Value & Conclusion
- The Phantom 240 sells for 80 euros including taxes.
- Phantom looks
- Optional top fans can be placed on top of case frame
- Tool-less ODD installation
- Tool-less HDD installation
- Comes with two fans
- Top hard-drive cage removable if you go all out
- Extremely good paint job
- White power LED a perfect touch
- Big window
- Expensive
- Entry level frame in a gaming chassis
- 120 mm tower cooler won't fit
- No proper dust filters on front and top
- Very little space for cable management
- Flimsy HDD trays are back
- Basic I/O
- Basic set of contents—no USB 2.0 adapter
- No rubber grommets on motherboard tray opening
- Only available in white
I am confused—on one hand, we clearly have the Phantom 240 aiming at enthusiasts and gamers, and yet there is the H230 for the entry level enthusiast who prefers a silent system. Both cases use the exact same frame and feature set, but the H230 also comes with sound-dampening material and its dust filters in the front while, for some reason, clocking in at 10 euros less than the Phantom 240. Alone that makes recommending the small Phantom 240 difficult. But there are, ultimately, also too many other issues one can trace back to the fact that NZXT is trying to market an entry level chassis frame—it does not even come with enough room for a 120 mm cooler—as a gaming chassis. The frame was first used in their entry level cases three years ago and has changed very little with the exception of the hard-drive cages which were introduced about a year ago. NZXT Phantom cases are usually really nice enclosures, but NZXT take this review to consider proper updates instead of milking the same frame over and over again—especially if it was never geared toward enthusiasts in the first place—by slapping a new top and front on and charging more for it. To add to the conundrum, the competition is not keeping still as there are cases like the Phanteks Enthoo Pro which only costs 10 euros more while offering a much better feature set and superior build quality, though it may lack a window. Sorry NZXT, I am a fan, but not of the Phantom 240.