The Basics:

Once the case is removed from the packaging, a quick scan reveals no damage had occurred in transit. The below left image provides a good overview of the case. Immediately I noticed a few things I wanted to check out a bit more closely.


The front has a black plastic bezel with a glossy 'piano' finish. While this looks nice, these finishes tend to show fingerprints very easily, so keep a good soft cloth nearby to wipe them off! In the middle of the door is a vertical LED bar which will glow red when the machine is powered on. Directly below the vertical bar is a little red hard drive activity LED. The top of the front (next to the silver power button) includes an LED display for three temperature probes.


Behind the door I found four 5.25" drive bays and two 3.5" drive bays. Here fingerprints were very obvious. I noticed the finger holes on the drive bays which allow for quick removal of the drive bay covers, and will allow you to use the included tool-less clips to remove the 5.25" devices very easily. I have seen many different styles of tool-less device mounts, and the style that NZXT used is my preferred method!


Turning the case to the side, there are several striking features. The first is obviously the large side window. This covers the majority of the side panel, and provides a view that will include most of the installed components. My personal preference would be to not see any of the grey steel near the drive cages, but it still looks good. There are a few vents along the bottom corner of the front bezel which will permit the front fan to draw in cool air. Keeping the case closed is a lockable handle that slides forward to open the latch on the inside of the case. NZXT has included a 120mm side panel fan, as well as a fan filter!

The front and back of the case extend above and below the main body of the case by a few inches. There is a reason for this, which I will cover later. The below right image gives an idea of how high the case stands off the desk... A standard DVI to VGA adapter fits in the space under the case with just a bit of room to spare.