 Brilliant Case, Brilliant Price! |
| Review Date: March 28, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Dana Chapman-Dukes, CENTRALIA, IL, US |
| For about 4 years I have been building and repairing computers, but not until recently have I gotten a job where I could buy all new equipment and build an all new PC. I love Nvidia products, and I knew there was Nvidia branded cases out there, I just had to find one. There are several other ones, by different companies. They are much more expensive, one I found in the $350 dollar range. I am Not going to pay 350 for a case, not happening. This one is a great price, you get a BRIGHT! green glowing from fan that blows air over your HDDs. My hard drives used to run about 50*C, they now run in the 30s! It has a fairly large exhaust chassis fan in the rear, both fans are almost silent. The side panel with the transparent Nvidia claw that is tinted green looks amazing! I you get all kinds of Nerd cred, just what I was going for! Also. on the same side panel it has a ventilation tube directly to the CPU cooler, I would imagine that you could replace the tube with another fan if you wanted, If I ever DO change out, I will probably install a green glowing fan to complement the rest of the case. The front panel is mesh which provides excellent ventilation, the only disadvantage is that you have to dust the area where the green glowing fan is because it sucks so much air that it sometimes collects a little, but not enough to worry about. Behind the mesh is foam filter to keep the dust at bay while still providing good ventilation. Also on the front panel is 2 USB 2.0 ports and a Mic in, and a line out audio plugs. To the audio plugs there is an AC '97 and an HD Audio connection. So thats covered. The only thing that I might have liked more about this case is if the PSU was floor mounted. I don't mind where its at too much because my PSU has a blue glowing fan on the bottom, the blue light isn't nearly as bright as the green fan, so unfortunately I can't see it as well. The HDD/Raid/FDD/CDR rack is tooless, I like that, but, the only quam I had about that is that the mounting brackets are plastic and while trying to mount a hard drive for the first time I broke one. Not good. But, there is several others on the rack, and I'm only mounting 2 HDDs, so it wasn't too much of a problem to me. This is a full size case, and I have a Micro ATX board and it mounts just fine, not problem. Over all, this is a great case, all I could as for is maybe a little stronger metal, but that isn't too much of an issue. I would most definitely recommend this case to someone else, its worth the money, and is big enough for an SLI board with the large cards. |
Great Compact Case
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| Review Date: June 3, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Test Drive Nut, Hawaii |
Got this case to to replace an old case (Enermax?) that was to small for larger video cards (GTX 260 / HD 5850) and didn't provide very good air flow through it. This case is just big enough for one of these video cards so long as you place the HD's at the very bottom of the case. The case is to small for doing an SLI/Xfire since the second video card will interfere with the HD even if it is mounted on the bottom. I like the middle front location of the USB and audio ports vs some other cases which have the ports located on the bottom, top or side.
The cooling provided by the original fans is ok but I replaced both with higher flow models and used a fan control module to regulate the speed. I removed the CPU vent attachment since I installed a much better heat pipe CPU coolers vs using the stock retail one. The design of the mesh gril with filter behind it is great for keeping dust and dog hairs out of the system but still provides excellent air flow through the case.
The window area is just right for looking in if you have your case on a desk next to you. I have installed Ballistic Tracer memory modules and the view looking in is great when the lights on the modules are flashing as the memory is being accessed. |
NV-334 nice surprise, customer service questionable
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| Review Date: October 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Retired EE, Ohio |
nVidia NV-334 case is great, but Cooler Master customer service is questionable
Case has green tinted plexiglass side, no side vent, has CPU cooler vent, power and reset switches and LEDs on right side, manual is tolerable.
PROs:
Front case panel removes easily, improved by CM
Front green fan included, didn't expect a front fan.
Front I/O panel has blank for 1394
Drive bays easy to work on (I added FP35B to front I/O panel)
Easily allow 11" video card instalaltion
Case material and quality good
Has both HD audio and AC'97 connectors
Has installed speaker w/ 4 pin connector
Power switch improved design (LEDs for both power and reset)
Mesh allows good ventilation
Cable mangement is good (no cable ties included)
Rear 7 slots managed by single lever mechanism (works well)
CONS:
Fans were 1500RPM, 50CFM and 25dbA (I replaced mine with Scythe DFS122512L-PWM and CM R4-L2R-20CG-GP quiter and better CFM)
No fan filters.
Contact with CM is difficult and getting response is almost impossible. I RMA'ed for nuts and got dead letter, my calls were answered but no action, "live chat" is impossible and directs you to e-mail.
Recommendation: Great case, nice design, looks good. Hopefully you will not need to communicate with Cooler Master. |
Just buy it!!
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| Review Date: April 9, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Joshua Scott Surrett, North Carolina |
I have built multiple personal and gaming computers but i have never used a Cooler Master case before, so i thought i would give them a try.
PROS- Thanks to the smart Nvidia badging and the claw down the side i was sold on looks alone. Its a nice solid case that isnt too flamboyant but it stand's out from the crowd and demands your attention. The green glow is calming and slightly ominous. The case is well built and feels solid opposed to flimsy sheet-metal that ive received from other companies. There are also plenty of slots for drives and such and i also enjoy the ease of the screw-less mounting. The cooling is also adequate however if you were an extreme gamer with dual-cards i would suggest a larger case all together.
CONS- The cooling is adequate but the case could have benefited from more fan ports. Including the side port for the CPU fan the case only has three and since im currently running a GTX-275 the internal temps tend to climb. The included fans are also slightly noisy but thats a personal preference. The screw-less brackets are also a tad on the weak side so pay close attention to what you are doing while fastening, i broke three quite easily. But on the upside, unless you have more than 5 HD's you will have plenty of spare brackets.
Summary - Aside from the lack of fan ports and partially weak screw-less brackets i can find nothing wrong with this case. Everything is easily accessible and theres plenty of room to move considering its a mid Tower. It excels in the looks department with flying green colors and if thats not enough to sell you the price will. For 50$-60$ dollar range you will be very hard pressed to find another case that matches its quality and style. Wether your an Nvidia fan boy or not, this is a great case and i wouldn't hesitate to get another one. Hope this helps in your decision. |
Unique styled case.
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| Review Date: August 13, 2010 |
| Reviewer: George Bowen, BUCKFIELD, ME, US |
| This is my first from the ground up PC project and I chose this case for it's unique style. I have been a big fan of nVIDIA for some time now, so having their name on the front appealed to me. This is a great case. Upfront I will say the only thing that kept it from getting 5 stars was lack of cable management. Other than that, it rocks! Assembly of all the components into the case was a snap. The drive installation was so easy, I do not know how some reviewers were saying they broke the plastic devices for holding the drives in place. I had no issues. It comes with a green LED fan in the front, which really looks awesome in the dark. I replaced the rear fan with another green LED fan and talk about cool! Even after hours of use, the air being forced out of the case was cool.I also found the green lights added a sense of relaxation. I love the side windows. Nice touch! The mic/headphone jacks on the front work quite well, and having a couple more USB ports that are easy to get at is a real plus. I highly recommend this case to any first time, or veteran PC builders. |
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