IN THE BEGINNING, there was the NZXT Beta. Saint Peter reviewed the Beta and saw that it was good. And lo, it received an “Outstanding Product” endorsement. And all who purchased it said, “Behold, it is a good case.” But NZXT said, “Indeed, it is a good case, but we can do better.”
And so it came to pass that NZXT made revisions to the Beta. And they said unto the Lords of Icrontic, “Behold the Beta EVO. We shall send it to you, but to whom shall we send it?” And the Lords of Icrontic said unto me, “Will you review this case?” And I said unto the Lords of Icrontic, “Indeed it would be a pleasure…”
So, um… Anyway, the NZXT Beta EVO is a revised version of the original Beta, a case we loved. In fact, I am an owner of a Beta as a direct result of Peter’s review, and was thrilled at the opportunity to see what they had come up with for the Beta EVO.
What hasn’t changed?
The NZXT Beta EVO retains the same qualities that made the original Beta great: The same appearance, dimensions, light weight, great build quality, excellent clearance, and tool-free installation for the 3-½” and 5-¼” drive bays. There is still, however, only one fan included with the case, and it is still behind the faceplate.
The included accessories are the same as well: 3-½” hard drive rails, 5-¼” drive bay locks, motherboard standoffs, and plenty of screws.
One last thing that hasn’t changed (but should have) is the 3-½” bay just below the 5-¼” bays. Presumably this bay is for a floppy drive or a media reader, but there is absolutely no way to make this bay accessible from the front of the case without cutting a hole.
Unfortunately, the drive lock for this bay doesn’t allow for use with another hard drive, either. The holes don’t line up for 3-½” or 2-½” drives. This actually is a minor complaint overall; most users will never run into a situation where this bay would be needed.
What has changed?
The many great improvements in the Beta EVO.
The power supply is now mounted at the bottom where a mesh-covered vent has been added. Doing so provides three benefits:
- Stability is improved by moving a heavier component to the bottom of the case.
- The power supply no longer interferes with devices or their attached cables in the 5-¼” bays
- Cable management is improved by moving power supply cables down to the 3-½” bay area, which is still rotated 90 degrees.
Two fan grills have been added to the top panel. These grills each contain mount points for a 140mm or 120mm fan. This makes a total of five fans that may be added, depending on the size of your components.
The motherboard tray now has a hole providing access to the back of the CPU socket. This is great for people with heatsinks requiring a backplate such as the Thermalright Ultra120 Extreme or TRUE Spirit.
Stamped into the motherboard tray are numbers for each standoff hole and instructions on which holes to install the standoff screws for ATX, MicroATX, and FlexATX motherboards. The original beta had similar, but less detailed markings for ATX and MicroATX motherboards.
Finally, the cable routing channel in the motherboard tray has been inverted to provide enough room for even the largest of cables behind the tray. This easily improves airflow and just plain keeps the interior looking clean.
Working with the Beta EVO
Installing components in the Beta EVO is even easier than it was in the Beta. Thanks to the relocated power supply mounts and deep cable channel, everything routes and installs without fighting to squeeze the last part in.
The same hardware installed in the Beta EVO (left) and Beta (right), respectively.
All of these changes make the Beta EVO even more of a pleasure to work with than its predecessor. It is almost a shame that a window was not added to the side panel to show off the cleanliness of the interior when all parts are installed.
There was absolutely no problem routing any cable to its associated component, nor were there any issues installing the SpinQ heatsink. The cable channel also made CD/DVD-ROMs a snap to work with.
Hard drives were simple to install as well, though locking SATA cables bit too long for the back panel to be comfortably closed. Non-locking SATA cables will have more than enough room to flex as needed. Lastly, power supplies with stiff SATA power cables may also cause minor problems, but those are easily resolved with extension cables.
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