In past
reviews we have examined several NZXT cases and have been impressed
with their designs. Today we will look at their latest creation –
the NZXT Phantom. This behemoth is a full tower enthusiast case
which takes the best features of prior cases to hopefully build the
ultimate PC housing.
This
heavyweight is composed of steel and plastic. Designed with the PC
enthusiast in mind it includes dual
radiator support, quad watercooling cutouts, and an integrated fan
controller with up to five 20W channels. NZXT provides plenty of
room inside the Phantom as it can accommodate larger heat sinks,
graphics cards and E-ATX motherboards. In addition the case supports
seven hard drives and five 5.25″ devices. Absent from the
Phantom are 3.5″ external bays, so say goodbye to your floppy
drive; if there are any people who still use them.
With a
name like “Phantom” you would hope that the case is a quiet
one. With three 120mm and
200mm included it keeps things cool while keeping the decibel level
down.
Reviewed
by: Tomas Ratas
Sponsor:
NZXT
Tech
Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Features
High
Performance Cooling Advantages – Phantom’s extensive cooling capabilities include 7 fan cooling
options with dual 200mm, single side 230/200mm (NZXT only guarantees
fitment with NZXT’s FN-200), triple 120mm, and front 140mm fans. For
enhanced control and expandability, NZXT includes dual radiator
support, quad watercooling cutouts, and an integrated fan controller
with up to five 20W channels.
Simple
Installation –
Phantom celebrates an array of innovative features designed to
enhance every stage of the build. Meticulous wire management is
easily attainable with large spacing behind the motherboard. The
innovative all-new 5.25” screwless rails make installing and
swapping HDDs an effortless process. Rubber grommets dampens
vibration during operation.
Additional
Advanced Features –
Further distinct features include an LED on/off button to control fan
lighting, rubber PSU and case feet to reduce vibration, easily
removable front and top panels, and top mounted USB, Audio/Mic, and
E-SATA ports.
Extensive
Compatibility and Expandability – Features support for larger heat sinks, graphics cards, and E-ATX
motherboards enabling enthusiasts to include any of today’s hottest
components. Vast space within the enclosure allows for 7 hard drives
with SDD support and up to five 5.25” bays.
Enthusiast
Steel Full Tower NZXT presents the cutting edge Phantom Full Tower
Chassis. Designed with sleek, pristine contours, the Phantom radiates
personality and quality. As with all NZXT products, we strive to set
apart our customers from the rest with unique, original designs –
we run the extra mile so you won’t have to settle with the typical
rectangular box.
The Phantom delivers high performance
cooling advantages with 7 fan cooling options, dual radiator support,
quad watercooling cutouts, and five 20W per channel fan controls. An
innovative 5.25” screwless system, vast space to encompass 7 hard
drives, and five 5.25” bays enable smooth customization. Establish
your power, your presence.
Case
Type Full
Tower Steel
Front
Panel Material Plastic /Steel
Dimensions
(W X H X D) 222 x 540 X 623
mm
Cooling
System
FRONT,
1 X 140mm
REAR,
1 X 120mm (included)
SIDE,
2 x 120mm, 1 x 200/230 (2 x 120mm included)
TOP,
2 X 200mm (1 x LED 200mm included)
Drive
Bays
5
EXTERNAL 5.25″ DRIVE BAYS
7
INTERNAL 3.5″/2.5″ Slots
Screwless
Rail Design
Material(S) Steel with black
finish
Power
Supply 500 Watt PS2 ATX 12v 2.0 (Optional)
Weight 11 KG (W/O Power)
Motherboard
Support Motherboards: E-ATX,
ATX, MICRO-ATX, BABY AT
Price:
$148.00 (From Amazon at time of review)
A
Better Look at Things:
The NZXT
arrives in a large black cardboard box with a picture of the white
Phantom model on the front and a features listing with additional
pictures on the back. On the sides are the measurements and case
specs. Opening the box reveals the Phantom protected by two
Styrofoam inserts.
Sliding
the Phantom out of the packaging reveals a massive full tower case;
being composed of steel it is also quite heavy. The Phantom is
available in three versions – white, red and black; we received the
black version for review. All three cases look gorgeous. Although I
am not generally a fan of white PC cases, even the white version of
the Phantom looks great with its StormTrooper look.
Besides
the Phantom also found in the package is a white box containing
individual bags of screws, zip
ties, brackets and standoffs along with an instruction booklet.
Since the interior of the Phantom is all black NZXT made all these
accessories black as well.
For this
review NZXT was kind enough to throw a few goodies in the Phantom box
as they include five different extension cables. From my past
experience with tower cases, extension cables should actually come
standard if you want to manage your cables neatly as the manufacturer
intended.
The
Black version of the NZXT Phantom is composed of piano black plastic
and steel which measures 22.2 x 54.0 X 62.3cm
and weighs 11 kg without the optional power supply. It can house
motherboards ranging from E-ATX, ATX,
Micro-ATX down to baby AT.
Our
examination of the Phantom’s exterior starts at the front with its
angled door composed of piano black plastic. The bottom half of the
front sports a mesh vent. Behind the front bezel of the Phantom is
an empty bay where a 200mm fan can be installed. The bezel pops off
by gently pulling it forward. One thing that is quickly noticed
about the Phantom is the lack of bare metal; NZXT does a tremendous
job making the Phantom finger friendly.
The
front door opens from left to right revealing five
5.25″ bays that are covered with a steel mesh panels that pop
off by sliding the button on the right side of the panel. For those
expecting some uncut metal behind these panels, fuggedaboutit, no
sharp edge to be found. Woo hoo.
Looking
at the left side of the case we see two additional vents – the lower
one housing two 120mm fans and a larger one towards the mid back that
overlays the CPU position. The right side panel has an additional
vent that spans over the 3.5″ internal bay position. This vent
is positioned against the back panel of the case so adding a fan is
not an option.
The
interior of the case is all black as well.
If you
like vents, then the Phantom will not disappoint as we find another
one on the top of the case. Resting below this vent is a small
airplane propeller, which in reality is a 200mm fan.
Found on
the left side of this top panel are the power, reset buttons and LED
indicator lights for power and hard drive activity. Just above this
control panel are the audio input and output jacks along with two USB
and one eSATA port.
Opposite
to these controls is a fan control panel which controls up to five
fans. The fan controls are adjusted using sliders and light up when
active. These fan controls are just one of the features that help
make the Phantom standout for other premiere PC cases.
A
Better Look at Things Continued:
The top
bezel comes off the same way as the one on the front with a gentle
pull. All the wires on the top are run internally keeping them from
harm when removing the top. One 200mm fan comes preinstalled with a
spot for a second 200mm fan available for
those who really love their 200mm fans.
At the
rear of the Phantom we see openings for the I/O panel, power supply
and seven expansion slots. Adjacent to the I/O panel opening is a
120mm exhaust fan with four rubber grommet covered liquid cooling
cutouts. Like most newer enthusiast cases this is a power supply on
the bottom layout.
Looking
at the underside of the Phantom we find rubber grips which keep the
case from sliding around. Unlike the four round rubber grips on
other cases, NZXT uses eight strips meaning even if one or two come
off, you’ll still have great traction. Also found on the bottom are
two vents under the drive cages and a dust filter covered vent over
the power supply position.
If the
size of the Phantom on the outside wasn’t impressive wait until you
see the inside of this beast. The inside of the Phantom is painted
matte black. A bottom power supply orientation places the
motherboard tray towards the top of the case.
NZXT
provides a large CPU cutout, several openings for wire routing
including four rubber grommet cover spots before the drive racks.
The large CPU cut out allows the user to swap even large CPU coolers
without having to take out the motherboard from the case, which we
all know if a royal pain.
There
are two hard drive racks one which houses five drives and the other
two. This smaller rack can be removed to accommodate longer PSUs.
Above the larger hard drive rack is the five 5.25″ drive cage.
As with
the front 5.25 drive plates, the PCI slot covers are also composed of
meshed metal allowing for improved ventilation. NZXT did not get
stingy with the vents on the Phantom that’s for sure. The slot
covers are removed by using a screwdriver via pre-aligned holes on
the exterior of the case frame. Once the screws are loosened you can
use your fingers to tighten them back up if you so desire.
The only
things not black inside the case are the 120mm and 200mm case fans.
Looking
at the back of the motherboard tray we see that NZXT have pre-routed
the wires to help keep things tidy before you even install your
system. The fans come pre-sleeved and are wired to the 3 pin fan
connections tat attach to the built in fan controller.
On the
inside of the left panel we find two 120mm fans.
{mospagebreak title=Installation and Testing}
Installation,
Testing and Comparison:
For
testing I installed the following system into the Phantom:
Intel
Q9400
Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R
OCZ
DDR2 4GB
Noctua
NH-C12P
Maxtor 500 GB
Seagate
200GB
LG
20X DVD +/- RW
Ultra
X-Finity 800 Watt PSU
This
system was previously residing in an Antec
Sonata III which was quite cramped with all the wire floating
around. Since the Gigabyte
GA-G33M-DS2R is a micro-ATX style the Phantom tower is a bit of
overkill, but it will provide plenty of open space for cooling and
will provide room for the Noctua
NH-C12P which is a decent sized cooler.
Installation
is straightforward as most of the time is taken up by organizing the
cable management layout. The inclusion of the extension made setting
up this system incredibly painless. If you want to keep things neat
and streamlined and are not a wire management guru I strongly
recommend in investing in the extension cables.
Since
the Phantom does use Phillips screws you will need to have one
screwdriver on hand during the build process primarily for mounting
the motherboard and removing the PCI slot covers and installing the
PCI cars. Otherwise most of the case is screwless including the 5.25
and 3.5 bays. The 5.25″ drives slide into place once the bay
covers are popped off.
The
5.25″ bays are unlocked by positioning the button on the cage to
the right. Slide the drive into position and lock it by returning
the button back to the left. If you wish to install a 3.5”
external device such as a card reader you will need to use an 5.25”
adapter that are not included by NZXT.
Hard
drive installation involves snapping the 3.5″ drives into the
drive bracket via four support clips. Then slide the drive bracket
into the appropriate position on the drive rack.
Wire
management takes some prior planning but is well worth it as it keeps
case temps down and looks pretty nice as well. I mentioned
previously running wires behind the motherboard tray would be
impossible without extension cables. As you can see my wire
management skills are remedial at best, but all this mess is hidden
and the front looks like this, in my humble opinion that doesn’t look
too bad.
I was
even able to install the NZXT
IU01 USB Expansion Board on the second hard drive cage.
Once all
components are installed the Phantom is ready to be fired up. The
blue LEDs on the top of the case indicate your nearly silent Phantom
is running.
While
other cases offer more Blue LED “bling” the Phantom keeps the
light show tempered; personally I like the Blue LEDs.
Operating
with just the included fans the
Phantom ran quietly although not totally silent as I was able to
detect if the machine was on or off by listening. The fan controls
adjusted the fan speed but did not change their volume significantly.
Personally
I prefer the noise trade off if it keeps my machine from getting too
toasty. If you wish to make things even cooler and slightly louder
you are welcome to install even more fans.
The
Phantom is a sleek, sexy and functional case. NZXT designed the
Phantom to be as far away from the PC’s beige box origins as possible. It is
big enough to accommodate the largest motherboards and the most
gargantuan video cards. Plus its numerous bays and slots make the
Phantom future proof for quite some time.
Structurally
the Phantom is well built with solid construction, care to detail,
and NO sharp edges. This is one of the first builds where my fingers
did not draw any blood. Bravo NZXT.
Now
there are a few issues I have with the NZXT Phantom with the first
being Control Panel and front USB/eSATA input positioning. The top
of the case is not really a good spot if you like keeping your
desktop under the desk. This is a really tall case and if it can fit
under your desk it will more than likely be up against the underside
of the desk making access to these controls almost impossible. I
prefer to have these connections at the front of my PC case.
Another
problem was the piano black finish and its ability to attract
fingerprints. Although Piano Black looks cool the fingerprints tend
to accumulate quickly.
Lastly
the lack of 3.5″ front bay adapters is an oversight that should
be corrected with the next version. Although many tend to think of
floppy drives as the main 3.5″ device there are other components
such as card readers or removable drive trays that can fit in the
3.5″ form factor.
These
complaints are relatively slight but should be pointed out.
Summary and Comments
NZXT has
once again raised the bar for PC cases in both form and function.
With sports car looks and well thought out design, the Phantom is one
of the best cases that I have come across. NZXT built the Phantom for
functionality providing plenty of room for expansion, incorporate
several fans including the monstrous 200 mm beast on the top of the
case and provides plenty of ventilation openings on all sides of the
Phantom.
The
interior provides plenty of room for your PC installation with
additional space for expansion. The Phantom is designed for the PC
enthusiast and is a case that you’ll want to proudly display as your
technologic focal point.
DragonSteelMods
gives the NZXT Phantom a 5 out of 5 score.
Pros:
+Stylish
design
+Built
in cable management
+Plenty
of expansion capacity
+Solid
construction
+Extremely
Quiet
+Excellent
Cooling
+Screwless
design
Cons:
-Heavy
-No
removable motherboard tray
-Lack
3.5” external bay adapters
-Piano
Black = fingerprints
review#
674
Disclosure: This
product was given to DragonSteelMods for review by the company for
review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the
review, we do not, never have, and never will, accept payment from
companies to review their products.
To
learn more about our review policy, testing methods and ratings
please see this page.