- Apr 25, 2011
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As the title states this is a review of NZXT's Source 210 windowed edition. This is my first attempt at writing a review so any comments, suggestions, or edits are welcome! This review will contain many pictures of the Source 210 with just a few pictures of the Gamma for comparisons.
I will be comparing the Source 210 to the older Gamma case which I build in a while back, I'd like to see how NZXT has improved or retrogressed in there low budget case offering.
Lets start with Pricing, When I ordered the Source 210 black with a window from Newegg it was 35.99 plus 5.99 for shipping which I was able to avoid with the free trial of Newegg premiere. The price of the Sorce 210 has since been raised back to it's normal pricing of 44.99 with 5.99 shipping. When I purchased the Gamma it was also 35 dollars but has now been discontinued and the only place I found one was on Amazon for 64 dollars shipped. I would gladly pay 35 dollars again for either case but at there current price points there are better cases available.
Now onto packaging, the case came fairly well packaged and the box was only slightly damaged by the shipping monsters. Luckily the damage was limited to the box and the case and all included parts were intact. The box was just plain cardboard but it was relatively thick and as you might expect it came with descriptions of the case on the packaging. Inside the case was contained between to large styrofoam inserts and the window was covered with a nice plastic layer on both sides. Regardless of the plastic on the window there was still a small scratch on it. The screws were just in some zipper bags which was tied inside the case with a bread bag tie (simple yet effective all the same). In all honesty I cannot compare the packaging to the Gamma case because I bought the Gamma such a long time ago, I will say that as far as I remember the packaging quality is fairly similar.
Now for the pictures of the packaging:
What comes with!
The Source 210 comes with the bare essentials and by bare I mean exact number of screws the case can take, no more no less. It also come with multiple language instructions and warranty pamphlet. Oh I almost forgot to mention it comes with two small zip ties (trust me if you want decent cable management you'll need more than two). I liked that all the included screws were black helping to hide them from view. The Gamma was superior in included goodies because it came with tool-less hard drive mounts and more thumb screws where the source used almost exclusively regular screws.
Also the Gamma had factory drilled water cooling holes with grommets and the Source had factory drilled holes but the didn't have grommets only a pop out metal bit (see pictures). Where the source exceeded my expectations was in the front panel cables being all black instead of an assortment of colored cables that came with the Gamma. On both cases the covers for the expansion slots can be removed and then put back into place which I think is great for these being such low budget cases.
The source also wins with the one included fan being NZXT's newer better fan and coming with all black cables (molex and three pin connectors included on cable). I also liked that the motherboard holes came with nice guide printed right underneath the motherboard. Both cases come with cpu cutouts for installing your heatsink which is nice. Both cases have bottom mounted power supplies but the only one to come with any dust filters is the sadly the Gamma. Both cases have cable routing holes and a small amount of space behind the motherboard for wiring (with a little patience cables in either case can be managed quite well). To be specific the Source 210 has 20mm of space under the motherboard tray or just over 3/4".
The window on the source is extremely reflective which you will notice in the finished pictures. Both cases come with plenty of fan mounts for a budget system but neither are particularly water cooling friendly even when considering AIO water coolers. For those who plan to use tower coolers in the Source 210 the case supports coolers up to 160mm in height. Both cases also come with an all black interior and the paint used was of decent quality. The cases were both made of thin relatively flimsy material but at this price point you can't expect more.
Pictures for what comes with:
Now for photos of the building process and completed build(s):
Please be mindful this was a spare part build and therefore the components are dated.
Oversight nothing some tin snips can't fix:
Pictures of my old Gamma setup for your comparisons and a link to the newegg page for the Gamma:
And my real computer so you guys and gals don't think all I build is cheap junk:
Like I said at the beginning if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about something I missed please post up and tell me. Thanks for reading hopefully this review will be helpful and informative.
Specs for the Source 210 build:
I will be comparing the Source 210 to the older Gamma case which I build in a while back, I'd like to see how NZXT has improved or retrogressed in there low budget case offering.
Lets start with Pricing, When I ordered the Source 210 black with a window from Newegg it was 35.99 plus 5.99 for shipping which I was able to avoid with the free trial of Newegg premiere. The price of the Sorce 210 has since been raised back to it's normal pricing of 44.99 with 5.99 shipping. When I purchased the Gamma it was also 35 dollars but has now been discontinued and the only place I found one was on Amazon for 64 dollars shipped. I would gladly pay 35 dollars again for either case but at there current price points there are better cases available.
Now onto packaging, the case came fairly well packaged and the box was only slightly damaged by the shipping monsters. Luckily the damage was limited to the box and the case and all included parts were intact. The box was just plain cardboard but it was relatively thick and as you might expect it came with descriptions of the case on the packaging. Inside the case was contained between to large styrofoam inserts and the window was covered with a nice plastic layer on both sides. Regardless of the plastic on the window there was still a small scratch on it. The screws were just in some zipper bags which was tied inside the case with a bread bag tie (simple yet effective all the same). In all honesty I cannot compare the packaging to the Gamma case because I bought the Gamma such a long time ago, I will say that as far as I remember the packaging quality is fairly similar.
Now for the pictures of the packaging:
The Source 210 comes with the bare essentials and by bare I mean exact number of screws the case can take, no more no less. It also come with multiple language instructions and warranty pamphlet. Oh I almost forgot to mention it comes with two small zip ties (trust me if you want decent cable management you'll need more than two). I liked that all the included screws were black helping to hide them from view. The Gamma was superior in included goodies because it came with tool-less hard drive mounts and more thumb screws where the source used almost exclusively regular screws.
Also the Gamma had factory drilled water cooling holes with grommets and the Source had factory drilled holes but the didn't have grommets only a pop out metal bit (see pictures). Where the source exceeded my expectations was in the front panel cables being all black instead of an assortment of colored cables that came with the Gamma. On both cases the covers for the expansion slots can be removed and then put back into place which I think is great for these being such low budget cases.
The source also wins with the one included fan being NZXT's newer better fan and coming with all black cables (molex and three pin connectors included on cable). I also liked that the motherboard holes came with nice guide printed right underneath the motherboard. Both cases come with cpu cutouts for installing your heatsink which is nice. Both cases have bottom mounted power supplies but the only one to come with any dust filters is the sadly the Gamma. Both cases have cable routing holes and a small amount of space behind the motherboard for wiring (with a little patience cables in either case can be managed quite well). To be specific the Source 210 has 20mm of space under the motherboard tray or just over 3/4".
The window on the source is extremely reflective which you will notice in the finished pictures. Both cases come with plenty of fan mounts for a budget system but neither are particularly water cooling friendly even when considering AIO water coolers. For those who plan to use tower coolers in the Source 210 the case supports coolers up to 160mm in height. Both cases also come with an all black interior and the paint used was of decent quality. The cases were both made of thin relatively flimsy material but at this price point you can't expect more.
Pictures for what comes with:
Please be mindful this was a spare part build and therefore the components are dated.
Oversight nothing some tin snips can't fix:
And my real computer so you guys and gals don't think all I build is cheap junk:
Like I said at the beginning if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about something I missed please post up and tell me. Thanks for reading hopefully this review will be helpful and informative.
Specs for the Source 210 build:
■Case: NZXT Source 210 window edition
■CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo
■M/B: Asus P5N-E Sli
■Ram: 4Gb DDR2 800Mhz
■GPU: XFX 8500Gt
■PSU: Seasonic X650 Gold
■Pump/res: XSPC 750lph
■Rad: Swifttech 360mm rad
■ODD: DVD burner
■HDD: 40Gb and 20Gb ancient drives
■Fans: assorted
■Tubing: Primochill advanced LRT 3/8"
■Barbs: assorted 1/2"
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