Intro

When I had decided to build my first computer about six months ago, a friend had told me that the good foundation of a computer is a good case. So, what better way to find a good case than to browse through the computer case reviews here at PimpRig? One of the finalists when my research was complete was, believe or not, the NZXT Guardian computer case review by the Lead Reviewer, BigAkita. For a pre-modded computer, it was certainly eye-catching. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I went with a different case for my project. It seemed that although it was a well-built case, there just wasn't that much a pimp could do with some imagination and a dremel.

Well, you can imagine my excitement when I was asked by BigAkita to do a review on NZXT's follow-up to the Guardian, the Nemesis. That excitement doubled during the conversation when I learned that I would not only be doing a review on the Nemesis, but also its big brother, the Nemesis Elite. Wow! It definitely felt like the Christmas season.

Specs

Since this is my first review as a staff member at PimpRig, I wanted to give it everything I've got. I jumped the gun by heading on over to the NZXT website to see exactly what I had in store for me. Right off the bat on their front page, I read where they have incorporated die-casting for the first time in the case industry. It appears that the NZXT folks were certainly doing their homework on the R&D side of the house. Not only would this increase the durable strength of the case but it would also usher in a new standard by using less rivets in a case design, something we all would like to see.

The website has a nice layout and I was able to find the product links in nothing flat. As a bonus, they also host a forum for their case owners. I browsed for a few hours and was really surprised at the level of support that the forum members have received from the NZXT support department. Going back to the product page, I selected to look at the Nemesis first to see what kind of baseline I was going to dealing with. Here are the specs from the NZXT website for the Nemesis:

- SCREWLESS DESIGN
- SECC Chassis
- FIRST EVER DIECAST STYLING THAT COMBIES THE ASTHETICS OF ALUMINUM WITH DESIGN: - FRONT PLATE, EXTERNAL POWER BUTTON; DOOR HINGE; SIDE PANEL FRAME
- TWO 12CM FANS FOR EFFICIENT SILENT COOLING AND VENTILATION
- EXTERNAL PORTS: USB 2.0, HEADPHONE JACK CONNECTION, MIC CONNECTION
- 10 DRIVE BAYS
- MAGNETIC CLOSING DOOR

NZXT Nemesis Specifications:

- MODEL NEMESIS SERIES
- CASE TYPE MID TOWER FULL SIZE STEEL CHASSIS
- DIMENSION (W x H x D) 200 X 430 X 451 mm
- COOLING SYSTEM FRONT 1 X 120 mm (Optional), REAR 1 X 120 mm, SIDE PANEL 1 X 120 mm BLUE LED FAN
- DRIVE BAYS 10 DRIVE BAYS
- 5 EXTERNAL 5.25" DRIVE BAYS
- 1 EXTERNAL 3.5 " DRIVE BAYS
- 4 INTERNAL 5.25" DRIVE BAYS
- SCREWLESS RAIL DESIGN
- MATERIAL 0.8 mm SECC STEEL CHASSIS
- EXPANSION SLOTS 7
- POWER SUPPLY 400 WATT PS2 ATX 12V ( OPTIONAL )
- WEIGHT 6.5 KGS
- SUPPORT MOTHERBOARDS ATX, MICRO-ATX, BABY AT, MiniATX

 

Not bad for a steel case. Plenty of room for your 5.25" add-ons; however, I was slightly disappointed to learn that you had only one external 3.5" drive bay. Normally, this would be taken up by use of a floppy drive; however, if you wanted to utilize a card reader, you would be limited to using one that would either fit in the 5.25" bay or you would have to use an adapter. Now, let's take a look at the Nemesis Elite.

- SIMPLE INSTALLATION THROUGH SCREWLESS RAIL DESIGN
- LIGHT 1.0 MM ALUMINUM CHASSIS
- CUSTOMIZABLE EYE 7 COLOR LED (BLUE, RED, GREEN, WHITE, PURPLE, TEAL, YELLOW)
- FIRST EVER DIECAST STYLING THAT COMBIES THE ASTHETICS OF ALUMINUM WITH DESIGN: - FRONT PLATE, EXTERNAL POWER BUTTON; DOOR HINGE; SIDE PANEL FRAME
- THREE 1800 RPM 12CM BLUE LED FANS FOR EFFICIENT SILENT COOLING AND VENTILATION
- LUXURY THERMAL METER FEATURING 3 X FAN CONTROL, 3 X TEMPERATURE DISPLAY, CLOCK AND DATE, CLOCK ALARM, TEMPERATURE ALARM
- EXTERNAL PORTS: USB 2.0, HEADPHONE JACK CONNECTION, MIC CONNECTION, 1394 FIREWIRE (OPTIONAL)
- 9 DRIVE BAYS
- MAGNETIC CLOSING DOOR

NZXT Nemesis Elite Specifications:

- MODEL NEMESIS SERIES
- CASE TYPE MID TOWER FULL SIZE ALUMINUM CHASSIS CASE
- DIMENSION (W x H x D) 205 X 436 X 450 mm
- COOLING SYSTEM FRONT 1 X 120 mm BLUE LED FAN, REAR 1 X 120 mm BLUE LED FAN, SIDE PANEL 1 X 120mm BLUE LED FAN
- DRIVE BAYS 9 DRIVE BAYS
- 4 EXTERNAL 5.25" DRIVE BAYS
- 2 EXTERNAL 3.5 " DRIVE BAYS
- 3 EXTERNAL 5.25" DRIVE BAYS
- SCREWLESS RAIL DESIGN
- MATERIAL 1.0 mm ALUMINUM CHASSIS
- EXPANSION SLOTS 7
- POWER SUPPLY 400 WATT PS2 ATX 12V ( OPTIONAL )
- WEIGHT 6.5 KGS
- SUPPORT MOTHERBOARD ATX, MICRO-ATX, BABY AT

Definitely not bad for an aluminum case. Unlike the Nemesis, it seems that more convenience was built into its bigger brother. They included a 120mm fan in the front panel in addition to having two of the 3.5" bays with external access. NOTE: After reviewing the case, unlike what the specs say, it appears the Nemesis Elite has 11 drive bays (4 External 5.25", 2 External 3.5", and 5 Internal 3.5").

Package

As my luck would have it, I received both cases from FedEx the night before I was to leave town on a holiday vacation for almost two weeks. With a sigh much like a little kid who has lost his favorite toy, I had only enough time to stack both boxes in my computer den before loading up and heading out of town to spend the holidays with my family back home. As much as I love my family, I counted the days before I was able to return to start my first review.

I sure don't know what I did to deserve this, but somehow I managed to land on the "Nice" list over at FedEx. Both boxes arrived with the normal slight amount of wear and tear to be expected when shipping with a courier service. The only damage of mild concern I could find was on the side of the Nemesis Elite box and even then, it wasn't anything to be that worried about. The boxes themselves seemed extra sturdy with its double corrugated thickness. After opening the boxes, they were both packaged the same way with the front panel facing upward with a piece of styrofoam protecting the top and bottom of the case, which was protected by a loose plastic bag. After removing both cases from their respective box, I examined them closely for any signs of damage from the shipping company. I did find a minor crack in the plexiglass on the Nemesis; however, that appeared to be from the manufacturer tightening one of the screws on the side fan a little too tight and it is hardly noticeable unless you are looking closely at it.

Unlike the Guardian, both the Nemesis and the Nemesis Elite arrived without any protective adhesive film on the plexiglass. This was a little surprising considering how much of the plexiglass is exposed over the Guardian. Inside the case of the Nemesis was your standard "bag-o-screws" that accompanies most cases along with a power cord (no power supply was included in this review unit) and rails inside a brown cardboard box and a case manual.

Opening the side of the Nemesis Elite was definitely a pleasant surprise as they had designed a plastic container box to hold the extra gear and to keep it from rolling around inside the case during shipping. It provided that "extra touch" to let you know that you just bought a quality case from a company that cares about the condition you receive your case in.

The manual provided with both the Nemesis and the Nemesis Elite are your basic run-of-the-mill manuals that typically accompany a computer case. For the builder that has built a computer or two, these won't ever get opened and wind up in a desk drawer somewhere for all eternity. For the first time computer builder that's still trying to figure out all the angles, these manuals will be of some small help. They do get some bonus points by showing you how they imprinted corresponding motherboard standoffs into the motherboard tray making it easier for you to install your motherboard (i.e., holes labeled A1 through A9 are for the ATX mobo standard). Unfortunately, the manuals fall short of being labeled as "extremely helpful" in that it lacks clear and concise instructions that a novice can easily understand.