Straight after CES 2012 I headed off to Sweden and didn’t have time to get a lot of my write ups done, but I spent a good amount of time with game companies while at CES so it’s time to share some of what you can expect in PC and gaming hardware this year.
Phantom 410
This mid-tower was launched in December 2011. NZXT did a poll on facebook for favorite color combinations and the winning colors were then created: White with blue highlights (like clone troopers), black with white highlights (similar to Darth Vader’s wingmen) and black with red highlights (think Darth Maul).
The door on the front gives access to the drive bays so that you can install and access them. The shapes are a step away from the standard oblong,straight line deals. A few curves and non-right angles make the cases look far more interesting visually than the cases that are often pushed out en masse without thoughts on changing the standard shape.
The case highlights are nice in that they’re not so flashy and overdone that they detract from the overall aesthetics of the case design. The gloss finish gives it some visual pop and combined with the fact that the back portion of the top has an angled rise to it, means you won’t be resting your drink on it any time soon. The new Phantom also features windowed side panels and plenty of space inside to house all the necessary components of a full-powered gaming rig including two hard drive bays (8 total slots) and a three slot optical bay.
| MODEL |
Phantom 410 |
| CASE TYPE |
Mid Tower Steel |
| FRONT PANEL MATERIAL |
Plastic |
| DIMENSIONS (W x H x D) |
215 x 516 X 532 mm |
VGA Clearance Maximum
|
305mm (w/o fan), 280mm (installed), 230mm (full pivot) |
| COOLING SYSTEM |
FRONT, 2x120mm or 1 X 140mm (1x120mm included)
REAR, 1 X 120mm (included)
SIDE, 1 x 120mm or 1 x 140mm
TOP, 2 X 120/140mm (1 x 140mm included)
|
| DRIVE BAYS |
3 EXTERNAL 5.25" DRIVE BAYS
6 INTERNAL 3.5" Slots
Screwless Rail Design |
| MATERIAL(S) |
Steel |
| EXPANSION SLOTS |
7 |
| WEIGHT |
9 kg |
| MOTHERBOARD SUPPORT |
ATX, MICRO-ATX, MINI-ITX |
They were also showing off a Blade Runner mod made by Bill from MNPCTech using one of their cases.
Also on display was a Blade Runner mod featuring some pretty cool details like the police symbols over the top fan grates and the dragon tattoo as a cutout over the back fans. So when you put it near the wall the dragon casts its shadow onto it. The etched glass window features the shield of the Los Angeles police department circa 2019 and a few bullets are embedded in the cracked clear window with shattered bits of a blue one as well. The opposite side features an airbrushed scene of LA in 2019.
