Hardware Review
NZXT Guardian 921
NZXT is at it again. This guys just keep on bring out their kick ass designed desktop cases. We've taken a look at NZXT's line of cases over the years. I can remember the first case we reviewed from NZXT. Johnny sent us the Guardian to take a look, and from that day on we were very impressed with NZXT offerings. Tonight we'll take a look at the second incarnation of the Guardian case, the Guardian 921. We would like to thank the NZXT team for making this review possible as well as our very kind UPS guy.
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Our sample came in a well packed NZXT packaging. As we took out our sample, we were greeted to an all black mid tower case. The most very prominent feature I noticed was the front panel door. On its top are a temperature monitor and the three lined blue led lights on the middle of the door. This really reminds of the "Flux Capacitor" found on the DeLorean from the Back to the Future movies. At the bottom of the front door is the fan grill for the internal fan. If you look at the side, it looks very similar to the first Guardian. The paint finish of the Guardian 921 is also very nice. The front ports are located just one the left hand side of the front door, complete with all necessity ports as well as an e-SATA port. NZXT also provided pre-drilled holes for water cooling hose at the back of the case.
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The Guardian 921's interior is very roomy. Cooling wise, it sports three interior 120mm fans. Expansion cards are secured with locking clips, making it easy to secure your AGP/PCI cards. NZXT also brought back the locking clips for the drive bays making installing IDE drives tool less and simple. NZXT has provided three 120mm for internal cooling. As a personal touch, I would've liked to have seen the interiors be painted as well. It just gives the interior a cleaner look other than the bare steel.
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NZXT has time and again improved their product line of cases. The Guardian 921 looks very aggressive and it should turn heads the next time you bring it to a LAN party. Though, I would've liked it to be available in more color variety just like the original Guardian did. The Guardian 921 is a very solid case; it's also a very inexpensive mid tower. If you're looking for a new gaming case that won't break the bank, have a look at the NZXT Guardian 921. We here at Unique Rigs kind of like the original Guardian, but we felt that the 921 version is a very good improvement. We give the NZXT Guardian 921 a score of 8 out 10 and our recommendation.
Pros:
Nice clean design
Roomy interiors
Tool less drive rails
"Flux Capacitor" like LEDs on the front panel
eSATA Port
Pre drilled holes for water cooling
Cons:
No removable motherboard tray
No PSU included
Manufacturer Link:
