Assembly

Installing the mainboard is done with the use of spacers and screws. There is more than enough space above the board so you should have no problems with large CPU coolers, even when the PSU is installed. All I/O cables are long enough, except the audio one. This is due to the different location of the header on the mainboard. Most connectivity is located on the bottom right, but the audio header is traditionally placed on the bottom left. So users with larger graphic cards will find themselves unable to connect the cable to their mainboard - which may be a deal breaker for some.


Installing the hard drive is easy and screwless as well. Just place the rails on either side of the drive and slide it into place. The HDD connectors face you when installing the drive, so you will have a hard time to hide cables within the Beta. The ODD installation is also screwless. The plastic locks are nothing new, but the fact that you receive enough to secure every drive on both sides seems to turn the tides. While we had a problem with general security when using such cheap locks, using a pair of them on each optical drive does the trick very well as there is no noticeable play.


Installing the PSU is also done with the supplied screws, nothing interesting to see here. Longer units should fit, but you may run into trouble when combining long PSUs with long ODDs. But who will by a 50 US Dollar case and stuff it with a 1kW or larger power supply? It would be like jamming a Ferrari engine into a Ford Fiesta.

Finished Looks

After closing the side panels and turning on the chassis, I have to admit - I was impressed by the looks. Both the reset and power button light up blue. The fan also features lighting elements with the same color, which shimmer through the front nicely. The glow is not too strong, so you should be able to put the system into your bedroom.


I would even say that the case looks great and considering the price tag, most should be very happy with the NZXT Beta.