NZXT Tempest 410 Elite: Jack of All Trades
by Dustin Sklavos on September 1, 2011 3:20 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- NZXT
Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock
Going in to testing the NZXT Tempest 410 Elite, I'll admit I was concerned. While the cooling system certainly seems adequate enough (two 120mm front intakes and a single 120mm rear exhaust), the massive opening at the top for mounting a 240mm water-cooling system just screams "noise problems" to me. The Tempest 410 Elite seems to be engineered for airflow first and foremost, with acoustics a distant second.
Thermals aren't great but they're not awful either, and at least the idle temperature on the CPU ranks among the lowest we've seen. For its price range, the Tempest 410 Elite is posting some of the best performance we've seen, though, with only the In-Win BUC really competing with it. Everything else that beats it is north of $100.
Yet there's the price you pay for those thermals: noise. While a fan controller could probably clean up this situation (and NZXT's recently released Sentry Mix certainly fits the bill, able to support an impressive six fans from a single 5.25" bay), you'll undoubtedly sacrifice some of the Tempest 410 Elite's thermal performance in the process, and a fan controller still doesn't really address what I think the major issue of the case is: the gaping holes in the top for mounting that 240mm water-cooling kit.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
14 Comments
View All Comments
Shinobisan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
I'm seriously looking at the Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T case.Seems to have everything I want, but I would really like to see a good review on it before buying. Any chance y'all could get your hands on one?
bobbozzo - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4028/corsair-graphit...I think the only difference with the Special Edition is the window and possibly the fan controller.
BTW, I helped my friend build a system with the Corsair 600T, and I have an Antec P182.
The Corsair is much wider, but I'm not sure that it has any functional advantages over the Antec, other than bigger fans.
Shinobisan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
Yep, that works.Malih - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
the way front USB ports is laid out on 600T makes it easier to use multiple ports in case you plug something.bigger backplate opening.
easily removable front+top dust filter.
Although I kindof wish the fan RPM on 600T control is a volume control instead.
There's also the P183.
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
I like the looks of the Corsair 600T, but for performance and acoustics I actually still have to give the nod to Rosewill's Thor v2 at roughly the same price (if not a bit cheaper). If you don't mind the aesthetics, the Thor v2 will run cooler at roughly the same noise level.ckryan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
Samsung's BD drives - they seriously make any case look good with their mirrored tray and a piano-finished glossy black which looks anything but chintzy. Optical drives are largely forgettable affairs, but its hard to ignore the aesthetics. I could get by with a $20 DVD combo, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I paid several times as much just for a better looking BD drive. It looks especially good with black aluminum enclosures, but does seem to class up cheaper plastic cases as well.
I actually broke the sata connector on mine, buy RMAing it was painless as well, which always counts for something in my book.
Dustin's reviews are some of the best anywhere, and I like the commitment to cases in a world where work a day component coverage is getting squeezed by so much other gear.
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
That comment just made my day. Thank you!ckryan - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
You've been on a tear recently.arswihart - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
Looks like well cooled, quiet cases are finally becoming the norm. But, an ATX motherboard is overkill most of the time these days. I guess the case makers are just stuck in the past.stm1185 - Thursday, September 1, 2011 - link
That pretty much sums up my thoughts on this case. I was thinking NZXT had the best designers with the Phantom, then the H2, but then they put out this thing and its just so ugly in comparison.