INTRODUCTION
During the last two years PC Case manufacturers seem to have but a single goal in mind and that's to release towers of unprecedented quality, size and features aimed almost entirely towards hardcore gamers, enthusiasts and professionals. Certainly that's a very good thing for consumers especially since never before have we seen the release of overwhelming towers like the massive Corsair Obsidian 0900D, the breathtaking Cooler Master Cosmos II, the elegant Lian Li PC-X2000FN and the modern NZXT Phantom 820 inside such a short period of time. The only downside such dreadnaughts have is their hefty price tags making them extremely hard for the majority of people to own something which every manufacturer out there is well aware. So to cover all consumer segments NZXT has several models in the Phantom line including the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower which they released as the next best thing for people who can't or don't want to spend way over USD200 for the top of the line Phantom 820 Ultra+ Tower. Thus prior to checking out the Phantom 820 Ultra+ Tower we decided to see just what the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower has to offer and then in turn compare it with its larger brother.
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My first "official" encounter with NZXT was when they released their very first Phantom tower back in 2010. The Phantom was a full tower which offered plenty of interior space, a nice set of features and a rather futuristic/sporty exterior design. However i can't say that i was very impressed with its overall build quality since NZXT used too much plastic on the exterior, at least for my taste. Of course the same material was responsible for the great design since aluminum would be extremely hard to use to in order to get the same results (and would also increase the cost of the unit significantly) but still it didn't really feel as sturdy as some aluminum towers. Unfortunately the same pretty much applies for the Phantom 630 Ultra+ Tower but this time over NZXT has outfitted it with more features including more interior space, modular internal drive cages, mounting spots for up to three 120mm radiators or two 240mm ones, two SSD mounts behind the mainboard tray, an 30W single channel 3-speed fan controller and an SD card reader. Are these however enough for us to put aside the similarities with its predecessor?
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
The box of the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower is quite massive and has a product picture at the front along with the NZXT logo.
The specifications table along with the warranty period and model color are placed on the right side.
On the left we see the features of the tower written in 7 languages.
At the rear we see all of the features showcased through several pictures.
Typically the tower is placed between two Styrofoam spacers and inside a plastic bag.
The list of the bundle contents is not very large so you will just find several plastic bags with all the necessary screws you will ever need (regardless of what you plan to install in the Phantom 630), a product catalog and the user's manual.
THE PHANTOM 630 EXTERIOR
Although slightly changed the exterior of the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower follows the smooth lines of its predecessor (as already stated the front/top are made out of plastic).
On the right side NZXT has placed a small plastic window and an 200mm intake fan (800RPM).
The front fascia is very sleek and in a way looks a lot like the front of a bike or a sports car.
I liked that NZXT has once again placed a top door but unfortunately once again it can only be opened from the left.
Behind the door we see the SD card reader slot and four 5.25" perforated bays.
Another 200mm intake fan is placed at the lower section of the front fascia. Here you can either keep that fan or replace it with up to two 140mm ones (you can mount an 240mm radiator vertically if you want).
The I/O panel is placed at the top and is divided into two sections. On the left we see two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports and the headphones/microphone plugs while on the right side we have the power On/Off switch, reset switch and the 3-speed fan controller.
A third 200mm fan is placed at the top and right next to that NZXT has left room for a second 200mm exhaust fan.
At the rear we see a 140mm exhaust fan, 9 PCI expansion slots and the bottom PSU area. Worth mentioning is that you should have no problem mounting an 150mm fan with 140mm mounting holes (although not stated in the specs sheet).
NZXT is using plain thumbscrews for both side panels. I would like to see rubber coated ones but these are not bad either.
At the base of the tower we see two large removable filters and room for two 140mm intake fans.
THE PHANTOM 630 INTERIOR
One thing you will notice is that neither one of the side panels has any kind of noise absorbing material on the interior.
The interior is really spacious which is natural since the Phantom 630 can accommodate up to XL sized mainboards.
All four 5.25" bays have quite sturdy locking mechanisms in place.
Right beneath we see three 3.5/2.5" drive cages with room for up to 6 drives.
A nice feature is the HDD pivot 140mm fan spot.
The drive trays are made out of flexible plastic so they are not very sturdy.
You can remove all three cages by removing 10 thumbscrews from the rear. The drives are also mounted from the rear.
For people who may choose to remove the drive cages NZXT has outfitted the Phantom 630 with two 2.5" SSD mounts placed beneath the mainboard tray.
You can use up to 10 fans with the built-in fan controller.
There's plenty of space (almost 3cm) for cable management between the mainboard tray and the right side panel.
Once you remove all three cages you will have access to the front area where you can mount a 240mm radiator vertically.
After that you have plenty of choices as to where you'd like to place the cages and how many of them you'd like to use (useful if you plan on mounting mGPU cards).
There are 4 large rubber grommet holes on the mainboard tray and a huge CPU cut out for swapping backplates with ease.
From the interior it's easy to see that you should be able to use a larger rear exhaust fan.
I was surprised to see that all 9 PCI slots are secured in place via regular screws. This is perhaps the sturdiest way but thumbscrews are easier to use.
Regardless of how long your PSU is the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower has more than enough room for it.
You can also mount a top 240mm radiator if the front and bottom spots are not sufficient for your needs.
BUILDING THE SYSTEM
As always the purpose of this section is not to build a fully working system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.
The interior of the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower dwarfs normal ATX sized mainboards.
Needless to say that there's enough space for even the largest CPU cooler around without having to worry about clearance issues.
Without removing either one of the drive cages you can mount any graphics card up to 325mm long while if you do without a drive cage (or all) that extends to 507mm.
There's also plenty of room for even the largest PSU and then some.
NOISE LEVEL TEST
After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically ontop of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller.
CONCLUSION
The original Phantom full tower surprised everybody with its unique design, plenty of interior space, wealth of features and impressive airflow even out of the box especially since it was designed and manufactured by a relatively new player called NZXT. Well the Phantom 630 is basically an improved Phantom full tower and offers more interior space, better overall build quality, more features and many times over the cooling potential of its predecessor due to the many available 120mm/240mm radiator mounts. Three more great features are the two SSD mounts placed beneath the mainboard tray, the removable drive cages and the 3-speed fan controller although the switch at the top I/O could be slightly better to use (softer would be nice). The only two slight problems with the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower is the inability to change the orientation of the front door and the amount of plastic used for the top/front covers. Granted the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower offers a lot more than it lacks but we just wish NZXT would make an all-aluminum Phantom Super Tower.
With a current price tag set at around USD180 inside the USA and at 169.90Euros inside the EU (Purchase Directly from Caseking.de) the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower may not be the very first choice for most consumers but it's certainly worth every penny. Of course if you decide to cross the USD200/200Euros price mark you can opt for the larger and more feature-rich Phantom 820 but if we exclude the 1% of total PC users worldwide (namely the enthusiast group) i see little reason for someone to go the extra mile (although certainly the 820 is a few steps above the 630). Overall the Phantom 630 Ultra Tower may not be the perfect tower but it offers a wide range of features we rarely ever see and on top of that it has one of the best cooling potentials we've encounter with a sub USD250/250Euros tower and that's why it walks away with our Golden Award.
PROS
- Build Quality (Overall)
- Design
- Stock Airflow
- Cooling Potential (120mm/240mm Radiators)
- 3-Speed Fan Controller
- 2 Mainboard SSD Mounts
- Interior Space
- Removable 2.5”/3.5” Drive Cages
- Air Filters
CONS
- Top/Front Covers Made With Plastic
- Front Door Orientation Can't Be Changed
- Price (For Some)