Today for review I’ve got another case from NZXT, this time it’s the Panzerbox Aluminum Chassis PC case. This case features two 190mm fans, one on the top and one in the front to make sure your system stays cool. The Panzerbox is a case that’s smaller than others, but you’ll still be able to fit most any system in there. The case features a removable motherboard tray, it’s very well made, like a tank, and it features an all aluminum construction to help keep the weight down. The Panzerbox would make a great home for any gaming system, and being small you should be able to take it with you easily if need be. So continue on to learn more:
Specifications:
Welded All Aluminum ATX Chassis
Panzerbox features the best airflow in its class, boasting two 190mm and one 120mm fans that churn out a combined 300 CFM. The Panzerbox’s pure aluminum design makes it a light and luxurious option for travel and LAN parties and the welded chassis enhances strength and support. Dual radiator support and full expandability with room for high performance 10.5″ cards, 4 hard drives, 3 5.25″ drive bays, and oversized heatsinks offer gamers and enthusiasts even more options to increase performance while a removable motherboard tray makes upgrades easy and painless.
Features:
* Mid Sized, Extreme Performance : Fitted with dual high performance 150CFM controllable 190cm fans and a dual radiator bracket to provide the best performance, the Panzerbox offers high performance for a mid sized case due to its unique layout.
* Removable Motherboard Tray: A removable motherboard tray makes upgrading easy and painless.
* Pure Aluminum: Build in all aluminum, the Panzerbox is light and luxurious, perfect for traveling and showing off at LAN parties. Compared to similar products with high airflow and ATX expandability, the Panzerbox is almost 25% smaller and 50% lighter.
* Full Expandability: Room for high performance 10.5″ cards, over sized heatsinks, even larger dual radiator solutions.
* Top mounted USB/Audio/ESATA Ports
Specs:
MODEL: Panzerbox SERIES
CASE TYPE: MID TOWER Welded Aluminum
FRONT PANEL MATERIAL: ALUMINUM
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D): 244 X 455 X 455 mm
COOLING SYSTEM:
-FRONT: 1 X 190mm fan@1100RPM, 150CFM (included)
-REAR: 1 X 120mm
-TOP: 1 x 190mm fan@1100RPM,150CFM (included)
DRIVE BAYS:
-7 DRIVE BAYS
-3 EXTERNAL 5.25″ DRIVE BAYS
-4 INTERNAL 3.5″ DRIVE BAYS
MATERIAL(S): Aluminum Construction
EXPANSION SLOTS:7
WEIGHT: 6.3 KGS (W/O Power)
MOTHERBOARD SUPPORT: MOTHERBOARDS: ATX, MICRO-ATX, BABY AT
Unboxing:
The Panzerbox comes well packaged in an attractive box.
It’s virtually all black with just the silver NZXT case badge on the front.
It features three 5.25” drive bays above the 190mm fan. Power and reset buttons are located off to the left of the bays.
The top is virtually all mesh providing good airflow for the case, you’ll also find the second 190mm fan there along with the USB, audio and eSATA ports.
The right and left sides of the case are identical, each feature a small mesh window for cooling. The left side one is where the PSU will be mounted, it mounts vertically so the fan will draw air from the outside and expel it out of the back of the case.
The bottom is rather plain, just four large rectangular rubber feet are here.
When looking at it from the back, the first thing you’ll notice is the power supply spot, it’s vertical instead of the common horizontal positioning. You’ll find the standard stuff here, with a 120mm fan pre-installed and holes for liquid cooling tubing as well.
You’ll also notice a lot of thumbscrews as well, there are four that secure the motherboard tray in place, yes the mobo tray is removable. Six screws actually hold the mobo tray in place if you count the ones for the side panel.
Taking the right side panel off you’ll see that you can see almost right through the case, it’s very open inside of the Panzerbox. You’ll also see more thumbscrews for the 5.25” bays as well, and there are more included for the hard drives too.
Taking off the left panel you’ll find that the layout is a bit different than any other case out there.
In the front, on the bottom, you’ll find a hard drive cage that will hold two HDDs, these are directly in front of the 190mm fan.
From the inside we can get a better look at the fans and the back panel as well.
Included in one of the 5.25” bays is a 3.5” adapter so you can use a floppy drive, or card reader or anything else that will fit.
The 5.25” and 3.5” bays are lined with silicone strips to help prevent vibration keeping your system a little bit quieter.
In the accessory box you’ll find several labeled bags of parts, the user manual, 5.25” to 3.5” bezel adapter and radiator mounting brackets and Molex fan adapters.
The front panel connections are nice and long, they’ll reach anywhere in the case really.
Installation, Performance, Comparison
The first thing I did was remove the HDD rack and install a 500gb hard drive in it, simple to do since everything to done with thumbscrews.
The front 5.25” bays cover are aluminum as well and are held in place with thumbscrews, you’ll use these same screws to secure the optical drives in the bays.
I then decided to install another hard drive in the top HDD cage, this was to make sure there would be room for my rather large video card in the case. Again, simple to do since thumbscrews are used.
Next was installing the system, remove the thumbscrews from the back panel and you can slide the tray out of the case.
I did run into a problem installing the motherboard stand offs, they’re very hard to get into the holes, I used a small socket to help the process along, I just couldn’t do it at all with my fingers.
Then it was time to get the system in there, C2D6420 based system with Noctua CPU Cooler on it.
I then installed the video card, a large Calibre GTX260, I found that it went a little past the edge of the tray.
Then it was time to slide it into the case, it fit with the cooler installed, but if your cooler is very tall it might not fit.
Then it was time to install the power supply, it’s a Cooler Master 800Watt PSU. I found that it’s very tight when the video card is installed, less than an inch of clearance between the card and the PSU.
Here’s everything installed in the Panzerbox, you can see even the large GTX260 fits fine in the case with nothing in the way.
It’s a tight fit and there really isn’t anywhere to put the extra PSU wires that you might not use.
There is room on the back side of the case to run your wires if need be, but nowhere to hide the extra ones either..
Here’s a look at the power supply through the side mesh window:
When powered on there’s no lighting except for the blue power LED.
Installation in the Panzerbox is fairly easy since basically everything uses thumbscrews, you won’t need any tools at all except for maybe when installing the motherboard stand offs.
The Panzerbox is a great case, but it’s heavy once you get a system in it, yes it’s advertised as a LAN box, but i wouldn’t want to be carrying it around.
The fan are loud, very loud when running on high speed, but they do keep everything in the case nice and cool. Though I’m not too sure about having the hard drive mounted right in front of the intake fan, they’re essentially blocking airflow, personally I would just use the two upper HDD bays and just remove the bottom rack to have a little better airflow, especially if you’re overclocking anything.
As far as quality, it lives up to it’s namesake, it’s built like a tank truly. This thing is very sturdy and well made.
Conclusion:
Overall the Panzerbox is a great case, it’s got a lot of room, it’s well made and installation is easy with the removable motherboard tray and the thumbscrews. The dual 19omm fans will most certainly keep any system cool, and you can fit even the largest video cards in the case with no problems.
Yes it’s loud, and it’s heavy, but I guess you’ve got to sacrifice somewhere right?
Pros:
+Very well made
+Keeps everything cool
+Easy installation with thumbscrews everywhere
+Removable motherboard tray
+Can fit even the largest video cards
Cons:
-Difficult to install motherboard stand-offs
-Fans are loud when running on high
-Front hard drives block airflow
-Heavy when system is installed
Ratings
Overall: 4 out of 5
Performance: 4 out of 5
Aesthetic: 4 out of 5
Build Quality: 5 out of 5
I would like to thank NZXT for the opportunity to review the Panzerbox and for their support of Bona Fide Reviews.
