NZXT Phantom Review
review by
bobicon
Specifications:
Motherboard Support - E-ATX, ATX, Micro ATX, ITX
Dimensions - 222mm (W) x 541.34mm (H) x 623.81mm (D)
Weight - 11kg
Materials - Steel, Plastic, Mesh
I/O Ports - x1 HD Audio/Mic, x2 USB 2.0, x1 eSATA
External 5.25" - 5
Internal 3.5" - 7
Expansion Slots - 7
Fans - x1 140mm or x1 120mm (Front), x2 200mm (Top) x1 included, x1 120mm (Rear) x1 included, x1 200 or 230mm (Side) and x2 120mm (Side) x2 included.
Features
- Supports 7 fans
- Dual radiator support
- 20W 5 channel fan controller
- Tool less drive bay design
- Rubber PSU holders to reduce vibration
Pros (Detailed)
Built in Fan Controller
The built in fan controller is a very nice feature that you don't see in other cases. The fan controller itself is a simple one, but it does its intended job with a sliding lever. While it can not control the percentage speed of the fan it works for someone like me who either has it on high or low. The fan controller while only having five fan controller adjusters supports all seven fans you can hook up into this machine with x2 120mm side fans and the x2 200mm top fans on the same controller. I should also note that the fan controller supports up to 20W per channel.
Supports 7 Hard Drives
There is a ton of room for raid configuration or storage drives in this case. The drives bays themselves are able to hot swap which can be a very useful feature. The only thing I don't like about the about this feature is that the seven drive bays are separated into different places with the main drive bay holding four drives and the secondary drive bay holding two drives as you can see below in the bottom right corner of the picture.
Great Air Flow
The airflow in this case is great because it does support seven fans including x3 200mm fans. The included dust filters also compliment the case with the only bad thing being that you will have to buy a dust filter for the front fan and extra fans for ones that aren't included.
Cons (Detailed)
Build Quality Issues
When I first got this case I had nothing but issues with things breaking. The list of things that broke include both spring loaded easy access thumb screws for the back of the case. both 120mm side fans and one of the 200mm top fans.
The first issue that arose that was the easy access thumb screws was caused because the part holding the thumb screws in place was made out of plastic which is not a durable material. You may be thinking now I guess he was just being to rough with the case and I can say that was not the issue it just broke from regular use within the first week. Also should also add that I sent in a RMA for a replacement part and received a week later free of charge, but it was the wrong so I didn't even bother replacing them because the thumb screws themselves still work.
Secondly I had to replace both of the 120mm side fans and the stock 200mm top fan because the fans started to make very loud grinding noises which happened to be a ball bearing issue in the fans. The RMA process for the fans was quick and simple they sent me new fans and told me to keep the old fans all for free. Lastly they sent a wrong fan (140mm front fan) at first, but I was able to keep it out of the kindness of the company.
Despite these cons and the mix ups on the RMA process I would say NZXT customer support is top notch just because there are a lot of companies out there who wouldn't go the extra mile like they do.
200mm Side Fan
The biggest issue for some may be that this fan is really a 192mm fan and not a 200mm fan like stated by NZXT. This means it will not work with most other 200mm fans. (expect a modded Xigmatek 200mm fan which is talked about below)
Another issue some may have is that the 200mm side fan along with the dust filter really leaves no room for a tall heat sink. The clearance in the case without a side fan is 180mm, but when you add in a side fan and dust filter the room you have for a heat sink shrinks to around 157mm because you have to account 20mm for the fan and 3mm for the dust filter
3rd party fan linked
here is the best for the job because it is only 20mm tall while NZXT's fan is 30mm tall. FYI this fan requires a small amount of modding to get it to fit. Just drill holes into the optional screw hole slots to make it fit with the NZXT Phantom. You need a drill, 5/32" Drill bit, and four 6-32 screws to do this mod or you can do it another way which does not require drilling which is explained
here. As you can see with this second way to do the mod a large heat sink like the NH-D14 will fit in this case with this fan, but this is only without the fan filter.
Because of the clearance issues, I had to spend $90 on a new high performance low profile heat sink to replace my Hyper 212+ which can be a major con depending on how strict your budget is. ( Hyper 212+ was replaced by a Noctua NH-C14 which preforms about the same as a Hyper 212+, but costs $60 more).
Overview
While are some clear cons with this cases I still find it one of my favorite cases on the market for its price range. Even if you have issues related to the build quality NZXT will take care of them in a timely manor.
Another thing a potential buyer should take into account is that this case does not include all the fans that this case can fit so you will have to spend an additional $50-60 on additional fans and an extra $5 for a front fan filter if you want the maximum air cooling performance this case can dish out.
While I cannot commented on this case for water cooling, I have read from other users that modification had to be made to fit the Corsair water cooling series heat sinks and also for large water radiators.
So in all if you have a larger budget I would recommend searching for a different case with better build quality and more features because this case may not be for you, but if this case falls within the price range you are looking to spend I would say go for it because you won't find a better case for $120.
Link to NZXT website with photos and other reviews.
Pros | Cons |
---|
Built in fan controller, 7 HDD bays, great air flow. | Build quality issues, 200mm side fan. |
Ratings