NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Chassis Review

NZXT have already delivered on some of the most popular chassis on the market with their Phantom 410 and the Switch 810, both of which I’m a big fan of. It makes sense that NZXT would want to combine what made each of those chassis so great in the first place, with the smooth stylings of the Phantom and the Switch being combined throughout, as well as all the best functional features from two chassis being incorporated into the Phantom 820.

Of course it takes a little more than just putting the two together and NZXT have gone that little bit further with features like the HUE lighting system really raising the bar in terms of how customisable the chassis is and its overall style. It all but removes the need for after market lighting systems, freeing up space within the chassis and saving you from having to hide any additional cables that custom chassis lights normally require.

The inclusion of a SD card reader is also welcome. It may only be a minor addition, but with many digital cameras, e-books and other devices using SD cards it’s likely going to get good use from people who buy this chassis. Unless of course you need a more complete range of card reading slots it eliminates the need for an additional card reader.

The cooling capabilities of this chassis are nearly unmatched and there are very few designs on the market that offer as much flexibility as the Phantom 820. With room for a radiator of upto 360mm in the top of the chassis, an additional radiator of up to 280mm in the bottom and of course not forgetting that we were able to install a large closed loop water cooling block in the rear of the chassis. Not forgetting that both the top and bottom radiator mounting points have room for up to 60mm thick radiator, its a perfect chassis for some serious water cooling.

Of course if you want to go for a much more simple air cooled system your options are not limited either. The fan controller is capable of handling 12 fans, the radiator mounting points capable of holding 120mm, 140mm and in some places 200mm cooling fans in various configurations and the great selection of high quality NZXT fans which come pre installed. You can get some very serious airflow within the chassis. Add to this the extensive range of easy to access and clean dust filters, which will in theory keep all your components and the interior of the chassis nice and clean, helping reduce overall maintenance of your build.

this is all complimented by the unparalleled level of cable management options, with more cutouts that you will likely ever need fitted all over the back plate within the chassis, there is no reason to have excess cable causing issues with airflow or getting in the way of a clean looking build.

But now as we approach the final part of this review, we need to talk about cost. We don’t have a final retail price for this chassis just yet, but with the Switch 810 being of similar specification I would expect this to cost around the same price (at the time of writing the 810 Switch is around £150 at retail). Of course as soon as we have prices for this chassis we will update you and update this section of the review also, so check back with us for future updates on this chassis.

The Phantom is easily one of the finest chassis designs I have had the pleasure of working with and its style and overall design are uncompromising throughout. Capable of handling just about any of the high end components that you might be looking to install for an enthusiast or extreme specification build. It’s Incredible cooling capabilities, stunning integrated lighting and flawless build quality throughout are why I am happy to award the Phantom 820 our eTeknix Editors Choice Award.