Cryo Hydro Nemesis SE system review

Normally when we receive a system for review, the courier leaves it at the door, we sign a bit of paper and trundle it into KitGuru HQ for an unpacking session. With the Cryo system however the courier asked for our help to lift the ‘crate' from the haulage truck into our premises.

We half expected Harry Houdini to pop out for a signing session. This wooden crate weighs a staggering 32kg. We need to first unclip the industrial level levers, then unscrew 18 bolts. just to get access to the inner box.

I am not embarassed to tell you that these clips and unlocking mechanism took me a long time to remove. I am blaming old age and I really don't give a rats ass what you think.

After unboxing and removing the inner Lian Li case we got access to the meat ‘n bones of the review. The lovely Lian-Li PC-B25FW chassis – this is a tool less design with a massive level of airflow. As with all Lian Li cases we love the understated, elegant lines.

The front of the case has a Cryo bevelled logo which glows blue when powered up. Below is the DVD drive and under that the AquaAero 4.00 USB monitoring and management system. This is a lovely little device and we took a video of it in operation to show you how it works.

This unit is fully programmable and offers a wealth of system information, right at your fingertips.

The rear of the chassis – deliberately shot with a high intensity light, we wanted you to see the gorgeous copper radiator behind the grill.

To the left we see the back panel for the Asus Rampage II Motherboard – we recently reviewed V3 of this board and as with all Asus products, they exhibit stellar build quality as well as a plethora of connectivity. Interesting to note that the II board has dual gigabit LAN connectors, the new model only has one.

Above we can see the dual HD5870 graphics cards as well as the sound card.

Another solid choice from Cryo – the fantastic Corsair TX850W power supply.

A brief overview of the PSU:

• Supports ATX12V v2.2 standard and older ATX12V 2.01 spec
• Ultra-quiet 120mm (140mm on TX750W) double ball-bearing fan delivers excellent airflow
• 80%+ energy efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% load condition for less heat generation and lower energy bill
• 99% Active Power Factor Correction provides clean and reliable power to your system
• Universal AC input 90~264V automatically scans and detects the correct voltage
• Dedicated single +12V rail offers maximum compatibility with latest components
• Over Current/Voltage/Power Protection, Under Voltage Protection, and Short Circuit Protection provide maximum safety to your critical system components.
• High quality Japanese capacitors provide uncompromised performance and reliability.
• Extra long cables support full tower size chassis.
• Dimension: 5.9″(W) x 3.4″(H) X 6.3″(L);”
• MTBF: 100,000 Hours
• NVIDIA SLI™-ready certified.

Lastly, the front top of the chassis is home to the power and reset button as well as 2 USB2, eSata, Microphone and Headset connectivity options. The Power light glows blue when the system is on.

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