NZXT Switch 810 White Case Review

After unwrapping the NZXT Switch 810 we could already see some of the features of this full tower case.

The front is a mix of shiny white plastic and black metal mesh. NZXT adds that angle cut on the front as a nod to the Phantom cases with their angular lines and we think it looks sharp. One interesting item is that the four bay covers are actually removed from the front not from inside making it much easier to work with. Also they include a optical drive cover plate and a vented cover over the removable hidden drive bay.

The left side of the case has a nice large window with another NZXT angle cut for a bit of flash. Since this case has several water cooling options it is nice that the window is large enough to show off your high end building skills.

Around back we start at the top with a very unique feature of the Switch 810 being an adjustable rear 140mm exhaust fan. This allows you to use the included 140mm fan or a 120mm fan and 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 ports. 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.

One of our favorite features of the NZXT Switch 810 is the addition of LED’s on the back of the case above the PCI ports and motherboard ports to help you see your cables in a dark room or under a desk, BRILLIANT!

The right side of the case is just a plain white steel panel.

Looking at the bottom you can see both the front and rear pop out filter plates to cover both the PSU and the optional front fan / radiator area. There are also four long rubber feet to keep this full tower stable on any surface.

Flipping the case over to the top side brings us to a very interesting feature of the case, the top ports. According to NZXT you can “shift” the 810 from silent to maximum cooling simply by sliding the plastic bar on the back of the top from open to close.

Here is an image of the top of the NZXT Switch 810 closed. Note that this entire unit is made of plastic so while it is a cool feature we probably wouldn’t be ‘switching’ it from open to closed frequently as the long term durability is a bit suspect. It seems that there is still a bit of air passage around the sides of this top if it is closed but it would surely stop the majority of cooling and possibly a significant amount of sound when closed.

And if you press down on the back two dots on the top it pops up and pulls off. There is a 140mm fan installed at the rear with mounting holes for two more 140mm or 120mm fans. You can also mount a 360mm or 420mm radiator in the top of this case with no modding. IMPRESSIVE!

It might be hard to see but the power button is that little triangle piece cut out of the larger angle piece on the front top.

By sliding up the top most cover you reveal the I/O ports. The NZXT Switch 810 comes with two USB 2.0, two USB 3.0, headphone, mic. reset, card reader, and a power switch for those rear LED’s from above rounding out the I/O block.

Moving down we pulled off the three bottom bay covers (that remove from the front) to reveal this semi hidden hard drive tray. It is a bit odd as it comes screwed in place but removing the two thumb screws allows it to slide in and out if you want to hot swap a drive. The cover plate is ventilated as we mentioned above and you can see it again in the below picture.

Below the bays the front also pops off with a simple press at the top corners to reveal a top mounted 140mm fan blowing across the top HDD cage and a spot below that for a second 140mm or 120mm fan to blow across the bottom HDD cage area.

If you flip over the NZXT Switch 810’s front panel you find the filter material that sits between the outside and the fan. The only down side is that you have to take out all the screws to clean it if you want to do more than just blow it with an air duster can.

Below the front area is the front intake filter that is another press to pop item.