Loaded with features and
water-cooling support
[+] C-3PO – Well designed for water
cooling; lots of features; quiet
[-] Jar Jar Binks – Fiddly hard disk cages;
mediocre GPU cooling
The original NZXT Phantom was designed with
help from craigbru – a modder who is well-known on tech forums such as
bit-tech. Aside from its unique looks, it also helped to cement now-standard
features, including an easily accessible and variable-speed multi-channel fan
controller, ample cable routing holes, fan filters and water cooling support,
plus an edgy design. NZXT first scaled down the original Phantom’s dimensions
with the Phantom 410, but now it’s been scaled up with the Phantom 820 – one of
NZXT’s largest ever cases.
The
Phantom 820
It stands 650mm high – even taller than
SilverStone’s TJ11. Combined with other sizeable dimensions, you might think
the Phantom 820 is completely loaded with drive bays, but you’d be wrong – It
has just six 3.5in bays, courtesy of two drive cages, and four external 5.25in
bays fewer than the original Phantom, a far smaller and cheaper case.
The extra space has been used to expand the
Phantom’s cable routing prowess, providing support for E-ATX motherboards and
enhancing its water-cooling radiator compatibility. The latter is particularly
good, with the option to fit a double 120mm or double 140mm-fan radiator in the
base (as long as you remove the lower 3.5in drive cage), and a further double
140mm or triple 120mm-fan radiator in the roof with no modding required.
There’s ample space for fitting pumps and reservoirs internally too. However,
thanks to the magnetic front door, you won’t be able to see any bay-mounted
reservoirs.
The Phantom 820 is equally well-equipped for
air cooling too. It has single 200mm fans in the roof, front and side panel.
There’s also a 140mm rear fan, which can be adjusted vertically in its mount to
line up with your CPU cooler. You have the option to install a further 200mm
fan in the roof, or swap the roof fans for three 120mm or two 140mm fans which
is essential if you intend to install radiator here. In addition, there are two
120/140mm bottom fan mounts and a single 120/140mm fan mount on the internal
3.5in drive cage. With the side 200mm fan located over the CPU socket, the CPU
cooler height is limited to 153mm, though, which will rule out quite a few
large tower heatsinks. Removing the fan gives you 183mm of clearance, while
there’s 333mm o space for graphics cards.
Meanwhile, the side panel features a large
mesh section, behind which the side 200mm fan is installed, as well as a
mediocre-sized side window that shows the top of the insides. Don’t worry if
white isn’t your favorite color for a case, though, as the Phantom 820 is also
available in gun-metal grey and black.
The top of the case is bristling with other
features such as the controls for the Phantom 820’s 4-channel fan controller,
along with two USB 3 and four USB 2 ports, plus controls for the side-panel LED
lighting. The latter enables you to toggle between colors, and switch the rear,
front and internal lights on or off. Finally, behind the door sits an SD card
reader, rounding off an imposing set of features.
The
Phantom 820 recorded a CPU delta T of 48ºC
Building a PC inside the Phantom raised a
few issues, though. While the extensive cable routing holes and ample space
make fitting everything a pain-free task, the hard disk mounts proved to be
tricky to use and quite flimsy. The same can be said of the 5.25in tool-free
fittings, which weren’t very secure once looked in place. However, the rest of
the case is well though-out, with pre-fitted motherboard mounting standoffs and
an EPS 12V extension cable both welcome additions.
Performance
With its fans at maximum speed, the Phantom
820 recorded a CPU delta T of 48ºC. This puts it on a par with cases such as
Cooler Master’s HAF X and SilverStone’s Raven RV02. However, the Raven RV03 and
Fortress FT02R-W were both noticeably cooler. Meanwhile, dropping the fans to
their slowest speed saw the delta T only rise to 52ºC.
The GPU delta T results were less pleasing
though. With the fans cranked up to maximum, its GPU delta T of 49ºC was 12ºC
warmer than the SilverStone FT02R-W, while this temperature rose a further 3ºC
when we lowered the fan speeds. Even at their maximum speed, the fans remained
pleasingly quiet, though, while at their lowest speeds the case was one of the
quietest big cases we’ve used.
Conclusion
Apart from a couple of hiccups, namely the
fiddly hard drive bays and mediocre GPU cooling, the NZXT Phantom 820 is an
exciting-looking case and a joy to use. It has awesome potential as a
water-cooler PC, and it’s good to see NZXT working this flexibility into a case
without sacrificing too much in terms of features or cooling.
It’s a race case that manages to cater for
both air-cooled and water-cooled systems, and also do it well. So many of the
best air cooling cases have terrible water-cooling support, while cases such as
the SilverStone TJ07 aren’t great at air cooling, and often need modding or the
removal of nearly all the drive cages to fit more than one radiator.
If you’re unlikely to be dabbling with
water-cooling hardware, though, there are better options available for your
money, such as SilverStone’s similarly priced FT02, which is equally
good-looking and offers better cooling.
As it stands, the NZXT Phantom 820 is ideal
for anyone who wants a well-balanced case for water cooling, or will be
starting with an air-cooled PC with the intension of swapping air water at some
point down the line.
The
NZXT Phantom 820 is ideal for anyone who wants a well-balanced case for water
cooling
1 – There’s room for a double 140mm-fan
radiator or triple 120mm fan radiator in the roof with no modding required.
Alternatively, you can fit another 200mm fan
2 – There are more cable-routing holes than
you can shake a stick at, plus an extra-large CPU area cut-out. NZXT has also
fitted the motherboard standoffs and supplied an EPS 12V extension cable.
3 – The bottom 3.5in drive cage is
removable, enabling you to install a double 120mm or 140mm full-height radiator
in the base, with a fan filter in place too.
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How much?
§ Price:
$299
§ Manufacturer:
www.nzxt.com
In detail
§ Dimensions
(mm): - 235 x 612 x 650 (W x D x H)
§ Material:
Steel, plastic
§ Available
colors: Black, white, gun metal
§ Weight:
15kg
§ Front
panel: Power, reset, 2 x USB3, 4 x USB2, stereo, mic, lighting, fan control
§ Drive
bays: 4 x external 5.25in drive bays, 6 x internal, 3.5in drive bays.
§ Form
factor(s): E-ATX, XL-ATX, ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX
§ Cooling:
1 x 200mm front fan mount (fan supplied), 1 x 200mm side fan mount (fan
supplied), 3 x 120/2 x 140mm/2 x 200mm roof fan mounts (1 x 200mm fan
supplied), 1 x 200mm front fan mount (fan supplied), 140mm rear fan mount
(fan supplied), 2 x 120mm/ 140mm bottom fan mounts (fans not supplied), 1 x
120mm/140mm internal 3.5in cage fan mount (fan not supplied)
§ CPU
cooler clearance: 153mm with side fan, 183mm without
§ Maximum
graphics card length: 333mm
Scores
§ Cooling
22/ 30
§ Features
19/ 20
§ Design
28/ 30
§ Value
16/ 20
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