Installation

The following devices were used to install in the Tempest case: XFX 680i LT SLI Motherboard, Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz, Masscool heatsink, XFX 8600 GT XXX, Ultra X2 550W PSU, LITEON DVD Drive, LITEON DVD-RW Drive, Maxtor 200GB HDD, and a 3.5" Floppy Drive.

The installation was a little different than I'm used to; at least according to the directions. Typically you would install the PSU first, but in the manual NZXT says to do it last. I just installed it first, but realized after I was done that it would have been easier and possible to install it last. Typically you can't have to install the power supply first because otherwise there's no way in heck that you're going to get that power supply in after your motherboard is installed without some fancy maneuvering.

After installing the power supply and mounting the motherboard I then moved onto installing the external devices. To install them you must remove the front panel, which is done so by pulling at the bottom of the front panel. At this time you can remove the bay covers by slightly pressing on the edges and pulling it out. Be careful not to use too much pressure because the clips do break easily.

Then you need to remove the screwless mechanism, slide the drive into the bay, and then reinstall the screwless mechanism. If you are going to use a 3.5" drive then you need to place it in the converter and install four screws to hold it in position.

I found that the screwless design and 3.5" to 5.25" converter didn't work very well in holding the drives in place. It was fairly secure on the left side, but just a simple touch on the right of the drive would push the drive inward. It was even more prevalent with the included 3.5" to 5.25" bay converter.

If you are to use the next three bays you must follow the steps that I mentioned previously in removing the 3.5" cage. NZXT supplies three sets of rails for the extra drive bays. After installing my hard drive and installing the necessary cables I found that there was plenty of room to both work inside of the case and hide the cables; I'm not really the greatest at doing this though.

Unlike my old case, a Thermaltake Soprano, the NZXT Tempest had plenty of room between the motherboard/PSU and the drive bays.

After everything is installed and the computer is powered the blue LED's on the fans illuminate the inside of the case quite nicely.

And in the dark...

After getting my case back to my desk I found that it was much quieter than my old case which had fewer fans than the Tempest. I was surprised to find that the six fans in the Tempest were much quieter than the three in my Soprano. I guess I'll just have to get used to hearing my keystrokes and mouse clicks.