NZXT at Computex 2012

Brian Ambrozy 6 Jun, 2012 at 2:48pm ET Article published in Tech

NXZT was in fine form once again as they showed off some impressive new kit at Computex 2012 in Taipei.

NZXT Hue at Computex 2012

In addition to a new line of 80+ Bronze HALE82 N (non-modular) PSUs , a couple of new cases, some new CPU coolers, and some new laptop coolers, one of the most impressive things they showed me was also one of the least complicated: LED lighting strips for your PC case. What sets these LED strips apart from the competition, however, is two key factors: a front panel-mounted controller that allows the user to adjust the R, G, and B values independently, making every possible color available, and the price: $32.99. Dubbed the NZXT Hue, it will be available in early July.

NZXT had several staffers on hand to show off the rest of the Computex lineup, including the impressive new Phantom and Switch series cases. The interior of the new Phantoms has been completely re-engineered and their enthusiasm for their own products was almost emotional. These guys love their products and truly believe in making them as awesome as possible.

The new Phantoms interiors have a crazy amount of rear motherboard tray clearance for cable management. With any of the new NZXT cases, there is no reason to see a cable anywhere in the system. They also showed off a really impressive new hard drive tray mounting system.

NZXT Cryo at Computex 2012

The new laptop coolers (the Cryo series) that we saw in a secret room at CES are now production-ready mockups. They haven’t changed much since the CES prototypes; fit and finish are done and they’ll be available soon.

Last but not least I got taken into another secret room, was told that my camera had to be put down, and was then shown some more up-and-coming stuff, such as new heatsinks, new case prototypes, and the next iteration of HALE PSUs (they’re freaking awesome looking). We also got a look at their new direct-contact heatpipe CPU coolers, which will feature a never-before-seen eight heatpipes in direct contact with the CPU heatspreader

NZXT’s Rob Teller and I then had a conversation about Reddit (we’re both avid redditors) and he mentioned how enthusiastically the Reddit community has embraced NZXT and how Reddit feedback had led to actual product developments.

As I’ve written about before, it’s hard not to sound like an NZXT fanboy (and I swear they aren’t sponsoring us in any way), but I truly believe that right now, today, NZXT is the best case manufacturer out there. Their attention to detail and passion for constantly improving their designs based on feedback from their community is second to none in this industry.

Comments

6 Jun 2012 ~ 3:37pm Cliff_Forster I'm hoping for a top down cooler with that sexy looking white fan.

The Hue looks like a steal for $29.99, completely differentiated, a new kind of product, modders will be all over it.
6 Jun 2012 ~ 3:49pm Thrax ES BEST IN BRASIL HUEHUEHUEHUE
7 Jun 2012 ~ 12:43am zaphod beeblebrox Whoah whoah whoah. BEST case manufacturer out there? Them's fighting words!
7 Jun 2012 ~ 1:04am Thrax NZXT is undeniably good, but Silverstone and Corsair make better cases with higher quality materials, better layouts, better cooling and an undeniable attention to detail.
7 Jun 2012 ~ 1:42am fatcat
NZXT is undeniably good, but Silverstone and Corsair make better cases with higher quality materials, better layouts, better cooling and an undeniable attention to detail.
I'll even add Lian Li to the that
7 Jun 2012 ~ 3:53am primesuspect Visited with Lian Li, Corsair, and Fractal Design today. Lian Li is in a class of their own; they have their own aluminum fab, and they can do just insane stuff. It's a love/hate thing. Corsair I'll grant you, but I truly feel that NZXT is competitive on features and performance, slightly better on aesthetic, and has a more personable company culture. NZXT is smaller and more close to their community than Corsair is.

Silverstone, eh.... Not my thing.

We could argue all day; it all boils down to opinion. I would definitely argue the "better layouts" point though.
7 Jun 2012 ~ 9:53am ardichoke At first glance I thought those laptop coolers were a line of 1U rackmount server chassis. I was like FUUUUUCK YEAH. Then I realized what they actually were and thought "aww Okay".

Also, why would NZXT, a company that clearly makes cases with cable management in mind, make a non-modular PSU?
7 Jun 2012 ~ 10:08am MAGIC Need a case with wires integrated into the case so routing wires isnt necessary, just connect a small lead from the case to your device. I always thought that would be sweet. Especially seen as how NZXT makes some nice PSUs. Just slide the PSU into the case and powers the whole case. ©
7 Jun 2012 ~ 10:45am ardichoke
Need a case with wires integrated into the case so routing wires isnt necessary, just connect a small lead from the case to your device. I always thought that would be sweet. Especially seen as how NZXT makes some nice PSUs. Just slide the PSU into the case and powers the whole case. ©
This has already been done... but only in server chassis, primarily ones with redundant power supplies, because you have to have more than one PSU hooked up and powering the system so that it can fail over in the event of an outage. The technology just hasn't made its way to desktops (most likely because it's expensive)
7 Jun 2012 ~ 10:49am AlexDeGruven That really wouldn't be THAT difficult to do. One of the problems, however, would be standardization of motherboards. Since all of them have their connectors in slightly different places, plus different overall requirements (particularly in the PCI-E card space).
7 Jun 2012 ~ 12:13pm primesuspect
At first glance I thought those laptop coolers were a line of 1U rackmount server chassis. I was like FUUUUUCK YEAH. Then I realized what they actually were and thought "aww Okay".

Also, why would NZXT, a company that clearly makes cases with cable management in mind, make a non-modular PSU?
To hit lower price points, plain and simple.
7 Jun 2012 ~ 12:16pm primesuspect
Need a case with wires integrated into the case so routing wires isnt necessary, just connect a small lead from the case to your device. I always thought that would be sweet. Especially seen as how NZXT makes some nice PSUs. Just slide the PSU into the case and powers the whole case. ©
Keep in mind that most case manufacturers (read: Almost all others except for Lian Li) rely on third-parties to manufacture to their specifications. Lian Li does their own fab, so they can basically create whatever the hell they want; the rest of them have to rely on the limits of the companies that manufacture the cases for not only them but all their competitors.

The fabs themselves only have certain capabilities; if NZXT were to develop an all-new way to integrate power leads, for example, the fab tooling costs would be astronomical for a relatively "small" company like NZXT.

They can only improve through iterations; their ability to innovate is somewhat stifled by the reality that they don't fab their own stuff.
7 Jun 2012 ~ 12:41pm BuddyJ Sounds like a business opportunity to me... Just like RyWire is doing with car engine harnesses, an enthusiast company could build case harnesses that allow for ninja wiring. Start by picking some common cases like the Antec 900 and then design and build a multi-part wiring harness to replace what normally comes with a modular supply.

It's amazing what you can do with some quality soldering work, wire, and a peg board to aide in layout. Wonder if the market could handle what these would sell for though?
7 Jun 2012 ~ 12:44pm primesuspect Yeah, exactly; I mean, to be clear NZXT (or any other case manufacturer) COULD do it, but the problem is the market wouldn't pay for it. Just for the sake of discussion, pretend a case that does that would cost $400. Who would pay it? Not enough people to cover the R & D and manufacturing, that's for sure.
7 Jun 2012 ~ 2:11pm MAGIC
Yeah, exactly; I mean, to be clear NZXT (or any other case manufacturer) COULD do it, but the problem is the market wouldn't pay for it. Just for the sake of discussion, pretend a case that does that would cost $400. Who would pay it? Not enough people to cover the R & D and manufacturing, that's for sure.
Look at high end Silverstone and Lian Li cases 350-500 bucks. There is a niche of people who blow crazy amounts of money for a cool looking PC. The e-peen industry is strong.
7 Jun 2012 ~ 3:07pm AlexDeGruven I'm with Brian, though. The $150 I dropped for my 1200 is as high as I'm comfortable going.

I could see some pretty interesting design considerations for custom harnesses based upon case sizes, etc. Most of the higher-end cases these days have at least 1/2" between the back of the MoBo tray and the outer panel, plenty of room to strap a harness.
7 Jun 2012 ~ 3:13pm mertesn
Yeah, exactly; I mean, to be clear NZXT (or any other case manufacturer) COULD do it, but the problem is the market wouldn't pay for it. Just for the sake of discussion, pretend a case that does that would cost $400. Who would pay it? Not enough people to cover the R & D and manufacturing, that's for sure.
Look at high end Silverstone and Lian Li cases 350-500 bucks. There is a niche of people who blow crazy amounts of money for a cool looking PC. The e-peen industry is strong.
That's probably the price point where the tech would start. It's just like the automobile industry - the high-end models get the newest tech, then it trickles down to the lower end over a period of years.
7 Jun 2012 ~ 3:56pm Cliff_Forster What, no love for Raidmax?
7 Jun 2012 ~ 5:19pm fatcat once you go "90-degrees rotated motherboard mount" you will never go back
7 Jun 2012 ~ 7:37pm primesuspect @Cliff_Forster actually I do have love for RAIDMAX, they have improved dramatically in the last couple of years. I'll check them out on the showfloor tomorrow
8 Jun 2012 ~ 1:51pm Cliff_Forster @PrimeSuspect - To be clear, that was a little tongue in cheek on my part. Still, everything you have posted has been great coverage.