Beautiful, isn't it? Without a doubt the Alpha does away with the gaudy designs of the past NZXT cases and replaces it with understated class and subtle design touches. This particular case has a large side window which is perfect for any of you that want to have a bit of a "bling" factor. Overall, upon first glance, this does not look like an $80 case; it looks MUCH more expensive than that.


NZXT is proud of their creation and rightly so. There are some really great little details like the way they imprinted their name in the front of the case. This is one of the subtle things NZXT has done so well with this product; had they made the logo any bigger, it would have destroyed the elegance of the Alpha. Meanwhile, the power buttons on the case seem to be aluminum with an engraved spiral pattern in them. I count myself a sucker for good power buttons that have a quality feel to them. We have looked at cases in the past with some really low-quality buttons and the Alpha is definitely not one of them.

What really stands out about the design is the Plexiglas outer rim located on the front bezel of the Alpha. This whole addition brings a very unique look to the front of the case but it does not look overly tacky. The case itself is painted a gloss black which makes it look extremely good but at the same time glossy paint jobs carry with them a few problems. First and foremost among the problems is that glossy paint is an absolute magnet for fingerprints and scratches. Have a cloth ready to buff out any fingerprints because they WILL pop up, even if you have no idea where they came from. Unfortunately, scratches are somewhat of an issue with this case because the paint seems to be very thin on the side panels. This means even the smallest blemish will look twice as bad due to the grey metal under the paint showing through. Personally, I think this case needed one more coat in the paintshop.

NZXT covers the basic needs of a gamer and pretty much every other consumer by including an I/O ports for audio, microphone, USB and even an eSATA port. These are great, but the ports are located at the bottom right side of the case which means they can be a pain in the butt to access. This is a bad decision by NZXT since there are those of us who have their cases on the ground. Many consumers are looking for easy access USB connections which is something that the Alpha just doesn't provide. Bending over doesn't take too much work, but the leg of your table might block the port or you may not have enough space next to your case to attach a USB thumb drive.


The side of the case offers a hand grip for removing the panel which is well integrated into the overall design. The back of the case is approximately the same as any other case in the mid-tower category which means everything is where you would expect it to be. We won't dwell to much on this since there are more important things to discuss.

I generally do not like side windows, but the Alpha is an exception; this window gives you a good view into your case and it is made of thick acrylic. A windowed case may not be for everyone but at least NZXT put some thought and consideration into the one on the Alpha. Interestingly enough, even though the side fan is called an option in the specifications, our case came with a 120mm blue LED fan already installed. This fan has a fine mesh over it to prevent dust from going inside your case and it is easily removed if you don't want it. The window is strong and able to sustain some impact, unlike other cases in this price range. If you're going to have a side panel window, this is the one you want.


Exterior Dimensions


The Alpha is quite compact and it is capable of sitting underneath a small desk without a problem even though the case should be resting on a desk to enable easy access to the USB ports. I was particularly happy with the fact an 8800GTX can fit inside a case of this size.
[/center]