Interior Impressions

Overall, the interior of the Alpha is surprisingly easy to work in considering it is a mid-tower enclosure. There aren't any sharp edges and there are plenty of features hiding inside of this case to make even the most jaded DIYer completely happy. So, without further delay let's take a closer look at the interior of this new NZXT case.


Once you open the Alpha and take a look-see inside, you will see that the cables for the front port are wrapped in a bag to prevent damage to the connectors. This is a good idea and it is the first time we have seen something like this. Meanwhile, the parts box is located in the hard drive cage along with the instruction manual.

The case offers compatibility with three types of motherboards; ATX, Mini ATX and Micro ATX.


Every now and then we see a case that puts some serious thought into cable routing but they are all usually higher-end and more expensive cases than the Alpha. Yet with this case NZXT has manufactured a cable routing powerhouse with enough holes in the motherboard tray to satisfy anyone's cable-hiding fetish. All of these cut-outs have rounded edges so your power supply cables will not be damaged when they are passed through. Once cables are passed through these holes, they can snake their way behind the motherboard tray and to your components. This ability to hide your cables becomes a real boon in a mid-tower sized case where space is always at a premium.


While the hard drive bay can hold up to five drives it also includes small holes so the power and SATA connectors can moved out of sight. You can also see that there is a mounting area for a 120mm intake fan in front of the hard drive cage. There is no pre-installed fan here but you can see that even if one was installed, it would have some problems moving any air at all. This is due to the limited amount of holes in the side of the cage in order to let cool air pass through. We have seen this far too often.

The rear of the Alpha holds a pre-installed 120mm exhaust fan which works well by silently moving quite a bit of hot air out of the case.


There is a small elbow inside the case to prevent the side and bottom panels from warping under heavier loads. This is a must since I find the majority of the panels on the Alpha to be made out of relatively light-gauge material which tends to bow when the least bit of pressure is applied.

I also liked the little safety features NZXT incorporated in this case. This is the first time I have seen sharp edges covered in a thin rubber sleeving which protects your digits from any harm.


The PCB for the front I/O port is simple, functional and does not get in the way during the assembling/disassembling process. If you don't need to use these ports, the cables are easily unplugged from the PCB in order to clear up some of the cable clutter in your case.