NZXT Alpha Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Open Window

Pros: This case freakin rocks. It looks really really nice. It has a high quality black finish, nice accents, and a window to boot. Doesn't look or feel cheap in any way. Good ventilation with 3 120mm fans. Has plenty of drive bays for anything you need. CD drive covers look really nice and work perfectly. NO FRONT DOOR!! I hate cases with front doors, they're so annoying. This one is plain and simple and elegant. No cheesy frills or lights. Case seems sturdy, but is also pretty light. Plus for me. Tool less design works well.

Cons: front I/O ports are on the side? Kind of weird and annoying. Instruction manual is worthless, but not that big of a deal, even first time system builders should know how to do stuff, or at least look it up on the internet. Front fan grill is restrictive. Side fan should be placed lower to blow on the graphics card (8800 GTS), right now it blows right above mine, wish it blew right below it to put fresh air into the graphics card fan. You gotta figure out how to do the tool less design for yourself. Wish it was Aluminum instead of steal, but at this price, who cares.

Overall Review: Really a good case. Was expecting a cheap case, but was really surprised to get a case as high quality as this one at this price. Highly highly recommended.

Pros: High-gloss black finish is great, included fans move a respectable amound of air for being as quiet as they are. Ninja drive doors work great. All around a very solid case.

Cons: Some sharp steel inside but I got zero cuts during installation, just take it slow and you'll be fine. The hard drive mounting rack is non-removable and can't move at all as it is riveted to the main body, unfortunate but it serves its purpose.

Overall Review: Even though others have stated that you cannot put a full-size 120mm fan in the front, you actually can. It takes quite a bit of force and a little bit of bending to both the fan and the front grille that the fan mounts to, this bending is not permanent... if you are gentle. Also, when my case arrived some of the tabs that hold the window in place were not bent down enough or at all in some places, not a big deal but just check it when you get the case and bend them so they hold the window in securely.

Pros: 1) Attractive gloss black w/ simple, clean elegant front panel feat. lighted trim. Side window & 2 flip-down "stealth" 5.25" bay covers. 2) Above average cooling w/1 rear 120mm fan, 1 side 120mm blue LED fan and spot for 1 up to 120mm front fan. Fans are fairly quiet. Large airflow openings. 3) Mostly tool-less design. Includes enough clips for all drive bays. 4) Spacious enough for larger CPU coolers (120mm Sunbeam cooler doesn't quite clear side fan). Ample drive bays. 5) Solid construction, quality material used, very good fit and finish. 6) USB, audio & ESATA ports mounted on side of front panel. Audio includes HD & AC97 connectors. 7) Many nice details such as rubber bumpers on corners & true rubber feet. Very few sharp edges. 8) Truly exceptional value for the price (once rebate arrives, I will have paid $30 shipped on sale, how does Newegg do it?).

Cons: 1) Finish doesn't hide scratches. Virtually impossible to find gloss black drives, readers, etc. to match. 2) Front-most ATX holes don't line-up w/motherboard, had to use cut-down nylon standoffs. 3) Would have liked front FireWire port. 4) Two more "stealth" and one more plain 5.25" covers would be fantastic. 5) Removable MB tray would be nice. 6) Feet attached w/adhesive, would have preferred mechanical attachment. 7) One of the rubber corner bumpers kept falling off & was eventually lost. 8) Not personally a fan of lights & windows, but whatever--it won't be mine for long.

Overall Review: I was putting together a gaming build to sell & jumped at this case when I saw the sale on it. Great case for this type of build. Per the norm w/Newegg, it arrived quickly & in good condition. With it's spaciousness & (mostly) tool-less design, things proceeded quickly. The only hiccup (& the one thing that kept it from getting 5 eggs) was the front-most ATX standoff holes not lining-up w/ the MB. I believe this to be a defect w/the case or it's design, as opposed to the MB. Luckily, I had some spare nylon standoffs, so I cut the mounting tabs off the bottoms & just have them rest against the MB tray. I doubt most people would be so lucky. Once completed, it looked great--tasteful & elegant (despite the window & lights). The clear acrylic trim around the front panel is a nice accent & also serves as the power & HDD LEDS. Overall, I'm very impressed w/this case. It's rugged, well designed, attractive, easy to work with & affordable. Recommended, even at full pri

Pros: Good case for price after rebates. Simple to install drives.

Cons: Poor packaging design caused transit damage to front bezel. Wound up reordering another of these rather than wait for RMA to process. Sent an email inquiry in to NZXT to see if bezel could be sent out rather than return the case and almost 3 weeks later there has been no response.

Overall Review: I'm a big fan of positive customer service experience and I think NZXT dropped the ball. Other than the additional wait, I'm not out of pocket for anything (after the RMA clears). Newegg covered the cost of the return. In the long run however, this costs us all as the "free" returns cost is eventually passed along to the the consumer as price increases etc.

Pros: - compatibility on this case was good - nice and affordable - quiet but yet cools the components very well

Cons: - when the case arrived and i opened it the window had a the protective rap when i took it off i saw alot of scratches and fingerprints on it

Pros: The paint is not flat. It has a shiny, appealing look. The included hard drive mounts were easy to use and proved effective in keeping my hard drive stable. The case came with two media drive covers which was a great relief. It gives the case a consistent style. The side connections are nice to have. I am always using them. The two included fans are fairly silent. The blue side fan is quite bright.

Cons: The only reason I didn't give this five eggs is because of the HD bay. Getting the 6 pin power cable connected to my graphics card was a PAIN. I had to cut back some plastic protective coating from the wires to make it work. This was using the ATI 4850. If you have a shorter graphics card this probably won't be an issue. However, today's cards tend to all be long.

Overall Review: I am satisfied with the case for the most part. Just take into consideration how close to the hard drive bay your 6 pin connector for your graphics card will come. It could be a problem.

Pros: It's pretty roomy (fits my GeForce 9800GT no problem), and the fans are whisper quiet. I love how the front bezel covers up the optical drives -- very nice. Installation of drives is extremely quick and simple once you figure it out. Sideways HDD mounting so the cables don't pose a problem to the adjacent motherboard.

Cons: There were a couple of plastic shards hanging on to where the holes were tooled out for the front ports (audio, USB, eSATA; which are actually located on the side) but I just pulled them off and you can't even tell they were there. Not a big deal.

Overall Review: There is very little documentation on the screwless drive mounts, but it's not that hard to figure out. Even so: both sides of the case must be removed to instal optical drives. Remove front piece from bezel, push drive in from the front. Line it up where the button on the bezel easily presses the button on the drive, and then attach the screwless mounts. The knob on the mounts must be horizontal when attaching them to the drive bay; you then place it so that the two little grabber things on the mount insert themselves into the screwholes on the drive, then you just twist the knob on the mount, locking it in place (make sure the fin for the knob is on the other side of the drive bay wall though).

Pros: First off, the case looks great. I really like that its really sleek but has the LED to add a new age look. Instalation was very easy for just about all the parts once I figured out that you had to take the face plate off to get the CD drive in. Love this Case.

Cons: Only thing i would have liked is more detailed instructions in the manuall. it was really limited.

Overall Review: The airflow through the case is really good and it keeps all my componets below normal running temp.