Installation
Installation is fairly simple for the Khaos, especially with the simple installment methods. The first step, installing the power supply is not as straight forward as one might originally think. Typically you just toss the power supply in, which you really could do in this case if you tried, but NZXT recommends unscrewing the six screws for the dual power supply plate, then attaching it back onto the case.
The motherboard installation is all that easier with having a flip out motherboard tray. While it doesn’t come out completely, it still makes it a whole lot easier to install. The tray can be removed by first removing the screw holding it to the case underneath the left side panel, then by removing the four thumb screws holding the I/O and expansion slots to the case it allows you to slide the tray towards the front of the case and outwards away from it.
I did find however, have to finagle the tray back into position once installing the motherboard and my card because of the length of my card, which is a XFX 9800 GTX Black Edition. It was only an issue trying to get it to flip back into the case so if you have the same problem and can’t work it in, just install it after you get the motherboard back into position; it’s not like it’s that hard to install a video card.
Before the case gets too crowded with cables you may want to consider installing up to three, if you have them, case fans for the triple fan support bracket in the middle of the case. NZXT provided us with one to try out, so you’ll probably want to buy some extras if you’re going to use the full function of the case because the Khaos doesn’t come with any extra fans for this device.
Start off by simply removing the three screws holding it to the support bar in the case. If you don’t want to install any extra fans and want a little extra room then this is probably a good time to also remove it from your case if you so choose. Once removed just attach four fan screws to secure it to the device. Make sure you know where you’re airflow is pointing too, all case fans have an arrow along one of the sides which indicates the spin direction and the airflow direction.
To install any drive you’re going to need to remove the front panel which can be removed by unscrewing the six screws, three on either side holding it to the case. Then slide the drive into your desired slot and secure it with a couple of screws. Make sure to remove the bay cover on the front panel for the proper slot before placing it back on the case.
While the front panel is removed, unscrew the two thumbscrews securing the 3.5″ drive cage to the case. Then simply slide the cage out to being hard drive installation.
The hard drive should be pretty easy to install, but I couldn’t for the life of me install my 640GB Seagate hard drive into any of the open slots. The hard drive just seemed too big for the cage, so I tried out a smaller 80GB SATA drive I had lying around and it slid in just fine. My hard drive was just too big to fit into any of those slots; I attempted to get it in there, but only found myself getting it stuck and taking 10 minutes to try and gently wedge it out of there. Once you do get a hard drive secured in there you can further secure it with some screws. Then slide the cage back into position and fasten the two thumb screws to attach it to the case.
Once everything was installed I realized there was a lot of room for cable management for this case. The power supply cage makes a nice place to hide and run cables. While I didn’t do the greatest job I’m sure you can see where I at least attempted to use the design of the case to my advantage.
The blue LED’s in the fans are very bright and stand out very well on the front of the case, but I didn’t find them too bright enough to illuminate the two side panel mesh strips very well.
