NZXT Phantom Black E-ATX Full Tower Case Review

NZXT Phantom Full Tower External Impressions

When I first saw pictures of the NZXT Phantom I thought to myself that this is one kick ass looking case, but until you see it in person you have no idea what this case looks like. Pictures do not do it

justice. As I mentioned before, the Phantom is like the Batmobile of the PC case world. It is sleek and very stylish looking, not to mention very shiny and it has a whole host of hidden gadgets up its

sleeve. As much as I wish there were rocket launchers and machine guns mounted on the sides of it… there are none.

Although the NZXT Phantom looks like it is made out of nothing but plastic this is not the case. The front and top are two separate pieces of molded plastic that are attached to a sturdy metal chassis.

One thing that I thought was very funny was that if you remove the two plastic cowlings from the case it is roughly the same size as most mid tower cases, which makes it easy to work on. All you need to do is

remove the top and front and you no longer have to worry about scratching up the shiny plastic pieces.

The front of the NZXT Phantom sports a very shiny and very angular plastic front bezel that includes a door that is roughly about half the height of the case and behind it are the five external 5.25

optical drive bays. As another testament of its high airflow design are the mesh bay covers that cover unused bays. The look of the front of the case is that of a very menacing and extremely fast vehicle.

At least that’s what I see when I look at it. The door is easily opened by just pulling on it.

The top of the NZXT Phantom is much like the front. It is made of plastic and it has various angles to it that give it that super fast sports car look. Taking a closer look at the top we can see that

NZXT has not just included the usual I/O ports but they have also added a full five channel adjustable fan controller which is quite a handy feature since the Phantom can house quite a few fans. This great

feature allows you to customize and regulate the airflow throughout your computer. The aforementioned I/O ports include two USB, one E-SATA and 1/8″ speaker/headphone and microphone jacks. A good majority

of the top is also made from mesh. This is to allow for the venting of hot air out the top of the case via the included 200mm fan, or you can add another 200 mm fan and have both vent out the top.

Moving to the left side of the case we can see that there is a mesh covered area on the side panel for another optional 200 mm fan, and that there are two installed 120 mm fans down near the hard drive

bays.

Moving to the right side of the case it looks very much like the left side with the exception of it not having any spots to mount fans, but it does have the same mesh as the left side to allow airflow

into the back side of the case.

Turning the case around we are now able to view the rear of the NZXT Phantom. Here we can see the 120 mm rear exhaust fan that is mounted near the top of the case. We can also see that this case is

designed to house a bottom mounted power supply. In between all of this are holes with grommets to allow for the many different types of water cooling mounting and the seven rear adapter card bays.

On most cases the bottom of the case contains absolutely no features. Well, that won’t do over at NZXT as the phantom; instead of having four round rubber feet it has two rails that run down each side of the

case and both of these rails are covered with an anti slip rubber that keeps the case right where you put it. In between the two rails are three grill type cut outs that are, yep, you guessed it, for air

flow. One thing that NZXT has done with the Phantom that I have not seen in many PC cases is that they have raised the bottom of the case to a height where the air can actually get in and out without taking

all of the dust under the case with it. The feet of most cases raise it up about a quarter inch of the top of the desk. The Phantom actually sits about an inch off of the desk. Imagine the dust bunny you

can grow under there now.

The look and style of the NZXT Phantom are unmatched in my opinion. It is a very unique looking case that does not have to look over done or just plain silly to get attention. The very aerodynamic type

lines and curves of the phantom give it a very modern and artistic feel that would make it a great centerpiece to any home office or family room. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it used as a home media

server, and not one that you hide in the back room. Oh no, this one will need to be proudly displayed for all to see. No matter where you are or what you are doing, if you have an NZXT Phantom with you heads

are going to turn. But there is no need to get all worked up about people staring at it. Just get used to it; it’s that awesome.