Installation
When I started installing my hardware into this case I noticed I had to remove the top fan in order to get my power supply in place. The installation of the PSU could be made a bit easier if you could just slide the PSU over the metal support bar.
The installation of the motherboard went pretty quick, but I did have some problems with the toolless PCI card system. One of my cards didn't fit properly so I decided to just remove the toolless system (which is pretty easy by the way) and secure my graphics and audio card with screws.
One of the other things I noticed during the installation is that NZXT included a bare minimum of screws with this case - every other case I have tested in the past included a lot more screws than this one.
Then I moved on with the installation of my hard drive and the installation of my DVD writer and a 3.5" fan controller, this went without a problem as the toolless installation made it really simple. I then connected all the fans and the system was ready to boot.
Here's the NZXT Zero with all my hardware installed, sorry for the cable mess :)
Conclusion
The NZXT Zero case looks awesome and provides superb air cooling capabilities. The seven 120mm fans and one 80mm fan provide lots of airflow and are really quiet. I was a bit sceptic before I got my hands on this case but all of the fans in this case are really quiet, the Zero is barely louder than most of the other cases I used which feature only two or three fans. And if the eight fans are really too loud for you then you can still decide to disconnect a few, like the 80mm top fan and some of the side panel fans.
Unfortunately the NZXT Zero also has a small amount of imperfections, none of them are really serious disadvantages but I did expect a bit more from a case which costs about $130. However, if you can live with these minor imperfections I definitely recommend this case.
The Good Stuff
- The case looks awesome
- Huge amount of fans included (eight!)
- Lots of airflow, the side panel fans blow cool air to your entire motherboard
- Installation of hard drives and other devices is fully toolless, it's really easy.
- It's not that heavy
- Pretty quiet, even though it has a lot of fans
- The holes for the motherboard standoffs are all labeled
The Bad Stuff
- The front panel is a dust magnet
- Side panel has no handle and doesn't fit perfectly.
- Top fan needs to be removed before you can install a PSU
- Few screws are included
- Toolless installation of PCI/PCI Express cards doesn't always work perfect
- No dust filters for top fan and side panel fans.
- Some sharp edges
- No removable motherboard tray
- An extension cable for the side panel fans would be nice, this would make it a bit easier to open the case.
I give the NZXT Zero case a
7.5/10
For the fine and quiet cooling features I'm giving it DV Hardware's seal of approval
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