NZXT Phantom 530 Chassis Review

Inside the chassis we see the usual NZXT flair, a high quality interior paint job, large CPU cooler cut-out, high quality cable management cut-outs and grommets, black finishings on the screws, panels, drive bays, pretty much what we have come to expect from high end NZXT chassis designs and clearly targeted toward the high-end of the system building market.

In the base of the chassis we find 6 small raisers that provide a little extra clearance for the PSU, but these should also help reduce some vibration from the PSU fan thanks to the rubber tips on the raisers.

The right features three high quality metal snap-lock mechanisms on the 5.25″ drive bays that are as practical as they are stylish. Further down we have one of the hallmarks of a high end NZXT chassis, three fully modular HDD bays laid out in a 3 + 2 + 1 format, each with support for 3.5″ and 2.5″ HDDs. These can be fully removed in any order, allowing room for extra cooling fans, radiators or what ever your case modding mind can think of. There is also a swivel mount for an optional internal 140mm fan that can help direct air towards your GPU(s).

In the rear of the chassis we find a small cut-out at the top of the back plate, perfect for running extra fan and motherboard cables through, a pre-installed 140mm exhaust fan, quick release thumb screws on each of the expansion slot covers.

Around the back we better see the cable management options of the chassis, there are a huge number of large tie down loops that are perfect for pinning your cables in place and this should result in a very tidy final build if you take the time to utilize them.

Another NZXT feature I’ve always liked is an extra 2.5″ drive mount on the rear of the motherboard area, this allows you to stealth mount a drive, handy if you’ve stripped out all the HDD bays to make way for a huge radiator. Also you will find a 10 port fan controller hub for the three speed controller on the front panel, ensuring you have more than enough connections for all your cooling fans.

The rear of the chassis offers up an inch of space, which is more than enough for most any system build and you shouldn’t have any issues with getting the side panel back in place after you’ve installed all your components.