Detailed Exterior Features

Having taken a broad tour around the outside of the NZXT Phantom, let's narrow in on some of the standout exterior features. Most of these features reside on the top panel, which I have not covered much up to this point. Among these are the front panel I/O, integrated fan controller, and top fan. We'll also take a look behind the front door of the 5.25" drive bays.

The front panel I/O ports don't bring much surprise in terms of functionality for a case in this category, but they don't disappoint either. The standard audio, mic, and USB ports are present and, as expected for an enthusiast case, eSATA is included as well. I used to give extra points for eSATA ports, but at this point, and in this case category, I think we can consider them standard equipment. Where the Phantom really differentiates itself, though, is in the design and aesthetics. They really did well in integrating the design characteristics of the rest of this case case into this typically unadored section.

That design carries over to the five-channel fan controller, which occupies the other side of the Phantom's top panel. NZXT rates each of the five channels at 20 Watts. When the case is loaded up with all seven fans, though, the two 120mm side fans and the two top fans share channels. While this isn't likely to affect most builds (and most fans), it's worth pointing out.

Those top fans are protected by the same mesh screens that we saw on the rest of the case. In the Phantom's stock configuration, only one 200mm fan is included. A mounting point and wiring for the second 120mm is built in. Also worth noting is that the included top fan comes equipped with a blue LED's. They look good, in my opinion and are fairly low in intensity, but should you need/want to disable the them, they can easily be turned off via a switch on the backside of the case.

On the front side of the Phantom, we find the 5.25" drive bays. With the door open, the five bays mentioned in the specs are visible. The bay door does not actually lock and seems to be there primarily for aesthetics. I suppose the argument could also be made that it helps keep down on dust entering the system, but in either case I have no complaints. Most case locks in this category don't do much anyway and the door does add to the overall appearance. The door aside, though, what I really wanted to point out here are the bay covers. They can be removed and reinserted quite easily by sliding the little plastic clip on right--no wrangling with sharp metal plates or difficult plastic snaps.

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