[section_title title=Closer Look – Exterior]
Closer Look – ExteriorÂ
Starting with the front of the chassis, immediately I am drawn to how similar to the Deep Silence 2 this chassis looks, it is an uncanny resemblance with the only real difference being the size. We can see that the front IO panel consists of two 3.5mm jacks for a headphone and microphone, a large power button which has a clear plastic ring around it, this illuminates green upon the chassis being powered up. To the right of the power button we have dual USB 3.0 ports as well as a single USB 2.0 port. With regards to the roof panel, we can see that it is the black annodised steel that forms the basis of the chassis with a 120mm or 140mm fan mount towards the rear. This fan mount comes standard with a blanking plate which comes with noise dampening material pre-applied. The front of the case itself is a plastic fascia which is held on by some sturdy black plastic clips. The front face is a black brushed aluminium effect with a door on the top half of the partition.
Upon opening this door we are greeted by two tool-less 5.25 inch optical bay covers. These covers are predominantly made from mesh but have some noise dampening foam behind them which also doubles up as a dust filter for the ventilation that this provides. Just above these covers there is a large ‘Nanoxia’ embossed into the plastic itself. Underneath these covers we have a reset button as well as the two fan controllers. The fan controllers themselves are on sliders, not the three stage implementation that we commonly see. This is better in my eyes as it gives the user a lot more control of the noise and temperature levels within their chassis. Lastly, on the inside of the door we can see more of the noise dampening foam. This really shows that Nanoxia are working hard towards making sure this chassis is as silent as possible.
The rear of the chassis is a pretty standard configuration. We have the motherboard IO cut out on the left hand side with four PCIe slots below that. The slot covers themselves are ventilated with small holes which should allow less dust to enter the chassis compared to some of the other solutions we have seen. There is also a 120mm Nanoxia Deep Silence case fan included. This has been orientated as an exhaust for the chassis. I am a little disappointed to see that there is only the option for a 120mm fan in the rear of the chassis. However, with the form factor of this chassis, I can understand why they have not tried to squeeze a 140mm fan mount too. Above this fan mount we have two watercooling hose grommets for any external watercooling solutions that you may want to use. Nanoxia does include some solid rubber plugs for those people not wanting to use these grommets, with the aim at reducing the possibility of dust entering your system. At the bottom of the photograph you will note the power supply cut out. This has all of the mounting options included with regards to screw holes to secure your power supply to the chassis. Also of note is the foam anti-vibration dampening used around the edge of this cut out. Whilst I have never come across any vibration issues with a power supply, it is nice to see that Nanoxia have thought about this and I am sure there are people out there who have suffered from excess power supply noise and this feature will go a little towards reducing that issue. We can also see the dust filter for the power supply’s air intake. This simply slides out the rear of the chassis for easy cleaning.
A quick look at the underside of the chassis gives us a better look at the dust filter for the power supply.  As you can see, it is made from plastic and features a fine mesh, this then slots into two runners which hold it in place. The are also four silver plastic feet which have rubber feet applied, again to reduce any vibrations. You will notice that there are also two mounts included in the bottom for two SSD mounts. Nanoxia do include the screws and some little rubber washers to securely hold any devices in place and to reduce any vibrations from being transferred into the chassis itself. On the right hand side we can see the hand hold to take the front fascia of the chassis off.
Underneath this front fascia we can clearly see the large space for the 5.25 inch optical bays with a cut out above and below these for the front IO and fan controller cable management. The feature that I really wanted to talk to you about is the fan mount at the bottom of this section. The fan is not mounted by screws etc but two thick plastic clips. Some people may think that this would create nasty vibrations. With all the effort we saw them go to previously with the foam around the power supply mount, you may think this is a strange move. However, there are four small plastic pegs positioned on the mount where the fan’s screws would go, this eliminates the vast majority of any vibrations that may occur. You will also note that entire fan mount pivots out from the front of the front of the chassis by 90 degrees to allow for cleaning of the dust filter. To detach the whole fan assembly from the chassis to allow it to pivot, you press the small button on the left hand side of the filter. You will hear a tactile click, and the fan mount is able to pivot away from the chassis. The construction of the dust filter itself is very similar to the construction of the power supply dust filter, just a scaled down version. Essentially it is a panel of fine mesh attached to a plastic frame which simply slides into its mounting on a set of runners.
Now that the exterior of the case has been covered, lets see what the interior has to offer.
