Introduction

Until very recently, I was using an eight year old, full tower server case. Mind you, it was one of the original Chieftec Dragons, but it was still an eight year old case. With the constant upgrades I was doing to components, it seemed a little odd, but, the fact of the matter is, components were evolving, but cases really weren’t. I hated using a full tower, but every mid-tower I tried wound up on the scrap heap because they were cramped, had limited mounting for components and typically had bad airflow characteristics.

Recently, all that has changed. It took a while, but case architecture is finally catching up with component evolution. With today’s components running hotter, airflow became a major concern. Not every enthusiast wants a full tower taking up a ton of room if they can go into a capable mid-tower, and today’s mid-towers are answering these needs. NZXT’s crafted series offers a good variety of well designed cases aimed specifically at these needs, and the NZXT Tempest EVO stands at the forefront.

The NZXT Tempest EVO is a very unique piece in the market. The NZXT Tempest EVO is a mid-tower case, but the specs look much more like those of a full tower. It has the ability to house eight hard drives, three external drives, e-ATX motherboard and the largest of the current graphics cards in multiples. It also offers the ability to cool all these components, using three 120mm blue LED intake fans, and one 120mm and two 140mm blue LED exhaust fans. The front panel offers two USB, e-SATA and audio. The power supply is bottom mounted with a vent for increased airflow to the unit. A smoked clear side panel allows you to show off the blacked out interior of the case.