Computer
cases have come a long way from the days of the beige box. Many of
today’s PC cases are designed to showcase one’s PC so it could be
proudly displayed in the work/play area. For today’s review NZXT
sent us one such case – the Lexa S. This steel case is designed with
cooling performance in mind but is also a looker with its clear
smoked side window and all black interior. To make your PC pretty on
the inside NZXT also provides excellent cable management with
numerous case and motherboard tray punch outs and rubber grommets for wire organization.
The
case features four included case fans, seven expansion slots and
eleven drive bays. It supports ATX, micro-ATX and AT motherboards.
If you are worried about fan noise NZXT provides a fan control on the
front of the case. If you a water cooling enthusiast there are pre
drilled water cooling holes on the back plate.
One
way to describe the Lexa S is with a word I tend not use in tech
reviews – sexy. This case is a stunner that is designed to catch
your eye. Now external appearances don’t always tell the whole
story, so today we will be taking an in depth look the Lexa S.
Let’s
get started…..
Reviewed
by: Tomas Ratas
Sponsor: NZXT
Tech
Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
As
with all of NZXT’s cases, Lexa S is designed for enhanced airflow
with capability for 5 fans including 120mm fans on the front, side,
and exhaust with a 140 mm fan on top. NZXT includes the side, rear,
top, and front fans along with a fan controller that controls dual
intakes and exhausts independently and effectively optimizes your
computers performance based on your preference for pure power or
whisper quiet operation.
Lexa
S offers gamers sleek aesthetics with a smoked clear window and all
black interior along with a 5.25″ stealth bay, turned HDD cage,
and punched holes in the motherboard which makes for a cleaner look
and gives enthusiasts a solution for superior cable management.
Additional features include a bracket for two Solid State Drives.
Features
Immense
Performance: 4 of 5 fans included ( Front 120mm fan, Top 140mm fan,
Side 120MM LED fan, rear 120mm exhaust included ), fans rated at
43CFM, 23dB(A)Fan control:
Determine noise and airflow based on your needs, dual intakes and
dual exhausts are controlled independentlyBlack on
Black: Smoked clear window and a black interior gives the best
combination of black on black.Meshed front
panel allows for more airflowNZXT Solid
State bracket allows for two SSD drives to be installedWire
Routing: Motherboard punched holes allows for quick CPU bracket
removable and optimal wire routing.Turned HDD
also helps with providing a cleaner look.Pre-drilled
water cooling holes on the back plateHigh end
graphics card support, extra space is especially designed to fit
longer 10.5″ cardsSide mounted
USB, Audio, and E-SATA portsMounting
holes for dual radiator at the topRemovable
filter at the bottom PSURubber
Grommet for wire routing gives a even sleeker look to the system
Model: Lexa
S Series
Case
Type: MID
TOWER Black interior chassis
Front
Panel Material: Steel
Dimensions
(W X H X D): 196
X 480 X 528 mm
Cooling
System: FRONT,
1 x 120mm , 23db/42CFM (included)
SIDE, 1 x
120mm LED fan@1200RPM, 23db/42CFM (included)
TOP, 2 x
140/120mm ( 1 140mm included)
REAR, 1 x 120mm, 23db/42CFM
(included)
Drive
Bays: 11
DRIVE BAYS
4 EXTERNAL 5.25″ DRIVE BAYS
7 INTERNAL 3.5″
DRIVE BAYS
Material(S): Steel Construction
Expansion
Slots: 7
Power
Supply: 500 Watt Ps2 ATX 12v 2.0 ( Optional )
Weight:12.3
KGS (W/O Power)
Motherboard
Support: MOTHERBOARDS:
ATX, MICRO-ATX, BABY AT
{mospagebreak
title=A Better Look at things}
A
Better Look at Things:
The
NZXT Lexa S arrives in a cardboard box with the case pictured on the
front as a space age train heading down the tracks. Choo choo. The
back of the box lists its features and shows a picture of the case’s
innards. On the sides we find the specs of the Lexa S.
Removing
the Lexa S from its box we see that it is a Mid Tower case and is
entirely black; on both the outside and inside. With all this black,
I guess you could call this the “Johnny Cash” of PC cases. It is
primarily constructed of steel and measures 19.6
X 48.0 X 52.8 cm and weighs in at 12.3 kgs without a power supply.
Besides the case, there is a box containing screws, drive rails and
instructions.
NZXT
designed the Lexa S with a futuristic appearance by having a forward
angled front bezel. It looks like something out of Cylon inspired
Battlestar Galactica (the original series). Its front door is
composed of piano black plastic and opens from left to right. On it
we see a large vertical blue LED with a small drive indicator LED
beneath it. Below this door are two additional vertical blue LEDs and
a grill for the fan that sits behind it. All three of these blue
LEDs stay on when the PC is powered.
Opening
the case door reveals one 3.5” and four 5.25” drive bay slots.
One interesting thing to note is NZXT uses mesh plates to cover these
drive slots meaning that unused bays actually function to ventilate
the system. This concept is something I have not seen in previous
cases that I have reviewed. It is a nice touch by the folks at NZXT.
On
each side of the 3.5” bay we find the power and reset buttons with
two knobs below this area for fan control. Finally at the bottom of
this area we find a NZXT badge in black and silver. Off to the left
side of the front panel are two USB ports, an eSATA connection and
microphone and headphone jacks.
The
left side of the case features a square frosted clear window which
houses a 120mm fan with a blue LED. This side panel is kept in place
with two large thumb screws. Sadly NZXT does not provide a ridge for
grabbing the panel and sliding it off involves getting your finger
nails under the panel edge near the front of the case and then
sliding it backwards. Strangely the right side panel has a notched
area for easy removal. I wonder what NZXT was thinking with this
windowed panel and no easy grip access.
If
you like vents on your cases then the Lexa S will definitely make you
smile. NZXT placed vents on the top, rear and base of the case.
Only the right side panel is bereft of some form of ventilation.
From
the rear of the case we see seven expansion slots which are closed
with vented shields. The Lexa S is a PSU on the bottom case so there
is an opening for the PSU at that location. Another 120mm fan is
found next to the I/O plate area on the back of the Lexa S. Just
above this fan are two liquid cooling holes.
On
the underside of the case is another vent with with a removable
filter for easy cleaning; we don’t want dust bunnies in our case.
Four rubberized legs help keep the case off the ground and provide a
space for ventilation.
Once
the side panel is removed we see the inside of the Lexa S is painted
the same color black as the outside. The left hand side of the case
holds a large open area for the motherboard and power supply. A
reverse ‘L’ shape has rubber protected openings for running wires
to the back of the case to keep them concealed as much as possible.
The rubber is nice as it protects and keeps the wires in position.
The
right side of the case has four 5.25” and two 3.5” device bays on
the upper section and five 3.5” drive bays on the bottom. These
hard drive bays are turned
to help provide a cleaner look with wire management. Emerging from
the center section of 3.5” drive bays we see the case wires for
power, LEDs, fans, etc.
NZXT
includes an SSD adapter that is found in the hard drive bay. With
this adapter you can install two 2.5” SSDs if you so desire.
{mospagebreak
title=Installation, Testing and Comparison}
Installation,
Testing and Comparison:
For
my test system I installed the following into the Lexa S:
Motherboard: Asus
P6T Deluxe
CPU: Intel
Core i7 920
Memory: Kingston
HyperX 12GB
Video
Card: MSI
n260GTX
Hard
Drives: Western Digital 250GB 7200RPM, Samsung
1 TB 7200 RPM
PSU:
Ultra X-Finity 1000 Watt Power Supply
Cooler: Noctua
NH-U12P SE1366
DVD
Burner: ASUS DRW-22B1LT and LiteOn BluRay
OS: Windows 7
Professional 64 Bit
Thermal Interface: OCZ Freeze Thermal Extreme
Conductivity Compound
The
installation began with the modular PSU being put into position.
Next the included standoffs were screwed into the motherboard tray
and the Asus motherboard was attached after snapping the I/O plate
into place. Before securing the motherboard onto the tray, I would
recommend you check the length of your motherboard power connectors
to make sure they are long enough. In the end I needed an extension
for the four pin 12V power connection. As an aside, I do not know
why modular PSU makers don’t include an extension or a long enough
cable to reach a full ATX motherboard when placed in a PSU on the
bottom system. I always need an extension with a PSU on the bottom
setup.
After
attaching the case power, LED, reset and USB connectors, it is time
to mount the hard drives and optical drives. The hard drives are
installed using the included snap on rails with the SATA or ATA
connection aimed towards the motherboard tray area. This provides
the “clean” look to the hard drive area.
To
install the optical drives, you need to remove the bezel from the
front of the case then remove the 5.25” bay vented shields. The
optical drives are inserted and locked into place using the included
thumbscrews.
Here is
what the Lexa S looks with a PC housed inside within. I tried to be
meticulous with my wire management unfortunately I need an
apprenticeship in cable management 101 because it still looks pretty
wild and wooly. The main wires that caused me difficulty were the
PCI-E power cables, the USB/Firewire external expansion slot card and
the upper fans wires. Sorry folks, I gave it my best shot.
The case
fans connect via 3 pin or molex connectors. Using the 3 pin adapters
allows the front fan control to be use with the case fans to control
the speed and volume of any connected fan.
One nice
feature of the Lexa S is the cut out area for CPU access found on the
motherboard tray. This is designed to make switching CPU coolers
much simpler as you don’t need to remove the motherboard from the
case.
The Lexa
S had enough room for my system and was able to easily accommodate
the large Nvidia 260GTX graphics card. Like other NZXT cases the
Lexa S is designed to be cool and quiet. Unfortunately at full speed
the fans were a bit too loud for my tastes, thankfully NZXT included
the built in fan controller which dialed down the fan speeds and made
things virtually silent. With the four built in fans plus the
additional CPU, GPU and memory fans, my system was pretty well
ventilated thus I did not need to run the fans at full power. If you
are overclocking then you may need to sacrifice so fan volume for
better cooling.
After
using my Lexa S housed computer I did have a few quibbles. My first
issue is the power button is behind the door. On my NZXT Zero
2 case, the
power button sits outside and below the door. I prefer to not have to
open my door when starting my PC.
Another
issue I have with the Lexa S is the side panel could be easier to
remove which I mentioned previously. The last issue is the loss of
space going from the full tower of the Zero2 to the mid tower of the
Lexa S. There was plenty of space for my migrated PC, but it felt
rather cramped when compared to its former residence.
In a
perfect world my ideal case would be a hybrid of the Lexa S and the
Zero2.
None of
my issues are dealbreakers as I do love the appearance of the case
and especially like the black inside of the case. Once I take my
cable management courses I think it will look even better. Plus the
Lexa S has a cool blue window fan.
{mospagebreak
title=Summary}
Summary:
NZXT
has become one of my favorite PC case manufacturers and the Lexa S
does not to sway my opinion against them. It is a sexy case, there I
go using that term again and is also functional. Besides its
external good looks it provides plenty of ventilation and cooling
with its numerous fans and vents. It can be slightly louder than the
Zero2 but the volume can be adjusted using the included fan control.
The
cut out motherboard tray is handy for those who frequently upgrade
their CPU coolers such as myself. The wire management system is
another nice touch as it makes the inside of the case look well
organized. While the Lexa S is not the perfect case, NZXT is getting
closer to my idea of case nirvana.
DragonSteelMods
gives the Lexa
S a 4.5 out of 5 score.
Pros:
+Beautiful
looking design
+Great
wire management capability
+Lots
of cooling
+Built
in fans controls
+CPU
access through motherboard tray
Cons:
-Side
panel could be simpler to remove
-Power
button located behind door
review#636
Disclosure: This
product was given to DragonSteelMods for review by the company for
review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the
review, we do not, never have, and never will, accept payment from
companies to review their products.
To
learn more about our review policy, testing methods and ratings
please see this page.