Hardware Review
NZXT Tempest
Mid tower cases are now a dime a dozen these days. What separate a good computer case from an ordinary case is what extra features it has to offer and its aesthetic designs. NZXT has brought out many quality designs over the years for their case offerings. Tonight, we'll take a look at NZXT's mid tower case, Tempest. We would like to thank the NZXT team for making this review possible.
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Out of the box, the case does looks oddly like an Antec P900 case. If you haven't seen a P900 case, just Google and you'll get a sample picture. I've only seen the P900 from several stores, so I won't be able to compare them side by side. Let's take a look at the outer shell of the case.
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The front panel consists mainly of a black mesh panel. The front ports are placed just on top of the case, first I've seen on an NZXT case. I also liked the addition of an e-Sata on the front panel ports. The shell itself is made out of durable steel. Though the paint of the side panels isn’t glossy, I still preferred it because then you won't have to worry about fingerprints all over the case. NZXT has also included 2 pre-drilled holes on the back of the case to support a water cooling system.
Let's now take a look at the interiors. For a mid-tower case, the Tempest is rather roomy. The PSU chamber for the tempest is situated at the bottom of the case. I also noticed that the hard drive rails are oriented vertically rather than horizontally. A user can fit up to eight hard drives inside the case, as well as three 5.25" drives just on top of the hard drive rails. Both the 3.5" and 5.25" drive rails use tool-less installations, as you only need to place the provided locking rails on to the drives and slide them on their appropriate rails. NZXT has included a total of five 120mm fans, two of which are with LEDs.
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Because of the roomy interiors of the case, installation of a motherboard is very easy. We would like to have seen a removable motherboard tray included with the case. Still, we were able to install our test motherboard without a hitch. The connectors for the front panel ports are also nicely separated and labeled to avoid confusion.
We really like the Tempest case. The outer shell is very well crafted and designed. Though it lacks a removable tray, installing a new motherboard and parts is very easy as it is very roomy. The price of the Tempest is also very affordable, selling at just about $120. NZXT has delivered another impressive case. Though we think its designs were somewhat comparable on an Antec P900, we still liked it regardless. Solid design, functional parts, aesthetically pleasing, makes the Tempest a very good choice for an enthusiast case. We give the NZXT Tempest a score of 9 out of 10 and our Unique Rigs recommendation.
Pros:
Nice clean design
Roomy interiors
Tool less drive rails
Six 120mm Fans
eSATA Port
Pre drilled holes for water cooling
Cons:
No removable motherboard tray
No PSU included
Manufacturer Link:
