Sleek lines and clever engineering abound in this marvellous PC case
We recently had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of NZXT cases: the Source 430 and H440. Both are superb and offer system builders a solid foundation on which to design their creations.
This week, we have a new case from NZXT to review, the Manta. This is a mini-ITX chassis that manages to pack in so many features you begin to wonder whether it's actually a full tower server chassis.
It measures 245 x 426 x 450mm and weighs a little over 7kg. Internally, there’s 160mm clearance for the CPU, 363mm clearance for the graphics card, and it can support PSU lengths up to 363mm.
The Manta also comes with a decent cooling setup out of the box, with a front mounted pair of 120mm fans and a rear 120mm fan. There’s room in the top removable section too for a further pair of 140mm fans, and the case has been designed to accommodate the NZXT Kraken X61 dual 280mm radiators for the company’s liquid cooling range.
As with most of the company’s cases these days, the traditional 5.25" drive bays and hard drive cages are removed in favour of a better cooling solution and better access to the components. This increases the internal space considerably and certainly aids in routing cables through the specialised raised cable management areas on the back of the frame.
Because this is a mini-ITX case, the Manta has just a pair of PCI backplates at the rear of the case – since ITX generally only has a single PCIe slot on offer.
This case is exceptionally engineered. The steel-plated, reinforced exterior (plastic front and top covers with the steel behind) looks almost like a 1990s iMac. And you also get a choice of colours: black with a white front and sides, or black with a flashy red trim.
There’s a also clear windowed section in one of the convex side panels, which offers a large view of the internal components. Alternatively, the user can opt for a stealthy approach with a solid panel, should they wish.
The internal design is very similar to that of the Source 430. There’s the PSU shroud at the bottom of the case that will neatly hide away the power unit, any hard drives you can fit in there and the majority of the cables. There's also a long central cable management bar, running up the back plate of the chassis, and to the right of the cable bar you’ll find a couple of SSD mounting points.
There are various cut-out sections dotted throughout the build, where cables can be discretely tucked through or cable ties wrapped around to keep everything in its place.
The NZXT Manta is quite a superb looking and functioning case, but it does come at the rather high price of £100. But considering its quality and visual appeal, it's clear you get what you pay for. David Hayward
Great looking and superbly designed.