CyberPowerPC ZEUS Thunder 2500 SE Review

External Impressions

As we already mentioned, CyberPowerPC went with the NZXT Switch 810 for the Zeus Thunder 2500 SE. Our review sample came in white, but you can also order it in gun-metal or black. If you do not like this case, you can customize this system and go with the Azza Hurricane 2000, Azza Genesis 9000, Corsair Obsidian Series 800D or Cooler Master HAF-X PC cases for a little more or less money. The NZXT Switch 810 just came out this year and is a very nice case though. It has a nice large window with an angle cut for a bit of flash. CyberPowerPC offers this system with 15 different CPU cooling solutions, many of which are water cooling and are worth showing off with this window.

The NZXT Switch 810 case has the power button on top of the case, so it is easy to get to and not behind any doors or panels. The front of the case is pretty clean looking but there is an LG Blu-ray player in the top 5.25″ drive bay.

The right side of the NZXT Switch 810 case features the Windows 7
Certificate of Authenticity (COA) label on the solid side panel.

Looking down at the top of the NZXT Switch 810 case you can see the
most unique feature of this case. At the top of the Switch 810 you’ll
find the adjustable Hybrid Fins that reduce sound up to 40-60% when
closed or open passageways for maximum airflow and better cooling. This
design is nice as you can keep dust out by simply shifting the Hybrid
Fins closed when the PC is not in use. The Hybrid Fins are opened and
closed manually with a small slider that can be seen at the rear of the
top panel.

Around back we discovered the Switch
810 has an adjustable rear 140mm exhaust fan. This allows you to use
the included 140mm fan or a 120mm fan and then slide it up or down to better
align with your CPU cooler exhaust and provide better airflow out of
the case, very clever. Below this are nine ports to accommodate even
XL-ATX motherboards. Next to those ports are no less than four large
water cooling pass-thru grommets. These are a bit larger than the ones we typically
see and appear to be geared toward those wanting to run 1/2″ x 3/4″
tube. Finally at the bottom is the reversible PSU port and just below
that is a pop out rear filter tray.

Our system has a Corsair TX850 V2 power supply is mounted on the bottom. When it comes to connectivity on the EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Superclocked video card, it has two DVI ports, HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs. The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H motherboard has a fairly standard I/O panel. You have a VGA, DVI, HDMI, and a Display port for video output from the Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge processor. You also have a total of six USB ports,
four SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and a pair of USB 2.0. Next up are Firewire,
eSATA (controlled by Marvell 88SE9172 SATA III
6Gbps controller), Dual Gigabit LAN ports one of which is controlled by
the Intel 82579V controller and the other by an Atheros AR8151 Gigabit
LAN controller. For audio options, we have the typical six audio jacks
and an optical SPDIF out. As you can see all the connectivity you should be needing is present on this motherboard and system.

By sliding up the top most cover you reveal the I/O ports. The NZXT
Switch 810 comes with two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an SD memory card reader, a 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack, a reset switch and a power button for the LED lights on the back of the case that help you see in the dark.