NZXT Phantom 410 Review (Special ‘Gunmetal’ Edition)

1. Introduction2. NZXT Phantom 4103. NZXT Phantom 410 (Internal and Build 1)4. NZXT Phantom 410 (Internal and Build 2)5. NZXT Phantom 410 Gunmetal (Super High Res Gallery)6. Testing Methodology & Performance Results7. Acoustic Performance8. Closing Thoughts9. View All Pages

The NZXT Phantom 410 has been on the market now for many months but today we are looking at a special coloured version of the case. NZXT have decided to re-release this popular case in duotone colours – Black/Orange, Black/White and White/Blue. We get a very special version however for review today, in ‘Gunmetal'.

When NZXT first released the Phantom 410, it was released in White, Black and Red. Thanks to the competitive pricing and high volume of sales, NZXT have revisited the chassis to offer special duotone colours.

The new colour options are set to attract the eye and we especially like the black and orange accented version.

When NZXT contacted us however they wanted to offer the special ‘gunmetal' version which we think looks really eyecatching. The Phantom 410 still has the right mounted HDD rails and support for a dual radiator water cooling kit with a clearance of 30mm. It also supports up to 8 chassis fans if you need a very high level of airflow.

Features

• Clearance for top 240mm dual radiator for water cooling solutions
• Adjustable interior pivot 120mm/140mm fan slot for directional air flow
• Removable HDD cage to allow more room for extended video cards
• Innovative right mounted HDD rails for easy hard drive replacement
• Single 120mm/140mm side fan with acrylic window for interior viewing and cooling
• Front Internal 2x USB 3.0 headers, 2x USB 2.0, audio and microphone input
• 30W 3-step fan control for setting up your system for silence or performance
• Wire management support up to 25mm space for easy cable management
• Screw-less 5.25” and HDD trays that secures 2.5” SSD
• Cooling capability of up to eight fans (2x 120mm and 1x 140mm LED fan included)

NZXT are using the plain white version of the case for the box, although we received a very early review sample and this might change. The case is protected inside a plastic sleeve with thick side foam panels.

The bundle contains a user manual and all the necessary screws for the system build phase. They also include a handful of cable ties to help maintain the routing.

The NZXT Phantom 410 is a very attractive case, but the appearance is really enhanced with the Gunmetal grey colour scheme. Depending on the lighting it can almost appear to change intensity.

The Phantom 410 looks very like the Phantom case, although it is smaller. The top of case is very rounded with two black lines running down the front of the chassis. At the bottom is a white fan, hidden behind a grill. Both front and top panels can be removed toollessly, but more on this shortly.

The top door swings open to the left, and it is held in place with a plastic clip. There are three drive bays behind this door. The three drive bays are also gunmetal in colour, to match the rest of the chassis.

Underneath are two holes for an additional fan, and to supply airflow to the bottom mounted power supply. There are six rubber feet to ensure stability on a variety of surfaces.

The left hand door offers a windowed panel, this is a standard option, not an extra. A 120mm or 140mm fan can be mounted underneath the window. The other side of the case features a plain door.

Along the top of the case are a power and reset button. On the other side are two USB 2.0 connectors, two USB 3.0 connectors and a pair of audio plugs. They also include a small slider based fan controller at the top, which is useful.

The rear of the chassis has a hole at the bottom for a power supply. Above this are seven expansions slots and two rubber mounted holes for watercooling hoses. Above this is a 120mm NZXT branded white fan.

Removing the side door is easy enough – held in place with two thumbscrews. The inside is painted in the same gunmetal colour, so it looks great through the window after the system is built.

The other side door is removed in a similar fashion, held in place with two thumbscrews. There is a large cutout to aid with cooler installation on the motherboard.

There are several cutout areas on the motherboard for routing cables, these are positioned well.

Sadly we noticed that they would dislodge from position with only a little pressure, even when running a simple power supply cable through them. This became a particular annoyance for me during the build phase.

The bottom of the case features two holes, one for the power supply and another for an additional fan in the middle of the case. The case is supplied with standard header cables and a Molex connector to power the fans and four 3 pin plugs to attach to these. There is also a standard 20 pin USB 3.0 connector inside.

The expansion slots are metal, and held in place with thumbscrews. A traditional design we have no problem with. There is a 120mm fan positioned at the top of the case, exhausting warm air out the rear of the case.

NZXT populate the top of the case with a single fan, although it can accommodate two 120mm or two 140mm fans, or a watercooling kit.

The front and top of the NZXT Phantom 410 can be removed by simply tugging on the panels and pulling outwards. This is advisable for the building phase.

Delicate handling is advised when building the system as we noticed a small chip occurred in the paintwork when mounting the power supply (next to the screw in the picture above).

Installing a power supply is straightforward, although we advise a modular design as there is not much physical space in this case to route additional cables.

Installing the optical drives is easy enough. Unclip the front cover, push the drive into place and then push down the black locking mechanism and hold in place.

The Phantom 410 uses the same system for mounting both 2.5 inch and 3.5 inch drives. For a 2.5 inch drive you simply remove two of the holding screws on one side to give enough room to mount the 2.5 inch drive.

The drive then slots back into place and the cable fed to the motherboard from the other side of the case.

To install a watercooling kit in the top of the case, the panel has to be removed, and then the pre-installed NZXT fan needs to be removed.

Due to space restrictions we mounted the fans on the outside of the case (in exhaust positions), these will rest underneath the top panel when it is reconnected, and therefore out of sight. The fan cables can be fed into the case and then connected for power.

Above, the radiator installed in the top of the case and connected to the motherboard.

There is enough room to route cables however we do really recommend a modular power supply with this case as it will start to look messy due to limited space at the bottom.

On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source.

Today we have built a high end system based around the Core i7 3930K Extreme Edition processor overclocked to 4.8ghz.

Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K
Motherboard: ASRock P9X79 WS
Cooler: Corsair H100 Liquid Cooler.
Memory: Corsair 8GB GTX8 DDR3 @ 2400mhz.
Graphics Card: AMD HD7870.
Power Supply: ADATA 1200W.
Drives: Patriot 240GB Pyro SE SSD & Crucial C300

Windows 7 Enterprise Edition 64bit

Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2

Firstly let us have a look at the chassis design and airflow, as it comes ‘out of the box’.

Cool air is forced in from the front of the case, over the drives and across the rest of the components. As described earlier in the review we are using the Corsair H100 instead of the top 120mm preinstalled fan. The Corsair H100 and the rear mounted case fan are both exhausting warm air from inside the case.

We have placed thermal diodes into 5 case positions. 1: at the top of the case, beside the optical drive bay. 2: beside the CPU cooler, next to the exhaust fans. 3: Next to the drive bay rack. 4: In the very center of the chassis, next to the graphics card. 5: close to the power supply, underneath the lower section of the motherboard.

Ambient room temperatures were maintained at 23c throughout.

The Intel Core i7 3930K was overclocked to 4.8ghz with 1.47 voltage.

Considering there is no side panel case fan added, the results are very good. The processor never hit 80c under load. Adding another one or two fans would reduce the temperatures further, although we don't imagine many people buying this case would be using such a high end system build.

We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.

Today to test the chassis we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2 one meter away from the case. The room rates as 21dBa before powering on the system (air conditioning unit in the far corner of the room causes this).

As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

We have replaced the graphics card with a Sapphire HD5670 Ultimate edition. We also replaced the Corsair H100 with a standard air cooler and returned the stock chassis fan to the top position.

The case is audible, but never intrusive. It wouldn't be ideal for someone sensitive to noise, but for a gamer it will be suitable.

When I first removed this Phantom 410 from the box, I was immediately struck by the quality of the paintwork. The Gunmetal colour finish really is beautiful and it helps ensure that the case will stand out in a very crowded marketplace.

The design is well thought out and I found the system installation to be painless enough. The case can accommodate a high end system and a dual watercooling radiator, which is very impressive considering the relatively modest physical dimensions.

In this sector, cases are either very dull and mundane, or crowded with complex lighting systems, neither of which appeal to me. The Phantom 410 exudes an appearance of class, and NZXT have ensured that there is strong connectivity and useful additions, such as the fan controller and tool less design throughout. I was also impressed with the space inside, although the use of a modular power supply will really make life easier in regards to routing and hiding cables.

Generally I was impressed, although the design is not perfect. Firstly I disliked the rubber covers on the motherboard tray holes. They move out of place with minimal pressure, requiring the user to put them back in place. I lost count of how many times this happened during the build phase, with the motherboard cable generating enough force to move the cover out of place. I also noticed that when I screwed in the power supply that the paintwork ‘chipped' next to the screw, which was disappointing. I wasn't ‘heavy handed' either, so careful handling would be required.

Additionally NZXT have opted for a plastic clip to hold the front door in place, and I am not sure if this will last across many years of rough handling. A magnet system would have been more secure and potentially longer lasting.

We have been told that this case will be available for £89.99 inc vat in the UK, which is a very good price to achieve for such a quality design.

Pros:

• great looking paintwork.
• nice design.
• can handle a high end system.
• relatively quiet.
• fan controller
• can accept watercooling radiator kit.
• Drive installation is easy.

Cons:

• Rubber covers over holes move all the time.
• plastic locking clip on door.
• no dust filter in front of case.

Kitguru says: A whole lot of case for a reasonable amount of money.

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