System Case

When it comes to picking out a case and power supply, we wanted something that would look good, keep noise down and be easy to configure. We also wanted to make sure future expandability was easily supported and heat was kept to a minimum. Those requirements led us to the Tempest case from NZXT, which could be considered a work of art. The Tempest has a street price of around $100 and is a bargain when one considers what it offers.

Right off the bat, a toolless design makes assembling and maintaining the PC a painless process. The Tempest features special slots and trays that require no tools, screws or anything special to use. One simply inserts a drive into the mounting area and turns a plastic lock—that is it, no hassles, no chores, no tricks—a truly innovative design! Noise reduction and airflow are other areas that the Tempest excels in. The case features six high-flow, low-speed cooling fans that are almost quiet. Two are located at the top of the case to effectively remove heat and all feature multiple power connectors, which allow the fans to be plugged directly into a motherboard to allow the BIOS to control their speeds based upon temperatures generated. Two fans are dedicated to the drive bays, which helps to keep hard drives cool and increase airflow through the case. The midtower case's specs include:

• Airflow king: dual 120-mm intake, dual 140-mm Exhaust with an additional side 120-mm fan and rear 120-mm fan all included.
• Maximize expandability: E-ATX support allows more compatibility with high-end components, including large graphics cards.
• Easier accessibility and cable management: Cable routing is predrilled on the motherboard so users can hide cables behind the motherboard tray, allowing a cleaner look and better airflow.
• Button placement: Power, E-SATA, USB and Reset buttons are mounted at the top to give better accessibility.
• Bottom-mounted PSU: PSU mounting at the bottom allows for more security and separation of heat from the CPU.
• Serverlike HDD space: dual 120-mm fans cool cages that hold up to eight hard disk drives, allowing for large-capacity systems while maintaining cool temperatures.