Since NZXT's foray into the chassis scene in March 2004, the company has been making leaps and bounds of progress. Today we are looking at NZXT's second case, the Nemesis Elite. The Elite is NZXT's first aluminum case that sports a spacious window and three 120mm cooling fans.

Marketing Hype

Using the technique of die-casting, NZXT combines the aesthetics of brushed aluminum with design. The feeling of the plate is reminiscent of the plated armor on a knight. To accommodate high end gaming systems, the ELITE includes a LCD temperature fan controller with three blue 120mm fans to provide efficient cooling without increasing noise levels. To top off the looks, the Nemesis also has a seven color customizable LED and die-cast material all around the case.

Case Specifications

Case Interior

The case was packed nicely and no broken parts were found. On the top side of the case we find a backlit LCD display that shows temperature, date, time, and alarms for the computer. To the right of the LCD display is the top USB, Firewire, and sound jacks.

Here we have the spacious window that can peer into the entire aluminum chassis. As expected with a quality case, NZXT has installed a wire mesh filter to inhibit the amount of dust into the computer.

On the front of the case may appear to be the normal plastic latch to keep the door from opening, which in reality is not. NZXT employs a set of magnets seen to keep the door from inadvertently opening. During the review process, the magnets did not cause any noticeable magnetic interference. Another feature also noteworthy is the crescent moon-like button on the front of the panel which in fact acts as a power switch when the door is shut. On the top of the door is the hard drive activity light, which can provide a show when appropriately set up with the LCD screen.

Case Interior

Here we can see the motherboard area in addition to the internal and external bay areas. It is recommended to install the power supply and then the motherboard as the area in the designated PSU space is rather tight.

Above is the utility box for this case. A minor annoyance about the location of the box is it is dead in the middle. If you share the same ribbon for two hard drives, it would be next to impossible to go from top to bottom. If you were to put the box on the bottom to align the screw holes, it would defeat the purpose of having the fan cool the hard drives. If you were to move the box all the way up, there would be no screw holes to mount it, and if you were to flip it upside down there are no screw holes. It would be preferable if the metal was cut from top to bottom and allowed the user to configure how to setup the box.

Case in Action

Cooling Performance

Load was achieved through running Sisoft Sandra's burn in routine in conjunction with the Find-A-Drug distributed computing client loaded in the background. To record the temperatures, Abit's uGuru program was used to read the motherboard's integrated sensors.

Final Thoughts

The all aluminum construction made the NZXT Nemesis Elite feels so much lighter than its Guardian sibling while moving and during transport. There were some negatives that are worth mentioning about the Nemesis were the non-rounded edges in some points of the case that is a little rough to the skin. Also worth noting is the aforementioned comments about the utility box - more screw holes are needed, for those who like to keep everything in one spot within the case. The case's aluminum did feel soft, but is in no way that would affect the integrity of the case. However, because of this softness, the right side panel did get caught a few times and scratched the excellent paint job. Regardless, if properly handled with care, the Nemesis Elite case is definitely a worthwhile investment.

Pros: Aluminum construction LCD display Fan controller 120mm LED fans Cons: Awkward utility box Scratches easy

Overall Rating: 9.0/10 (higher is better) Manufacturer Info: Company: NZXT Pricing:    < $150.00