NZXT Phantom ~ Black

[Predicament]

I think the white version looks quite butters although am partial to the black version.

I am thinking of buying one in a week or so.

Anyone had any experience with such a case? Or just want to comment on its looks!

 

[rjk]

hi, dont want to bring you down. but i build computers all day in a variety of cases.
so im just speaking from personal experience rather than being the person who got the case and wants to shout about how good it is.

if it were my money i would be looking elsewhere.

i have made my feelings towards this case very clear. here are a few quotes as i dont want to go typing it out again.

the stock photos made it look amazing

unfortunatly it is just the standard NZXT fayre.

cheap plastics
poor hard drive cages
thin cheap metal panels
average paint job
flimsy, unnecessary door
shambolic watercooling support
overpriced

the door is flimsy and totally pointless - you dont need a door on a computer case.

plastic on any case looks cheap unless pulled off well. nzxt cases are particularly nasty and arguably the worst offenders for this crime.

the hard drive holders bend in half easily and certainly dont insprire confidence in transport.
i wouldnt want to entrust my data in them

the paintjob is the typical nzxt cheapo powedercoat. put it next to a silverstone fortress ft01 or even the panels on an antec 902 and tell me its not bad.

the panels are poor. there really is no argument there, every nzxt case is the same.

the watercooling radiators are supposed to be held on by some sort of silly arm system [these metal brackets which fold easily] with three screws supposed to hold a 240 rad in place. i somehow dont think so.
i wouldnt personally hold a heavy/full 240 radiator over my expensive hardware with these.

it is overpriced.
i would take a coolermaster sniper/dominator or lian li pc50/pcb25 over this case any day of the week
it does nothing better than the dominator which is better built and has a superior layout.

sorry, i understand that you like your case. but i build a lot of computers, and this case is not something i would suggest as an option to anyone.

its your call entirely but i would be spending my money on any other case bar that.

 

[Emphacy]

I for one own 2 NZXT cases and although they aren't the best cases out there I don't think they're as bad as you're making them out to be...

They are fantastic in appearance, i'll give them that, I can agree with the powder paint finish, but the plastic nor cages are by no means flimsy in any of my cases.

Lexa Blackline & NZXT Whisper. The finish on the plastics are amazing, the doors are a lot less flimsy than on some cases I've used.
For watercooling, I don't use it so can't comment. The only problem I really had with NZXT cases was the fans that come with them are very poor.

I too have also built many PC's. It's all down to personal opinion, there could be contradictions everywhere. Yes there are more high quality cases such as Lian Li, but appearance is a major factor here, and IMO Lian Li cases don't 'wow' me.

Having said that though, I wouldn't buy the Phantom as it's too 'Hotrod' for me, whereas I prefer a simpler more smooth design.
The Phantom is one kind of a case, but have you been to the NZXT website OP? There are many more on there which are better, ofcourse that's my opinion.

 

[Predicament]

hi, dont want to bring you down. but i build computers all day in a variety of cases

Thanks for your response, I found it to be enlightening

I for one own 2 NZXT cases and although they aren't the best cases out t...

thank you too.


I am going to look for another case it seems

 

[Krellor]

What do OC think about you blasting some of their stock RJ?
Its nice to get a honest view point though.

 

[King Damager]

I looked at once of these, thought it would be nice, then I went off the looks and decided I wanted a smaller case so ended up getting the Lancool K62.

If I was going to buy a full size case tomorrow, think I'd get a Raven, although 650D has had a lot of hype, so could be worth looking into

kd

 

[Chiribo]

I actually just put my new parts into the Red Phantom. No qualms with it personally. I've been using an aluminium case from PCWorld that was about 7 years old up until a year ago when I move parts into another crappy 2nd hand case. The Phantom was a major improvement.

No problems with the door either, I actually prefer having something like that to cover what is unarguably pointless looking cd drives.

 

[:(Rhodri:)]

I've got the white phantom and love it, found it a very easy case to work with which has decent airflow.

 

[qumbaya]

having moved from a generic case with no cable management or decent cooling, the phantom to me seems real nice, its huge, decent airflow and decent cable management but i never got my head round the hdd brackets

i did however move the fans about

even though u cant mount a side 200mm with heat sink like nh d14, i managed to mount 120mm +80mm fan on the side with a simple mod

i say it could be cheaper but since my local shop sold it and i didnt want to pay for delivery or wait a week i just bought it on the spot

i was gona buy the ft02 but to me it also seemed overpriced

 

[paradisiac]

i nearly bought another NZXT case (had the BETA before) but decided, with advice from OCUK to buy a coolmaster, and im sooo glad i did. the build quality was far better, and it was soo much easier to fit everything and manage the cables. i dont dislike NZXT, but as i have always had cheap cases before, i didnt realise that spending that little bit more is well worth it.

 

[thunderflash]

even though u cant mount a side 200mm with heat sink like nh d14, i managed to mount 120mm +80mm fan on the side with a simple mod

You can fit a 200mm Xigmatek fan which is 20mm deep instead of the standard 30mm to the side with a NH-D14. The screw mounts don't line up though but is simply rectified.

Also if you remove the small additional HDD bays you get much better airflow qumbaya.

 

[thunderflash]

i nearly bought another NZXT case (had the BETA before) but decided, with advice from OCUK to buy a coolmaster, and im sooo glad i did. the build quality was far better, and it was soo much easier to fit everything and manage the cables. i dont dislike NZXT, but as i have always had cheap cases before, i didnt realise that spending that little bit more is well worth it.

I am the opposite I moved from a 690 II adv to the phantom and find it a lot better to manage cables, a lot cooler inside, and of good quality.