NZXT Source 530 Review

NZXT Source 530 Review

Manufacturer: NZXT
UK price (as reviewed): £79.99 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed): $89.99 (ex Tax)

With such a huge range of its Phantom cases currently sitting on the shelves of etailers (the 820, 630 and original Phantom to name a few), it's easy to forget about NZXT's other cases. It's source range of cases (see our Source 210 Elite review) are also very popular, albeit not as unique-looking as the Phantom. The new Source 530 is currently the most expensive in the Source range, retailing for a pre-order price of £80/$90.

At face value this seems like an excellent deal - the Source 530 is a large case and offers a similar set of features to Corsair's slightly larger Obsidian 750D that costs £50 more. That's a huge sum of money at this end of the market but lets take a closer look to see if the price translates into something worth buying.


The exterior is a mix of plain black steel, mesh and a fair amount of glossy plastic, which runs in strips down the front panel. The side window doesn't encroach too much on the drive bays but the top two of three external 5.25in bays are visible - worth noting if that's a fly in the ointment as far as you're concerned. The actual case isn't as big as it might seem either - the huge case feet add a good 4-5cm onto the height of the case.


Side-mounted power and reset buttons are nothing new but can make it easier to power on the case regardless of whether it's on your desk or underneath it. Weight-wise it comes in at under 10kg - just, so isn't too much of a hefty beast to deal with if you'll be lugging it around often either. Build quality is fairly good, although not on par with the more expensive Obsidian 750D. The side panels don't sit quite as flush and the case has a slightly tinny feel. That said, this issue is far from being anything to worry about and given the Obsidian 750D costs a heck of a lot more, we're not complaining either.


The front panel is pretty sparce with the buttons having been relocated to the side of the case and just the usual minijacks and two USB 3.0 ports, although an LED light on top of the case does jazz things up a bit, showing power and storage activity. The underside sports two large slide-out fan filters - one for the PSU and the front for the lower two fan mounts.

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 235 x 507 x 510 (W x D x H)
  
• Material Steel, plastic
  
• Available colours Black(reviewed)
  
• Weight 9.2kg
  
• Front panel Power, reset, I/O LED, 2 x USB 3, stereo, microphone
  
• Drive bays 3 x external 5.25in, 6 x internal 3.5in/2.5in, 1 x dedicated 2.5in,
  
• Form factor(s)EATX, ATX, micro-ATX
  
• Cooling 2 x 120/140mm front fan mounts (fans not included), 1 x 120/140mm rear fan mount (120mm fan included), 2 x 120/140mm top fan mounts (1 x 120mm fan included), 2 x bottom 120mm fan mounts (fans not included), 1 x interior drive bay 120/140mm fan mount (fan not included)
  
• CPU cooler clearance 160mm
  
• Maximum graphics card length 310mm (444mm without adjacent hard disk enclosure)
  
• Extras Removable dust filters