WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:07.759 NCXT has come so far. The original 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:09.840 Phantom was an okay plastic case. Its 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:14.639 successor, the Phantom 530, is still made of plastic and still has that kind 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:24.080 of retro Alienwareesque look, but it is so much more than okay. 00:00:24.080 --> 00:00:30.960 With its factory tuning and data center DNA, an Intel 730 series SSD is an 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:35.440 amazing choice for gamers and performance enthusiasts, which doesn't 00:00:33.360 --> 00:00:39.680 make it immune to criticism. I'm aware of the cost benefits of using hard 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:44.320 packing foam, but this is how my case arrived. Hard foam is good for one solid 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:48.800 impact, then will be destroyed by a subsequent one. Fortunately, this one 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:53.039 only got hit once, so the case arrived in perfect condition. At least that hard 00:00:50.879 --> 00:00:55.920 foam is nice and thick. The manual is pretty good and has an extremely 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:59.680 detailed list of all the parts included with the case and their purposes. This 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:02.960 is something a lot of manufacturers miss and it helps out novice builders a lot. 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:06.560 And I also noticed when going through the included items that it comes with a 00:01:04.559 --> 00:01:10.240 ton of zip ties. With most manufacturers, it feels like they 00:01:08.320 --> 00:01:14.320 include them just to make sure they can tick off the marketing bullet point. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:18.320 NZXT seems to actually intend for you to cable manage your system with them. 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:21.600 Kudos there. External features of this case are pretty straightforward. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:25.280 Aesthetically, they've updated the lines and curves in a way that I find more 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:29.360 pleasing. And they've added a shaped side panel window that I appreciate as 00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:34.479 well. Functionality-wise, they've added an eighth PCI slot, and implemented 00:01:31.520 --> 00:01:39.200 their signature rear LED illumination to make plugging things into the back much 00:01:36.479 --> 00:01:44.159 easier. On the top, we find a 30 W fan controller, front audio, and front USB 3 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:47.840 ports. Then tucked away behind the solid feeling front door, we've got three five 00:01:46.320 --> 00:01:52.640 and a quarter inch bays that use a pretty clever release lever system and a 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:57.920 reset switch that's both easy to get to and impossible to hit by accident. 00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:03.040 Moving inside, sort of. Let's talk liquid cooling options. The Phantom 530 00:02:00.399 --> 00:02:08.319 has strong water cooling support. Triple 120 or dual 140 in the top, dual 120 in 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:12.480 the front, dual 120 in the bottom. So, of course, I used an AIO liquid cooler 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:17.200 for my test build. First impressions of the rad mounting in the top were strong. 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:22.480 The very open mesh up here is great for air flow and an opportunity for accent 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:26.239 lighting with LED fans, or you can just put black in there to not draw attention 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:31.680 to them. Then things got a little bit rougher. The fans or the radiator need 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:36.319 to go in the hump up here at the top of the case to avoid clearance issues with 00:02:33.760 --> 00:02:40.720 the motherboard, but the top bezel to access the top fans is very difficult to 00:02:38.720 --> 00:02:44.239 remove. After some persistence and force, I got my first look at the 00:02:42.480 --> 00:02:48.160 extremely flexible fan mounting points on the top though, and it kind of made 00:02:46.160 --> 00:02:53.599 it worthwhile. I actually don't remember who started this trend, but using slits 00:02:50.720 --> 00:02:58.879 instead of holes is a great inclusion for water cooling efficiados. And this 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:03.360 system saved my bacon here because I hate moving optical drives below the top 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:08.080 mounting position. So, I needed my RAD in the very, very back position at the 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:12.319 back of the case. Managing the radiator fan connectors down to the integrated 00:03:09.760 --> 00:03:16.080 fan controller is a treat. NZXT strategically avoids openings in the top 00:03:14.720 --> 00:03:21.360 of the motherboard tray where they're not needed. So, it's very clean looking 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:26.000 in theory. Unfortunately, the built-in fan controller, which supports 10 fans 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:33.280 or 30 watts max, whichever comes first, is DC only and not DC only, like four 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:37.440 pin PWM fans will be DC controlled, like the plugs are too close together to use 00:03:35.440 --> 00:03:41.840 four pin fans and they physically won't fit unless you get adapters. Also, the 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:46.000 included extension cables would need to be chopped up to work with a four pin 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:50.080 fan. But don't interpret that as me hating the integrated fan controller. I 00:03:48.239 --> 00:03:54.799 wish it was a little bit more flexible, but its weaknesses affected my build 00:03:52.319 --> 00:04:00.480 very little. And when it is usable, it is a fantastic value ad that comes with 00:03:57.519 --> 00:04:04.799 the case. And it gets better. I love how it and all the other front panel stuff 00:04:02.959 --> 00:04:09.760 are pre-wired into the case and pre-cable managed. But there's even an 00:04:07.519 --> 00:04:13.200 extra bonus. I've been saying for a long time that we should be using twist ties 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:17.440 instead of zip ties for cable management. It's just a little bit less 00:04:15.519 --> 00:04:21.359 plastic to throw away every time because they're reusable. And that's exactly 00:04:19.280 --> 00:04:25.520 what NZXT is using, which is great because unlike a zip tied method where 00:04:24.080 --> 00:04:31.280 I'd have to cut them all, and then throw them all away, and completely reable manage it anyway when I build my system, 00:04:28.960 --> 00:04:35.440 this way I can open them up, add a few more cables as needed, close them back 00:04:32.960 --> 00:04:39.840 up, reroute things, and all of that without having to even break into the 00:04:37.840 --> 00:04:45.040 zip ties that come with the case. Awesome. Speaking of cable management, 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:48.639 it's the strongest point of this case in my opinion. The rubber grommets 00:04:46.880 --> 00:04:51.680 internally are improved over older designs. They're harder to accidentally 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:56.320 knock out when running cables through them due to 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:59.680 due to the deeper channels around the edges. I'm just going to keep going. 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:04.880 There's ample cable management for the 24 pin and more behind the mobile tray, 00:05:02.400 --> 00:05:08.880 which is quite strong actually in spite of its oversized CPU cutout for easy 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:14.560 cooler installation. And then also back here we find a ton of cable loops for 00:05:11.919 --> 00:05:18.639 pinning everything down nice and flat. And we also find what is still my 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:22.960 favorite system for a traymounted SSD. Corsair spring loaders are a lot faster 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:27.199 to use, but they just don't feel as robust, especially with slimmer drives. 00:05:25.440 --> 00:05:31.199 Not that it really matters. SSDs aren't fragile, just a personal preference 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:34.880 thing. Onto the rest of the inside. The tall case feet combined with the little 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:39.759 support pillars that keep your power supply raised up a little bit are, in my 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:44.560 opinion, a great feature. It means that the PSU isn't necessarily drawing in all 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:49.680 fresh cool air through the filtered bottom intake, but it also can't 00:05:47.520 --> 00:05:53.280 suffocate from being installed on a thick carpet. And as someone who 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:58.000 accidentally killed a power supply that way once, it's a trade-off that I'll 00:05:55.039 --> 00:06:04.560 take. Drive mounting is great. The 5 and a/4 inch bays use a totally overbuilt 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:06.880 steel design. And I love the 321 hard 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:10.880 drive cage configuration. You can stack up from the bottom, stack down from the 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:14.880 top, or fill the whole thing to put in up to six drives wherever you want. Or 00:06:13.039 --> 00:06:19.360 you can remove the bottom mounting entirely and put rads on the front and 00:06:16.960 --> 00:06:24.080 the bottom. Very nice. Now, I don't understand though why the 3 and 1/2 in 2 00:06:21.919 --> 00:06:29.039 and 1/2 in cages slide in from the right side. That means I have to take off both 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:33.759 side panels whenever I'm upgrading a drive. Now, arguably, most people will 00:06:31.440 --> 00:06:38.639 take off both anyway since it makes cable management a lot easier. But if 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:42.479 I'm in a hurry, I can just run it through and not bother. And if I'm a 00:06:40.960 --> 00:06:45.600 good builder, when I build my system in the first place, I could leave those 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:49.280 cables in the right place for myself. So, if I could slide the cage in from 00:06:47.280 --> 00:06:54.080 this side, I would only have to take off one panel. Honestly though, that's one 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:58.240 of the only ease of use complaints I have about the case. The pre-installed 00:06:55.919 --> 00:07:02.880 motherboard standoffs, thumb screw heavy design, and safe rounded internal 00:07:00.080 --> 00:07:06.880 corners make the case a really, really easy one to build in. And it looks 00:07:04.880 --> 00:07:10.400 great, too. The finish and color matching between the plastic and painted 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:16.000 steel has improved a lot since the first Phantom I looked at. And if I had to 00:07:12.880 --> 00:07:18.000 complain about the looks, um, I guess 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:20.960 the fan mount on the side panel hurts the overall aesthetic a little bit for 00:07:19.520 --> 00:07:26.560 me. And I don't really feel like it's going to cool these drives much better anyway. Likely it's only useful if 00:07:24.400 --> 00:07:30.800 you've installed that weird uh hinged fan thing that's kind of like a spot 00:07:28.080 --> 00:07:34.639 cool to point at your graphics card. Um, another thing I don't really feel like 00:07:32.960 --> 00:07:38.960 ruining the looks of my system over. But that's about all I can find to gripe 00:07:36.400 --> 00:07:43.520 about. So, I guess all that's left is to give this case a hearty recommendation. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:46.160 The Phantom 530 is a great case. It's a bit older now, so I'm probably not the 00:07:45.039 --> 00:07:52.319 first reviewer to come to this conclusion, but better late than never, 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:54.879 I hope. Right, guys? Uh, thanks for watching. Don't forget to like this 00:07:53.440 --> 00:08:00.479 video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it. Leave a comment letting us know if you have any feedback on the 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:06.639 video or if you just did the your hatred for me or the Phantom 530 or the sound 00:08:03.039 --> 00:08:08.160 of my voice or the way that I have two 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:12.800 arms that come out like this or whatever. You can leave a comment and let us know. We do actually read most of 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:15.280 the comments on our videos. If you want to support us, we always appreciate 00:08:14.080 --> 00:08:18.800 that, too. There's a link in the video description. You can buy a cool t-shirt 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:22.000 like this one. 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