NZXT Phantom 820 CA-PH820-W1 White Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Pros: I have installed a custom liquid cooling kit in this case and everything fit perfectly.

Cons: None

Pros: Aesthetically pleasing. Sharp angles and rounded edges. Definitely a conversation piece. Plenty of room, and build experience was very easy. Steel cabinet was very solid, and did not bend (with exception of the side panels). Cable routing is very well done. Airflow was more than adequate, and the inside of the case was cool throughout operation. Plenty of fan configurations, and stock fans were of adequate size and pulled plenty of air into and out of the case. Fan filters are some of the best I've ever seen on a case, and do what filters should do, which is trap dust and keep it out of your case.

Cons: The disappointment began when the bottom front fan filter fastener switch broke during the first two weeks of ownership; however, it didn't pose much of a problem as the filter fit quite snug into the cabinet.

The second instance occurred on removal of the optical drive in order to remove the front panel filter. Pieces of the panel came apart around the housing of the optical player. Again, it didn't seem to pose a significant problem, as the player wasn't any worse for wear, and there didn't seem to be a gap worth noticing.

Yet another instance was the front lower corners of both side panels would warp, and not fit in-line with the side of the case. Indeed, the corners would have to be bent back, or else a very sharp metal edge would protrude on the corner. Several times, these corners had to be bent back down by rolling them inward. The side panels never seemed to create a good seal from the moment the case was taken out of the box, and this was very disappointing.

The final straw came when the fan controller failed. None of the case fans turned. I unplugged the rear fan first, and then upon power up, the fans turned again. Shutting down the computer and plugging the rear fan to the controller immediately caused failure for all fans upon system power up. Fan controller is not stable and all of the lights were blinking very dimly, and flashing faintly. I found no shorts in the wire, and the connections appeared to be snug. I'm perplexed as to why this issue occurred at all.

Other Thoughts: My experience with this case has ended in disappointment. It is clear that a lot of careful planning went into the case, and accessories. The little case with all of the case screws and such was a very nice touch. The case is very nice to look at, and when it works, it does a very good job.

I'd like to think the case design is adequate, but what is clear, is that while the structural areas of the case are strong, they are strong; and, conversely, where they are weak, it's weak.

While I love the case, I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this case. I will be reticent to recommend NZXT to anyone who asks of my experience with one of their cases. I certainly hope others are not having the issues I've had.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear CosmicBistro,

We deeply apologize for the numerous difficulties you've had using the Phantom case. Have you been able to contact our support Helpdesk at URL: http://nzxt.com/support to receive assistance with those broken parts? Please know that we are always here to help you make the best use of your case, and are happy to send you the parts that you need replacing. If you haven't done so already, please do contact us and one of our customer service representatives will be happy to assist you with your issues.

Please let us know at anytime of any questions.

Sincerely,
NZXT. Staff

Pros: Big, good air flow, nice look.

Cons: After have the case for a couple months my LEDs don't even turn on. I have been tring to fix the wiring but I can't. I wish I could fix it but the wiring is bad.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

We would like to apologize for any inconvience we cause you in regards of your faulty leds on your Phantom case. We would like to find you a solution to your problem so please do not bother rewiring if this is faulty and save yourself from getting shocked. Visit our support center now at www.nzxt.com/support open and submit a ticket with us or contact us at 1-800-228-9395 so we can discuss on how we can replace this part for you. We appreciate your patience and your continued support with NZXT!


Cheers,
NZXT Support

Pros: I've had a HAF-X for the past two years, and done water cooling... had to make multiple modifications to make room for two Swiftech pumps, and and extra hole in the back for tubing. This case is going to make things so incredibly simple.

The build quality both in structure and paint/aesthetics is second to none. I've had a lot of cases in my day, everything from the HAF to other Cooler master models etc. This is lightyears beyond the HAF-X in my opinion, especially for a water build like I've had for the past few years.

This also has multiple sets of LED color lights, this is great, so I'm not stuck in one color scheme! Personally plan on using the White Phantom, and do an airbrushed Storm Trooper theme.

Also has an organization box of extra screws and zip ties for additional modding, these folks thought of everything.

Cons: Nothing yet, other than, I wish the manual was more comprehensive.

Other Thoughts: It's well worth the price, can't wait to get my gear in this thing!

Pros: Plenty of room for an ASRock OC Formula MB, Corsair H100i water cooler, 2 SSDs, and 4 HDDs, GTX 690, GTS 450. Fan control is great, lighting is perfect. I love this case! Don't listen to the haters out there saying this is expensive.. it's worth it. Do yourself a favor and pick this case up and enjoy the room you'll have.

Cons: The hard drive trays should have more rigidity but you're not going to move this case around.

Pros: This chassis and LED's look very nice. There is a lot of room to work with and cable management is a breeze. Everything stays cool with the stock fans even after a few hours of straight gaming, plus changing the fan speeds on the controller is effortless. Every screw/part and zip-ties are included in a nifty box which is pretty sweet.

Cons: I only have a couple of complaints. The first is that the headphone jack is to close to the power button so if you have the computer at eye level its pretty easy to accidentally hit the button. Secondly the side door is a little hard to get on and off. It may be because mine got slightly dented in the shipping process but either way its not worth taking a egg rating off. I only remove it once a month or so for some basic cleaning since the filters catch most of the dirt anyway.

Other Thoughts: When you first open the case all the wires can look intimidating but the manual is labeled and has pictures so it is a pretty painless assembly. I would recommend this product in a heart beat.

Pros: I wrote the 2 star review of this case under name 'Man Who Cares'. Since then I got in contact with NZXT and their customer Service was outstanding. They sent me a new bottom filter since mine arrived broken and they took my input about the Flimsy HDD/SDD brackets.

Because of this I Now give this a 5 star. Best case I have ever owned.

Cons: -This thing needs to make me coffee :)

Pros: bought this for a water cooling setup, the case itself can support a 360 rad up top and a dual on the bottom. the case can fit all of my components with ease and has plenty of space given for cable mgmt. the fan controller in this thing is beastly, I believe the controller can run 12 fans or more if I'm wrong. lighting is nice as well with the color changer. and the top of it has plenty of USB ports.

Cons: can't set up 240 rad on bottom w/o removing the HDD rack on the bottom. with that said, idk what the plan was with those racks, the hdds will slide out easily if you're not really gentle and the racks are designed at an angle which I'm guessing was the save cable space but it just kind of seems rather unnecessary. like another user said, fan filter on it can be a pain to get to.

Other Thoughts: I5 2500k @4.9
gtx 590 w/xspc block

I originally bought a cm cosmos, but the power button on it died. this was a good alternative to that case and I got mine for 199. I have owned many cases and this is by far the best I've seen minus the HDD bay. if you're water cooling this is a solid buy, if you're not, just get the smaller phantom, its the same thing.

Pros: Great Airflow Design
Spacial
Aesthetically pleasing to the eye
Ease of use
Easy cable management
Comes with extra component mounting hardware

Cons: Price

Other Thoughts: If you are looking for the flagship of computer towers, this is it. Unfortunately, with it comes a price. If you have the extra cash on hand, this is where to spend it, you wont be dissappointed. If you are worried about your components getting too hot, just pop in extra fans (there are plenty of fan mounting spots), and an aftermarket CPU cooler (which will have 1 or more fans as well). All together, I have 11 fans total in this case, and all fans can be controlled from controllers that I mounted in 2 of the drive bays. I run a 130W I7 processor and its an icebox in there... Keeps my CPU temp at 28C at full load.

Pros: -Led lite with HUe adjustment
-Plenty of room
-Good airflow
-Superior Cable management

Cons: It states in the Overview "Easily removable filters located in the top, front, side, and bottom" This is completly wrong. Yes they are all removable but only the bottome ones are. The side filter you have to take off the fan to get to filter(Screw driver). The top filters you need to completly remove top of case(Hard to do with locations of catches) and the fans.

The front filter you must also completly remove front panel to get to the filter.

The HDD/SSD drives(once mounted on the brackets) don't click into place properly. and will slide out.

Other Thoughts: I bought this strckly for Room, Filters and cable management.

I needed all easy access filters because where I live dust is an issue.

If you make a case with filters you should make sure that you can get to every single one with ease, Should never envolve a screw driver or completly removing top and front of case.

Should have stuck with my HafX

Manufacturer Response:

Hi. Thanks for leaving feedback for us. I'm glad you like the integrated HUE lighting, airflow and cable management.

I can appreciate how you feel about the filter. What we felt during design was that the filters that collected dust most (like the two facing the ground) were designed to be very easily removable and cleaned. We found that while the front and top filters were less accessible, the panels they reside behind added Phantom's overall structural integrity.

I've had your feedback forwarded to our product team for consideration.
If you have other thoughts you would like to share, don't hesitate to contact me directly: tuan.nguyen @ nzxt.com

/ Tuan N
Customer Service Director