Filed under: Reviews | Computer Hardware
NZXT Panzerbox PC Case Review
Jun 25 2009, 12:00am CDT | by Shane McGlaun
You may have all the coolest gear inside your computer, but if you pack that gear away inside a junky looking case no one will know that your rig is sweet on the inside. The case is what people see when they lay eyes on your computer and if you want show and go, the NZXT Panzerbox chassis I am looking at today is for you. Read on for all the details.
Benchmarks
Specifications
The NZXT Panzerbox is made totally from aluminum inside and out. The case measures 244 x 455 x 455mm and has dual massive 190mm fans. One of the fans is in the front and the other is in the top and each move 150 cfm of air. The case has three external 5.25-inch drive bays, and four internal 3.5-inch bays. A total of seven expansion slots are included and the case weighs 6.3kg. Supported motherboards include ATX, micro-ATX, and Baby AT.
In Use
One of the coolest features of the NZXT Panzerbox is that the motherboard tray is removable. Anyone who has built a PC in a confined case without a removable tray will tell you that it can be a big hassle. The chassis is much wider than most cases on the market. The case is made extra wide to allow for more room inside for complex cooling systems including dual radiator liquid cooling systems.
My review sample lacked a PSU, but the chassis can be had with a 500W PS2 ATX power supply. The chassis mounts the power supply on its side near the bottom of the case. On the rear of the chassis is a spot for a 120mm cooling fan and under the fan are two grommet ports for liquid cooling lines. The expansion port covers are made from mesh for cooling and the covers of the external drive bays are made from solid aluminum.
On top of the squat chassis are two USB ports along with an ESATA port, headphone, and microphone jacks. To use liquid cooling with the case requires the top 190cm fan to be removed. The chassis ships with auxiliary brackets that allow for the mounting of radiators on the top of the chassis.
The accessories included with the case provide enough screws for mounting all the drives you might need inside the machine. Typically, with most cases, you just get a bag of screws and you need to figure out which one goes where. The NZXT Panzerbox has the screws sealed inside individual and labeled zip lock bags so you know what to use where.
The case isn’t a tool less design in the respect that it has special locking tabs and rails for mounting drives. The case uses thumb screws all around for the drives, which technically don’t have to have a screwdriver making the chassis tool less, but not as tool less as some other offerings on the market.
Building a computer with the NZXT Panzerbox is very easy thanks to the removable motherboard tray. You can pull the tray and do your complete installation outside the main chassis, video cards, and all. Once complete you simply slide the tray back into the case and you are done. I wish that the motherboard tray had a cut out on the back for installing and removing the CPU cooler, but that is the only thing the case lacks feature wise. The chassis also has rolled edges to protect fingers during installation.
Verdict
Conclusion
Pros
- Good looking
- Supports water cooling
- Removable motherboard tray
Cons
- Width of case needs more space
- No cut out for CPU cooling solutions
Verdict
The NZXT Panzerbox is a very nice case for someone looking to build a liquid cooled computer or a user simply wanting a case that looks different from the others on the market. The Panzerbox is well built and is one of the nicer PC cases on the market.
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Shane McGlaun
Leading our review center, Shane knows technology inside out. His
extensive experience in testing computer hardware and consumer
electronics enable him to effectively qualify new products and trends. If you want us review your product, please contact Shane.
Shane can be contacted directly at shane@i4u.com.
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