NZXT Noctis 450 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The NZXT Noctis 450 is available from Overclockers UK for £109.99 and is available in white with blue LEDs, or black with red LEDs. Readers in the US can pick it up from Newegg for $139.99.

Overview

The H440 was and still is a fantastic chassis and while looks are subjective, the Noctis has certainly improved on the original design. The most important factor is clearly in terms of airflow, with the Noctis 450 offering 10x the surface area for air intake vs the H440. If you’re running a lot of high-end water cooling, a lot of fans, or simply a couple of graphics cards that crave extra airflow, then the Noctis 450 is certainly going to offering your hardware a lot more breathing space. Of course, that comes as a trade-off, as the H440 was built for silence, so you’re looking that sound dampening material and swapping for a more open design, so it’s really about choosing the one that suits your needs.

Now, I can’t skip over the fact that there’s nothing innovative about this chassis, as there isn’t. There was in the H440, as NZXT introduced a PSU shroud to their range, plus the internal layout is a great one, but the Noctis 450 is somewhat of a tribute in that respect. This is the H440, it’s just got a new set of armor on. So again, it’s every bit as good in terms of internal design as the H440, but with more airflow and a more aggressive design for those who didn’t like the blank panels of the original.

Air and water cooling support is superb in this chassis, lots of room for fans and radiators throughout, giving you lots of options for your next build. Add to that the sublime cable routing options, as well as the hidden PSU mount and there’s no doubt you’re going to find it very easy to get an aesthetically pleasing system build, with good airflow, with minimal effort.

The Notec 450 is a little expensive, but this is a gaming chassis from a premium brand name. It also comes with a few bonus features such as LED lighting, a fan control hub and four high-quality fans pre-installed, so while the price does look a little inflated, it’s actually pretty reasonable value for money overall. Since little but the external panels have changed since the H440, I’m sticking to my guns for my original award on the H440, this is more a new flavour of an old chassis, rather than a completely new product.

Pros

• Unique design
• Huge side panel window
• Integrated LED lighting
• Internal fan hub
• Superb cable routing
• PSU shroud
• Four pre-installed fans
• Dust filters on all major intakes
• Front 2.5″ drive bays
• Fully removable 3.5″ drive trays

Cons

• None

Neutral

• The design may be a little over the top for some people
• Nothing really new on the interior vs the H440
• No 5.25″ drive bays, but few people use them these days anyway

“The Noctis 450 is a great chassis for those looking to build a high-end, water-cooled gaming PC. It’s got a unique design, lots of airflow and the addition of LED lighting and pre-installed fans means it’s going to be easy to get a great looking and performance build with minimal effort.”

Thank you NZXT for providing us with this sample.