NZXT Panzerbox Case Review

Both sides of the case offer little more than the large mesh vents seen here on the right side.  The mesh panel is large and placed so the air can get to the under side of the most common CPU locations.  Both sides are attached by matching black thumb screws.

The back of the Panzerbox has a lot going on.  Probably the first thing that catches the eye is the mounting location for the PSU has moved to the bottom right.  There are also the two pre-drilled and gasketed water cooling ports designed to handle even the larger 5/8" PVC tubing, the centrally located 120 mm exhaust fan, the presence of a tantalizing 9 thumb screws (not counting the four for the power supply) or even the vented expansion slots in matching black.  Hey NZXT, maybe you should put a picture of the back on the box next time out!

The top houses the remaining 190 mm fan under yet more of the mesh to provide even more airflow to reach the total 300 CFM listed in the specs.  The front is tilted down providing easy access to the front ports.  The Panzerbox supports two USB 2.0 ports, HD audio in and out ports, and an E-SATA port.

With the side off  you can take a closer look at the design choices behind the Panzerbox layout.  The entire inside is finished in the same black finish as the outside and nearly every screw is done in a black thumb screw.  The result is equally hard to photograph but it looks sharp.  I am left wondering where the window option is?  Lets take a closer look at each side individually.

From the inside you can see the spacing of both the top and rear fans nicely box in your typical CPU heatsink locations pulling hot air up and away with amazing volume.  The back  fan can be controlled using the 12V leads or by the three pin lead.  During the install I  rotated the rear fan to run the power out the bottom and under the motherboard. As mentioned before, airflow is further aided by the black vented slot covers.  The unusual power supply location is aided by a bracket on the bottom surface that is just visible here.  More on that in a minute. 

The top is dominated by the 190 mm fan.  The fan does not have any protective cover and can catch you by surprise when running cables!  The cables for the top ports and the two buttons are all long enough to easily reach most motherboards. I was able to run them behind the top drive bays and still reach the bottom corner ports on my Gigabyte motherboard.  Both the front and top fans can be controlled using only their three pin leads.