Gadgetory

what's up guys welcome back to the channel hope you're all doing well in this video I'm going to be checking out the Noctis 450 from NZXT but unlike most other case reviews that I do today I'm also going to be doing a full skylake system build in this case that's right you're basically getting two videos but you only have to tolerate me for half the time everyone wins so in just a bit I'll be showing off the full time-lapse of the assembly while commentating on my build experience in this case along the way of course since most of the build will take place inside of the chassis let's quickly take a look at the noctis's unique exterior design so if he wants back after this case released in the US the internet wasted no time in bequeathing it the pseudo name the dark knight case an alias I find befitting as the stealthy matte black finish and wicked sharp edges make the case look like something you'd find when snooping around the Batcave there's also a red glowing NZXT logo on the power supply shroud and some matching under glow lighting which make the case look pretty badass in low-light perhaps even more badass though would have been the inclusion of RGB LED functionality for a far broader range of system customization instead your only other color option here for the Noctis is the white model that features blue accent lighting which might seem a bit limiting now while this case uses the same slim frame as the hugely successful NZXT h4 40 the massive bulge of the 450s top and front panels make it much bulkier in comparison so small desk owners beware fortunately both panels support a fully open ventilation design though it would appear otherwise while their purpose is purely cosmetic all the plastic paneling is actually raised a few centimeters above the underlying mesh to ensure fresh air flow all around popping off the front panel we see the omission of a five and a quarter inch Bay in place of a magnetic dust filter that hides three included 120 millimeter fans with optional mounting points for two 140 s I was also pleased to see ample space under the front panel for push-pull setups when water cooling on top you'll find a pair of USB 2 and USB 3 ports mic and headphone jacks and power button with red LED under the hood is the same configuration we saw at the front with mounting points for three or to 140s it should be noted here though that only the two rear fans can fit directly underneath the top panel meaning you'd only be able to install five of the six fans when mounting a 360 radiator in push-pull rounding out the last of the pre-installed fans you get a 140 millimeter at the back of the case with vertical mounting strips for additional radiator clearance you can also swap out the fan for a 120 millimeter option if you're so inclined since fishing around the back your case in the dark is no fun there's a small button that turns on two blue LEDs to illuminate your rear i/o the same button can also be used to toggle the NZXT and underglow leds on and off additional mentions include seven expansion slots two grommets for water cooling tubes and a removable PSU bracket that mounts directly to your power supply for a smooth rear installation there's also a removable dust filter that slides out from the bottom for quick and easy cleaning by the way good on NZXT for choosing capacitive thumb screws not only for this bracket but for the side panels as well the large trapezoidal window does a nice job at showing off your main components though I generally prefer rectangle over Red Solo Cup and that right there pretty much sums it up for the exterior of this case so moving right along let's toss it over to vlog kyle who will give us an inside look at building a high-end skylight gaming rig in the noctus 450 hey hey thanks script kyle how's it going everyone this is vlog kyle here s grip kyle mentioned i am going to be doing a narrative of this whole build process from start to finish as we watch build kyle go ahead and assemble this skylake system for those of you who are wondering he's using a core i7 6700 k with a gaming g1 motherboard from gigabyte that's on the z170 chipset along with a quad I'm sorry a dual channel kit of ddr4 memory from corsair to their vengeance line of low profile memory but while he goes ahead and preps this board on the CPU cooler I'm going to go ahead and just get right into it with the noctus 450 I was pretty impressed by the interior as far as build quality goes the paint job was incredible it's got a really smooth matte black finish that kind of matches the stealth vibe of the outside of the case and I thought that was really a kind of top-notch attention to detail type feature that really gives a the case a premium look and feel both inside and out the motherboard went in no problem all the standoffs are pre-installed there's a middle one that's a little bit taller too you align the whole thing while this case doesn't officially support EI TX the board that you see here is in fact extended ATX form factor and it was able to go in no problem shut up phone sorry about that but it does cover up some of the grommets on the right side so just be prepared to have to route some of the larger cables like your 24 pin ATX around the actual motherboard tray because you won't be able to fit them in with that e-atx 4 into slightly covering them the power supply went in no problem with that rear access mounting bracket the radiator as well went in no problem although there's a lot of space between the radiator and the left side panel I felt like there could have been more mounting options to have the radiator positioned further away from the motherboard to allow for thicker radiators or even taller heat spreaders on your RAM for instance I felt like that would have been cool I think now build Kyle has gone on to routing the front panel connectors they actually go right through the power supply shroud and then into the motherboard of course I do wish that they were grommeted however I felt like they are visible from the side panel window I just think at 140 bucks for this case that grommets would have been nice to see at the back of the case we get 5 removable drive trays which can support either three and a half or two and a half inch drives they're made of pure steel they are very high quality they do not Bend they're super sturdy and they've got two little thumb screws to help you remove and replace them quite easily you can leave them out if you're not using them and open up a ton of air flow at the front for those three 120 millimeter fans a really great option there you don't have to deal with any kind of drive cage they're all just kind of independent drive trays which I think simplifies things a lot adds for a bit more flexibility I would have liked to see mounting holes on that hard drive wall however for like a water cooling reservoir for example I know fantex does this and I feel like at this price point that would have been really nice to see so kind of a mischance there moving on to the SSD installation you do get two dedicated SSD mounts right on top of the power supply shroud they are held in place with a couple latches as well as a single thumb screw this is a really nice place and a really great idea for for storing your your SSDs especially now that the designs of SSDs are getting a lot more fancy or more showy people want to show them off right they're not ugly 3.5 inch drives so it's kind of a implementation there all right bailed Kyle is now going for the video card we've got a PCS plus from power color it's an r9 390x and it's ten and a half inch card it's nice and easy inside of the Noctis 450 this case actually supports pretty much as long as you want as long as the hard drive tray that's right in that area isn't blocking it you will have to remove it but yeah you can go probably the full nearly the full span length of the case with however big of a video card you might need just be aware of the width as you might run into the that hard drive wall right there and finally winding down with some cable management there's just absolutely a ton of room in front of the power supply to store all of your cabling as well as a little bit of space behind the motherboard tray but like I said most of it goes in front of your power supply which is totally fine there are a ton of tie-down points as well although NZXT only threw in these really tiny kind of dinky zip ties I would have really liked to see velcro straps at this price point also there's a strange three and a half inch or two and a half inch drive mount at the very bottom of the case in front of the power supply and which I guess is neat if you need it but I honestly was kind of hoping for maybe a mount for a water cooling pump for example but that would have been really sweet but what can you do altogether this is a pretty smooth and straightforward build I actually liked it I'm sure bill cow liked it as well but why don't we take it back over to script Kyle and see how he liked it so overall there's a lot of good things to say about the noctus 450 the build quality and paint job is top-notch inside and out it features a strong internal layout that makes building easy and there's enough well-placed routing holes to achieve a clean end result which I very much appreciate the system stays decently quiet and the fan options when combined with those removable drive trays make for some killer airflow at the same time I was expecting to see a few more premium features that would justify its 140 dollar price tag simple things like pump and reservoir mounts and even some nicer accessories I felt were missed opportunities this time around while I think bringing over the h4 40s interior layout was a smart move I also wish NZXT would have innovated a little more in this area as I'm sure some folks will find that the dark knight' aesthetic by itself might not warrant the $30.00 premium over the h4 40 when it comes down to it perhaps the Noctis 450 is the case you deserve but not the case you need right now I can't do it at any rate so let me know what you guys think of this case in the comments and don't forget to test me I like on this video if you enjoyed it before you go check the description below where you can buy an awesomesauce shirt or bookmark my Amazon affiliate link and use it when you buy stuff it helps me a lot as I was in cattle awesomesauce network thank you guys for watching subscribe to the channel if you haven't already and I'll see y'all in the next video