by ZaAndrei Zaharia

Created on: April 21, 2009   Last Updated: April 22, 2009

Want style, performance and the best bang-for-your-buck? Are you still looking for a computer case to complete your custom build? Well look no further! As a personal owner of this amazing master piece, I can strongly recommend this for the best case you can get for under 100$! It has performance, the competitive looks, and a low price tag of about $50 US, after rebates.

This is a case designed and built by NZXT. It is a screw-less design case,meaning that to mount all of your hardware, you will not be in need for a screwdriver too much. It is an ATX form factor case, meaning that it can fit all sized motherboard, including ATX, Micro-ATX, BABY ATX. It has enough bays for 4 5.5" drives and 4 3.5" drives. It had 3 mounting spots for 120 mm fans. It comes with 2 blue LED fans (120mm). The beautiful Plexiglas side-panel will be able to show all of your gaming hardware, including your GTX 285. From personal experience, I can tell you that this case can hold 3 GTX 285 with no problem. The airflow is a very looked-after principle when buying a gaming case. The airflow of this case is far exceeding expectations. This is so because of its SECC Steel Chassis with its 3 fans, one being optional (but strongly recommended).

As we take a look on the outside, we can see its beautiful futuristic design. There are a couple colors to pick from, including blue, silver/black, orange, and obviously black. In the front, we have a magnetic door, which unveils 5 drive bays, and 1 3.5" bay (now used for fan controllers). In the front, the power button is nicely shielded against accidental clicking. It has a long blue LED in the front, which gives it a mean look. Coupled with the 2 side LED just next to the front 120mm mounting location, the case looks like something out of a science fiction book. On the side, it comes with a fireware input, audio and microphone input/output, and most importantly, 2 USBs.

The opening door has a darkly smoked plastic piece. It works great if you have bright LEDs from fan controllers. It saved me from throwing out my fan controller, because the LEDs were way too bright! The overall design of the case is astonishing. It has won numerous awards, some for design, some for best bang for the bunk, but most importantly... for airflow design and efficiency. I know from personal experience, that my fans made about a 8 degree Celsius difference on my GTX 260 55nm version under load. This is truly an unbeatable case for this price. It is known to beat the Antec 900 case which is said to be the ultimate gaming case for under $150. Keeping in mind that this case retails for about $50 in the United States, this is by far the best case I've ever worked with. My 2 sets of blue cold-cathodes look great, with a sound activated sensor for my speakers. This is truly a great combo; black with blue is one of the best combinations, in my opinion at least.

If you are in the market for a computer case, being one for gaming or just normal usage and want some bling bling... please put this is your priority list! You will not be disappointed for this price! All the people I know always were interested every time they came by my place, they always wanted one like this, but now they will just feel like copy cats. This is a piece of your computer which you can drool upon, very sturdy (rustproof, and pretty much spill proof also). Thank you for reading, happy hunting for your custom machine.

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