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.
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.
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.
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?
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)
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).
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
@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
primesuspect
Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
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The Hue looks like a steal for $29.99, completely differentiated, a new kind of product, modders will be all over it.
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.
Also, why would NZXT, a company that clearly makes cases with cable management in mind, make a non-modular PSU?
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.
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?
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.