NZXT Zero Ultimate Cooling Chassis

A Closer Look

Starting from the top and working our way down we notice the front bezel.  This door is very sturdy and held on by a very solid hinge construction.  It secures closed by magnets but has soft rubber soles to prevent the door from slamming closed.  Although this alone isn't a big deal, this is one of the best constructed bezels that I've seen. 

The top area of the bezel has a smoked acrylic panel.  This is designed so that you can place an LCD screen beneath it to keep an eye on case temps without even having to open the bezel.  Also, directly under the acrylic panel is the power button and HDD activity light.  Placement here fits in very well with the style of the rest of the case.

Opening this reveals five 5.25" drive bays directly near the top of the case.  Directly below these are two additional 3.5" drive bays.  Right off to the right is the reset button.  The glossy finish here is perfect.  I found it very difficult to photograph just because of the reflectiveness of this surface.  It's quite a clean and professional look.  There are no visible blemishes.

  

Continuing our trek around the exterior of the case, we can see the front intake.  This triangular area mirrors the smoked acrylic window on the top of the bezel, but has slits so as to allow air to pass through to the intake fan directly behind it.  Off to the side, you see the front ports.  We find the standard two USB 2.0, a Firewire, a headphone plug, and a microphone plug.

  

Although one side of the case is bare, albeit very well polished, the other side of the case contains what is probably the most defining feature of the Zero, FOUR large 120mm fans.  These four fans are positioned so as to act as an intake for the case and should provide more than enough airflow over the main components.

  

Taking a look up to the top of the case is a little anticlimactic.  There is a single 80mm fan stuck to the top of the case seemingly as an after thought.  I could be wrong, but it seems as though this small fan would have to work harder to push air, so would cause quite a bit more noise than the other, quieter 120mm fans.  As you can see, there would have been plenty of room for this to be made a 92mm, or even 120mm fan.

Moving on around to the rear, we're greeted by quite a sight.  Although the case seems to be laid out in the standard manner, the two large 120mm fans here make quite a statement.  As you can see, the PSU location is standard.  Directly below that are the two 120mm exhaust fans.  And below that are seven PCI expansion slots.

        

Now that we've gotten a look at this beauty, let's crack it open and see what it's really got to offer.

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Pg 1 - Introduction
Pg 2 - Exterior
Pg 3 - Interior
Pg 4 - Installation
Pg 5 - Conclusion