Installation & Testing

Installing a system into NZXT Tempest was an easy task. The whole procedure took me around 20-25 minutes including attachment of all auxiliaries, cables, etc. Although the chassis isn’t large, it would be nice to include a sliding motherboard tray for easier and faster installation. After all the case is taunted to be an “Enthusiast PC case”. The whole setting up procedure narrowed down to few major steps as with most PCs. Obviously I started with putting a motherboard inside it, securing it with included screws and connecting all front panel cables.


The installation of 5.25” and 3.25” devices went smoothly. You have to be very careful when taking off the front panel as the plastic pins that hold it in place are very delicate. I myself broke three of them so do it slowly. The tool-free kits saved me some time and I was able to start up the computer in no time. One thing that seems to be out of ordinary is the vertical 3.5” device placement. You can put in as many as eight hard drives if you want, or any other devices that would fit there. It's a great case if you're running a server for example.


Thumbscrews are something that's missing inside the Tempest. Sure there are side panel ones (it's actually a regular screw with plastic top), but it wouldn't hurt to include them for the inside compartments such as hard drive cages. Speaking of which, I wouldn't mind seeing removable cages that could be swiftly taken out without having to remove the front bezel first. Considering the case price of $99 these are minor issues though.


Although the Tempest from NZXT is made out of steel, its no worse than aluminum designs in terms of heat dissipation. Bear in mind that only devices that are directly in contact with the material might benefit from slightly lesser temperatures. Significant changes however aren't notable.

The environment temperature was around 21-22°C. With an overclocked Core2Duo and Leadtek GeForce 8800 GT scorching in the background the following results were achieved.