News
News Categories

NZXT debuts Noctis 450 mid-tower case with focus on design and cooling

By Koh Wanzi - on 28 Apr 2015, 11:04pm

NZXT debuts Noctis 450 mid-tower case with focus on design and cooling

The NZXT Noctis 450 features the same chassis as the H440, but with an updated exterior and new features. (Image Source: NZXT)

NZXT has announced the Noctis 450 mid-tower PC case, a new addition to its Concepts series of cases that also features the likes of the Switch 810. The company has distinguished itself with cases that feature a bold and aggressive exterior styling that is best epitomized by its Phantom series of cases.

The new Noctis 450 features sloping angles and a bold design that is both futuristic and tasteful. It actually uses the same chassis as the NZXT H440, but with a completely revamped exterior and a few tweaks for performance and useability. Cooling performance has clearly being a key design consideration, and the Noctis 450 comes with a new overlay of floating ventilation panels and a PWM (pulse width modulation) hub that supports up to 8 fans.

The new hub works by converting a single PWM signal from your motherboard's CPU fan header to a voltage signal for your 3-pin fans. This is an improvement over the fan hub on the H440, which forced all the 3-pin fans connected to it to run at full speed at all times.

The case features an onboard PWM hub that can take up to 8 fans. (Image Source: NZXT)

According to NZXT, the floating panel design provides up to 10 times more ventilation surface area than the NZXT H440. While most cases feature single, solid and uninterrupted panel designs, the Noctis 450 switches things up by using interlocking panel layers on the front and top and plenty of mesh for better air flow.

But like the H440, it ships with 4 case fans, comprising three 120mm front intake fans and a single 140mm rear exhaust fan. The Noctis 450 supports an additional three 120mm or two 140mm fans at the top, and the included front and rear fans can be swapped out for 140mm fans as well. Users can also fit 240, 280 or 360mm radiators at the front or top of the case if they wish.

Behind the front intakes lie the fully modular hard drive bays that can accommodate both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drives. These can be removed entirely or re-arranged for better airflow through the front intake fans. Missing is the option for side-mounted SSDs, but that’s an omission that we can live with.

NZXT has put a lot of thought into aesthetics with the Noctis 450, and the case features a power supply shroud to conceal your tangle of cables and a large cutout at the bottom of the motherboard tray for easier cable routing and management. A good call too, because the Noctis 450 ships with a large side window on the left side panel that offers a clear view of all your hardware.

The case also comes with LED lighting strips at the bottom of the case to produce a subtle ambient lighting from the underside of the case. This is controlled via a switch above the rear I/O panel.

The case ships with four fans and comes with small aesthetic touches like a power supply shroud and LED lights on its underside. (Image Source: NZXT)

When it comes to accomodating your precious hardware, the Noctis 450 remains unchanged from the H440. It can accomodate graphics cards up to 406.2mm in length with the HDD cage removed and fit CPU coolers up to 180mm in height, which pretty much covers most of the market.

The Noctis 450 is available for pre-order now at the NZXT Armory Store in matte black or glossy white at US$139.99. For more detailed specifications, please visit NZXT's website.

Source: NZXT

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.