NZXT Manta Review

Performance Analysis

The Manta has no trouble taming out mini-ITX test hardware. The CPU delta T of 48°C is the best we've seen so far, with the rear 120mm fan obviously doing a good job clearing out hot air and also being helped by the dual intakes and roof ventilation.

The GPU delta T of 51°C isn't quite the best we've seen, but the cases that beat it are ones where the GPU intake fan is either next to or at least facing an unobstructed intake vent, which is never the situation in a tower case like this. Instead, the Manta is roughly on par with the Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX, which has a similar layout and lots of intake airflow as well.


Noise from the fans was definitely audible, but equally it wasn't loud or too distracting. We were also testing at full speed to ensure consistency, but thanks to the PWM hub the fans will be spinning much slower most of the time and will only need to kick in once the system is under heavy load. This also means that the better your CPU cooler is, the quieter the whole system will be, and you never need to worry about switching fan speeds.

Conclusion

At £110, the Manta is seriously expensive for a mini-ITX chassis. It definitely goes much of the way to justifying this with its materials and rigidity, as it's built like a bomb shelter. However, it's also about as big as one too, and this also requires justification given the form factor it targets. After all, it's close to mid-tower dimensions and is considerably more expensive than many solid offerings in this segment like NZXT's own H440 or the Phanteks Enthoo Pro M.


NZXT will claim that the Manta's water-cooling support is the reason for its size, and we can't really argue with this – with support for dual 280mm radiators this is nearly as good as it gets for this form factor - only the Thermaltake Core X1 offers more. The case also does very well if you're just sticking to air cooling and, on the whole, is easy to work with. However, we still feel a little underwhelmed by what it offers for the price. Even setting aside small design slip ups like the mounting system for the 3.5in drive behind the motherboard tray, there's just not that much exciting about it. This is a strange complaint, we know, as not every case has to be exciting or brimming with innovation to earn brownie points. The Manta is strong in many ways, and if it were £30 or even £20 less it would be firmly in awards territory. However, when we hear that a company like NZXT is stepping back into the mini-ITX game and charging £110 for the fruits of its labour, we expect our reaction to be something like 'holy crap, check this out!' but instead we're left with 'huh, those side panels are different.'

So, how to reconcile these feelings of mild disappointment in the face of an otherwise solid all-rounder? To be honest, the aesthetics and size of this case are so unique that they're probably going to be the deciding factor. If you're smitten by the look and a convert to the Real Cases Have Curves camp, the Manta will make a great home for a high-end mini-ITX build. But if you're a straight steel conservative and not having any of this curvy-wurvy nonsense, then the good news is you're not missing out on a great deal, and other mini-ITX towers that are almost on par for features like the Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX and Fractal Design Define Nano S (review coming soon) can be had for roughly half the cost.