NZXT Phantom 530 Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on July 18, 2013 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- NZXT
- ATX
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Introducing the NZXT Phantom 530
NZXT has been on a bit of a tear with new case releases this year. The last addition to their Phantom family, the Phantom 630, turned out to be something of a grand slam: it was in virtually every way a better case than its slightly bigger, more expensive predecessor, the Phantom 820. Meanwhile, the entry-level Phantom 410 had turned out to be a surprisingly solid little offering in and of itself. Seemingly intending to have a Phantom at virtually every price point, NZXT now offers the Phantom 530. At $129 this full ATX enclosure definitely offers a healthy amount of value, but I'm getting the feeling the Phantom brand is starting to get oversaturated.
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It's not really any great mystery as to why the Phantom brand would be aggressively pursued by NZXT; it's been good to them. Phantoms are distinctively designed and very feature rich cases, and NZXT has done a fine job distilling the essence of the aesthetic into cleaner and more attractive products. With the 530 we're another step more accessible, and NZXT has definitely played an intriguing balancing act in terms of bringing features and performance to a lower price point.
| NZXT Phantom 530 Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 3x 5.25" |
| Internal | 6x 2.5"/3.5", 1x 2.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | 1x 200mm intake fan (supports 2x 120mm/140mm), 1x 120mm/140mm interior fan mount |
| Rear | 1x 140mm exhaust fan (supports 120mm) | |
| Top | 2x 200mm/140mm or 3x 120mm fan mounts | |
| Side | 1x 140mm fan mount | |
| Bottom | 2x 120mm fan mounts | |
| Expansion Slots | 8 | |
| I/O Port | 2x USB 3.0, 1x Headphone, 1x Mic | |
| Power Supply Size | ATX | |
| Clearances | HSF | 170mm |
| PSU | 180mm with bottom fan installed | |
| GPU | 310mm with drive cage / 444mm without | |
| Dimensions |
9.25" x 22.52" x 21.38" 235mm x 572mm x 543mm |
|
| Special Features |
USB 3.0 via internal header Supports 360mm radiator in top Three-speed, eight-channel fan controller Rear I/O LED lighting 3-2-1 modular drive cages |
|
| Price | $129 | |
Given the $129 price point, NZXT has managed to cram a tremendous amount of useful features into the Phantom 530. My support of integrated fan control is well documented, but I'll admit to being a little bit surprised they opted to exclude their traditional SD card reader. Given the raft of other features and generally high build quality it's tough to be too disappointed, though. Watercooling enthusiasts looking for a less expensive entry point may very well find their needs met by the 530, though anyone spending enough money to build a custom loop might just be better served with either the more expensive Phantom 630 or the much more flexible and only slightly more expensive H630, which supports 360mm radiators in both the top and front of the case.
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xbaronjagerx - Sunday, November 24, 2013 - link
Mounted on the TOP... not front.Ammohunt - Friday, July 19, 2013 - link
$129 is a pretty steep price point for me personally i feel that $50 is the sweet spot between chintzy and useful features. Of course a case for me houses my components under my desk not into fashion statements.Peroxyde - Saturday, July 20, 2013 - link
I thought that too ... until I got a Fractal Design R4 on sale for $80. Now I can say I will never buy low end case. You can't imagine what you miss trying to save $30 / $50 on a case. In my opinion, the Fractal Design R4 beats by far Corsair & Antec cases of comparable price. Wait until you get a sale and get one good case. You will not regret it.Death666Angel - Friday, July 19, 2013 - link
AT needs a "report spam" button.versesuvius - Saturday, July 20, 2013 - link
What an ugly case.fluxtatic - Sunday, July 21, 2013 - link
Holy crap - can we get some mods up on these comments?MustarDude - Sunday, July 21, 2013 - link
Hey. I would love to get this case. It's an absolute beauty with ten-million features, but I need to know the exact dimensions. It says, here and at NewEgg, "235mm x 572mm x 543mm", but I can't tell from the pictures whether it goes w x h x d or w x d x h (i'm almost certain its the first), and if that is measured with the plastic coverings at it's widest point. I know 3 cm might not matter to many, but for me it's a matter of "will it fit in my desk or not?" (and I know it's a great injustice to put this in a desk, but I have no choice). If you can help me out at all, it'd be greatly appreciated!Hawx - Friday, January 24, 2014 - link
Hi All,Greetings !!
Just wondering ,
Do I need to place any type of screws or pins before mounting a MOBO onto it.
Also is it better to install CPU and FAN and then put them in the case or fix the MOBO and then install the cpu and aftermarket cooler FAN.
Please suggest
molex problem - Thursday, March 20, 2014 - link
Guys I need helpI am making a new build and I have completed building it but when connecting the molex connector to power supply I found out that out of 4 pins , 1 pin is missing.
My case nzxt phantom 530
What should I do without the molex connector in built fans don't work
I have water cooling h100i.
So what should I do ?
palixander - Thursday, July 21, 2016 - link
I was wondering if anybody here had installed an LED strip into this case before? I bought an asus maximus viii formula MB, and was just wondering if LED strips lit up well with this case.