Last month NZXT launched a new case called the Hades and it’s one that is aimed at the PC enthusiast with several features that one might appreciate. Among those features you’ll find wire management built-in, temperature sensors, fan speed controls and even a rack for your SSD drives. The Hades looks nice but once I got started installing my system in it I ran into a few problems that detract from my overall view of this case. So read on to learn more about the NZXT Hades…
Specifications:
9 Bay Black Midtower
Introducing the Hades, a chassis that provides an array of advanced features for the most demanding PC enthusiast. Airflow is optimized with 5 fans(dual 200mm intake, 200 mm front fan, dual top 140mm fans, side 200mm fan, and rear 120mm exhaust). NZXT includes all the fans with the exception of the top 140mm and also provides a dual fan 8W per channel controller giving enthusiasts freedom to manage intake and exhaust airflow. A three temperature display on the front panel allows the user to see the temperature inside the chassis even when the door is closed. Additionally, the meshed 5.25″ bays, door, and bottom panel allows for air to naturally flow into the system with ease.
Hades also boasts premium expandability with up to nine 5.25″ bay setup or five 5.25″ and four 3.5.” It also features VGA clearance room for 300mm cards like the new ATI 5970. The punched side panel and motherboard tray with rubber grommets on the motherboard routing holes enables advanced wire management and quick CPU bracket removal. Additional advanced features include a solid state bracket allowing for two SSD drives, pre-drilled water cooling holes on the backplate, mounting holes for a dual radiator at the top, and a removable filter at the bottom PSU.
MODEL: Hades Series
CASE TYPE : Mid Tower Steel
FRONT PANEL MATERIAL : PLASTIC
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D): 200 X 430 X 501 mm / 7.87″ x 16.9″ x 19.7″
COOLING SYSTEM
FRONT, 1 X 200mm red LED (included)
REAR, 1 X 120mm (included)
SIDE, 1 x 200mm (included)
TOP, 2 X 120/140mm (1 include 140mm)
DRIVE BAYS:
9 EXTERNAL 5.25″ DRIVE BAYS
4 INTERNAL 3.5″ DRIVE MOUNTS
Screwless Rail Design
MATERIAL(S): Steel with black finish
EXPANSION SLOTS: 7
WEIGHT: 6.95 KGS (W/O Power)
MOTHERBOARD SUPPORT: MOTHERBOARDS: ATX, MICRO-ATX, BABY AT
Unboxing:
As usual we start with the packaging, the box is nicely done and the case indie is packaged very well.
On the right side of the case you’ll find it fairly plain except for cooling ventilation:
On the left side you’ll find those same ventilation holes but with the addition of a 200mm cooling fan as well.
The front of the Hades features a door, but it’s really a half door, it’s cut out at the bottom where the front cooling fan is. When opened you’ll find four 5.25” bays along with two fan speed control knobs and the power button.
On the top you’ll find space for two fans with one already installed for you. You can also mount a radiator here for liquid cooling if you wish to. On the top you’ll also find the front panel with USB, eSATA and audio connections. Upon closer inspection of the fan you’ll notice that one of the blades is missing from it, the accessory box came lose and apparently rattled around the case during shipment and broke the fan…
Moving to the back of the case we find that it’s a bottom mounted PSU style case and it looks like other cases with the addition of water cooling holes.
On the bottom of the case we find four feet and a fan filter for the power supply intake.
Let’s move to the inside of the case, we’ll start with the right side. Removing the right panel we find the motherboard tray is cutout to make swapping CPU coolers easier. There’s also built-in wire management as well, the holes are rubber coated for safety. If you look closely at the first picture you’ll see that missing fan blade hanging around at the bottom of the drive bays. The bays use a clip system that is on both sides of the cage.
Moving around to the other side and taking the left panel off we can get a better look at the 200mm cooling fan. You’ll also notice that there is no separate hard drive cage, the entire front is all just for 5.25” devices meaning you’ll need to use the included adapter for your hard drives.
Here’s a better look a that broken fan:
and here’s a view of the wire management from the inside of the case:
Looking from the inside we can see that the bay covers have filters on them as well.
Here’s a view of the front fan from inside, and the Hades comes with a rack for two SSD or 2.5” drives.
You’ll find the standard motherboard header connection with the addition of the temperature sensors as well floating around inside of the case.
In the accessory box you’ll only find three sets of adapters for your 3.5” hard drives. They are metal and have silicone inserts in them to help dampen vibrations. Included also is tape to attach the temperature sensors and a Molex to 3-pin adapter for the side fan if you need it.
Installation, Performance, Comparison
Since my last case review I’ve changed my HTPC/Gamer computer a bit. It is still the same Intel C2Q9650 CPU and motherboard but I’ve swapped my ATI 4870 for an Nvidia GTX260 and I’ve added a decent soundcard as well so I can have 5.1, Dolby Digital etc from my HTPC setup. Trying to fit everything in this case you’re going to find it’s fairly cramped in there.
The GTX260 just barely fit, with millimeters of room between it and my hard drive. The HDD is mounted below the GTX260, but if I moved it up one spot it would have been very tight, and I would not have been able to connect the power and data cables to it.
Yes this case does have the nice wire management built in, but all of the wire management in the world is not going to change the fact that there just really isn’t much room in this case.
Here’s a front view with the door open:
So I then proceeded to put the side panel back on and that didn’t happen at all, it hit the Noctua NH-U12P CPU cooler that I’m using. The Noctua cooler isn’t that big really, I’ve seen much bigger. The cooler is mounted horizontally, but even if I rotated it I would still have the same problem. Bottom line here is that you won’t be using even a slightly large CPU cooler in the Hades case. This problem actually amazes me because this case is aimed at the enthusiast, and I don’t know many enthusiasts that will be using a small cooler on their CPU.
Speaking of fans, they’re nice and quiet on low, but they are audible when turned up, but not overly so.
And back to that broken fan, well I didn’t think it was going to be that big of a deal but I was very wrong. The missing blade caused the case to actually vibrate annoyingly, being off balance made it just a mess truly. You could actually see the case moving from left to right. While it’s not a problem with the case itself, it’s just something I wanted to point out.
The Hades does feature a front fan with red LED in it, but it’s not very bright at all. For me it’s fine, but others might like things to be a bit brighter. Here’s pictures both with the door closed and then open:
The temperature sensor display does not seem that bright at all, and the numbers are fairly small really. You won’t be able to read this from across the room surely. As far as accuracy, it seems close for whole numbers, it’s not exactly perfect but it will give you a good idea of the temperatures you’re trying to monitor.
Conclusion:
The NZXT Hades isn’t a bad case overall but it does have some glaring issues that cannot be ignored.
The side fan just won’t let you install larger CPU coolers and there really isn’t much room in this case. If you’ve got a large video card then expect a very tight fit or expect to do some rearranging inside of the case.
The fact that it only comes with three hard drive adapters might make some people unhappy, but luckily my system only uses three drives.
Pros:
+Looks nice and is well made
+Built in temperature monitoring
+Wire management
Cons:
-Can’t use large CPU coolers or even average sized ones
-Not really room for larger video cards depending on configuration
-Not really much room inside of case at all
Ratings
Overall: 3 out of 5
Performance: 2 out of 5
Aesthetic: 4 out of 5
Build Quality: 4 out of 5
I would like to thank NZXT for the opportunity to review the Hades PC Case and for their support of Bona Fide Reviews.
Disclosure: This product was given to Bona Fide Reviews for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review, we do not, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products.
{ 7 comments }
It's very interesting case but i doubt that my zalman cnps9900 goes inside ?
Great review, you're the only one who mentions the cooler issue on the web.
Were you able to put the side panel back on by removing the side fan?
(i don't think that fan is really necesary)
are you sure a large video card wouldn't fit?
(i don't understand why do they claim an ati 5970 would if it didn't)
thanks
You can fit the larger CPUs in there of course if you remove the side fan, then here's no problems..
and yes you can fit the larger video card in there, but you just can't have hard drives there… so you can fit a larger card that's true, but just not with all of the drive in place..
ok then i think i will buy it thanks
The First thing that got my attention during the review was the ridiculously large cooler you have on the processor. I don't think I've ever seen a cooler that size before in my 10 years of system building. My current rigs have used artic freezer pros and zalman coolers. Never has any of the ones I've ever used have ever taken up nearly half the the full ATX motherboard. I do build Gaming rigs and I don't think I'd seriously buy something that massive to cool my CPU's and I've used a lot of them.
I am greatful for seeing your review though and it shows a lot of good points but I think you missed the mark when discussing your problem with the case size using that near gag item cooler. I can guarantee many gamers do not even bother getting a cooler that size.
Secondly the case it self is HUGE in dimension. It was designed to use 58XX and 59XX series cards from ATI. and those cards are about 1-3 cm's bigger than the GTX 260.
Lastly, I don't even see that you tried to utilize the cable management at all that was designed into the case's side panel. It appears you just gave up instead of reading the instructions. There are many youtube videos showing a clean installation that use the cable management.
I am a little disappointed in your review somewhat due to it feeling somewhat misleading and unprepared. But as I said, you did hit some of the right points just not the ones truly concerning Case size and cable management.
Hi this is a great review thanks! I picked up this case, i use an ATI 5950 and it fits just fine. I agree with the previous comment that the cable management was poorly utilized in your pictures, i was able to hide everything away quite nicely. I too had the problem of an oversized CPU cooler. I used the Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B which is 160 mm and WAY too big with the side panel fan left on. I spent way too much time trying to find a CPU cooler that will actually fit in this case, and i was unable to find anything that is both decent for OCing, and can fit in the case. I would recommend this case, try the corsair H50 cpu cooler, its easy, liquid, and small.
As far as air cooled CPU coolers go.. the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ will meet or beat the Corsair H50 and is about 20 dollars chears US Dollars
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