NZXT Tempest 410 Elite: Jack of All Trades
by Dustin Sklavos on September 1, 2011 3:20 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- NZXT
Conclusion: A Case of Misplaced Priorities
Anand and Ryan have both said before that there are no bad products, only bad prices. To an extent I agree, and certainly I wouldn't classify NZXT's Tempest 410 Elite as a bad product. What I would classify it as is an okay product marred by a series of poor design decisions and unfavorable trade-offs.
As a whole, I'm not 100% certain what NZXT was going for with the Tempest 410 Elite. The press release argues that the case is designed for aggressive overclockers, but I'll tell you right now, I have a case in house that blows it out of the water on nearly every metric for just $10 more, and that's ignoring the slightly-fugly-but-extremely-practical In-Win BUC.
The minor problems are thus: the USB ports on the front should've been split between two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0, end of story, and why they were arranged the way they were mystifies me. If money was somehow saved here by doing three USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0, that money should've been taken out of some other aspect of the case. The hard drive cage also should be rotated 90 degrees with the connectors facing behind the motherboard tray, improving cooling and ease of use and preventing NZXT from having to put together the kind of fan-removal system they have to begin with. Doing so may obstruct the intake fans a little bit more, but it also increases clearance between the cage and any expansion cards and improves cabling tremendously.
My major problem has to do with the 240mm mounting system in the top of the enclosure. I've seen this on other enclosures in this price range, but here the implementation is particularly poor. If you haven't installed a radiator into the Tempest 410 Elite, that massive open space is basically just a huge window for noise to spill out. I don't think it's worth the sacrifice at all; the Tempest 410 Elite is an $89 case (and the Tempest 410 is just $79), and anyone who cuts corners on their enclosure and then buys a 240mm radiator and water-cooling kit is either a boutique looking to cut costs anywhere they can or an enthusiast who deserves exactly what they paid for. The former is wasting their time outside of hitting a marketing checkbox (cheap gaming system with water-cooling!) while the latter needs to seriously reconsider their build.
Don't mistake me: I like the Tempest 410 and 410 Elite's aesthetics, and they're certainly reasonably priced. But I do think there are better choices to be made out there, even for builders on a budget. We're in an era now where powerful computers don't have to be noisy, and there are better options out there than the Tempest 410.
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Shinobisan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
I'm seriously looking at the Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T case.Seems to have everything I want, but I would really like to see a good review on it before buying. Any chance y'all could get your hands on one?
bobbozzo - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4028/corsair-graphit...I think the only difference with the Special Edition is the window and possibly the fan controller.
BTW, I helped my friend build a system with the Corsair 600T, and I have an Antec P182.
The Corsair is much wider, but I'm not sure that it has any functional advantages over the Antec, other than bigger fans.
Shinobisan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
Yep, that works.Malih - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
the way front USB ports is laid out on 600T makes it easier to use multiple ports in case you plug something.bigger backplate opening.
easily removable front+top dust filter.
Although I kindof wish the fan RPM on 600T control is a volume control instead.
There's also the P183.
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
I like the looks of the Corsair 600T, but for performance and acoustics I actually still have to give the nod to Rosewill's Thor v2 at roughly the same price (if not a bit cheaper). If you don't mind the aesthetics, the Thor v2 will run cooler at roughly the same noise level.ckryan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
Samsung's BD drives - they seriously make any case look good with their mirrored tray and a piano-finished glossy black which looks anything but chintzy. Optical drives are largely forgettable affairs, but its hard to ignore the aesthetics. I could get by with a $20 DVD combo, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I paid several times as much just for a better looking BD drive. It looks especially good with black aluminum enclosures, but does seem to class up cheaper plastic cases as well.
I actually broke the sata connector on mine, buy RMAing it was painless as well, which always counts for something in my book.
Dustin's reviews are some of the best anywhere, and I like the commitment to cases in a world where work a day component coverage is getting squeezed by so much other gear.
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
That comment just made my day. Thank you!ckryan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
You've been on a tear recently.arswihart - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
Looks like well cooled, quiet cases are finally becoming the norm. But, an ATX motherboard is overkill most of the time these days. I guess the case makers are just stuck in the past.stm1185 - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
That pretty much sums up my thoughts on this case. I was thinking NZXT had the best designers with the Phantom, then the H2, but then they put out this thing and its just so ugly in comparison.