this mini-tower. We were particularly impressed by the X2 Duplex in terms of its compactness combined with its hardware compatibility. Under certain conditions, the X2 Duplex swallows large CPU coolers and long graphics cards and offers space for up to 6 fans. A thick 240 mm radiator can also fit in the lid if required. This is complemented by a predominantly good build quality and, for this price range, very good material thickness and overall stability. The USB-C port on the front is basically nice, but ends up on a USB 3.0 connector with 10Gb/s on the inside.
But now we come to the negative aspects of this case. The X2 Duplex comes from the factory without a fan and is only suitable for housing office PCs without one. If you want to install gaming components inside, then two to three fans should be purchased directly. In addition, our test specimen had some paint defects in one place. Quality control should be improved here. Finally, it would have been good if it had been possible to remove the side panels without having to remove the lid first. But that’s just complaining on a high level.
Inter-Tech’s target price of € 54.20 * is definitely okay for the overall package on offer. If you are prepared to invest additional money in case fans and can do without a side window, then the Inter-Tech is a solid and compact mini tower that scores with good features and a simple look. The IM-1 Pocket from Inter-Tech is probably the biggest competitor, but is hardly available anymore.
Inter-Tech X2 Duplex
Workmanship
Structure
Features
Cooling
Value for money
86/100
The Inter-Tech X2 Duplex is a compact, very simple and predominantly well-built mini tower in which you don't have to do without a large CPU cooler, a radiator or long graphics cards. However, without additional fans, the X2 Duplex gets very warm very quickly.
No replies yet
Neue Antworten laden...
Gehört zum Inventar
Beteilige dich an der Diskussion in der Basic Tutorials Community →