Introducing the NZXT Tempest 410 Elite

The last time we checked out an NZXT enclosure, we saw in their H2 a lot of fantastic ideas done in by a single poor design choice. NZXT's engineers are clearly thinking on their feet and the company stays in the enclosure conversation with good reason, and today we have on the slab their new Tempest 410 Elite mid-tower. Geared towards excellent performance without breaking the bank (remember when that was what overclocking was about?), should the Tempest 410 Elite be on your shortlist for an economical build, or were too many compromises made?

First impressions when opening the box for the Tempest 410 Elite were mixed, but it's important to keep in mind that enclosures under $100 tend to make some sacrifices to keep the price down, one of the major ones being extensive use of plastic for the front bezel. Yet further inspection of the 410 revealed that, much like their peers at BitFenix, NZXT's engineers are keenly interested in cramming a lot of value into their enclosures. Whether or not they were successful with this case remains to be seen, but there are some awfully nice touches here and there.

NZXT Tempest 410 Elite Specifications
Motherboard Form Factor ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, Flex-ATX
Drive Bays External 3x 5.25"
Internal 8x 3.5"/2.5"
Cooling Front 2x 120mm intake fan
Rear 1x 120mm exhaust fan
Top 2x 120mm fan mount
Side -
Bottom 1x 120mm fan mount
Expansion Slots 7
Front I/O Port 3x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, mic and headphone jacks
Top I/O Port -
Power Supply Size ATX
Clearance Up to 11" (Expansion Cards), 170mm (CPU HSF), 280mm (PSU)
Weight 17.2 lbs.
Dimensions 19.53" x 8.46" x 18.94"
Price MSRP $89

Just looking at the spec sheet, there should be a couple of oddities jumping out at you. The biggest one I ran into was actually the odd mix of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0; this really should've been two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 instead of the odd numbers, since now half of each header is basically wasted. And the Tempest 410 Elite does use an internal motherboard header for its USB 3.0 port, as is becoming increasingly common.

In and Around the NZXT Tempest 410 Elite
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  • Zak - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link

    This is so ugly, yuck :/
  • stanwood - Monday, September 5, 2011 - link

    I think it would be cool if Dustin designed a case and 1) dared a vendor to replicate it, and (2) rated cases by how close they adhered to his design. I'm thinking, not of the exterior looks, but functional choices like top/bottom power supply, orientation of drives, positive/negative air pressure, fan placement, and front/top ports.
  • romany8806 - Tuesday, September 6, 2011 - link

    Hey Dustin, I feel like I'm following the shepherd a bit here (given one of the earlier comments) but I just wanted to say that I look forward to your case reviews immensely. I remember the beating you took over the Grandia GD04 review - I didn't think those comments were justified at the time and you've just gone from strength to strength since then. Have a good one.
  • ehume - Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - link

    Dustin

    It's been some time since the review> You should now be able to tell us what case you have that blows this one away -- and costs only $10 more.

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