Downsizing

LENGTH OF TIME: 1-2 HOURS

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: EASY

THE CONCEPT

THIS LAST BUILD of mine is a bit of a contrarian thing in itself. On the one hand, this is my personal machine. On the other, everything in it belongs to PRs and their respective companies and as such, by the time you read this issue, it will have returned in its entirety to the Maximum PC offices.

In many ways, the concept of this build is a moot point. After all, a typical transplant like this is usually undertaken because you intend to use the new chassis for some time, and are curious as to how it performs day-to-day. That said, as PC enthusiasts, as hobbyists, and as journalists, there’s a natural curiosity inside us that needs to be sated. It’s why we’re interested in building PCs to begin with. So, despite the short time I’d have with this build, I knew I had to check it out.

NZXT cases have long been a favorite at Maximum PC. The super-clean lines, and design language, combined with a strong price structure have cemented these cases as standout products. The only caveat has been access to cool air. Many years ago, we built an SLI’d system in this case’s forefather, the S340 Elite. It was a beast of a machine, beautiful to behold, and powerful beyond all measure. But give it a lengthy session in a graphically intense title, and after an hour or so, the processors started to throttle, and coolant temperature warnings popped up all over the place.

This has been an Achilles heel for NZXT ever since the company reinvented itself with the Manta line of chassis, so to see it ditch the clean smooth panels in favor of a bolder, airflow optimized style with the latest Flow chassis was, er, a breath of fresh air. So then, what’s the concept? If we take our personal computer and transplant it from the Corsair 5000D Airflow build, (complete with nine 120mm