NZXT Tempest 410 Elite: Jack of All Trades
by Dustin Sklavos on September 1, 2011 3:20 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- NZXT
Introducing the NZXT Tempest 410 Elite
The last time we checked out an NZXT enclosure, we saw in their H2 a lot of fantastic ideas done in by a single poor design choice. NZXT's engineers are clearly thinking on their feet and the company stays in the enclosure conversation with good reason, and today we have on the slab their new Tempest 410 Elite mid-tower. Geared towards excellent performance without breaking the bank (remember when that was what overclocking was about?), should the Tempest 410 Elite be on your shortlist for an economical build, or were too many compromises made?
First impressions when opening the box for the Tempest 410 Elite were mixed, but it's important to keep in mind that enclosures under $100 tend to make some sacrifices to keep the price down, one of the major ones being extensive use of plastic for the front bezel. Yet further inspection of the 410 revealed that, much like their peers at BitFenix, NZXT's engineers are keenly interested in cramming a lot of value into their enclosures. Whether or not they were successful with this case remains to be seen, but there are some awfully nice touches here and there.
| NZXT Tempest 410 Elite Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, Flex-ATX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 3x 5.25" |
| Internal | 8x 3.5"/2.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | 2x 120mm intake fan |
| Rear | 1x 120mm exhaust fan | |
| Top | 2x 120mm fan mount | |
| Side | - | |
| Bottom | 1x 120mm fan mount | |
| Expansion Slots | 7 | |
| Front I/O Port | 3x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, mic and headphone jacks | |
| Top I/O Port | - | |
| Power Supply Size | ATX | |
| Clearance | Up to 11" (Expansion Cards), 170mm (CPU HSF), 280mm (PSU) | |
| Weight | 17.2 lbs. | |
| Dimensions | 19.53" x 8.46" x 18.94" | |
| Price | MSRP $89 | |
Just looking at the spec sheet, there should be a couple of oddities jumping out at you. The biggest one I ran into was actually the odd mix of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0; this really should've been two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 instead of the odd numbers, since now half of each header is basically wasted. And the Tempest 410 Elite does use an internal motherboard header for its USB 3.0 port, as is becoming increasingly common.
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Shinobisan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
I'm seriously looking at the Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T case.Seems to have everything I want, but I would really like to see a good review on it before buying. Any chance y'all could get your hands on one?
bobbozzo - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4028/corsair-graphit...I think the only difference with the Special Edition is the window and possibly the fan controller.
BTW, I helped my friend build a system with the Corsair 600T, and I have an Antec P182.
The Corsair is much wider, but I'm not sure that it has any functional advantages over the Antec, other than bigger fans.
Shinobisan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
Yep, that works.Malih - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
the way front USB ports is laid out on 600T makes it easier to use multiple ports in case you plug something.bigger backplate opening.
easily removable front+top dust filter.
Although I kindof wish the fan RPM on 600T control is a volume control instead.
There's also the P183.
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
I like the looks of the Corsair 600T, but for performance and acoustics I actually still have to give the nod to Rosewill's Thor v2 at roughly the same price (if not a bit cheaper). If you don't mind the aesthetics, the Thor v2 will run cooler at roughly the same noise level.ckryan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
Samsung's BD drives - they seriously make any case look good with their mirrored tray and a piano-finished glossy black which looks anything but chintzy. Optical drives are largely forgettable affairs, but its hard to ignore the aesthetics. I could get by with a $20 DVD combo, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I paid several times as much just for a better looking BD drive. It looks especially good with black aluminum enclosures, but does seem to class up cheaper plastic cases as well.
I actually broke the sata connector on mine, buy RMAing it was painless as well, which always counts for something in my book.
Dustin's reviews are some of the best anywhere, and I like the commitment to cases in a world where work a day component coverage is getting squeezed by so much other gear.
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
That comment just made my day. Thank you!ckryan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
You've been on a tear recently.arswihart - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
Looks like well cooled, quiet cases are finally becoming the norm. But, an ATX motherboard is overkill most of the time these days. I guess the case makers are just stuck in the past.stm1185 - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
That pretty much sums up my thoughts on this case. I was thinking NZXT had the best designers with the Phantom, then the H2, but then they put out this thing and its just so ugly in comparison.