NZXT Phantom 410: The Boutique Favorite Goes On a Diet
by Dustin Sklavos on December 2, 2011 11:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- NZXT
Conclusion: Worthy of Consideration
Now there's a conclusion I'll admit I was surprised to come to: the NZXT Phantom 410 is fun (possibly funny) to look at, but despite being kind of a pain to assemble it's actually a remarkably capable enclosure and definitely ranks among the better ones we've had in house.
Where NZXT has really excelled is in the way they've straight up outdone themselves. I've never been a fan of the H2 despite its healthy uptake in the boutique sector, but the Phantom 410 winds up being an excellent choice for that market and handily supplants the case that was engineered for silent running. Performance-wise it also trades blows with the Tempest 410, yet comes in ahead in acoustics and connectivity. If you're buying NZXT, there's an awful lot to like about the Phantom 410.
My quibbles with the Phantom 410 have to do with assembly. Frankly it's just a pain to put together, from start to finish. The mounting holes in the motherboard tray need to be a lot bigger, the drive trays could stand to be more rigid, and I'm never going to turn down having motherboard standoffs pre-installed. Connecting the AUX 12V line was particularly hellish. In this price range, there are definitely much easier cases to assemble.
While it's always nicer for me to have a clean cut conclusion and just say "oh, well, buy this one because it's the best," ultimately it's really better for you to have a plethora of options at a given price point. Some people don't care about what kind of box their computer goes in as long as it works, and some of us like being able to express ourselves (for better or worse) with our enclosure choices. The Phantom 410 may be a little more difficult to assemble than competing cases, but it performs right along with the best of them and offers a decent enough selection of features to be worthy of your consideration. At the magical $99 price point there's healthy competition there, but at least if you like how it looks you won't have to make any sacrifices in performance.
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Tigashark - Sunday, December 4, 2011 - link
I tend to agree here... I just built a system in an Antec 300 illusion.. thats only a ~$70 case , comes with 4 variable speed fans.. AND had the standoffs fitted in the more common locations for a full size ATX board..Its just a nice touch for the manufacturer to at least have the more common standoffs pre-fitted its not make or break but it IS a nice touch...
Belard - Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - link
Also... with some motherboards - you'd only end up taking OFF some of the stand-offs if there isn't a mounting hole in the motherboard.This is a non issue. Out of the hundreds of computers I've built - only a few times do I have to deal with screw up loose stand-offs, usually caused by someone else not tightening them up correctly.
buzznut - Sunday, December 4, 2011 - link
Hello,As a phantom owner and enthusiast (yes that means I am voiding my warranty like crazy) I have found the phantom to be everything I wanted in a case--almost. It seems the wise folks at NZXT have listened to their fans and really updated the chassis.
The window has been requested so much that the full tower Phantom has a side panel that owners can now purchase at NZXT.com to add their own. The newer phantoms being sold now have USB 3.0 available.
The one thing I find lacking is they have no considerations for folks that have 3 1/2 inch bay devices. Of course I don't mean a floppy drive, but things like card readers. One can certainly buy a bay converter but it likely won't match the color or quality of the rest of the case. Cheap plastic being what I am primarily able to find, unless I want to pay $20.
I think NZXT has a winner here that could potentially outsell the original. Most folks don't want or need a full tower, and the mid tower is extremely popular.
HStanford1 - Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - link
Why don't you want a cheap plastic 3 1/2 bay converter?Half of your case is made of it.
atragorn - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
I just bought this case (Good deal at Microcenter the only place to shop ) and I agree with some of what you said about this case but the standoffs ? Yes they do not come pre-installed, you also failed to mention they include a tool to make installing them easier(Not everyone has the proper nut drivers laying around) which I for one appreciated since I misplaced my nut driver a while ago.There are lots of tie down spots on the back, yes the wires for the fans are a bit of a pain but I just moved them to the side till I was done everything else then I hooked them up to the fans and I like to be able to turn all my fans down when I am just doing web stuff (So not wearing headphones) or watching a movie,
Nothing useful is completely painless in my experience.
Most people looking for a midsize case are going to be fine with this case, I have two ssds, 3 hdd , a xfx 6850 1gb card, asus m5a97 LE R2.0 (don't buy it no usb 3 internal headers!) and a FX6100 running off a Thermaltake tr2 rx 850 (modular 80+ cant go wrong).
No trouble building it up,
It definitely gets noticed when people come over though :/