NZXT Switch 810 Review

Performance Analysis

Thanks to its large dimensions, excellent array of cable routing options and right balance of tool-less and thumb-screw fittings building a system into the Switch 810 was a delight. While we’re quick to sing the Switch 810’s water-cooling praises though, we were still interested in its standard air-cooling prowess. With our ATX test system built inside and under load, we recorded a CPU delta T of 48°C and a GPU delta T of 44°C. The CPU temperature is particularly pleasing and places the Switch 810 towards the top of our cooling charts.

GPU cooling was less impressive, placing the Switch 810 someway down the rankings, but this is likely due to the lack of any side panel ventilation or fan mounting, as well as the distance between the GPU and front intake fan. The overall cooling result is still favourable, but was soured by the four 140mm cooling fans running intrusively loudly. While we’ve said in the past that loud fans aren’t an issue so long as they’re paired with a fan controller, this is one of the few features that the Switch 810 lacks; needless to say one would be first on the shopping list for any prospective owner.

Conclusion

We’ve seen a great deal of cases here at bit-tech, but have to admit to being genuinely impressed with the Switch 810. Its superb water-cooling support in what is a reasonably sized case is increasingly rare and deserves a lot of appreciation. The fact that this has been matched with an excellent internal layout and a hatful of useful features such as the movable 3-pin fan hub and positional drive cage fan mounts only sweetens the deal.



All these great features only frustrate us in the end though, as there are also some critical shortcomings. The lack of a fan controller, even a basic one, in a £150 case is a let-down, but it’s the heavy use of plastic on the exterior that worries us the most. We know from experience that plastic never ages as well as an all metal chassis when it comes to repeated installations and long-term use, which is exactly what you’d want from a long–term £150 case investment. While the raft of removable plastic panels survived a number of days in our labs without incident, they are more liable to break than metal counter-parts and the glossy plastic finish also has the disadvantage of attracting dust.

The end result then is immensely frustrating. The NZXT Switch 810 is a great size, with some innovative features, great layout and outstanding water-cooling support, but its heavy use of plastic and lack of fan control put us off. If NZXT were to rectify these issues, then we’d have no doubt this case could be a world-beater, but for now we’ll continue to look to the larger but more solid Xigmatek Elysium for our water-cooling kicks.