NZXT Noctis 450 Mid Tower Case Review

Inside the NZXT NOCTIS 450
I would like to start with the front panel removed and the fan and filter configuration at the front of the NZXT NOCTIS 450 mid-tower case. The front panel is tricky to remove and can be done easily if you take your time and just work around the mounting points around the edges. The 3 included frontal intake fans are specially designed for low noise and high airflow. The builder has the option of using many different fan configuration but removing the fan air filter is pretty simple. The top of it is magnetized at the two corners for tight fit and there is a hand hold at the top to disengage the magnetic force holding the filter in place. At the top is the hand hold for disengaging the top panel that is removed basically the same as the front.

Front Fan filtered

The magnetic seal at the top is strong so you will need a few pounds of force to pull back on it but it comes back very easily and fits tightly and snugly around the entire filter element. The holes you find at the top cover assembly are made to keep the shape of the case and serve no other purpose but to keep things aligned no matter the situation.

Front Fan Filter Removal

The picture below shows the filter element removed from the front and the fans are easily seen. The holes around the a fan blades show that 140mm fans can be replaced into the front and still have plenty of non-restrictive airflow during operation.

Fan Filter Removed

I have taken the liberty of blacking out the holes of the top ventilation side to easier show the fan configuration and access points better. The holes around the edging is for mounting the top ventilated covering and the larger square holes are for wire management. The control panel is mounted to the frame for easier building and maintenance and the fan holes are generous enough for both 120mm and 140mm fans except for the front one that is made solely for a 120mm fan install due to the control panel placement.

Top View Blacked out

Once again I have taken some liberty to show how the three different motherboard types will fit and look inside your NZXT NOCTIS 450 case. As you can see the grommets at the side are in a great placement and there are access wire points at the bottom for plugging into a Micro ATX motherboard bottom. The ATX will fit perfectly but don’t try to go bigger than ATX size motherboard with this case as it is designed specifically for these three platforms.

Front view motherboard size

This undistorted look of the motherboard tray shows that the mounting standoffs come pre assembled in my unit for a Standard ATX motherboard mount. A very interesting and favorite feature that you can barely see from this picture is the center standoff has a press in mounting point to hold the motherboard in place as you complete the motherboard mounting onto the other standoffs. This makes things so much faster and easier and safer in my opinion as the motherboard is perfectly held into place for mounting of motherboard screws to be easily accurately placed and mounted.

Motherboard tray front

Here is a complete back view of the motherboard tray showing the entire back building area. There are many mounting points for wire-management and the two pc boards are easy to plug and play. There is also a recessed area at the back bottom for stowing wires that you may not need for the build you are currently working with. Also noteworthy is the panel mounting holes at the top rail and bottom rail of the case to hold the panel in place after completion of the build that is being done and for future uses.

page 4 Motherboard size open side

Looking closer at the Drive Rack we see that each one is removable if you need room for water cooling in the front but if you need lots of drive space you a have 5 typical NZXT drive trays that remove by taking the two side thumbs screws out and unhooking the tray from the back wall tab mount then you have room for either an 2.5″ SSD or a Regular 3.5 Mechanical hard drive. The mechanical hard drive mounts on rubber to keep down sound and vibration and the Accessories pack comes tightly packed on the bottom drive tray as seen in the picture below. There are other drive placements available on the case but they are in different locations to allow for custom loop computer cooling applications or just if you want to install your All in One system in the front instead of at the top.

Drive bay stack

The airflow is very unobstructed with the front fans and the drives in this case as you can see here. There is very little obstruction from the front of the case to the back and the power supply is confined below for better heat compartmentalizing. From this angle you can see how unobstructed the top radiator mount is and this case is built especially for water cooling but if you choose an air cooling solution the open air flow is also perfect on this case since you have a whopping 180 mm of air cooler clearance for even the largest of air cooling solutions.

Drive Rack front view

The PWM (Pulse Wave Modulation) Circuit board is powered by a Molex 4-pin connection that plugs into the power supply. The Circuit gets input signals from the motherboard and transfer that information to determine the speed needed for the fans plugged into the hub. The CPU cooler fan is plugged into the special WHITE connection that is on the hub to get direct signals from the board. This feature of the NZXT NOCTIS 450 case is very simple to hook up and a great way to handle temperature loads automatically, so there is no need for a typical exterior fan controller unit.

Fan Distributor
PWM Fan Circuit Noctis

The LED Circuit Hub is powered much the same way as the above PWM hub. It gets its power from the power supply and then distributes the power to a fan switch to allow On/Off control on the back and the rest of the LEDs are patched into the hub and are routed to the Rear I/O shield, front PSU cover LOGO and the two rails that light the bottom of the case. This is great for the builder that wants to have professional looking lighting without the wiring or buying extra parts for the build. These lights will save you a great amount of money and is overall the best deal for a case that you would like to have accent lighting for. These new circuit boards have been introduced in several high quality cases and NZXT is no exception here. This is really a nice feature and an economical all for one type of case is great for the enthusiast that doesn’t want to make a theme build for themselves, because the NZXT NOCTIS 450 is already themed lighted and fan controlled. These features alone are worth twice or more of the extra money it takes to buy this case over another cheaper model.

Lighting DistributorLED controller Circuit NOCTIS

The top of the power supply cover is a great area and the space above it has been well organized and fitted in an intelligent way. IF you notice the top part you see the two rectangular access holes and these are for the SATA plug and the SSD power wire to be routed in a hidden fashion to give your build that professional modded look. The two SSD Trays at the bottom are removable from the top by removing the thumbscrew and pulling forward on the tray to un-tether it away from the frame. The SSD can then be fastened into the tray and replace in reverse order. This gives you an opportunity for a raid 0 SSD or just an OS and a Data SSD right on top of the power supply cover. This idea came from many custom Modders that came up with this idea about 6 years ago and the manufacturer’s finally took notice to our innovation and started integrating these features into their own cases. The large hole at the side is lined up with the graphics card so you have a straight line to power your high-end graphics cards with the power they need and not taking away from the beauty of the build. This feature is also a great addition to this wonderfully engineered case.

Top Mount SSD trays

The front of the PSU Cover is accented with a black background and the lighted NZXT. Logo which I would have left out the period since it’s really not needed, but who am I to say if NZXT wants to have a period on the end of their logo. That is marketing’s job but I would see about that. It really doesn’t make since grammatically but who cares when you have such a beautiful accent piece like this. The White version that we have now is LED lighted in a blue LED lighting and the Black edition comes with red LED lighted accents so remember this when you are planning your parts selection. Color on a motherboard and accent lighting is something to always consider when making your build sheet and buying parts.

Power Supply Cover

The rear PCI Slots have ventilated blanks that are well made and designed to allow airflow even when there is nothing occupying that slot. This is another high end feature that is available with this very economically priced case. The PCI blanks are held in by black anodized thumbscrews that keep the theme together for build quality, engineering and most of all, Looks. Forward those blanks are two vented areas to allow air in and out of the system as the temperature equalizes inside the case. Between them are the routing points for the exterior mounted cooling solution of the builder’s choice.

PCI vented slots x 7

The included 140mm fan on the back is made to exhaust hot air out of the system and it can be moved up or down depending on your build and the water cooling that you may be using at the top of the case. This is also another great feature that the case companies came up with and I have to give them credit for this idea because it was very well thought out and also another reason why the NZXT NOCTIS 450 is such a great value for the $139.99 MSRP. In my humble opinion, you really get a lot of features and the bang for the buck is really a great deal when you consider all the innovation that you get with this case.

Rear Exhast 140mm

On the last look we see the open air design of this uniquely well engineered case. The parts are solid and the air flow is good and the looks are well I will let you decide that but for me I find the case very well made and quite beautiful.

Front fans Filtered

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