NZXT ZERO 2 Crafted Series CS-NT-ZERO-2 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

Nice case

Reviewed By: Amish on 2/4/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Sleek styling. Nice black finish. Very good cooling with extra fans installed. Solid hinges for the door. Fairly solid 'plastic' door. Two strong magnets keep it closed very well. Very roomy internal area. HDD cage mounted sideways allows for easier HDD installs and removals. 7 slots for 120mm fans and two slots for 80mm fans. Front intake has a screen filter and so does the bottom 80mm intake. USB, eSATA and Audio inputs on the top of the case and away from the power button is a plus.
Internal sheet metal has all the edges folded. Very nice touch.

I painted the gray sheet metal flat black and it looks like a $200 case now compared to it's $99 value. It's amazing what a little paint will do.

Cons: 7 fan slots and only 3 fans supplied? Bummer. Luckily I had 3 extra 120mm fans laying around.
Nzxt placed the top 80mm air hole too close to the PSU slot. This means that if you install an 80mm fan that you will have to remove the fan to remove the PSU. Not to mention 80mm fans tend to make more noise so maybe Nzxt should have considered a 120mm opening on top. As it is I will not be using a fan here.
Plastic front door when opened isn't very attractive. Power button behind the door; I'd prefer it outside of the door so I don't have to open it every time.
No cable management options at all. I am forced to place extra cabbles in the drive bay area. Considering this is a full tower Nzxt should have designed in better cable management options.
The HDD cage has no opening on the back of it which means you can not place the drives in with the cables towards the rear and you are instead forced to have the cables face the front of the bay. No hiding the cables from view is a bummer.

Other Thoughts: I like this case a lot. but at the same time I realize this case could be so much more. As bargain cases go this exceeds my expectations but compared to other quality name brands I'm disappointed. Cooling options are good but not providing all the fans means that cooling is not nearly as good as it could be. The front intake is heavily restricted due to the HDD cage design and even the front plastic panel. To off set this you must install fans on the side door. But they failed to provide any.
Fit and finish is very nice though and atleast having the options for better cooling is a big plus. This case is quite roomy and attractive and because it meets 98% of my needs I will give it 4 eggs. I knew what I was buying so I can't punish Nzxt for the lack of fans.I would have given this case 5 eggs if it had any sort of cable management options. I subtract 1 egg because they made hiding my un-needed cables very hard.

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Reviewed By: Brick Walker on 7/7/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 week to 1 month

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Its huge. Has cool blue lights. Comes with 3 fans; one is right over the HDDs (dunno if this is common, but i think its cool...) the other two are on the back panel and blows right into the motherboard. There are 4 extra fan ports (120mm) on the side panel--the one to open the computer, so idk if that'll be a pain since I haven't installed any yet--and one 80mm on the top.
Front panel locks with a magnet and cuts down on the noise of the disk drives by alot. Also, the door actually stays open and doesn't annoyingly swing back and close on you.

Cons: The audio cable is a bit too short. It reaches...but just barely. If you have some expansion cards they will definately be in the way of the wire...and since you need all the slack you can get, it might mean you lose a PCI slot.
Useless green LED burns my eyes when I have the lights in my room off.

Other Thoughts: Power button blends in with the front panel when not on. I like it....

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This is a sexy case!

Reviewed By: BIOS HazarD on 11/16/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

Pros: This thing is so sleek and has buttons in all the right places. I was able to get some great cable management out of it as the entire back side is available for running cable. This case is BIG

Overall I am quite pleased :)

Cons: I have no idea what color the surface with the NZXT badge on it is. This isn't really a con, but I am a little confused, the color has nothing to do with the rest of the case.

Other Thoughts: Specs:
i5 750
DDR3-2000
9800 GTX+
Corsair 650W

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Fairly quiet case, good deal for price

Reviewed By: SZel on 10/8/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: The case gave me what I wanted--a good size setup with decent airflow and side-loading hard-drive bays. Not bad looking either, and the extra fan slots are nice (haven't installed the extra 120mm fans on the side yet, but plan to soon).

Cons: The door closes really hard and loud, the magnet closer there just slams it shut unless you're careful. The top 80mm fan slot should have been an inch further toward the front of the case--my 750W power supply makes it so I am just 1/8" short of being able to properly install a fan there.

Other Thoughts: Others have mentioned no cable management options, and this is true but I don't consider it to be a real con. The cables from the top ports of the case will make it to the ports on your motherboard, you just need to keep them toward the back side so they pass behind your video card. Having the power supply at the top is kinda screwy (my last two cases have had them at the bottom) and I was unable to install my DVD burner on the top slot due to the cables from my PSU. Installed it about 4 slots down--oh well at least there are options on this case. :)

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Nice case

Reviewed By: Benny on 10/2/2009

Tech Level: somewhat high - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

This user purchased this item from Newegg

Pros: Great case and great space for the cash. This would be perfect for someone like me who prefers air cooling over water cooling. It also has a tough and top of the line kind of feeling. Taller than i expected. Plenty of room for a server or a burner.

Cons: No place to hide the wires. also the front fan is usless since it has to go through 4 peices of metal just to cool. I would like it to come with 7 fans instead of 3...

Other Thoughts: Great case and perfect for a Real gamer who want the nice things. this is one of those things that people would get for good specs rather than good looks. i love it!

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