NZXT Source 530 Full Tower Chassis Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

NZXT have really done something incredible in terms of price, this many features at this price point is borderline incredible and for $90 you’ll be hard pushed to find anything better in terms of component compatibility. not all international retailers have stock at this time but the case can be ordered directly from the NZXT Armory for $89.99 or from OCUK for £79.99 here in the UK.

Conclusion

I’m at a crossroads with the Source 530, in many ways I absolutely love what NZXT have created, but at the same time I don’t like it at all. There is good reason for both too, so let’s get the reason why I don’t like it out of the way first. I think it looks horrible, the exterior design looks cheap from the front panel and the plastic trim on the front panel is cheap also, I just don’t think it would look right next to my desk, it is as simple as that.

Yet I have to confess, there is a reason it looks cheap, especially when compared to other NZXT gaming chassis, it IS cheap(er)! However, looks can be deceiving because build quality is spot on through out, there are no thin cut panels, no corners cut on the paint job and any compromises that may have been made as far as the overall visual design goes is simply to accommodate a colossal number of features within a certain price point, something I don’t think any other chassis on the market (in this price range of course) can compete with.

We’ve got three modular hard drive bays with slide out drive trays, as well as a stealth SSD mount at the back, support for a total of 9 fans and a fan hub to help keep them all running, then we have enough space for radiators in the front, back and top of the chassis, enough room for several of the biggest graphics cards on the market, loads of cable routing space and plenty of dust filters to help keep it all in check. Put simply, this is more than you can get for your money anywhere else, albeit at the small cost of exterior style.

I’m not saying this chassis can’t look great though, style is such as subjective quality anyway and even I have to admit that our build on the interior looks stunning, the side panel window gives a great interior view and there is no doubt that it can handle a monster gaming rig on the interior. The extensive cooling options do mean that it won’t be very sound proof, but that’s to be expected with such an open design as this, it’s built to hold high end components, not to tame them.

If you’re looking for a nice, quiet, day to day work rig, then this likely isn’t for you. However if you’re wanting to spend as much money as you can on high end graphics cards while still getting the best chassis you can afford to cram them all in, then the Source 530 manages to be both high-end and budget friendly at the same time, perfect for your next gaming rig.

Pros

• Extensive feature set and component compatibility
• Loads of room for cooling and airflow
• Airfilters on all major intakes
• Good build quality
• Modular storage bays
• Robust cable routing options
• Price

Cons

• Front panel looks cheap
• Front dust filter involved removing entire front panel to clean
• Could get noisy due to open design (dependant on your configuration)

“NZXT have always been listening to what gamers want in their chassis and its great to see that even when they hack a large chunk of the price off their high end models, they don’t cut  out any of the features that make NZXT cases so great to work with.”