NZXT Switch 810 Case Review

[siopao1984]

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NZXT is a well-known company amongst enthusiasts which ever since 2004 has been developing and distributing some of the best computer cases available. Today the company has one of the largest computer case selections available, with a product for every kind of user and budget. In this review we will examine the Switch 810, a case from their crafted series designed with hardcore enthusiasts and gamers in mind. Let us see what NZXT has in store for hardcore enthusiasts this summer.Manufacturer’s features and specifications

• Unique hybrid full tower chassis optimized for extreme liquid cooling, airflow, or silence
• Supports high-end water cooling solutions up to three fans for push and pull configuration: 90mm of internal top space with top 360/420mm and bottom 140/240mm radiator support for unmatched liquid cooling
• Four watercooling cutouts for easy liquid cooling management on the rear panel
• Spacious CPU cutout for mounting high-end CPU coolers without removing the motherboard
• Removable top 5.25” plates to accommodate wide radiators
• Clever hybrid fin design allows the user to choose between maximum airflow or sound reduction
• Innovative right-mounted HDDs for easy hard drive replacement
• Removable HDD pull-out cages and large storage capacity for 7 hard drives
• Equipped with two 140mm pivot fan slots for directing airflow at 15? to the VGA and CPU
• Rear white light for visibility in dark environments with a toggle switch
• Dual high-speed USB 3.0, hard drive dock along with a SD card reader for transfer and quick access to multimedia
• 5.25" hard drive hot swap with SATA III support
• Nine expansion slots for installing EATX motherboards with Quad SLI or Triple Crossfire
• Supreme cooling capacity with up to ten 140/120mm fans
• Stress-free wire management and 23mm clearance in the rear allows for superb wire-tucks
• Ten large specialized cutout holes for easy cable management
• Easily removable bottom filters in the front and rear to prevent dust from entering
• Tool-less 5.25” and 3.5”/2.5” SSD hard drive installation for convenience and ease of accessibility
• Large acrylic window with a view to show off the interior of your rig

MODEL	Switch 810
CASE TYPE	Hybrid Full Tower
FRONT PANEL MATERIAL	Plastic/Steel
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D)	235 x 595 X 585 mm
VGA Clearance Maximum	375mm (w/out fan), 350 (installed), 285 (full pivot)
COOLING SYSTEM	FRONT, 2 X 120/140mm (1x 140mm included) REAR, 1 X 120/140mm (1x 140mm included) TOP, 3 X 120/140mm (1x 140mm included) BOTTOM, 2x 120/140mm INTERIOR, 2x 120/140mm (1x 140mm included) SIDE, Large acrylic window
DRIVE BAYS	4 EXTERNAL 5.25" DRIVE BAYS 6 INTERNAL 3.5" DRIVE BAYS Screwless Rail Design
MATERIAL(S)	Steel, Plastic
EXPANSION SLOTS	9
WEIGHT	14.42 kg
MOTHERBOARD SUPPORT	E-ATX, XL-ATX, ATX, MICRO-ATX, Mini-ITX

Read more: NZXT Switch 810 Case Review by VR-Zone.com

[siopao1984]

NZXT supplies the Switch 810 in a large cardboard box, which obviously received quite a bit of punishment on its way to our labs. Apparently the packaging is more than capable to protect the case from transit mishandling, as the case arrived unscathed despite the external condition of the box. The theme on the box is rather mundane, with only a picture of the white version of the case dissolving the all-black background.



NZXT also kept the bundle limited to the bare essentials. The company supplies a standard installation guide, the necessary mounting hardware in black, some common black cable ties and an 8-pin 12V CPU power extension cable. It is worthwhile to mention that the extension has individually sleeved cables.

[siopao1984]

NZXT tried hard to balance this case between watercooling support, performance and silence. Thus, measuring 60cm tall and 59cm deep, the Switch 810 is a sizable tower case but not overly large. We received the “monolithic black” version of the Switch 810, the surfaces of which are sprayed with a high gloss black color. NZXT also offers this case in white and in two “special edition” versions, colored gunmetal grey and matte black respectively. The base design of the case is relatively simple and serious, composed from straight lines and simple geometric shapes. Despite the extensive use of plastic, the Switch 810 is a fairly heavy tower case, weighting 14.5kg when completely empty.



The (ridiculously) reflective faceplate follows the simple, serious theme of the product and is entirely made out of plastic. We especially liked the 5.25” bay covers, which can be removed with extraordinary ease. There is nothing disturbing the monolithic appearance of the faceplate; even the company logo is subtly engraved beneath the lowest 5.25” bay cover.



NZXT designed the bottom half of the faceplate to be easily removable, allowing access to the front dust filter. The panel is secured using a simple “push to lock/unlock” mechanism, meaning that a slight push unlocks the panel for removal and another slight push locks it back into position.



We found the soft “rubberized” power-on button at the front top side of the case. A small HDD activity LED can be seen discreetly placed slightly above the button. There is no small, round power-on LED; a white stripe at the right side of the plastic cover lights up while the system is powered on.



The front I/O and some of the buttons of the Switch 810 can be found towards the top of the faceplate, hidden beneath a door. Starting from left to right, there are two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, the standard headset ports, a LED On/Off button and a miniscule reset button.

[siopao1984]

A large rectangular window covers most of the left side panel, with no fan slots or openings. The window is well secured on the side panel and there will not be any hideous rattling while using this case; however the clear plastic obviously does not have the mechanical strength of metal, meaning that a forceful blow can easily break it.



One of the most important features of this case is the top side panel, which hides the slots for three 120mm/140mm cooling fans and is ready to accommodate dual and triple watercooling radiators. Only one 140mm fan is installed at the factory floor. The whole panel can be removed by the same “push to lock/unlock” mechanism which retains the front faceplate, although there are no filters to clean.



An interesting feature is that the user can open or close the top vents at will, choosing between airflow and silence. Closing the top vents renders the top panel fans nearly obsolete (not completely; there still are small side vents) but also notably reduces noise and incoming dust.



Following the color theme of the case, the rear side of the Switch 810 is entirely black, although not glossy like the rest of the panels. There are four rubber grommets, allowing the routing of watercooling hoses and/or cables in and out of the case. A very interesting feature is that the rear exhaust vent has been designed in such a way that the user may adjust the position of the cooling fan by about 5cm vertically, allowing its perfect alignment with the CPU cooler or other equipment.



Two dust filters can be seen at the bottom of the case, filtering the air of the PSU intake and of the lower intake vents. The PSU fan filter can be extracted from the rear side of the case, while the filter of the lower intake vents needs to be extracted from the front side of the case after removing the front panel cover. The large rubber feet of the case are very short, therefore the Switch 810 essentially becomes one with your desktop or floor.

[Stamparden Care]

want to have this case.. nana ba kaha ni dri cebu?

[siopao1984]

As interesting the exterior of the Switch 810 case might be, the interior is even more interesting. The large, roomy case appears full of sophisticated mechanisms and roomy enough to accommodate even the most complex gaming systems. NZXT cut open the motherboard tray behind the CPU area; yet the opening is a little small and we feel that it might obstruct the CPU cooler installation with some motherboards. There are numerous (10) rectangular openings covered by rubber grommets, allowing the user to easily route any cables from and to the back of the motherboard tray.



The rear of the motherboard’s tray is roomy and with a high clearance, providing ample room to route and manage the cables of any high performance system. NZXT punched metallic hinges all over the tray for simple cable ties to be used for cable management. A small fan power hub can be seen at the middle of the tray, allowing up to 7 cooling fans to be powered from a single Molex connector.



Both the top and rear 140mm stock fans of this case are identical, with a black frame and white blades.



NZXT perforated the expansion slot covers to assist with the airflow. They are also held in place by thumbscrews, which might not be forming the most sophisticated “tool-less” installation mechanism but they are simple and very effective.

[siopao1984]

Two HDD cages able to accommodate up to three 3.5” drives each are installed inside the Switch 810. The cages are removable if one removes the screws which secured them and NZXT even placed a nice handle on each of them.



On the top HDD cage NZXT placed yet another 140mm fan, which can also be tilted up to 15° in order to direct airflow towards certain components.



In each of the two HDD cages NZXT placed three plastic trays. The trays lock on 3.5” without the need to use any screws, allowing the quick installation and removal of typical HDD drives. 2.5” drives may also be installed; however, screws will now be necessary for their fixing onto the tray.



Up to four 5.25” devices may be installed inside the Switch 810, each of which are being locked with plastic locks. A hot-swap 3.5” device tray occupies the bottom 5.25” slot but it may be removed if necessary. It also is interesting to note that NZXT placed a set of thumbscrews along the rear of the 5.25” bays, which may be used to secure any of the drives and/or the motherboard itself.



The PSU compartment lies at the bottom of the Switch 810, as is the case nowadays with most high performance designs. NZXT placed six tall stands with rubber tops for the PSU to sit upon. A cooling fan may also be installed at the bottom of the case but none is to be found installed from the factory floor.



Our ICTT system fits inside the NZXT Switch 810 with extreme ease, leaving plenty of room to work with and making the installation/removal of components with the motherboard still inside the case an easy task. Very long PCIe cards will easily fit inside the Switch 810 as well. The many openings allow for the easy routing of any and all cables, which will probably cause perfectionists to spend hours building their first system inside the Switch 810.

[siopao1984]

In order to assess the thermal performance of the case we will be using our Integrated Casing Torture Test (ICTT) system to take readings over a period of one and a half hour. All of the case fans are operating at their maximum speed during the test and both side panels are closed. The top vents of the case are open and the tilt of the drive cage fan is 0° (perfectly vertical). The exhaust temperature probe was placed above the rear fan of the case.



The thermal performance of the NZXT Switch 810 case did not leave us disappointed. We recorded fairly low temperatures compared to other gaming-grade enclosures, particularly around the HDD cage area; most likely a result of the interior 140mm fan which is combined with an identical front intake fan to create a wind tunnel. The exhaust temperatures of the case also are particularly low, most likely due to the bulk of the hot air escaping from the open top of the case.

When it comes to acoustics performance, the NZXT Switch 810 does very well even with the top panel vents wide open. We recorded a noise level of 35.7dB(A) one meter away from the case, an audible but comfortable figure, especially for an enclosure with so many openings and with such a number of stock cooling fans.

[siopao1984]

Quality (30% of the total score)

NZXT has always been a company which kept the quality standards high. Although the Switch 810 is no exception, with the overall design and quality being above today’s standards, the extensive use of plastic compromises the look and feel of the case. The plastics are by no means weak or flimsy; they might even be some of the best quality plastics we have seen on a product around this price range, yet most enthusiasts would certainly prefer the use of more metal, even if for the sake of appearance alone. Nevertheless, the Switch 810 remains a very well designed and carefully manufactured product, the designers of which obviously spent notable time and effort on fine-tuning the details.

Quality Score 8.5/10



Performance (30% of the total score)

The numbers speak for themselves: In terms of performance, the Switch 810 case makes NZXT proud. As any enthusiast would expect from a case designed to handle triple fan radiator watercooling kits and super gaming systems, the Switch 810 delivers exceptional thermal performance when compared to other similarly priced products. The high thermal performance does not severely compromise the acoustics performance of the case, which remains at human-friendly levels even with all of the stock fans running at maximum speed and the top vents open. Still, NZXT offers the users the versatility to either close the vents, remove some of the fans or add even more, allowing them to choose their own balance between thermal performance and acoustics.

Performance Score 9.5/10



Aesthetics (30% of the total score)

Despite the glossy black paint job, the Switch 810 is an otherwise simple-looking case which is trying to impress the user through its sharp geometric design. There are no rough edges and/or complex shapes about the Switch 810, most surfaces of which are perfectly plain. Although it is not a bad looking case at all and the large side panel window increases the aesthetic value of the case even further, as we mentioned before the extensive use of plastic compromises the overall appearance of the case enough for us to take some points off.

Aesthetics Score 8.0/10



Value (10% of the total score)

We found the NZXT Switch 810 retailing for about 170 USD / 160 EUR / 225 SGD at the time of this review. Although the retail price certainly places this case outside the range of those shopping on a tight budget, it actually is a rather good deal considering the features and versatility which the Switch 810 offers. It may not be priced aggressively against the competition but it is not more expensive than products of similar size and features. We would say that the price is just right, although a price cut would definitely increase the value of the product.

Value Score 9.0/10