NZXT Phantom 630 Review

Up Close: Stripped

Published: 4th February 2013 | Source: NZXT | Price: £155.99 | Author: Gary Wain

Up Close: Stripped

Finding it hard not to call this section "In the Nip" it's none the less essential to see what a case looks like "au-natural". What better way to get an idea of the build quality is there than to strip away all the extraneous knobs and excrescences and look at the bare metal chassis. Quality wise the 630 doesn't disappoint. The finish is good and the riveting and folding of the sheet steel is well done, nothing here to cut your knuckles on.

The actual stripping of the case is achieved by pulling off the roof and the front plastic sections, both of which are held on by strong plastic lugs. Once popped off we get a chance to look more closely at the roof and front fan mounting areas, along with the vast selection of fan mounting points and radiator options, the roof area alone is able to accept a slim 120.3 or a thicker 140.2 radiator with the commensurate sized fan mounted up in the roof section. Given a radiator of slim enough proportions it's entirely possible to set up a push pull configuration up here.

With the front of the case removed it's also possible to get a better look at the options for cooling and radiator mounting in this area. It's also worth noting that when you remove the plastic panels the mounts for both front switch and I/O areas remain attached to the chassis, so no having to feed cables through holes every time you pop the lid off.

Most Recent Comments

04-02-2013, 05:54:58

tinytomlogan

Can the 630 continue the pround liniage of the NZXT Phantom range?

http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/artic...084713496l.jpg

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04-02-2013, 09:48:36

AverageNinja

Nice review! Still seems a bit too expensive for what you get though.

04-02-2013, 10:04:01

Gamepro105

Theres some nice features included. not a bad case!

05-02-2013, 04:02:41

EPiiKK

This might be EXACTLY what i'm looking for my first wc build in the future.
Just cant find any in my country yet...

06-02-2013, 10:15:36

XNine

Quote:

Originally Posted by EPiiKK

This might be EXACTLY what i'm looking for my first wc build in the future.
Just cant find any in my country yet...

They are starting to make their rounds abroad, so I'd expect to see them in the next 1-2 weeks.

06-02-2013, 12:34:45

jamesriley94

I'd have preferred this to my Switch tbh.

Just wasn't available when I was buying, and the side panel put me off a bit.

NZXT really needs to get a replacement parts store up, so clean side panels, or windowed options can be bought - or at least replacements so if you mess it up, you aren't completely in the dark!

07-02-2013, 00:54:46

andrevautour

I don't like the look of these at all, but it certainly does have a lot of good features. it's nice to see some things that i was complaining about in the 650d like a grommet above the power supply for routing cables, hard drive cages divided up into 3 sections, and the nice LED that lights up the rear I/O. I'd like to see a subtle light for the front I/O on some cases like the 650D in the future.

09-02-2013, 04:02:22

frozenwings

First off, thanks for the measurement between the motherboard and the roof; I've been looking around for it for a few days now. You would be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) to know how often reviewers leave out how thick of a radiator can put in the top. I see the clearance is only 55mm, so I'm going to try and squeeze in a 30mm rad in push/pull since I can't fit in a 60mm rad up top.

I was wondering about how the bottom was looking in terms of radiators, I didn't see any measurements in the review. I will probably keep the 3 hdd bay (I'm a bit of a digital pack rat) hooked in it's default position and get rid of all the rest of the bays and put the thickest 240mm rad in the bottom in push/pull that it will allow. It looks like a ton of space, so I'm guessing I could fit at least a 45mm rad in push/pull.

I'm going to probably end up getting this case, it has pretty much everything I need in terms of looks and watercooling potential. That side fan/mesh area on the side panel has a date with a jigsaw though, only thing I don't like about the case. Thanks again for the review, now I can now start ordering parts.

09-02-2013, 07:45:52

FredEx

I have always wondered about airflow in these cases. I mean taking air from inside and out. Especially if one is going to be water cooling. Anything in the way disrupts flow and not having any mesh panels clear of any obstacles would impede air flow. Even some perforated panels impede air flow and create fan noise.

09-02-2013, 09:21:19

Spiderz

Some of the features on this are great just really do not like the styling of the Phantom range, especially the side panel, the window is tiny.

I'd take the switch over this just because I prefer the cleaner look to it.

09-02-2013, 10:56:59

(SS)Stu

Great review!
Wish it had a full window instead of this window/mesh mix!
Seems to have great features for watercooling but i still too expensive for this size of a case.

NZXT Phantom 630 Review

Up Close: Stripped

Published: 4th February 2013 | Source: NZXT | Price: £155.99 | Author: Gary Wain

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