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 NZXT Whisper Classic Series Case
Does a noisy PC get you down? If computer noise is driving you nuts, this offering from NZXT might be the right house for your computer parts.
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| If you're the type who uses cutting edge components, heat is likely a topic you're used to dealing with. Generally, you have two options. Either, you can invest in some sort of alternative cooling, which in general, are designed to be fairly silent. Your other option would be to load up your system with all kinds of high powered fans. Many of todays modern video card's stock coolers don't use the smallest of fans and are often times the loudest component in your PC. |
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Of course, provided you choose the second option, you are faced with two more choices. Either, choose to deal with a ton of noise, or wear headphones to surf the web. Enter the . This offering from NZXT is designed to be quiet, all the while allowing for all the expansion any enthusiast can possibly need. Before going further, here are some features .
- Silent Performance :: 10mm noise dampening foam pads both side panels and the top panel, rubber grommets reduce vibration noise on the Hard Drives, and a padded PSU holder dramatically reduce acoustic levels within the chassis
- Maximum Expandability :: Space for 9 hard drives and a total of six 5.25" bays with ample room for large expansion cards
- Simple Installation :: Pre-drilled wire management system makes it easy to route your cables and the screwless installation means you won't be constantly reaching for your tools
- Advanced Cooling :: Whisper includes 4 fans( 1 x 120mm Blue LED Intake, 1 x 120mm Black Rear Exhaust, and 2 x 80mm Rear Exhaust). Bottom mounted PSU separates the heat given off by the PSU and motherboard
- Case supports new 3.5" SSD on all drives with brackets
The NZXT Whisper Classic Series Case
We received a couple cases from NZXT, both the Whisper and Zero 2, but the latter we'll focus on in the near future. However, it is worth mentioning since the first thing we thought when we grabbed the from shipping was "Dang! this is huge!"
The NZXT Whisper is packaged in a large black box, wrapped in a plastic bag and secured by a combination of foam and cardboard. To say it was very secure would be an understatement as we tore the primary box just getting everything out. Once we unwrapped everything, a quick examination told us all was well and there was no damage through shipping.
The Whisper is a full tower case, measuring 211.5 X 521.5 X 562 mm. The standard, and sole colour is black. The case is a matte black and constructed primarily out of steel. This makes the case very heavy, given it's large size, and tips the scale at 12.3Kg without a power supply. Given it's enormous size, the Whisper can accomadate a variety of motherboards, including E-ATX. Smaller boards fit of course, provided they follow the ATX specifications.
Inside the case was a small black contents package. Inside, there were case screws, PSU rubber insert as well as an instruction manual.
Looking directly at the front of the Whisper, there are not a whole lot of curves to the case. While most enthusiasts like a bit of flash and bang, the NZXT Whisper appears to go the more casual and functional look.
The majority of the case is steel, but the front facade is made of aluminum and plastic. The door's purpose is to mask what some may say are unsightly optical drives and components, and given the marketing of silence, it also may help dampen some case noise from the front. Then again, given there are "slots" on this door, it won't reduce noise that much but at least the slots will not reduce the effectiveness of the cooling.
This door serves to hide six external 5.25" expansion bays. That's a lot of optical drives, but for those of you with fan bay controllers, or other devices that fit in these slots, you should be well equipped here. The power button is near the top on the front facade, but you will be able to press it whether the door is open or not.
 
The front door does feature a slot for those of you with slot loaded optical drives. We don't have any in house to use, so we did not take advantage of this.
Rounding out the front of the case is the large 120mm fan at the bottom of the facade. As with many of NZXT's cases, this is no ordinary fan.
Hopefully, buyers of the Whisper like the colour of blue.
On the top of the case, we have a spring loaded compartment that houses some addtional connections. Moving from left to right, we have two USB 2.0 ports, an audio out and MIC jack and an eSATA connection. The eSATA connection is not powered, so if you are using some sort of eSATA storage device, you will require an additional power source. This isn't a case limitation, but an eSATA specification issue still being addressed by the SATA standards committee. Otherwise, if you are not using these connections, simply press down on the compartment until it clicks shut.
Moving on to the rear of the case, there are several more punchouts. Obviously, we have the rectangular punchouts for the motherboard I/O and power supply, as well as additional grills for another 120mm fan and two 80mm fans.
A nice touch is the addition of pre-drilled cut outs for water cooling tubes. The rubber inserts serve to protect the tubes of course but we also found these holes usefull for some CCFL switches to be placed there instead.
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